Pirates Set Mark With 17th Straight Losing Year

Rays at the head of the class—Rockies, Marlins at the back

(NEWSER) - Report card time! Here’s how the rambunctious kids of MLB are doing so far, in Yahoo Sports’ Steven Henson’s estimation. A students—Rays, Red Sox, Cubs, Angels, White Sox Particular kudos go to the Rays, the poor kid who went to the head of the class. B students—Cardinals, Brewers, Twins, Phillies, Yankees, Athletics, Marlins, Orioles The Cardinals have a slight edge in the wildcard race. The Yankees, meanwhile, barely scrape together a B. More»

On average; there are some steals, and some outrages

(NEWSER) - Fans of winning baseball franchises pay for their bragging rights with more expensive beer, the Wall Street Journal reports. On average, a team that wins 6 out of 10 games charges $1.30 more for a 16-ounce beer than a club with a .400 winning percentage. There are, of course, exceptions, allowing for some great deals and some unconscionable gouging. More»

Marlins come bottom in latest ranking of baseball's MVTs

(NEWSER) - The New York Yankees' $1.5 billion valuation lands them solidly in the top spot in the Forbes ranking of baseball's most valuable teams. The crosstown Mets came second, trailing by almost $600 million. The Yanks, however, were one of only two teams to lose money last season, dropping $3.7 million. The Detroit Tigers lost a whopping $26.3 million. More»

(NEWSER) - The Cubs' century of misery won't end this year. The Dodgers beat Chicago 3-1 to complete a sweep of their best-of-5 NL playoff series, the Chicago Tribune reports. James Loney, the grand-slam hero of Game 1, hit a 2-run double in the first that held up for LA. The Cubs entered the playoffs with the NL's best record but scored only 6 runs in 3 games. The Brewers, meanwhile, beat the Phillies 4-1 to force Game 4 this afternoon. More»

Phillies, too

(NEWSER) - Jason Bay and Manny Ramirez both proved why they’d been acquired last night. Bay hit a two-run shot to give the Red Sox a lead they never relinquished, sending Anaheim to a 4-1 defeat, while the man he was traded for hit a solo shot in the Dodgers' 7-2 win over the Cubs. But the Dodgers’ real hero was James Loney, who hit a grand slam in the fifth to erase a 2-run Cubs lead. More»