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I heard a great description of Matt Harvey's curveball the other day from a longtime evaluator, and it really would apply to Clayton Kershaw's curveball as well: Even when a hitter is looking for it, even when he plans to swing at it, even when he kn...

Blog | May 15, 2013

The look and tone that Angels manager Mike Scioscia aimed at the umpires in Houston on Thursday night reminded you of a third-grade teacher admonishing students over a paper airplane thrown across the room. Scioscia's language, however, was a litt...

Blog | May 10, 2013

It was almost 2 a.m. this morning in Oakland when Brandon Moss wearily pulled on the headphones to do the hero postgame interview with Athletics announcers Glen Kuiper and Ray Fosse. Moss had just ended one of the longest, craziest games you will see...

Blog | April 30, 2013

The Angels took another brutal loss last night in 19 innings against the A's, writes Buster Olney. Most alarming were the continued struggles of Josh Hamilton, who was 0-for-8 and is now hitting .202.

Blog | Conversation | April 30, 2013

Buster Olney looks in-depth at why the Angels have struggled this season. He also looks deeper at the Zack Greinke-Carlos Quentin feud from Thursday night.

Blog | Conversation | April 13, 2013

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The first time A.J. Pierzynski saw Yu Darvish gesture at him, he had no idea what the pitcher was trying to convey. Was it a thought? Encouragement? What? Darvish had turned to Pierzynski from afar and motioned to him with both h...

Blog | April 07, 2013

Buster Olney explains how both Yu Darvish and Jered Weaver use feel as pitchers and the ability to manipulate the trajectory and spin of the ball to their advantage. Plus, news and notes from around baseball.

Blog | Conversation | April 07, 2013

Mike Trout had a season that nobody has ever had before, with a buffet of home runs and stolen bases and runs and home run-robbing catches. This is why a majority of talent evaluators already believe he is the best player in the game. If you wanted...

Blog | April 04, 2013

Buster Olney looks at Mike Trout's one "weakness," and also looks at Roy Halladay's struggles and some disagreement among two former Tampa teammates.

Blog | Conversation | April 04, 2013

LOS ANGELES -- The first time Clayton Kershaw threw a slider with intent to do damage, about four years ago, A.J. Ellis was asked to catch him in the bullpen. Kershaw did what Kershaw always does, which is to develop a plan and carry it out. This is ...

Blog | April 02, 2013

Clayton Kershaw's slider has allowed him to take his game to the next level, writes Buster Olney.

Blog | Conversation | April 02, 2013

An evaluator who has logged a lot of spring trainings in Arizona considered the buzz that has surrounded the Los Angeles Dodgers' 22-year-old Yasiel Puig, and decided that the last time he could remember this much interest was back in the mid-80...

Blog | March 25, 2013

The Los Angeles Dodgers have a tough decision to make with Yasiel Puig, writes Buster Olney.

Blog | Conversation | March 25, 2013

Players injured during the World Baseball Classic will have their salaries paid by the WBC organization while they are unable to play for their major league teams, according to an MLB source.

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- This is Part II of our rankings of the early-season schedules, from toughest to easiest. On Saturday, the focus was on the American League. Sunday, we turn our attention to the National League: 1. Pittsburgh Pirates Games again...

Blog | February 24, 2013

Buster Olney ranks the early-season schedules of NL teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the toughest path.

Blog | Conversation | February 24, 2013