Justin Verlander is back and on a mission to prove this is far from a farewell tour.
USA TODAY Sports MLB guru Steve Gardner examines which New York team is under more pressure in 2022.PHOENIX — Justin Verlander missed the venom, the hatred, all of the viciousness the Houston Astros absorbed last year when fans returned to ballparks.infamous cheating scandal in 2017“If you’re going to miss two years,’’ Astros teammate Lance McCullers laughed, “he timed it perfectly."
Just three hitters remain from that 2017 Astros team, but the Astros still hear the boos. They know they aren’t forgiven, and perhaps never will be, but there’s no better way to quiet the noise than winning another ring. “I grew up a Braves fan, so it would have been cool to pitch for my childhood team," Verlander said. “But when it came down to it, Kate and I evaluated it. We ranked the teams that we wanted to go to. And it was like, hey, Houston was No. 1 on our list for a reason.
“I’ve never set particular goals,’’ Verlander said, “but there’s still one big giant number out there.’’There are 24 pitchers in history who have won 300 games, only four in the past 30 years, and none since Randy Johnson in 2009.“I care and work as hard as I possibly can, and however long that carries me,’’ Verlander said, “it carries me. If that gets me to 300 wins, great. If I get to 4,000 strikeouts, great.
The only time he really watched the Astros was in the postseason, and just when they were batting. Things can only go right at the plate, he figured, and things can only go wrong on the mound. “I was making a lot of money for sure, but I would have traded all of that just to able to pitch. Every last cent.’’“I just want to help this team get back to the postseason,’’ Verlander said, “get over the hump, and hopefully win it all. If we could do that, considering everything this team has been through, it would be awfully special to a lot of people.’’outside Citi Field before their home opener, bringing back a glorious memory for fellow Hall of Fame pitcher Randy Johnson.
There’s a written, binding agreement between MLB and the players union that prevents him from being activated, but clearly time is running out and Commissioner Rob Manfred must soon make a decision on Bauer’s status.Bauer is expected to receive a suspension for a potential violation of MLB’s sexual assault and domestic violence policy, but Bauer most likely will appeal, no matter the length.
Bogaerts, who can opt out of the final three years, $60 million in his contract, received only a one-year, $30 million contract extension in talks with the Red Sox.Bogaerts never countered.Certainly, all Bogaerts needs to see if that five shortstops signed free agent deals of at least $100 million this offseason, and he can argue that he has been the most productive of all of them.
► No one had a better winter than Boras, but when it came down to negotiations with the Angels, even he backed down. ► The Toronto Blue Jays could have a massive home-field advantage this season with unvaccinated players not permitted to play in Canada. “The good news,’’ said Henry Gardner, stadium authority executive director, “is is the rat population has decreased substantially."
“It was a great moment on the mound,” Maddon said. “It’s one of those Hallmark kind of moments on the mound, right there.” ► The average MLB salary rose to $4.4 million this year in a study by the Associated Press, up 5.9% from last season, ending the four-year slide. The median salary is $1.2 million.
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