Emperor of Hardball Stitches

 Gabrielle O. Alvarez-Tillman - contributing reporter

In Fresno, they call him The Emperor. In Tucson, he’s The False King, ever since Matthew Corey stepped onto the scene and made the earth move under their feet. But Steinbach’s track record is no one-hit wonder. Hardball Stitches’ first-ever NL Rookie of the Year didn’t stop there — he took home an MVP, a Silver Slugger, and an All-Star nod. Then, instead of resting, he came right back for an encore: another MVP, another Silver Slugger, another All-Star. Year after year, he’s proving he was born to be wild.

Now 27, Steinbach’s not exactly living on a prayer — but the shine isn’t as blinding as it once was. He’s on pace for a third straight 50+ home run season, though the .300 average and 200-hit milestones may slip away like sand through the hourglass. His batting average and OPS have dipped for a third straight year. Is this just a landslide where pitchers finally figured him out? Or is Fresno failing to give him enough help so he doesn’t have to carry that weight all by himself?

Enter Matthew Corey — the rookie who’s lighting up the sky like a rocket man. At just 21, he’s leading the NL in homers, average, and RBIs. That’s not just hot — that’s firework-hot. He’s also flashing the leather at a higher level than Steinbach, making him look like the total package. But the season is long, and it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll. Can Corey keep it going, or will the dog days of summer turn his rhythm into nothing but a fading echo?

In the standings, Steinbach and Fresno have a 10-game cushion, sitting pretty with the wind at their back. Corey’s Road Runners? Stuck behind the 8 ball in the Wild Card chase, chasing cars they might not catch. If things don’t break their way, Corey may end up watching Steinbach from home, humming along to every rose has its thorn. But if he keeps swinging like this, maybe the kid really is ready to step into the spotlight — because when the lights go down in the city, only the true stars keep shining.

S3 Deadline Desire

Catherine Trammell - contributing reporter

What Teams Need for the Postseason.

The trade deadline isn’t about patience. It’s about exposure. Every contender, every pretender, every desperate dreamer is suddenly naked under the harsh light of late-season reality. The standings don’t lie. Neither do the weaknesses.

Some teams crave pitching—power arms to lock down the final outs. Others are starved for a bat, that one hitter who can turn a game with a single swing. A few need something less tangible—defense, depth, the kind of presence in the clubhouse that holds a team together when the pressure starts to crush them.

What we don’t know is who will blink first. But we do know what they need. And for some, that need is the only thing keeping them from watching the Playoffs from the outside looking in.

This deadline isn’t about what’s fair. It’s about survival. And survival, as always, will come to those who admit just how close they are to the edge.

• Arizona - A pitcher with an ERA below 3.50. In a division nobody wants to win, the 6th worst pitching staff in the league could take the Division Title. 
• Baltimore - Starting Pitching. Aside from Vladimir Ordonez, this rotation needs a complete overhaul. 
• Boston - Improve WHIP/OAV. The team hasn't been that bad, but a slight improvement here and they could easily be looking like a top 5 team. One arm goes a long way. 
• Buffalo - Long balls. Chicks dig 'em, must be why most of the Buffalo fans are male.
• Charlotte - Carmen Sandiego. She'd at least know how to steal a base. The team has 0 on the season. 
• Chicago - Hits. The team moved up from 23 to 12 in the power rankings but check out that split. Bats scored a 35 and pitchers scored a 75. If they can get those bats up to 50 without giving up too much ML pitching, they could become a serious contender. 
• Cincinnati - More Seasoning. They had the #1 pick in Season 2, and #2 pick this season. They are in line for a solid chance in next year's Draft Lottery as well. The ML team will struggle for at least the next 4 seasons. 
• Colorado Springs - Find Home Plate. See how baseball works - you round the bases more times than your opponent, then you win more games. 
• Durham - Games where they only play offense. Hands down this is the worst pitching staff in the majors. Some experts even debate if a few of the AAA staffs could beat them. 
• Fargo - Give the bullpen a break. They've been slightly worse than league average in Inherited Runners and definitely more compared to their playoff hopeful counterparts. 
• Fresno - International Free Agents. Gotta spend that money somewhere. 
• Helena - Less Free Outs. This team leads the league in Strikeouts by 30 to date. 
• Indianapolis - A new name. You can't be the Speedsters and NOT be the #1 SB team in the league. 
• Los Angeles - An even better pitcher's park. The most pitcher friendly park can't help their staff, time to move the fences another 100' out. 
• Louisville - Learn to Play the Field. And we don't mean the dating field. League fewest Plus Plays and 2nd most Minus Plays. Shore up some defense and you might switch some of those 1 run game losses into wins. 
• Mexico City - Bullpen. Perhaps there is a language barrier going on here, because by FAR Mexico City has given up the most Inherited Runners at a shocking 52.2% rate. Second place is 40.8%. 
• Montgomery - XBH. They hit like a Beyoncé song...all the singles!
• Nashville - Power Hitting. This team could likely get above average if they had a power hitter or two to help knock in some runs. 
• New Orleans - Stop hitting into Double Plays. The team is #2 in GIDP, just stop guys. Stop. 
• New York - A Top 5 draft pick. They perform well enough to decrease their odds in the lottery but not good enough to make the playoffs. 
• Philadelphia - Glasses. The team strikes out a ton to go with that power. Less easy outs and who knows maybe they pick up a few extra wins. 
• Rochester - A weight room. The team is bottom of the barrel in HRs. In fact some teams have started playing 8 man infields against them. 
• Salt Lake City - Vasco Fontana in the Majors. Know we all know SLC is selling so Fontana has at least another year in the minors - so maybe when he turns 28 he'll get his chance. He has great speed and handles Lefties really well, perhaps a playoff team will come knocking. 
• San Antonio - To Remember The Alamo! They battle Mexico City, this time for the Division Title. 
• Scottsdale - New Bats. It's rare in our power rankings to see a team reach into the 20 or 25 range for their Hitting or Pitching score, but Scottsdale did it. Bottom 5 in HR, BB, and AVG and tops in K. This team sadly will set quite a few records for worst hitting team in Hardball Stitches. 
• St Louis - Cincy and Rochester in the playoffs. What more could you ask for than the two teams you've played hundreds of times from your division and won and estimated 95% of the time.  
• Syracuse - St Lous, Trenton, and Fargo to not fill their needs. Plain and simple, I think they are the favored to win and first back to back champs; but only time will tell. Sometimes standing still and not making a move is the dagger that kills you. 
• Tacoma - Another division. Considered a Wildcard contender but only 3rd best team in their division. 
• Texas - Pitching. Imagine merging Texas hitting (and ballpark) with Trenton - wonder if they'd beat a combined team of Syrcause/St Louis. 
• Trenton - Run Manufacturers. Go figure...if you score runs you win games. They have the pitching and defense, but aren't even top 10 in RBIs. 
• Tucson - Stop the Stealers. League worst CS% - .150. That's only 19 caught base stealers in 126 attempts! The umps have debated just making every single an automatic double. 
• Vancouver - Move to the States. Come on, they use fake money that looks more like Monopoly money than actual usable; backed by the government money. Heck even the names of their currency is funny - Loonie and Toonie. This isn't the baseball version of Space Jam!