Stormy weather in Washington, but not in Arizona, from whence we get a rare treat today: televised AJ Puk (mlb.tv has the Brewers’ feed). The Kensington police department may have some issues. Chess news! Tomorrow in Berlin begins the Candidates Tournament to determine which of 8 top challengers will get to take on Magnus Carlsen ...

A few baseball links to help get us through this cold spell: 1. Susan Slusser reports that Jorge Mateo, who was the only one of the three players acquired for Sonny Gray who was not injured at the time, and whose best tool is speed, is limited by a lingering knee problem. 2. Game calling ...

Here’s my presumptive, scribbled on a napkin, 25 heading into Spring Training: Rotation: Graveman, Manaea, Mengden, Triggs, Bassitt Pen: Treinen, Petit, Pagan, Buchter, Hendricks, Dull, Coulombe Catchers: Maxwell, Phegley Infielders: Olson, Lowrie, Semien, Chapman, Pinder Outfielders: Joyce, Fowler, Piscotty, Powell DH: Davis Miscellaneous: Nunez I’m sure I forgot someone and/or assumed a player has an ...

Many of these remaining free agents dominoes should fall in the next couple weeks, and I’m sure Jed Lowrie is checking his text messages many times a day to see if he’s still an Oakland Athletic. Kendall Graveman is the remaining arb-eligible Athletic who hasn’t settled. I think they can work this one out. kendall ...

This Jeff Pearlman anti-Bonds screed in The Athletic is a little nutso. There aren’t enough ways to argue against Bonds’ enshrinement without first wrapping your white self in Hank Aaron’s struggle? And, just, this writing… This is what it was to be a black man in America. This is what it was to be a ...

The Winter Meetings start today. Beane and Forst are still hunting outfielders. Slusser posits that Lowrie is the A’s most likely trade chip. Eno Sarris thinks the A’s should sign Jay Bruce, who he says is not Billy Butler. In stadium non-news, Matier and Ross have Dave Kaval blowing off Scott McKibben regarding restarting Coliseum ...

The stove ain’t the only thing that’s hot. "Kraut will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no kraut."