Champagne falls flat again
The Kansas City Royals are the fourth consecutive World Series champion to fail to make the playoffs the next season. That also includes the San Francisco Giants (twice) and the Boston Red Sox. ... Joc Pederson is only the second player in Dodgers history to hit at least 25 homers in two seasons before turning 25. The other? Duke Snider . . . . Second baseman Jose Peraza — whom the Dodgers sent to Cincinnati in the deal that netted them Micah Johnson, Frankie Montas and Trayce Thompson — is hitting .332 in 69 games with the Reds this season . . . . The Cubs signed President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein to a five-year contract believed to be worth in the excess of $10 million a year if the team reaches certain incentives . . . . Jesus Montero, who was once a top prospect and is now playing in the minors for Toronto, was suspended for 50 games after testing positive for a banned stimulant . . . . Alex Rodriguez will be an analyst for Fox Sports during the playoffs . . . . Because of MLB rules that prohibit scouts from judging Venezuelan players in centralized, team-controlled locations or f lying them to team facilities in the Dominican Republic or elsewhere, scouts are forced to travel throughout Venezuela to scout players. Because the country has become so unstable and dangerous, an international scouting director told Baseball America that “someone is going to get killed. It’s just a matter of time, and it’s on MLB when it happens, because they’re the ones who created these rules.” . . . Washington Nationals ace Stephen Strasburg probably will not be ready for the first round of the playoffs, according to General Manager Mike Rizzo . . . . Boston’s David Ortiz said he will not play for the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic next year . . . . Mark Teixeira’s walk-off grand slam Wednesday was the first for the Yankees against the Red Sox since Charlie Keller hit one in 1942 . . . . The Red Sox finished last in 2012 and first in 2013. They also finished last in 2015 and first this season . . . . Colorado’s Nolan Arenado is only the third player younger than 26 to have consecutive seasons with 40 homers and 130 RBIs. The other two are Hall of Famers Chuck Klein and Jimmie Foxx .... Jean Segura became only the second Arizona player to hit for the cycle, joining Luis Gonzalez.