#i’m also going to be working on my NL impression so i can play him better | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

otomates-a · 6 years ago

Note

For the muses that don't have the special voiced lines available.. What do you imagine they sound like?

Ah, yes, talking about my muse’s voices… my favorite activity…

This kind of goes hand in hand with the accent headcanon I answered a little bit ago, so I’ll link that here too, since I’ll restate some of it briefly for relevancy.

I don’t really have voice claims right now because that’s… a lot of effort, but maybe I’ll get around to that one day.

Under a read more because this one is LONG KJNHMKJHNM.

For the Voltage characters (currently) without V/C content,

↪ Prince Edward

Again, super 👏 SUPER 👏 thick French accent.

Very soft. Never raises his voice, even when angry or passionate. Typically has to clear his throat before speaking to garner attention to avoid being drowned out.

Whispers more than talking normally.

People often note that Edward in general has a very “melodic” tone of voice.

Bonus: doesn’t laugh so much as let out very quiet giggles.

↪ Prince Keith

Boy’s got a New York accent going on and we appreciate him.

Often speaks loudly enough to be heard over people in his immediate vicinity.

Has a a slightly lower-pitched voice that tends to get a little higher and squeakier when he’s getting upset or bitching about smth lmao.

That said, will mostly often speak normally with a very bored “are we done yet” tone of voice.

Bonus: always muffles his laugh by covering his mouth with both hands.

↪ Prince Roberto

He’s got that Spanish accent going on.

Excited, energetic, just happy to be here!! He has a bit of a higher pitched voice, so whenever he tries to do a deeper voice impression and sound “super serious” it’s actually just really silly to hear.

Constantly yelling and going a mile a minute or singing or whatever.

He will get serious for real sometimes, though, and when he does, his voice is always gentle / calming and full of emotion. He’s very soothing.

Bonus: will roll over on the floor laughing unironically. very loudly.

↪ Prince Wilfred

Soft, British and would rather not be having a conversation lmao

He’s even more quiet than Edward, but it’s mostly because he doesn’t like talking to people.

His voice is extremely monotone and devoid of emotion. He sounds like a robot reciting lines, which is true both when speaking to him in person or when he’s giving a speech. This is something that doesn’t ever go away completely, even if he falls in love with a person, though they’ll hear more emotion in his voice than most get the chance to.

If caught in the right moment, sometimes he almost sounds like he’s on the verge of tears, though.

Bonus: laughs are very short and breathy… more like a quick ‘aha’ than an actual laugh.

↪ Prince Yakov

I hope you like Russian accents thicker than this prince’s beautiful braid, because he’s undoubtedly got the thickest / most noticeable accent out of the princes if only due to limited chances to actually put the other languages and dialects he’s learned to good use!

Very loud! Very demanding! But also very approachable. He can be extremely stern or extremely welcoming and his voice drastically changes between disciplined / friendly as needed.

Bonus: he laughs a lot. And his laugh is also super loud and boisterous.

↪ Luke

Much more subtle New York accent compared to Keith ‘cuz he suppresses it.

Very timid & gentle normally. He’s got a quiet, hesitant tone of voice because he’s usually pretty unsure of himself.

When he’s getting on to someone or trying to stand up for himself or scold other people, though, he also gets kind of high pitched and squeaky because he’s a puppy like that. Eventually, this matures and he inherits his grandfather’s skills in scolding people sternly lmao.

Bonus: will try to hide laughter by covering his mouth with the back of his hand, but will fail.

↪ Claude

British boi #2.

Stern as all living hell. If ever a voice could send chills down your spine, it would be Claude’s. He’s an extremely serious person and he’s not playing games, man.

That said, in rare moments when he shows his softer side, he can be very gentle and warm. It’s just unlikely.

Bonus: hell will freeze over before you hear this man laugh.

↪ Zain

Does have a very subtle English accent as a result of his time with Nobel Michel, but his is hard to distinguish. He’s one of those ppl everyone will stand around like “what???? is that accent???? what is it, it sounds like 5 different accents, i can’t????”

Elegant and sophisticated, at all times, his voice reflects that. He’s always proper and calm, so his tone is likewise monotone, but in a kindhearted way, as opposed to Wilfred’s robotic voice.

Will easily become very expressive and full of emotion when impassioned, however, no matter how hard he tries not to.

Bonus: very soft chuckles.

↪ Ryuga

Loud and happy! He’s super energetic and friendly and that shows through in how he speaks.

His voice is on the lower / gruffer side, however.

Kind of has a very very vERY subtle hint of a British accent sometimes because of where he grew up, but mostly maintained a Japanese accent from his family.

Bonus: EXCITABLE, UPBEAT LAUGHTER !! LAUGHS FOR /DAYS/

↪ Roy

British accent so thick he actually has trouble being understood depending on what part of the world he’s sailing in. Took after his mother.

Mostly speaks with a quiet, thoughtful tone of voice, like he’s always lost in his own head.

He’s very expressive though, so if he gets startled or has strong emotions over something/someone, etc, his voice will raise in volume and panic and etc.

Bonus: he’s the type to laugh behind his hand and muffle it

↪ Shin

Thick Czech accent, not as pronounced as Roy’s.

Extremely intimidating and hard to approach. He always sounds either strict, angry, or annoyed. Mostly because he’s probably all three of those things.

Even when he tries to be soft, he can come off as mean. He takes a little work, but eventually, he learns how to come off as gentle.

Bonus: doesn’t laugh so much as snort derisively.

↪ Miyabi

Has two settings: obnoxious and serious, which he will usually switch between throughout the day

He constantly sounds really full of himself and full of mockery, despite seriously lacking in confidence lmao

His actual tone of voice is mild. He’s very emotional, though, and can sound scary or loving depending on what buttons are pushed.

Can also sound pretty sensual / seductive at times, too.

Bonus: medium-toned laugh, directly in your face KJNHMKJNM

↪ Ichthys

Check accent hc for details on him, he’s more complicated I’m crying.

That being said, one of the louder / happier sounding out of the muse group. He’s constantly laughing and putting on airs for people, so he always sounds like he’s having a great time.

As for the actual tone of his voice, he’s one of the few i DO have a voice claim for yay

Bonus: can and will go into long laughing fits

↪ Rhion / Mad Hatter

Switches depending on what persona he’s “playing.”

If he’s just being himself, he’s very soft, unsure, quiet, but friendly. He’ll openly show his emotions and usually sound pretty happy / upbeat, but it’s like he’s lost in a different world, daydreaming.

As the Hatter, he’s SUPER loud and dramatic and over-the-top, because he’s putting on a show. He’ll drag words out and make drama out of sentences that are super mundane.

Bonus: snorts when he laughs, thanks.

↪ Yuya

This one is easy, let’s all just accept that Yuya is obviously a ripoff of Kurosawa Yamato and obviously his voice is going to match up 😂😂😂

Bonus: tends to burst out laughing if he finds smth funny

For the non-Voltage muses who don’t already have voiced lines in their respective games,

↪ Chezem

Thick Arabic accent.

EXTREMELY soft and aloof. He literally sounds like he’s speaking through a vacuum because he mumbles and trails off so often. His head is up in the clouds.

Deeper voice.

When upset, can be very scary and stern, has a habit of intimidating people and purposefully trying to run them off by presenting himself this way, but actually very soft in reality.

Bonus: brief, short laughs that sound more like sighs.

↪ Saizo

Tone of voice can be summed up as “constantly exasperated” and “really wishes he weren’t here right now.” He ALWAYS sounds like he’s annoyed or sighing at someone’s stupidity any time he opens his mouth.

Deep voice, which I actually have a VC of Jun Fukuyama for. My cg bias shows through, but there u go.

Bonus: usually has short, unexpected laughter in which he tries to keep it from coming out.

↪ Munenori

Upper-class and elegant. He sounds kinda snobby, but not in an obnoxious way. He uses long, big words and tends to trail off to enunciate quite often.

Is the type of person to pause mid-sentence and go… ‘hmm…………………’ while regarding the person he’s talking to for a long while before continuing lmao

Also has a very deep voice, but speaks lightly compared to anyone else in the NL group. His way of speaking is just… very “airy,” like he’s just breathing the words, idk how to put it

Bonus: has the softest chuckles out of anyone in this blasted group

↪ Lysandre

Thick French accent 2 : electric boogaloo

Has a lot in common with Chezem, tbh, so I’m gonna reiterate: soft and aloof. He literally sounds like he’s speaking through a vacuum because he mumbles and trails off so often. His head is up in the clouds.

However, he maintains his softness even when he gets emotional or angry. He can be stern, yes, but he doesn’t lose his poise. He’s extremely put-together and graceful.

Voice isn’t very deep, he also tends to sound kind of “airy” when speaking

Bonus: rarely laughs, mostly smiles… but has a breathy laugh when he does

↪ Chase

Australian accent !

Sounds super tired and dead inside all the time. He just wants to go home and sleep and for everyone to leave him alone my dude. He’s always scoffing while talking, so he can sound pretty stuck up.

Medium-toned voice, not high pitched, not deep, just right in the middle.

Tends to drag out words because he sounds pretty bored most of the time. That is to say, he’s pretty monotone.

However, voice starts to perk up when he starts brightening up around someone he cares about. He can actually sound pretty happy and loving near constantly, around the right person.

Bonus: snickers rather than laughs. unless he’s with someone he adores, then he’ll laugh rather loudly.

6 notes · View notes

neuro--nerd · 2 years ago

Text

Introduction

Hello!

If you’re reading this, you probably already know who I am. In case you aren’t familiar, my name is Kaiden. I am a 23 year old genderqueer person (they/he pronouns) from Newfoundland and Labrador. I’m originally from a small town in the island’s interior, but when I was 16 I moved to Victoria BC to attend UWC Pearson College on a full scholarship. I was there for two years and I can honestly say those were two of the biggest years of my life. After my time at Pearson I started school at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver to study health sciences, but my mental health took a turn and I had to come home. I took a semester off and started a new job to get back on my feet. That summer I started taking distance courses and I moved to St. John’s. In winter 2019 I transferred to Memorial University to study behavioural neuroscience. I’ve been working on it ever since, and this upcoming year is my last. I was recently accepted to complete my honours. I just met with my supervisor for the first time this past week, and I can’t wait to talk more about it in the coming months.

But there’s more to me than just school. I have a dog named Squid and a cat named Jigger. Jigger is four and a half. I got him when he was only around a month old. He was a feral kitten. Squid is turning two later this month. He’s a big, goofy, loveable black lab. He’s not a rescue, he’s a CERB money dog. At the time I was working in a pet store and seeing dogs everyday gave me puppy fever. I wasn’t prepared for a big dog but I wouldn’t trade him for the world. We like to go on walks around the pond and go swimming at the beach. I just recently bought Squid his own pool.

Some of my other hobbies include video games, soccer, hiking, coffee (yes, that’s a hobby), writing, bullet journaling, and activism. I have a nintendo switch that I love to play. I play soccer with a small gender inclusive league every Thursday. I am currently a part time barista. Every Monday morning I join a few other wonderful humans at the confederation building to demonstrate for better access to long term mental healthcare. While I wasn’t there from the very beginning, this was week 85. We’re hoping to do something special for 100 weeks. I have also advocated for LGBTQIA rights within the mental healthcare system.

Access to long term mental healthcare is so important to me because of my journey with mental health. I was diagnosed with bipolar in April 2017 after an ER trip during a manic episode. While I was impressed with the care I received in BC, I needed to come back home to be closer to family while I grappled with my illness. Since returning to NL I have faced many barriers to care, from wait lists over a year long (and counting) to being shuffled around short term options, and lack of resources available all together. The resources I have accessed have not always been relevant to me. I tried the trauma program but had to drop out because there was no available gender neutral option. I attended group therapy for my eating disorder for two years, but the program was geared towards cisgender girls so some aspects did not address my needs. Luckily, I currently see both an amazing psychologist, paediatrician and dietician who have helped me more than I could convey. I am so thankful to have a care team that meets my needs and helps me reach my goals.

So that’s a little bit about me! If you read all of that rambling, congrats! Thank you for listening. I hope to write more about my experiences at school and navigating life.

Stay cool, Kaiden

#personal #textpost #blog #study #student #life #mental health #intro #about me

0 notes

insidethegiftbasket · 4 years ago

Text

Non-Roster Invitees

We’ve got a few guys to get through here, so let’s cut right to the freakin chase, shall we? Also note that due to a limit on the number of videos you’re allowed to upload to a single post (thanks, Tumblr) I will only be using video for guys that I think are going to actually make the team. Consider it a badge of honor of some kind. You’re good enough to warrant a highlight video. Congratulations. You made it.

Asher Wojciechowski

Asher Wachowski Sisters stinks.

I didn’t even realize he was already 32 either. He doesn’t eat innings, he doesn’t get guys out, and he gives up a lot of home runs. I get that being a Baltimore Oriole in 2019 and 2020 was conducive to that in general, but he was impressive in this way even for them. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t been DFA’d by now, but I guess they wanted to see what he had to offer in ST before pulling the trigger we all know is gonna get pulled. His name also barely fits on the jersey, so that’s fun. Him and Saltalamacchia can bond over that in retirement.

Will He Make The Team?

Nojciechowski

Tyler Lyons

If you knew that Lyons was on the Yankees in both 2019 and 2020 already, congratulations! He’s given us a whopping 10.1 IP in those 2 prior campaigns and the 2019 innings weren’t terrible. But there were so few of them it’s hard to care.

He does have the history of being an effective reliever though, and frankly, relatively recently, so I imagine that’s why he sticks around—to see if he can catch some of that 2015-2017 magic again and be an effective bullpen piece. Also, lefty relievers have the longest-possible shelf life in the MLB because that’s how this game is still played in 2021, even with the 3-batter minimum.

It’s hard to say what to expect from Lyons, since he’s pitched so little since 2017, but hey, maybe he looks good in ST and remains a Yankee. Every team has this kind of guy, so it wouldn’t surprise me either way.

Will He Make The Team?

I’d be Lyon if I said I knew.

Jhoulys Chacin

Hey! It’s like a person who’s name you actually know, even if you don’t know how to pronounce Jhoulys. That’s alright though. Since debuting in 2009, Chacin has steadily had work and has steadily been an okay starter capable of giving teams some innings as long as he’s not injured (which is often).

But those full seasons aren’t bad! I can’t sit here and pretend they’re bad. He’s a decent pitcher who has had a long injury history and has a good amount of mileage on that arm even despite that. He’s the classic “Let’s see if there’s some magic left in that arm” invite, and based on the way he absolutely pooped his pants in his first ST appearance this year, I would venture to say, “No, there isn’t.”

Will He Make The Team?

He’ll be Chacin a ring elsewhere.

Nestor Cortes Jr.

Now here’s a guy we know. Nasty Nestor is back after a brief sojurn in Seattle where he was maybe the worst pitcher in the MLB to record more than a single appearance last year.

And yeah, he wasn’t good in 2019 either, but we have fond memories of the guy. He came in when asked, didn’t shit the bed too much, and did literally everything short of covering the ball in pine tar, Vaseline, and dip spit to try and get guys out. He’s easy to root for like that, and he seemed to really like being a Yankee.

He hasn’t pitched yet this spring, but he’s due to do so later this week, and it would be worth keeping an eye on given his history with the team and whatnot.

Will He Make The Team?

He’s gonna do his very Nest to do so, and will be one of our Taxi Squad guys.

Nestor Cortes Highlights

youtube

Adam Warren

Is there an award for being Adam Warren? There should be. The Ol�� Reliable Award. The Brokeback Mountain “I Just Can’t Quit You” Award.

This is Warren’s 4th separate stint with the Yankees since he debuted with us in 2012. Once a reliable piece of the bullpen and as good a 6th inning man you could ask for, his career since going to the Cubs in 2016 has been up and down to say the least. He legitimately only seems to pitch well in pinstripes and we sure do love having him around. If there was a safest possible bet on this page, it’s Warren—unless his spring is a truly abject disaster.

Will He Make The Team?

I Warrent he will.

Adam Warren Highlights

youtube

Kyle Barraclough

The man they call Bear Claw didn’t pitch in 2020, but it wasn’t because he was really out of baseball. He came into the bigs smoking hot in 2015 at age 25, becoming the rock of the Marlins bullpen for that year and the following 3 seasons. He even won an NL Reliever of the Month award in June 2018. This dude has pedigree.

His stuff is absolutely nasty, and he’s got a funky delivery to help conceal the ball too. When he’s good, he’s good and if he can get anywhere back to where he was as a Marlin, he’s gonna be one of those guys where it’s gonna be like, “How the hell did we get this guy for literally nothing?”

That of course, is all hypothetical. Let’s see how he does in the spring first, and then go from there.

Will He Make The Team?

I’m more Bullish on him than I am Bearish.

Kyle Barraclough Highlights

youtube

Jay Bruce

I’ll keep this one short and sweet and to the point.

Jay Bruce is an “old man” coming off a bad year. He’s a lefty power bat that can play the corner OF spots and theoretically can play 1B. He’s slow, he doesn’t field all that well, and outside of punishing mistakes from right-handed pitching, he can’t do all that much at the dish. So, of course, he’s Yankee Catnip.

Will He Make The Team?

It depends on how the next and last guy performs in ST, but my guess is that the Bruce will not be Loose.

Derek Dietrich

Derek Dietrich is basically Jay Bruce with 3 years of age on Bruce and a bit more positional versatility. He can play LF/RF/1B/2B, though doesn’t really do any of them well. He’s here to hit moonshots from the left side and that’s about it. He’s also super adept at getting HBPs, so maybe a bases loaded appearance is more dangerous for him than it appears. Hmmm. Consider it.

Dietrich also loves that Cincy jersey that had no sleeves. Sun’s out, guns out, amirite? He also grew a handlebar mustache for a while to complete the look. The guy is a borderline meme, but at least one that has shown some MLB use in his career to date.

Will He Make The Team?

Yeah Deets.

Derek Dietrich Highlights

youtube

Join us tomorrow when Sam takes you Inside the Gift Basket on one of our top prospects, who has been a top prospect for so long it’s a meme, Outfielder Estevan Florial.

#Yankees #New York Yankees #MLB #Baseball #Breakdown #Non-Roster Invitees

0 notes

backroomblogs · 7 years ago

Text

Less Than Two Days From Opening Day, Here Are Some of my Sox Predictions - Matt

Thank God! I know that as a sports fan, when you are waiting for any season to roll around the offseason can feel like it drags at points. That’s pretty much the way it goes when you can’t wait for something. But fuck, the baseball offseason feels unbearably long. Nonetheless, it is finally here, and I am pumped and ready to go.

As the season officially starts on Thursday, I am officially ready to ride this 2018 Red Sox hype train straight to a parade at the beginning of November. And although they are a respected team in the American League, I don’t think there are too many outside Boston that think the Red Sox have enough pieces to get it done. The Astros, who were certainly the most dominant team in the American League last year, and they were essentially able to keep that whole team in tact. Many view them as the favorite to win the whole thing, which is a very fair prognosis, not bold, but fair. Then you have the Indians who are also entering the season with a similar roster minus Carlos Santana, who they virtually swapped out for Yonder Alonso. Of course they will be a very tough matchup come October if everything is to shape up that way.

And then there is New York, the god damn Yankees. After acquiring last years NL MVP in Giancarlo Stanton, the Yankees made lineup that was crucial in getting them to game 7 of the ALCS much more dangerous. Not exactly the most ideal team to see 19 times year. With that said, baseball is so much better when the Red Sox and Yankees are good baseball teams. When it looks like they could be battling for the division title all the way through September. I’m very excited see this matchup all season, and without further ado, I hereby pick.. (wait for it) the Boston Red Sox to win the American League East. Not just because I am a Sox fan that buys fully into the if you love the Sox you have to hate the Yankees, but because I really don’t buy into New York separating themselves from Boston outright in any facet of the game, whether it be lineup or bullpen, and I think we have an obvious advantage in terms of rotation.

But without trying to get too deep into the general stuff, let me delve into some specifics. In terms of both the offense and the pitching staff, who I think will have the most surprising impact, and who’s performance I feel will impact this team the most.

My prediction for most surprising in the pitching slot is Eduardo Rodriguez. He struggled mightily last season after a pretty solid rookie campaign in 2015 and a strong 2016 minus a horrid June with mechanical issues and injuries, and he enters this season on the shelf for a bit of time. However, I think that when he gets healthy and returns to the rotation, 2018 could be the year that he emerges as a solid back end guy. He adopted a new throwing program this season and has apparently sharpened his mechanics from what they were last season, so I’m hopeful that along with helping him not tell opposing batters that he throwing them a fastball, he can be more consistent as the seasons, and his outings progress. Last year, he seemed to tire out in the early stages of games which would cause an acceptable outing to turn into a disaster real fast. This was the trend from pretty much June on last season. Maybe Cora can better control how long he goes, and that can bring him back down to 2015 E Rod. A reliable, high threes ERA guy who will give you quality inning, or even better. I could be wrong, but I am leaning towards better.

Andrew Benintendi, the former bachelor of Boston, is who I think will be the most pleasant surprise to this team. I know. He was solid last year, and it sounds weird to say that an impressive performance coming from a guy that finished second in Rookie of the Year voting last year surprising. But I think that in just his second full season, he could be ready to cement himself as a force at the top of this lineup. Last year he batted .271, had a .776 slugging percentage, and got to 20 home runs. I think that at age 23, he has the ability to amass all of those numbers with relative ease. For a team that was a at the bottom of the league in home runs last season as a unit, I think that Benny will have a huge part in changing that narrative, providing a spark before teams even reach the middle of the lineup. That, on top of his well rounded defense in left, and possibly even center will make him a huge factor in this offense, greater and faster than people expect.

Now, if the Red Sox are going to be legitimate contenders for a World Series title in 2018, David Price is going to have to be an anchor in that rotation. His performance might actually be the most crucial for the entire team in the grand scheme of things, especially later in the season. Price and the Boston media, don’t like each other, and for all intents and purposes, that relationship might always be a mess. Unless, he plays a major role in bringing a title to this town which I think he is very capable of doing. After an injury-plagued first half, he was a monster in the back nine, posting a sub 2.5 ERA from July on. And during our short run in the postseason, he was surefire in his work coming out of the pen, a step in the right direction in terms of lulling his negative postseason buzz if you ask me. Price says that this is currently the best he has felt in his career. That is literally the most common cliche optimistic athlete phrase ever, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love hearing it. A lot is riding on the health and performance of the 231 million dollar man, and rightfully so. Can he bring what is needed for an entire season, including October? I think so, but I have yet to be proven correct. I am certainly ready to find out.

There are a few people who this could go to offensively for the Sox. But I think that the Red Sox really need an outstanding year from Xander to help them standout in an impressive pools of AL teams. With the rapid rise in talent at the shortstop position with guys like Correa, Seager, Lindor, and others along with a down 2017 for Bogaerts, I think people are starting to forget just how good this guy is. He hit .320 with 81 RBI in 2015 and only hit seven home runs year, proving that even with a lack of long ball power he had the ability to drive in runs. In 2016, his average dipped to a still solid .294, but he drastically added power to his already impressive hitting arsenal, hitting 21 home runs with 89 RBI. X has already proven that going his age 25 season, he has what it takes to be one of the best shortstops this league has to offer. And honestly he needs to be. He is going to start the year in the middle of the lineup, and regardless of whether or not he stays there or moves up, we are much better when he is one of our top run producers. I think Xander is in for a big year of spraying the ball all over the place. He is way to good of hitter to bat anywhere below the .300 mark, or right in that region, he just needs to figure that out, be an awesome hitter again, get to the all star game, get a silver slugger, and be a catalyst in this World Series run the Red Sox are going to make. I think 2018 will be career year for the X man, and hopefully a championship year for the Boston Red Sox.

Finally, it’s here. I just can’t wait for that parade. LET’S RIDE!

1 note · View note

junker-town · 6 years ago

Text

Nationals’ Ryan Zimmerman talks the Capitals’ Stanley Cup win, D.C. as a sports town, and hosting the All-Star Game

Winning the World Series isn’t everything for Zimmerman, but it would be nice.

Ryan Zimmerman and the Nationals are having a solid year so far. Between trading the NL West lead back and forth with the Braves, helping the Capitals celebrate winning the Stanley Cup, and hosting the MLB All-Star Game, 2018 is shaping up to be their year.

I talked to Zimmerman about all of that plus how it feels to watch the Capitals bring a championship to D.C., how the Washington fanbase has grown, and the Nationals’ chances of winning a championship of their own.

[This interview has been edited and condensed.]

Let’s talk Capitals. You and [Max] Scherzer went to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, and you and Ovechkin have been friends for over a decade. What was it like being in the house?

It was really fun to be a part of. When I first came up in ‘05, Ovi was drafted and his first year was October of 2005 so basically him, Backstrom, and Mike Green, we all came up at the same time. We all became friends when we were younger. We don’t see each other as much as we used to, we’re all kind of married with kids and that free time doesn’t really exist anymore. But that first four or five years we used to see each other quite a bit, so to see them go through some of the stuff that we’ve gone through, to finally break through and win a championship was … I was just so, so happy for those guys.

The Nationals have experienced the same criticism sometimes, have had the same experiences of those Caps teams as far as having great players and a good core but not being able to get over the hump. What was it like to finally see them do it?

I think being friendly with them, and being in D.C. now for almost 15 years, I consider D.C. home. My wife and I go to five or six hockey games in the offseason. It’s our favorite thing to do. We’ve become fans of them, so to see them pull through it’s just … we know what it feels like. It’s not a failure if you don’t win the championship, but it kind of has become a failure if you don’t win the championship in D.C. Obviously, selfishly, I want to win one, but to see them do it was as close as you can get to having that joy for yourself.

Did you [and Capitals players] talk about that over the years? That fine line of the fan base loving both teams yet reacting to those shortfalls?

We didn’t really have to talk about it just because we get asked about it every year now. Like I said, I‘ve been here. The first five or six years we would lose 90 to 100 games every year, and now we’re expected to win 90 to 100 games every year. So we’ve come a long way in a relatively short period of time, being around for 13 years I guess it is now. To do what we’ve done as an organization, to be as consistently good as we are, I think is pretty impressive.

But all of us want to win, and I think if I end my career without winning a World Series it’s going to be a tough one to swallow. It won’t make or break me but being able to do what they just did would obviously take your career to a different level.

When you first came up it was your first season, it was Ovi’s first season, and it was also the Nationals‘ first season. You mentioned your success and making the postseason consistently and having a shot to win every year, but the Golden Knights‘ expansion success is something else.

What was it like to watch that team skyrocket, having lived that [first year in a new city] experience firsthand?

Just an unbelievable story. The expansion draft thing I’m not really positive on how that works in hockey, but I don’t think it’s setup to make you a great team in your first year. It’s funny because the GM that was with the Capitals is their GM. The whole setup with the Caps breaking through and playing against the Cinderella story thing that the Golden Knights had going on, it was fun. It was fun to watch, fun to be a part of, and very impressive to do what they did in their first year.

As far as Cup celebrations go and championship celebrations go, Ovi had quite the weekend. It really started in the Nationals’ locker room after they got back, how was it when they had the Cup in there?

I mean just how happy they all were. To feel just the pure joy of seeing that. What they’ve been through and how hard they’ve worked to get to where they’re at. Also the Stanley Cup has got to be the coolest trophy in all of sports. The history, the way it’s the same trophy every year, you take that thing out like they were doing and you have a built-in excuse to be a party starter as soon as you show up. Everyone wants to see the Cup.

Some people might have thought they partied a little too hard, having fun. I think the way that they did it — not going to like a club and renting out a room, letting the fans be a part of it, going literally all through the city — I thought that was cool of them to include the fans and include everyone. And not kind of do their own thing, which they easily could have done.

I certainly couldn’t blame Ovi for being in the seats and not putting [the Cup] down. That said, if you guys were able to pull it off this year, with it being (potentially) Bryce’s last year in the city and you having been around for over a decade, what would your go-to championship celebration be?

DC is such a unique city. I think you forget. You kind of become numb to it when you’ve been here for so long, you forget where you are and everything becomes normal. But for them to have a parade down Constitution with the Monument, the White House, so many museums, it’s almost surreal to look and see that backdrop. So, there’s so many choices in D.C. to go. As far as the first night, who knows what would happen the first night. But after that there would be a bunch of places on the list, I think you can’t really go wrong in D.C.

Do you feel like the pressure is off at all with D.C. fans? A little bit of the edge?

I guess. Honestly this is going to sound bad, but I never really felt pressure. All of us felt pressure to win, but that’s kind of our job. I feel like what we’ve done for baseball in a little bit less than 15 years that we’ve been here ... I don’t want to say it’s equivalent to winning the World Series, but for D.C. not to have baseball for so long pretty much an entire generation missed out on having baseball.

So when we first came back, I feel like us as players and the organization and fans were basically re-learning baseball here. Now we’re to the point we’re competitive every year and I think our fanbase has grown, they’ve become great. We’ll be on the road now and have solid turnout some places so it’s been fun for that to kind of develop. It’s obviously not the same as winning the World Series but I feel like what we’ve done in a short time has been pretty special for the city. Adding a World Series to it would make it way more special but it’s tough to base everything on that. I think we’ve done pretty good.

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

On that note, I remember I was in D.C. in ‘09 and we walked up to the stadium and they said “where do you want to sit.” It was “we have first base line tickets for $20.” So the team has come a long way and this year you are hosting the All-Star Game. The new [DC United] stadium is opening up, the Caps just won a Cup. Do you think as far as D.C. sports goes this is a big moment to share with the fans, everything that’s happening?

Everyone’s obsessed with calling themselves a sports town. No one’s going to be Boston, no one’s going to be Chicago. Those are places where people are born and grow up and it’s generations of fandom you could say. You can’t just have that. It has to be done that way. The truth is that D.C. is a place where not many people are born and raised, so a lot of people come here in their early 20s to work, or even a little bit later, and then adopt the team that’s there. That doesn’t mean they’re not good fans, it just means they’re not as intense or invested in a team as you would be if you were a fan ever since you could remember going to games.

I’m not saying that’s a good or a bad thing but as far as what’s happened around the stadium, with the soccer team and the area around the baseball stadium and now ultimately getting the All-Star Game, I think it will be a combination of all this sort of “growing sports town” stuff over the last decade or so. I think it will be a good way for the rest of the country to see that D.C. does really care about sports and we have a pretty good thing going on. It’s a beautiful stadium, the area around the stadium has been completely transformed into what I think is one of the coolest places. You think of places like St. Louis where they have Ballpark Village and basically have created an environment where you can come down hours before the game or stay hours after a game and still have plenty of things to do.

Which is important because I think if my wife came to a game and she wasn’t married to me she would want to do something else beyond watch a baseball game. If you can get people in for multiple reasons I think that’s cool. The All-Star Game will be a great way to show everyone that we are a city that does love sports and we’ve come a long way.

That’s another Vegas thing happening right now. People aren’t born there and the people that are or have been there for a while do have that connection.

You’ve mentioned the growth of the fanbase, and I wanted to talk to you about your work with multiple sclerosis (Zimmerman‘s mother has MS and he founded the ziMS Foundation in 2006 to help find a cure for the disease). You’ve had the foundation for years now, how have Washington fans supported you with that?

It’s been awesome. I came here as a 20-year-old and now I’m gonna be 34 in September, and I’m married and have two kids and my kids will grow up there and go to school there. Needless to say the community there ... I’ve probably created more relationships with people who have nothing to do with baseball that I will keep in touch with more than anything that has to do with baseball.

So to have that community and that sense of family, where people come out and support a cause that obviously means something to me, but honestly they might not know anyone who has MS. Nowadays, for people to donate their time or more importantly their money is hard to ask for a lot of times. But the community has been nothing but supportive for as long as we’ve been there. 100 percent we wouldn’t be able to do the stuff that we have done without them, so I’m very grateful for that.

I think that’s one of the coolest things of my baseball career, to be able to create those relationships with people around the city and meet people and do things I never would have been able to do if I didn’t play baseball. The platform that I’ve been afforded has been really awesome.

That is an awesome thing. You are battling for first in the division with a young, fun Braves team on your heels. Do you feel like you have a shot this year? How are you feeling about the season?

We have a great team. Like you said the Atlanta team is a really good team. The Phillies are a really good team as well, they’re the same way. Up-and-coming, some young guys. New York’s a great team if they can say healthy. So by no means do we expect something. We know that you have to go out and you have to work for every win at this level. If you don’t show up on any night the other team’s gonna beat you.

We’ve had some injuries early in the year. Myself, I’ve been out for a little bit. We’re starting to get guys back. Eaton’s been back for almost a week now, Murphy played his first game last night, Stras should be back … I don’t know if it’s going to be a long thing, it shouldn’t be that long. It’s a different feel this year because in years past people are going “they won the division because it’s a terrible division.”

A walkover.

There’s no such thing as easy wins at this level. I’ve been on plenty of teams that were more talented than other teams. If you don’t prepare and you don’t have all 25 guys be professionals you’re going to get beat. So if we can get healthy and we can continue to do the things that we know we can do then I think we have a chance to do something really special.

It’s never easy. I don’t know if anyone would want it to be easy. But, obviously, the ultimate goal to be going into the postseason at the right time and have a long run like the hockey team just did.

0 notes

iloveyoupittsburghpirates-blog · 8 years ago

Text

Clean It Up, Pittsburgh Pirates

My Dearest Pittsburgh Pirates,

That’s a bizarre way to start the season. You had a rain-out, a snow storm, and two extra innings games. It was actually an ugly week. You escaped going 3-2 with one of the games being postponed until next week. You lost the first two games of the season to the Red Sox in Boston. You bounced back to sweep a sloppy Atlanta Braves team in the first home series of the year. I’d feel better about a sweep if it didn’t feel like they handed it to you. Yesterday you basically won because the Braves’ catcher, Kurt Suzuki, couldn’t catch R.A. Dickey’s knuckleball. He was charged with 3 passed balls plus Dickey threw a wild pitch. Today you did everything in your power to lose the game from being picked off twice, calling for bunts when maybe you shouldn’t, not getting the bunts down, letting Antonio Bastardo pitch, not fielding a grounder that allows the lead run to score in the top of the 10th. Like I said, ugly. I want to feel more positive after a sweep, especially after Starling Marte hit that beautiful walk-off 2 run homer today down a run in the 10th. I just think that if you would’ve played this way against a better team you might have lost 2 out of 3.

People really don’t like Josh Harrison anymore and I honestly don’t understand it. I realize that his OPS the last two seasons were .717 and .699. Certainly below average. I also understand that the 4 year 27 million dollar contract you signed him to makes it seem like he’s overpaid making 7.75 million this year and over 10 million next year. That is a little much but I bet if he hit the free agent market he could get 5 million a year. The fact is JHay is a pretty solid second baseman. I’m glad they are batting him 7th instead of leadoff but I have no issues starting him everyday. Last year, he was 4th in the majors and 1st in the NL in defensive runs saved at second base. His skills were particularly on display on Friday when he made a game saving diving stop on a ball up the middle to start an inning ending double play. The way people talk about JHay you would think he bats .210 a la Rey Ordonez for the Mets back in the day. The reality is he batted .283 last year and .287 the year before. He also added 19 steals while only getting caught four times. I know he doesn’t walk a lot. I know he doesn’t take a lot of pitches. I know he has a putrid slugging percentage. He’s a second baseman. There aren’t many terrific offensive ones in the league. I know Adam Frazier is a “hit machine” who takes more pitches and walks more. He had 3 hits Sunday and started the rally in the 10th that Marte capped off. He also played 2B a total of 23 games before last year and made the error at 3rd base that gave the Braves the lead today. With Josh Bell playing first most of the time, a position he’s barely ever played before, you can’t have the whole right side of your infield be monitored by two guys who don’t play their positions well especially when inducing ground balls is a significant part of your strategy. Is JHay the best 2B in baseball? Obviously not. But is he a solid option and easily the best one of your team? Absolutely.

The biggest concern going into the season was the rotation especially after last year’s Locke/Nicasio/Vogelsong/Niese disaster. This year’s rotation is younger with the average age of the pitchers at 25. Your three top guys were supposed to be the reliable ones. Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova have held up their end of the bargain. In particular Taillon who looked like the true ace of the staff going seven shutout innings against the Red Sox lineup, one of the best in baseball. Gerrit Cole, who is supposed to be the actual ace of staff, looks like 2016 Cole instead of 2015 Cole and that’s not good. In two starts, Cole is 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA with a 1.64 WHIP. I know it’s only two starts and he fought through 6 innings to earn a Quality Start today.. He did lack control, movement on his fastball, and poise. I’m not sending Cole down the river or anything. It was very telling to watch his two starts compared to Taillon or Nova. Both of them kept calm and worked out of jams while you see Cole seem to lose his cool any time the slightest thing goes wrong. Someone gets a hit because of shift? He’s angry and pouting. You don’t see him celebrating every time it works though. I’m not saying he has to be Bumgarner like stoic or but he needs to control himself. He lets too much affect him. Cole very well might go out and dominate from here on out. I’m just nervous because what I’ve seen so far reminds me of the same Cole that struggled last season with a flat fastball that he leaves up in the zone. I’d be happy for him to turn it around but I’m starting to have my doubts.

Our other “best player”, Andrew McCutchen, spoke all off season about he has a chip on his shoulder due to the trade rumors that circulated this off-season. Since then, he keeps claiming that he would have a “monster season” to prove the doubters wrong. Now he’s historically a slow starter so it’s not too shocking that his splits are currently .150/.227/.150 for a whopping .377 OPS. He struck out 7 times this week. He only has 3 hits so far and they all came in one game. An exclamation point was put on Cutch’s rough opening week when he came up with 1st and 3rd and one out trailing by a run in the bottom of the 8th. In the least surprising moment of the week, Cutch grounded into an inning ending double play. He’s swinging at bad pitches. He’s moving his back foot way too much on his swing. He almost never takes an outside pitch to the opposite field anymore. It’s not out of the question that we may look back on not trading him this off-season as a huge mistake. If he has a season similar to last season, his trade value is completely gone. Hell, you might not even pick up his 15 million dollar team option next year. That might be a stretch but, much like Cole, I’m seeing the tendencies that were very similar to 2016 Cutch. I’m getting wayyyyy ahead of myself. It’s one bad week. I’m sure he’ll be fine. At least I hope he will be.

I don’t mean to come off so negative. There’s definitely positives to take away from this week. I mentioned how well Taillon and Nova pitched. Marte and Polanco both look like they could have even bigger seasons. Polanco had 4 hits Saturday and Marte had 4 on Sunday including that walk-off homer. Marte’s splits are an impressive .381/.417/.524 for a .941 OPS. Josh Bell looks like he could have an OBP near .400. Frazier is a really nice bat off the bench and good to start 3-4 times a week. He’s just going to be a liability in the field but if he keeps hitting like this you will have to find him at bats. It shouldn’t be too hard with Jung-ho Kang currently out of the picture. The back of the bullpen looked dominant other than Bastardo who gave up a homer today and a walk-off 3 run homer in Boston on Wednesday. Nicasio, Rivero, Hudson, and Watson all pitched impressively. You will need to make less mistakes if you want to succeed because April is filled with quality teams. You get the Reds at home for 3 games starting tomorrow. That’s a very winnable series. Then it gets rough. You go to Boston on Thursday to make up the rain-out from this week. You follow that by going to Chicago to play the World Champion Cubs for 3 games. The rest of the series this month are against the Cardinals, Yankees, Cubs again, and the Marlins. You could easily fall far behind if you don’t play better. I’m not trying to be mean. I’m trying to be honest. I will say that it’s so nice to have you back. It’s so nice to be able to see you everyday. 3-2 is a solid start. Build off it. It’s a full seven game week so pace yourself. Take it one game at a time. Good luck and I’ll talk to you next week.

Your Tough But Fair Fellow,

Brad

P.S. Tyler Glasnow will make his first start of the season tomorrow. If he can somehow harness that talent and be productive, it could change the whole outlook on this season. He will certainly have a lot of ups and downs but this rotation could be a lot more interesting than anticipated. Kuhl needs to pitch better than last night but he won’t walk 6 batters too often. Cole has to wake up too but you are in a much better position than you were last year. Glasnow could take it to the next level or he could deplete our bullpen each start if he struggles. Should be fun...

1 note · View note

flauntpage · 6 years ago

Text

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup

Despite playing the Marlins of all teams, the bats were silenced again.

Save for an Asdrubal Cabrera solo home run, the Phillies couldn’t get any more from their other batters in a 3-1 loss to Miami. After Cabrera’s dinger in the top of the second, Vince Velasquez gave up three runs in the bottom half of the inning from Lewis Brinson and Rafael Ortega. Only Cabrera, Roman Quinn, Carlos Santana, and Nick Williams provided hits.

A quiet game for the offense, which hasn’t feature Maikel Frankel, because he’s battling a sore wrist he suffered against Toronto a couple weeks ago and isn’t sure if he’ll be in the starting lineup tonight. Gabe Kapler hopes he’ll have one of his better bats back very soon.

Pitching isn’t that big of an issue, but the Phils will finally have Jerad Eickhoff back in a uniform. He’s had a long road to recovery and it’s great to see him contribute in some way.

With Boston playing Atlanta again today, the Phils hope to do some damage to the Braves’ lead in the NL East. They had an opportunity yesterday but the Marlins loss didn’t help. They’ll hope to beat the fish later tonight at 7:10 PM on NBC Sports Philadelphia with Jake Arrieta on the mound.

Also coming in earlier this morning, Ryan Howard is retiring from baseball in a Players’ Tribune article.

The Roundup:

Doug Pederson made it official yesterday by announcing Nick Foles as the starting quarterback for Week 1 against the Falcons. Shouldn’t be shocked by that at all. It wasn’t Pederson’s day to speak, but he said he wanted to make the announcement himself.

Coordinators Mike Groh and Jim Schwartz spoke on Monday regarding Carson Wentz, Nigel Bradham, and much more. Pederson will hold his pregame press conference later today.

As for the injury report at practice, Mack Hollins, Alshon Jeffery, and Richard Rodgers did not practice, while Wentz and Jay Ajayi were limited. Hollins and Ajayi expect to play Thursday.

The Birds also released their first official depth chart.

In small but notable news, Malcolm Jenkins had his contract restructured to create more salary cap space.

Source: the Eagles reworked the contract of S Malcolm Jenkins, creating $6.148M in 2018 cap space. Jenkins earns the same amount of money, the team gets some cap flexibility.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 3, 2018

Who do the players think will be breakout stars this year?

Fletcher Cox: “I can go on with a bunch of my teammates who are gonna have a great year, but I think one guy who’s really trying to prove a point, trying to come back from injury is Jordan Hicks. He’s been really impressive, from coming off his injury to training camp to just being one of the leaders on the team. I’m looking forward to watching him play and fly around.”

Tre Sullivan: “Hicks coming back from his injury, seeing the way he moves around and stuff in practice. Just how vocal he is. His development of not being on the field last year and being able to hop back in throughout OTAs and then camp and then now Week 1. I think that’s probably one of the biggest improvements.”

Rodney McLeod: “I’ll probably say Corey Clement. He’s been doing it all. Obviously he’s been hurt, but before that, running hard. It seems like he’s gained a step. Good hands out of the backfield. He’s been back there on special teams. He’s just a fighter, man, and a competitor and a warrior. Line him up anywhere. I’ve seen him out there dog tired with the ones, twos and threes. And he’s still running. So I’ve been impressed. Obviously he had a good rookie year, but I think he’ll have an even better year this season.”

Brandon Graham: “If I had to pick one, [Corey] Cle-MENT, CLE-ment. I don’t want to say his name wrong [cackles]. He’s just shown me that he’s ready for year two, like he seems more confident than he was last year, even though he was confident then. But now he knows what to expect. I feel like there’s gonna be a lot of downhill running, a lot of big-yardage plays for him.”

The Eagles made unsuccessful waiver claims for DE Mario Edwards (now with the Giants) and DT T.Y. McGill (now with the Chargers). And former Eagle Donnel Pumphrey worked out with other running backs in Detroit.

In other sports news, unseeded John Millman upset Roger Federer in the fourth round of the US Open.

Virginia Tech crushed Florida State in the final game of the first week of college football.

Colin Kaepernick is one of the faces for Nike’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” slogan. He also agreed to a new deal with Nike.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018

There’s a few other faces as well, including Serena Williams.

Awesome new Nike “Just Do It” ads pic.twitter.com/JFaAfm3ize

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018

Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t report to sign his franchise tender in Pittsburgh.

In the news, REAL ID pre-verification has begun in PA.

Hearings for Brett Kavanaugh are set to begin today.

Roseanne Barr said she’s moving to Israel once “The Connors” spinoff show premieres. Alrighty then.

The post Your Tuesday Morning Roundup appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes

gibsonsflowofthoughts · 6 years ago

Text

The winners and losers of the 2018 MLB trade deadline

It’s that time of year, where we all ignore the fact that the Major League Baseball postseason is nonsense. Baseball starts drinking on Oct. 1, and when it wakes up in the first week of November, the smoke alarm is going off and there’s a horse in the bathtub. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, but we’re supposed to pretend like we can predict winners and losers at the trade deadline.

Heck yeah, we’re supposed to pretend like we can predict winners and losers at the trade deadline. It’s fun. So even though you might be from the future and laughing at my simplistic analysis, just know that I’m more interested in being fun than right. Which is good, considering this won’t be right.

Thought the Astros should have traded for Yu Darvish instead of Justin Verlander last year, for example.

Hey, it could have worked, you don’t know.

But you clicked, so I’ll write. Here are the winners and losers from the 2018 MLB trade deadline:

Rays

Acquired: Tommy Pham, Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow, Jalen Beeks, bonus pool money, players to be named later

Traded: Chris Archer, Jonny Venters, Nathan Eovaldi, Matt Andriese, Justin Wilson, Genesis Cabrera, Roel Ramirez, Michael Perez, Brian Shaffer

They have the payroll of a medium-sized Quiznos now, which I guess is part of the point. I’m not a fan of baseball’s current economic structure, and I’m hesitant to heap too much praise on a team trying to cut costs.

Still, as long as this is the framework, the Rays are within their rights to exploit it. And, baby, they’re exploiting it with aplomb. They’ll have an outfield of Meadows/Pham/Kiermaier, which is built to win now and for the distant future. They won’t have their ace, but they’ll have pitchers who are majors-ready or close to it coming back.

These deals aren’t for toolsy A-ballers who are five years away. This is the Rays trying to buy their cake at a yard sale and eat it, too. It’s just crazy enough to work, and I’m very impressed by the their ability to walk this weird, thrifty tightrope.

Mmmmmm, yard-sale cake.

Dodgers

Acquired: Manny Machado, Brian Dozier, John Axford, Dylan Floro, Zach Neal

Traded: Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Zach Pop, Rylan Bannon, Breyvic Valera, Luke Raley, Logan Forsythe, Devin Smeltzer, Corey Copping, James Marinan, Aneurys Zabala

The Dodgers don’t like trading prospects if they don’t have to, and they certainly gave up a lot of interesting players, Kremer has the gaudy strikeout totals, and Bannon hasn’t stopped hitting as a professional. That’s before you get to Diaz, who is supposed to be the centerpiece of the deal. It’s a lot for two months of production and the postseason.

At the same time, this is a franchise that was a single lousy game away from a World Series win last year, which is something they haven’t had since 1988. They were extremely cautious when it came to trading their prospects just a couple years ago, but now they’re trying to add to a team that’s somehow powered by minor-league free agents and lesser trades and signings.

Oh, and Clayton Kershaw. Minor-league free agents, lesser trades and signings, and Clayton Kershaw. They might have the best team in the NL, still, so it makes sense to add a hitter with Hall of Fame talent in the middle of his best season, even if he’s just a rental. If Dozier has a Dozierific second half, this could be the best lineup in baseball. The Dodgers gave up a lot of prospects, but they had a lot to offer.

When it comes to the Machado trade, it doesn’t hurt that this is a preview of what it would be like to play for the Dodgers long term, either. The weather’s pretty nice, Manny.

Yankees

Acquired: Lance Lynn, J.A. Happ, Zach Britton, Luke Volt, $2.75 million in international bonus money

Traded: Tyler Austin, Luis Rijo, Brandon Drury, Billy McKinney, Cody Carroll, Josh Rogers, Dillon Tate, Chasen Shreve, Giovanny Gallegos, Adam Warren

I’m not a huge fan of Lance Lynn, even as he’s been solid for the last two months, but he’s overqualified for what the Yankees are asking him to do, which is sit in a glass case and be ready. The Yankees have a starter with a wonky elbow in Masahiro Tanaka, one with a case of the mystery sucks in Sonny Gray, and a 38-year-old in CC Sabathia. They aren’t crossing their fingers; they’re preparing for the apocalypse. Good for them.

Happ seems like the kind of starter who can give five solid innings in the postseason before giving way to a four-headed monster of bullpen doom, and look at that, Zach Britton is here to be another head. I don’t know what happened to Tommy Kahnle either, and there are no guarantees that Britton will be back to 2014-2016 levels, or anything close to it, but the Yankees have the kind of depth that wins championships.

It’s about time. They’ve had to wait nine years and endure two 84-win seasons, but now they’ve built their best shot at another title run.

Royals

Acquired: Brett Phillips, Jorge Lopez, Blake Perkins, Kelvin Gutierrez, Yohanse Morel

Traded: Mike Moustakas, Kelvin Herrera

A fair return for two beloved players, with deft timing executed on both. The Royals swooped back into the market to sign Moustakas, which might have cost them a compensatory draft pick. Unless it just meant that he wasn’t going to have to sit out until June, which would have been incredibly annoying and sad.

Phillips is the main snag, and there’s a strong chance that he’ll whiff his way out of starting consideration soon. Still, the tools are real, and they got him for a rental. Even if that rental will have pictures of him hanging around the ballpark for the next half-century.

Orioles

Acquired: Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Zach Pop, Rylan Bannon, Breyvic Valera, Cody Carroll, Josh Rogers, Dillon Tate, international bonus space, Evan Phillips, Jean Carlos Encarnación, Brett Cumberland, Bruce Zimmerman, Jonathan Villar, Luis Ortiz, Jean Carlos Carmona

Traded: Manny Machado, Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Darren O’Day, Jonathan Schoop

It would have been more if they opened up shop in the offseason, or even better if they did this two years ago. Ah, the benefit of hindsight.

All told, though, it’s almost like having a full draft to yourself, right down to the first-round promise of Diaz. That’s a pretty sweet haul for players who weren’t going to be around for the next good Orioles team, even if it’s ultra-depressing that Machado won’t be on that team.

The part where the Orioles acquired international bonus money for Brach and Schoop made me laugh, though. They usually hold an International Bonus Money Day at the park, where they give international cap space to the first 20,000 fans, and now they’re acquiring it on purpose? I know there’s a good reason for it, but still. It’s ... almost like the organizational direction isn’t clearly defined.

Still, think of it like a free draft. Hey, free draft! If you’re going to trade away your middle infield, your bullpen, and the most reliable starter in a sea of unreliable misery, at least get 15 players so you can pretend you’re getting a free draft out of it.

Twins

Acquired: Luke Raley, Devin Smeltzer, Tyler Austin, Luis Rijo, Chase De Jong, Ryan Costello, Gilberto Celestino, Jorge Alcala, Jhoan Durán, Gabriel Maciel, Ernie De La Trinidad

Traded: Brian Dozier, Lance Lynn, Zach Duke, Ryan Pressly, Eduardo Escobar

Give me a list of the prospects the Twins were offered for Dozier two seasons ago, and I’ll tell you if they were winners or losers. As is, that’s a list of names that’s 11 players long, and there’s a fine chance that at least one or two of them will make a dumb “winners-losers” binary choice look silly in four years.

Dozier was traded too late, and the return wasn’t impressive. That’s how it goes.

Duke was traded at the perfect time, and any value he adds through trade is impressive.

Pressly is solid, even if his K-rate suggests he should be more than that. Dealing him as he’s getting deeper in his arbitration years is a good move, and while I’m not qualified to analyze the return too deeply, it sure looks like they got highly regarded prospects back, which is excellent value.

Escobar was an extreme sell-high player, and to the Twins’ credit, they sold high.

I’m leaning toward “WINNERS, ABSOLUTE WINNERS,” but as of now, I’ll turn the caps lock off. Looks good from here, and give them credit for deciding to sell so quickly after a surprise postseason run.

I just want to know what they could have got for Dozier two seasons ago.

Indians

Acquired: Leonys Martin, Brad Hand, Adam Cimber, James Hoyt

Traded: Francisco Mejia, Willi Castro, Kyle Dowdy, Tommy DeJuneas

They’re not on the loser’s list because these trades won’t help them. These trades might send them to the World danged Series. The Indians’ bullpen was a mess, and they got two low-cost relievers with loads of team control. That’s a net positive.

It cost them one of their best prospects, though, and it came after an offseason where the Indians let several relievers go and replaced them with wishes and hopes and dreams. That’s not to say that Bryan Shaw and Boone Logan have been good, because they haven’t. But their plan was something like, “Neil Ramirez and Matt Belisle and uh we’ll get back to you,” and it cost them Mejia.

If it helps them even reach the World Series, it’s a successful trade. But it sure seems like one that could have been at least partially avoided with just a modicum of urgency this offseason.

It was a reasonable trade deadline strategy, sure, but it was also a strange offseason for a team that’s so close.

Diamondbacks

Acquired: Eduardo Escobar, Matt Andriese, Brad Ziegler, Jake Diekman

Traded: RHP Jhoan Duran, OF Gabriel Maciel, OF Ernie De La Trinidad, Brian Shaffer, Michael Perez, Tommy Eveld, Wei-Chieh Huang

It’s a lot of talent for underwhelming players. Eduardo Escobar might have figured out how to be more than a super-sub at the age of 29, but the seven years of an 89 OPS+ that came before it leave me skeptical. Andriese is the best example of Just A Guy in baseball right now, right down to the 4.36 ERA, and Ziegler is an old friend suffering through an erratic season.

Most of these players are trending in the right direction, but as a deadline strategy? I want something bolder if I’m a Diamondbacks fan. These are the kinds of moves I would expect from a team like the Red Sox or Astros, teams with recent success that are running away with their respective divisions.

A team like the Diamondbacks, scrapping with three teams and without a championship since Juan Soto was an infant, should seek out trades with just a teensy bit more oomph. These players should help, so I’m probably being overly nitpicky, but with a team like this, I want EXPLOSIONS.

Rockies

Acquired: Seunghwan Oh

Traded: Forest Wall, Chad Spanberger, player to be named later

The team that spent the offseason building the Super Bullpen of Great Fortune had to go get a reliever because their plan failed. Not only did they have to get a reliever, but they got one they could have had for a pittance throughout the entire offseason.

If this isn’t a textbook lesson in bullpen construction, I don’t know what is. There are lot of ways to build a bullpen, but I’m pretty sure that throwing money at it is the absolute worst one.

Pirates

Acquired: Not Gerrit Cole

Traded: Gerrit Cole

But, yeah, go get that late-inning reliever for this year and the next. That’ll shore things up.

NEVER MIND.

Acquired: Chris Archer, Keone Kela

Traded: Tyler Glasnow, Austin Meadows, Taylor Hearn, players to be named later

This is the year they’re taking risks. This is the year they trade huge pieces of a potential future. This is the deadline where they vault ahead of their competition. The one where they’re seven freaking games back in the NL Central. The one after they traded Gerrit Cole for magic beans.

Let’s check in with the deadline action in 2014, when they actually made the postseason.

July 31, 2014

Selected Angel Sanchez off waivers from the Chicago White Sox.

What about 2013, when they won 94 games?

July 31, 2013

Traded player to be named to the Seattle Mariners. Received Robert Andino.

They did get J.A. Happ in 2015, and that was more inspired than anyone gave them credit for at the time. But this is the year to go bananas?

To be fair, though, if you’re going to go after a pitcher, one who has an owner-friendly contract is the way to go. Archer will be around for the next three years if the Pirates want him, so I don’t begrudge the Pirates for thinking he fits some sort of window for them. And if you’re making me bet on the cumulative WAR for Archer over the next three years and the cumulative WAR for Austin Meadows and Tyler Glasnow, I will probably choose Archer. If Meadows had boffo power or plate discipline, I’d be giddy about him, but he’s just shy on both fronts, and Glasnow has been erratic.

Still, it’s the timing that gets me, even if the trade might work out.

YOU’RE TAKING RISKS NOW?

NOW?

Astros

Acquired: Ryan Pressly, Roberto Osuna, Tommy DeJuneas, Martin Maldonado

Traded: Ken Giles, David Paulino, Gilberto Celestino, Jorge Alcala, Hector Perez, Patrick Sandoval, James Hoyt, their self-respect

Their bullpen is more talented now. Congratulations, Astros. Osuna can really wing it.

When I talked to people who worked for the Astros last year, I asked what about the team is it that they would want to read about. My answer was that the clubhouse was a diverse wonderland of ebullient personalities, one of the most cohesive teams ever assembled. So I wrote about it. They won the World Series. I was raised not to go overboard on the clubhouse stuff, but last year’s team sure got me wondering ...

Then they acquired a pitcher serving the second-longest suspension for domestic violence under the new rules. The ace pitcher clearly isn’t enthused, even as he tries to be a good employee. The Yankees acquired a reliever in the middle of a domestic violence suspension, and then they traded him for one of the best prospects in the game before giving themselves a better chance to win the World Series. So if you want to be cynical, you can look at this purely in baseball terms.

There were other relievers, but the Astros settled on Osuna because he was a buy-low guy. That’s extremely cynical.

Gross. And very much against the spirit of what got them their first championship. We’ll see how receptive the clubhouse is to a player who still has a court case pending because he allegedly did some repugnant shit.

Brewers

Acquired: Jonathan Schoop, Mike Moustakas, Joakim Soria

Traded: Jonathan Villar, Luis Ortiz, Jean Carlos Carmona, Brett Phillips, Jorge Lopez, Kodi Medeiros, Wilber Perez

I don’t hate these trades in isolation. I hate them only because the Brewers now have an overstuffed infield, but they’re still counting on Wade Miley to shore up the rotation. Maybe he’ll have a 2.01 ERA forever.

RON HOWARD: Get the fuck out of here.

Yeah, I’m not a believer in Miley, and neither is the narrator. The Brewers adding to their already formidable bullpen depth was smart. Getting one more infielder was necessary. Getting two, but not a starting pitcher?

Dunno. Not what I would have done. We’ll see if the post-deadline waiver madness helps them in this regard, but I would have loved to see them with Archer instead of the Pirates.

A’s

Acquired: Jeurys Familia

Traded: Will Toffey, Bobby Wahl

The A’s are good, dang it. I wanted more. I wanted a sign to the clubhouse that the A’s are capital-G, capital-F, and Capital-I Going For It. I wanted a starting pitcher kicking down the door and screaming, “COME WITH ME IF YOU WANT TO LIVE ... IN A WORLD WHERE I PITCH SIX OR SEVEN STRONG INNINGS REGULARLY.”

Instead the A’s got a reliever. A good one! At a reasonable price! But I was looking for something more when it comes to the rotation, not to mention some help for poor, lost Jonathan Lucroy behind the plate.

The A’s probably aren’t in a spot to go all-in on this year’s surprising (TO SOME) contender, and I get that. But something a little bit more than a setup man would have been nice. This fun, scrappy team deserved it.

Giants

Acquired: Nope

Traded: Nah

Will Smith is absolutely dominant right now. Of all the relievers who were traded, Smith would have been the best one. Teams are clamoring for someone just like him — a lefty who can dominate hitters from either side of the plate and is under team control for next year, too. He would have brought back a hefty return.

The Giants are holding on to him, and they’ll use him to finish .500 this year, with some crossed fingers for next year.

That’s what the Giants had to trade, though. They had relievers, with Smith, Tony Watson, and Sam Dyson all having strong years. This isn’t like their mess from the offseason, where they couldn’t even hold a fire sale if they wanted to. All they had to do is trade relievers.

It’s been extremely nice to watch a team with a competent bullpen, so I get it. But the Giants are climbing out of the bottom of the organizational rankings, and one of the golden rules of building a farm system is that when you have a chance to flip relievers for prospects, you do it.

The Giants declined. They’re five games out of the second wild card, so maybe I’m the dummy. I have a feeling, though, that it would have been an exciting return for Will Smith.

Red Sox

Acquired: Ian Kinsler, Nathan Eovaldi

Traded: Williams Jerez, Ty Buttrey, Jalen Beeks

OK. Sure. Whatever. That seems nice. Kinsler has a glove, and the bat won’t kill you. Eovaldi is still working his way back from Tommy John, and he’s always had great stuff. The Red Sox are a million games over .500 are are making the postseason regardless.

OK. Sure. These are reasonable, if boring, moves.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

Braves

Acquired: Adam Duvall, Kevin Gausman, Jonny Venters

Traded: Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler, Preston Tucker, international bonus money

Duvall still has some believers, especially if you believe in the batted-ball stats. Gausman has a solid arm that’s always been behind his results. Maybe he’ll be better served with a different coaching staff and a ballpark that isn’t unfair to fly balls.

OK. Sure. These are reasonable, if boring, moves.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

White Sox

Acquired: Kodi Medeiros, Wilber Perez

Traded: Joakim Soria

Always take fliers on relievers when you’re a rebuilding team. Always, always, always. Pay the extra millions. Insert yourself into the offseason deals. Then turn around and wish for a happy trade-deadline raffle ticket to pay off.

Still, these are reasonable, if boring, moves.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

Phillies

Acquired: Asdrubal Cabrera, Wilson Ramos, Aaron Loup

Traded: Franklyn Kilome, Jacob Waguespack, PsTBNL

No Machado. No Archer. No flashy win-now pieces, no flashy win-later pieces. Just a couple of guys who could have been solid deadline moves nearly a decade ago, too.

OK. Sure. These are reasonable, if boring, moves.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

It’s hard to judge the Ramos trade without knowing the prospects going back to the Rays, but it seems like a light price. I have no idea how the A’s, Red Sox, or even Nationals couldn’t meet it.

Cubs

Acquired: Cole Hamels, Brandon Kintzler, Jesse Chavez

Traded: Jhon Romero, Ricky Tyler Thomas, Eddie Butler, Rollie Lacy, PTBNL

Hamels got his swing-and-miss back, and there are reasons to believe that he’s still a more valuable contributor than his Texas stats suggest. They added depth in the bullpen, and you wouldn’t be wrong to think that Yu Darvish coming back is like the real deadline addition.

They’re rich. They’re young. They’re good. Sure, add the pricey veteran. Take him for a spin.

These are reasonable, if boring, moves.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

Reds

Acquired: Lucas Sims, Matt Wisler, Preston Tucker

Traded: Adam Duvall

I’m stuck in 2014, so this seems like a fantastic package of prospects to me. Mostly, though, I like how they took a chance by trading on a cheap, under-control player who was not hitting, which limited the return. The Reds have outfielders coming out of their ears; it was a risk they could afford to take, even if it was a little bit of a buy-low trade.

The Reds have made an interesting roster out of hardly noticed trades (just look up who they got in return for Alfredo freaking Simon), and this could be a fine addition to the legacy.

This is a reasonable, if boring, move.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit. Except for the Reds, who definitely aren’t winners these days, ha ha, just a little joke as I near the end of this hellpost.

Nationals

Acquired: Jhon Romero

Traded: Brandon Kintzler

There were whispers about Bryce Harper getting traded, but in the end, the Nationals traded nothing but a complementary bullpen piece, and they acquired several future moments of autocorrect-inspired confusion.

Good. They probably should have dealt Gio Gonzalez and possibly a couple of other short-timers, but at least they made a rational move, while keeping intact their desire to build a young outfield of the gods.

This is a reasonable, if boring, move.

Not everybody is a winner or loser, dammit.

Dope article from sbnation.com

0 notes

giantsfootball0 · 7 years ago

Text

Bartolo 2.0? Matt Albers has been a heavyweight on the mound – Washington Nationals

During the first half of the season, Matt Albers was the Washington Nationals’ best reliever by a landslide. But the bullpen was a train wreck, so nobody noticed. Since the All-Star break, he’s been just as good, if not better. Yet he remains overlooked because he wasn’t part of the pen’s blockbuster midseason makeover. Being underestimated is nothing new for Albers. While there’s no denying he can pitch, the husky righty has had to swim upstream — because he doesn’t necessarily look like a pitcher.

“Matt didn’t have the greatest body,” says former Astros scout Rusty Pendergrass, now with the Diamondbacks. Back in 2000, when Pendergrass first laid eyes on Albers, he wasn’t quite sure what to make of the hefty high school junior from Houston. “He didn’t look the part, but I decided to stay there and watch him throw, and it was really good.”

“Call him the Michelin Man, Humpty Dumpty, whatever you want. The bottom line is, he performs.”

AL scout on Albers

What he saw was a lightning-quick arm with plus movement on his sinker and slider, and a deceptively good athlete who was a strike-throwing machine. Pendergrass spent the next year trying to sell Houston’s front office, and it worked. Kind of. At the end of his senior season, Albers was drafted by the Astros, but not until the 23rd round.

“If he had a better body,” says Pendergrass, “he probably would’ve gone higher.”

Sixteen years later, Albers takes pride in being a 23rd-rounder. “A lot of teams had quite a few chances,” he says, referring to the other 29 clubs that passed on him nearly two dozen times before the Astros finally pulled the trigger with the 686th overall pick. “I try to make the most out of that.”

That hasn’t necessarily been easy for Albers, who’s been dismissed in the big leagues almost as much as he was during the draft process.

Now in his 12th season in the majors, Albers has played for eight different teams, including the Astros, Orioles, Red Sox, Diamondbacks, Indians, Astros, White Sox and Nationals. Between the roundabout resume and the rounded physique, he’s a little like Bartolo Colon 2.0 (minus two teams and 55 pounds). Like Colon, he’s a sneaky-good athlete who last season crushed an extra-base hit that became an Internet sensation:

Unlike Colon, he hasn’t topped the $100 million mark in career earnings. Not even close. In fact, Albers has never earned more than $2.25 million in a season, which is peanuts for a veteran with as much tenure as he has. In fairness to the clubs that contracted him, especially earlier in his career, those decisions were likely less about his body and more about his body of work.

During his first six years in the show, Albers struggled with his control and had only one campaign in which he posted an ERA south of 4.5. Over the past six years though, he’s quietly developed into one of the game’s more effective relievers, pitching to a 2.93 ERA since the beginning of the 2012 season. “His command on both sides of the plate has gotten better throughout his career,” says Nationals backstop Matt Wieters, who spent 2009 and 2010 catching Albers in Baltimore, where some fans became disenchanted with the hurler’s poor performance and started referring to him as “Fat Albers.”

Since then, the 34-year-old righty has introduced a change-up that he deploys against lefties and started throwing his sinker down and away to righties instead of exclusively down and in. He’s also mixing in a four-seam fastball to go along with the filthy slider he already had. Says Wieters: “His stuff allows him to pitch to any hitter in any situation.”

That ability to pitch anytime and anywhere is part of what has made Albers such a valuable commodity for manager Dusty Baker and the NL East champs. He’s entered games as early as the fifth inning and as late as the 10th. He’s been a situational guy, pitching to just one batter on five different occasions (opponents are 0-for-5 and have hit into two double plays), and he’s been a multi-inning guy, throwing more than one frame a dozen times (his ERA is 0.00 in those outings). On May 5, he even recorded his first career save, breaking a string of 460 relief appearances without one (an MLB record). Among National League relievers, he ranks fifth in ERA (1.72), third in WHIP (0.88), and tied for second in batting average against (.170).

Although his body type would never be confused with that of Andrew Miller, the long and lanky Indians lefty who dominated last postseason in a super-reliever role, it’s entirely possible Albers — who’s never appeared in a playoff game — could have a similar impact this October. In the meantime, he’s too busy mowing down hitters to care about what people think of his physique.

“You can do all the judging you want, but he goes out there and gets outs. [He’s] one of the best relievers in baseball.”

Braves catcher Kurt Suzuki on Albers

“I obviously know about the perception,” says Albers, who’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 225 pounds, the same height and only five pounds more than Washington second baseman Daniel Murphy. In 2016, prior to joining Murphy and the Nationals, he posted a career-worst 6.31 ERA with the White Sox. Still, Albers views the season as a success because, unlike 2014 (torn subscapularis muscle) and 2015 (broken finger), he was able to stay whole, just as he has this year. “Mostly I focus on staying healthy and what my teammates think about me. The other stuff, what the outside world thinks, I can’t really control that much. As long as I feel like they have my back and they want me on their team, that’s all I can do.”

For the record, his fellow Nats seem tickled to have him on their side.

“He’s been as good if not better than the new guys,” says righty reliever Shawn Kelley, referring to Sean Doolittle, Ryan Madson, and Brandon Kintzler, the trio of deadline acquisitions who grabbed all the ink and have helped stabilize what was once a wretched Nationals bullpen. “And he’s done it all year.”

He’s done it without the benefit of a cool nickname like Doo or Mad Dog (he’s known as Albie or Matty Al in the clubhouse), and he’s done it without the benefit of the doubt. “People might judge him before they realize what he can do on the mound,” says lefty Sammy Solis, a non-roster invitee in spring training who didn’t even make the big club out of camp, then got called up from the minors a week into the season. “When he gets out there, it’s just absolutely electric.”

Even his opponents are impressed. “You can do all the judging you want, but he goes out there and gets outs,” says Braves backstop Kurt Suzuki, who’s spent the past three years in the same division as Albers and is a lifetime .133 hitter against him. “One of the best relievers in baseball.”

Back in the Nats clubhouse, nobody’s been more wowed by Albers than his manager. “I didn’t know much about him,” said Baker, who has spent his entire career in the National League, “but I’m glad we got him. He’s been the find of the year.”

Now that Washington’s found him, they’re not likely to let him out of their sight any time soon. If they do, there’s sure to be no shortage of suitors for his services, regardless of his figure.

“Call him the Michelin Man, Humpty Dumpty, whatever you want,” says one AL scout. “The bottom line is, he performs.”

The post Bartolo 2.0? Matt Albers has been a heavyweight on the mound – Washington Nationals appeared first on Daily Star Sports.

from https://dailystarsports.com/2017/09/23/bartolo-2-0-matt-albers-has-been-a-heavyweight-on-the-mound-washington-nationals/ from https://dailystarsports.tumblr.com/post/165650129781

0 notes

tv-kitchen · 7 years ago

Text

My TV Childhood: Channel 9 (WGN)

youtube

When I would make my way around the analog dial as a kid, the first three channels I'd hit were the big three networks: 2 (CBS), 5 (NBC) and 7 (ABC). If nothing there caught my fancy, I'd enter the mysterious world beyond network television--the uncharted territory of… local channels. And no channel got much more local than Chicago's Very Own, channel 9 (WGN).

Even though it was one of the original "superstations" broadcast to cable subscribers nationwide, WGN was unmistakably a Chicago brand through and through. The call letters drew inspiration from the Chicago Tribune, aka the World's Greatest Newspaper, whose then parent company, Tribune Media, also owns WGN--for now, at least. (The newspaper today falls under a spinoff company called tronc; it's all sort of a mess.)

But as WGN falls prey to the current trends and tragedies of modern media, the brand for me will always be a gateway into the past, a fulcrum of my nostalgia not just for how I was introduced to television, but to the city of Chicago itself.

Looking back, I can trace many milestones of my pop culture perspective to shows and moments that ran on channel 9.

The Bozo Show

For the children of Chicagoland, being in the audience for a taping of The Bozo Show was the grade school equivalent of getting tickets to Saturday Night Live. The wait list for The Bozo Show was eight years long. Eight years! The demand was so high that when a couple learned they were expecting a baby, their first step wasn't to create a registry, but to send away for tickets to The Bozo Show.

My grandmother had done just that when my mom was pregnant with me, and a few years later, her foresight paid off. We would always watch The Bozo Show before school while we ate breakfast, eagerly awaiting the day we'd be in that audience, and now the day had arrived. We were going to The Bozo Show! I think I was around 7, which would put my brother around 3. My mom drove us into the city to the WGN studio, which was probably even smaller and cheaper than I remember.

I do vividly recall my mom commenting on how funny it was to see the actor who played Bozo, Bob Bell, smoking a cigarette in full costume during commercial breaks. (The voice of Krusty the Clown, by Chicago native Dan Castellaneta, was based on Bell.)

We sat on wooden bleachers and hoped we'd get picked to play the show's highlight segment, the Grand Prize Game. It's funny to think back on how legitimately thrilling it was to watch 6-year-olds throw Ping-Pong balls into buckets. But it was all in the hopes of winning childhood's version of "The Price Is Right" pulling the curtain back on a new car. If you hit bucket number 6, you would win… A NEW BIKE!

Nobody won the grand prize that day, and the rest of the show was largely forgettable. But that didn't dampen the excitement that we had been there live, which also meant WE WERE GOING TO BE ON TV. They told the parents what date the show would air, and we started counting down. Because the studio was so tiny, we knew we got on camera at some point.

The morning arrived. The show started. We didn't see ourselves, so we kept watching. Then the Grand Prize game started. Wait, these aren't the same kids. Then one of the contestants won the bike. Our kid didn't win the bike.

This wasn't our show.

Did we have the date wrong? Maybe? My mom called the station.

She hung up furious. They told her there was a mix-up at the station, and our episode got taped over. Which meant it was gone. Forever.

We of course were crushed, but I think my mom took the news the hardest. And now as a parent, I understand why. This was a moment she'd been anticipating for years, to give her children a memory of a unique, growing-up-in-Chicago experience. And now because of a mundane clerical error, she could never get that moment back.

The experience became family lore for decades to come. And in a way, that probably made it more special than if we'd actually seen our episode. My mom never quite gave up her grudge with WGN, but fortunately for me, they quickly won me back over.

Cubs Baseball

Throughout my childhood, WGN was the exclusive local TV and radio home of the Chicago Cubs. Harry Caray and Steve Stone narrated many of my summers, calling the games in their trademark styles: Harry with his bombastic, drunk enthusiasm and Steve with his nasal voice of reason.

My Cubs fandom hit its peak in 1989, when the team won the NL Central division. I was between 7th and 8th grade, which meant I was too young to have a summer job, but I was too old to be out riding my bike around the neighborhood. As a result, I spent many bright, sunny afternoons parked in front of the TV watching the Cubs.

Looking up WGN's opening titles from that season on YouTube took me right back to my old family room, an awkward preteen putting off the complex and inevitable task of growing up by immersing myself in the simplicity and structure of baseball.

"It Sounded Like a Freight Train"

Midwestern children in the '80s were taught to fear two things: strangers and tornadoes. For the latter, our schools would subject us to twice-yearly drills, sending us into the hallways to crouch among the dusty spiderwebs under our coat racks. We were well-versed in the difference between a tornado watch (conditions are right for a possible tornado) and a tornado warning (a funnel has been spotted). And, of course, we had seen the classic meteorology documentary The Wizard of Oz.

Once we got cable and had access to this remarkable new concept called The Weather Channel, my brother, Drew, became fascinated with weather. Specifically, weather videos. He would watch any coverage of storm chasers, hurricane trackers, you name it. So when WGN produced a whole hour just about tornadoes, Drew set the VCR. Which is why for a few weeks in 1991, I became very well acquainted with “It Sounded Like a Freight Train.” The show was hosted by WGN's--and arguably Chicago's--most respected meteorologist, Tom Skilling. I think at one point Drew basically wanted to be Tom Skilling when he grew up.

Skilling is still working and a few years ago, Drew submitted a question to his Chicago Tribune weather column. Skilling published it with his answer and I think for Drew it's pretty much been downhill from there.

WGN Movies

One of the great legacies of local stations is the hours and hours of airtime they filled by running old movies. I'm sure I watched countless movies on WGN over the years, but two will always stand out.

If I had to trace my interest in comedy to one moment, it would be the night my dad and I were flipping channels and found Airplane! on channel 9. "Oh, this movie's so funny. Have you seen it?" I hadn't, so we stopped and watched. It was right in the middle of this scene, when the flight attendant plays a song and keeps knocking out a sick girl's IV as she swings her guitar. It had just started, and I remember my dad starting to laugh anticipating the joke, and when that first swing hit I was right there with him. Even once I knew the joke was going to repeat, the scene is so expertly timed and performed that by the end, I was crying laughing.

To this day, Airplane! is one of my all-time favorite movies, in large part because it triggers such a happy memory of sharing that moment with my dad, the type of happy accident that's quickly fading from the way we all watch TV today.

On the far less humorous side, WGN used to have an annual showing of Amadeus. As a young piano student, I had learned about Mozart and thought it'd be fun to watch a movie about him. Of course, Amadeus is a dark, dramatic portrayal of Mozart and his rivalry with Salieri--and it quickly became my favorite movie. You know, like most 10-year-olds.

I taped the movie one year and watched it so many times that if I come across the full version now, I know exactly where WGN inserted their commercial breaks. (I'm super fun at parties.)

SCTV

When I became interested in obsessed with Second City around 1990, I was thrilled to find out WGN ran repeats of SCTV. The catch: They were filler, so they ran at odd times overnight. So every week when we'd get our new TV Guide, I would scour each night's listings for channel 9 to find exactly when SCTV was running that week. Then I'd set the VCR--MANUALLY, mind you--for each night's episode.

Nick at Nite also occasionally ran SCTV, but for some reason I had a stronger connection with those WGN reruns. I think it's not only the Chicago connection, but because SCTV was about a low-budget local station, not too dissimilar from WGN. The show poked fun at local programming and personalities and satirized many of the old movies and movie stars I saw first on channel 9.

Which brings me to…

The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon

As a kid, I was introduced to Jerry Lewis two ways: 1) Martin Short's impression of him on SCTV and 2) the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon.

I had no idea who Jerry Lewis was. I thought he was just a guy who hosted this telethon each year. And being such a huge fan of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, I thought Ed McMahon's presence on the telethon each year was a really good get. This event must be really special if they got Ed McMahon.

In truth, it was a really special event. Despite Lewis' not-so-amicable split with the telethon in 2011, the decades he spent prior hosting--many years for the full 20+ hours--make up a remarkable philanthropic legacy. I remember getting legitimately choked up when they would do a leaderboard tally and reveal a new record-setting amount of money raised. My mom usually gave in when Jerry himself got emotional every year during his trademark "You'll Never Walk Alone" closing song.

Back during the '80s, it wasn't common to see children with special needs on TV. Because of the Jerry Lewis telethon, I realized how many families were living with incredible challenges and how very lucky I was. While he will be remembered first and foremost for his comedy, I'm thankful to Jerry Lewis for introducing me to caring and compassion.

Today, social media has made disability awareness and charity fundraising part of daily life. The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was simultaneously a throwback to the old days and ahead of its time. This Labor Day weekend, the first since Lewis' death on August 20, I'll be remembering both his legacy of giving and the experience of watching the telethon on channel 9 with my family. It was another moment when I had a touchpoint to my parents' youth, watching a star they grew up watching, too. I sense there won't be many moments like that with Archie, many more entertainers like Jerry Lewis, or many more stations like WGN. Unlike any other number on the dial, channel 9 helped shape who I am, both in the programming and in how it connected me more deeply to the people around me: my parents, my brother, my city. WGN is part of the reason that no matter where I live or how far I am from home, I'll always be one of Chicago's very own.

1 note · View note

yahoo-roto-arcade-blog · 7 years ago

Text

Closing Time: Aaron Hicks gets another chance

It’s been a fun spring for Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks (right) this year (AP)

The Yankees have the best offense in the American League this year, and it hasn’t been close. Whatever you want, this lineup does it. New York is first in the AL in runs, second in average, first in OBP, first in slugging. Stand back and watch them mash.

With that in mind, you want Aaron Hicks on your fantasy team. He’s been outstanding when called upon, and with Jacoby Ellsbury suffering an injury Wednesday, Hicks should be in the mix for a while.

[Fantasy Football is open! Sign up now and start winning season early]

We’ve written up Hicks a few times during the years, and at least once earlier this spring. It’s one of those post-hype stories that draw you in. Hicks went 14th overall in the 2008 draft, had a few splashy moments with the Twins two years ago. But a horrible debut with the Yankees last year knocked the steam out of the story.

Hicks has been a semi-regular this season, with impressive results. He’s homered eight times, stolen six bases, in a modest 103 at-bats. A .291/.426/.573 slash gets your attention, and you love 24 walks against 22 strikeouts. Anyone who’s walking more than they strike out is controlling their at-bats, forcing good things to happen.

The Yankees, deep as they are, haven’t had a regular spot for Hicks. He’s essentially been the fourth outfielder, behind emerging Aaron Judge, surging Brett Gardner, and rebounding Ellsbury. Matt Holliday has been the primary DH, with Chris Carter and Greg Bird hacking at first base. Bird (ankle) is currently on the DL, might be back in June.

Alas, Ellsbury suffered a concussion and neck sprain in Wednesday’s win over the Royals, and was immediately placed on the 7-day DL. This buys Hicks some time to make an impression. Perhaps Ellsbury will be back soon; maybe someone else will be hurt, or slumping, by the time the roster gets glutted again.

I’m surprised the Yankees haven’t been more proactive with Hicks’s playing time, but maybe it’s a case of not wanting to fix what isn’t broken. Holliday is no Keith Hernandez at first base, but he can play there some of the time (he’s done so in NL parks this year). This would open up the DH slot as a rotating semi-rest for other players (perhaps the glut of outfielders). It would also put Carter on the bench, where his .209/.305/.385 profile belongs. He’s the one dead spot in this lineup.

Bottom line, this is a good time to kick some Hicks tires, see if he can get some traction going. Playing time isn’t guaranteed for the long term, but the stats speak for themselves. Sometimes these things have a way of playing themselves out. Hicks is free to add in about half of Yahoo leagues.

• New York won’t be playing Thursday — the Yanks and Royals have already been washed out — but on the other coast, we’re looking at Sonny Gray Real Estate.

The Marlins offense isn’t an easy mark when it comes to strikeouts — it ranks 21st in that category. But you wouldn’t know it Wednesday in Oakland. Gray had command of his peak stuff, and it was pretty to watch.

The stats were almost too good to be true: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K. Gray only needed 88 pitches. Eight of his 11 whiffs came on swinging strikes, which underscores how dynamic his stuff was.

I didn’t have many expectations for Gray two months ago. He was awful in 2016 (5.69 ERA), he had a lat problem this spring, and I generally tend to be distrustful of smaller starting pitchers.

But there’s a lot to like about Gray’s five-start profile this year. He’s spiked his swinging-strike rate, he’s getting more swings outside the zone, he’s throwing more first-pitch strikes. His slider, which was surprisingly a minus pitch for him last year, is darting again. Actually, all four of his main pitches (fastball, change, curve, slider) currently grade as plus offerings.

Add it all up and we get a 3.34 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, with 3.5 strikeouts for every walk. His xFIP and SIERA are almost identical to his front-door ERA.

Gray’s in the Circle of Trust until further notice. A slumping Cleveland team isn’t going to push me off the story next week. Then it’s a start against Washington, dangerous business — but you have to like what Gray’s shown us to this point. I’ll be using him on my seasonal rosters.

• As far as Jose Berrios goes, no new tale to tell. Minnesota’s pitching phenom is assembling a juicy highlight film every time he pitches. I actually thought his second start was the best of the three, by far, but perhaps he received more attention Thursday at Baltimore because of the timing of the game. In any event, enjoy your third straight victory, and enjoy some Berrios Wiffle Ball video.

Jose Berrios just fanned Caleb Joseph with this absurd breaking ball pic.twitter.com/L1XGrmjygf

— Pitcher List (@ThePitcherList) May 24, 2017

Berrios draws the challenging Astros on Monday; mark your calendars, get your popcorn ready. It’s the first of a two-start week, with the Angels waiting on the weekend.

• Berrios isn’t the only reason to watch that Houston-Minnesota game. Astros righty Charlie Morton is having an interesting semi-breakout. A 4.06 ERA and 1.37 WHIP might not sound like much, but he’s pushed his strikeout rate over one per inning. His peripheral-suggested ERAs are much better than the 4.06 mark.

We used to know Morton as a grounder-heavy veteran who pitched to contact and struggled with left-handed batters. An occasional streamer, that’s about it. This year, the story has a different tilt. The ground balls haven’t been quite as plentiful, but Morton is doing much better against the lefties, in part because of an improved curveball.

To be fair, home runs are also an issue — that’s why Morton has a 4.06 ERA against a 3.42 xFIP. But with platoon improvement and a new approach, this is a pitcher to watch. Houston’s obviously a good club — with a deep bullpen — and our 2017 search for pitching has been more taxing than usual.

Morton can be added for free in about half of Yahoo leagues; in the other half, maybe he’s worth trading for, a possible buy low. Your mileage may vary.

• The Washington bullpen has seen a series of collapses, but maybe Koda Glover is ready to take the closing gig and run with it. Dusty Baker gave Glover the green light Wednesday, and the seasonal stats line up (14 IP, 12 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 11 K). That’s a 2.57 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and a fastball in the 96 mph range. Glover worked a tidy ninth inning in Wednesday’s 5-1 win, though it was not a save situation.

Glover is already long gone in the aggressive save-chasing leagues, but you can make the add in some other formats. He currently stands at 37 percent. I think Washington finally has a ninth-inning answer that will stick.

• If you can’t get to Glover, maybe you can throw something at the San Diego bullpen. Brandon Maurer has been a mess of late, and Brad Hand closed, despite three baserunners, in Wednesday’s win over the Mets.

Hand has the better seasonal numbers by far, though he’s also left-handed (sometimes that works against a possible stopper). And with the Padres miles away from contention, of course, both of these guys should be on the trading block later in the summer. In any event, you can say Aloha to Mr. Hand in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues.

#_uuid:01131f1d-b168-3c36-a4d0-fe9d2acd8c45 #_author:Scott Pianowski #_category:yct:001000854 #_lmsid:a077000000CFoGyAAL #_revsp:54edcaf7-cdbb-43d7-a41b-bffdcc37fb56

0 notes

junker-town · 7 years ago

Text

Cody Bellinger is happy to let Lonzo Ball have the LA sports spotlight

Los Angeles’ historic franchises have little in common these days besides their homes.

Count Cody Bellinger among the Los Angeles sports fans enjoying the Lonzo Ball Show this summer, but don’t think for a second he wishes it was the Cody Bellinger Show.

Bellinger, the Dodgers’ 22-year old phenom and the overwhelming favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award, is a microcosm for his team: a reserved, wide-eyed player with immense talent who is laser-focused on delivering the team its first championship since 1988. Born and raised in a suburb of Phoenix, Bellinger hasn’t let his newfound celebrity status in a major city sidetrack his mission.

“I’m a laid-back guy, so being all over TV... that’s cool, but at the end of the day, it’s whatever,” Bellinger said. “They can have cameras following [Lonzo] all over the place.”

Bellinger met Ball at Dodger Stadium last month when Ball threw out the first pitch shortly after the NBA Draft. Despite the constant noise surrounding his fellow rookie, Bellinger called Ball a “cool, laid-back guy” and said he enjoyed meeting someone on a similar career trajectory in the same city.

Bellinger’s assessment of Ball’s personality notwithstanding, nothing about Ball’s arrival (or rather, his continued presence) in Los Angeles has been laid-back. For weeks, SportsCenter has opened each morning with a look at what Ball did the night before in games that are, no exaggeration, the preseason for the NBA preseason. On the way to Ball winning Summer League MVP, his every shoe choice, tweet and minor bruise was a national headline, with the media attention making it seem like the meaningless July games were meant to have been played a month earlier.

About all the Dodgers and Lakers have in common these days are the city they share and the goal of bringing ticker-tape parades back to Los Angeles. While the Lakers, who won just 26 games last year, are the subject of an ongoing media frenzy stemming from the additions of team president Magic Johnson (who, coincidentally, is also involved in running the Dodgers) and their anointed rookie savior Ball, the Dodgers have quietly emerged as the best team in baseball, posting a 66-29 record thus far while opening up a 11-game lead on the second-place Rockies.

The Dodgers, led by Bellinger, have been one of the most important stories in baseball this season yet have fallen short of national hysteria. The contributing factors: the rise of Aaron Judge, the surprising struggles of the defending champion Cubs and at least partially, a national obsession with Ball, his summer league performances and his loud-mouth dad.

At the same time most of these summer league games are happening, the Dodgers are dominating opponents in meaningful regular season games. So does that mean the Dodgers are bothered by the constant attention in their own city about a guy who hasn’t yet played a professional minute?

“It’s fine,” said Dodgers All-Star shortstop Corey Seager. “Lonzo is gonna be a great player. I don’t think anyone on our team really wants to soak up the glory. We’re going out there, competing and trying to bring home a championship is all anybody is really worried about. Nobody is being selfish. That’s what’s great about our clubhouse. Nobody wants to be in the spotlight, but someone ends up being in it every night.”

L.A., a city long loaded with superstars like Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabaar, Wayne Gretzky and Kobe Bryant, is in a bit of uncharted territory with these Dodgers. Despite being the best team in baseball and having six players in Miami as All-Stars last week, the club doesn’t have a willing superstar, even if it does have someone who most consider the best pitcher on the planet in Clayton Kershaw.

“I don’t really love all the marketing and all that stuff,” Kershaw said. “I think starting pitchers are hard, going once every five days. You have to have a really outgoing personality, so it’s hard.”

The most sensible choice for the face of the Dodgers is Bellinger, who added to his growing legend by hitting for the cycle against the Marlins last Saturday. Since making his debut on April 25, the outfielder has cemented himself as one of the game’s best, hitting .273/.356/.635 line with 26 home runs and 62 RBI in just 74 games. That start is even more impressive considering the hype-free start to Bellinger’s major-league career —he was originally thought of as a temporary outfield plug with Joc Pederson and Franklin Gutierrez injured in late April.

But Bellinger, like Kershaw, isn’t one for the spotlight. The son of a former second-round pick who spent 11 seasons in the minors only to see limited action in 183 major-league games, Bellinger is as humble as they come, speaking softly with a sheepish grin despite growing up alongside his dad in the Yankees clubhouse, starring in the 2007 Little League World Series and now, being the star player on the best team in baseball.

Bellinger, who turned 22 last week, attributes his seamless transition to major-league life to his teammates, listing Seager, Joc Pederson and veterans Justin Turner, Adrian Gonzalez, and Andre Ethier as key influences.

“The guys in this clubhouse are unbelievable to me,” Bellinger said. “They make it really easy on me to be a young guy and let me come in and get my work done. It’s L.A., but I��m just having fun with it.”

Kershaw’s calm demeanor has been a staple of his 10 seasons with the Dodgers, leading some to call him boring and others to commend him for not getting caught up in on-field scuffles like fiery Giants southpaw Madison Bumgarner. Though Bellinger has only been around for less than three months, some Dodgers have noticed that he possesses some of the same quiet leadership traits.

“[Bellinger] is just very humble,” said lefty Alex Wood. “There are a lot of comparisons to Clayton, in terms of their personalities. He’s very down to Earth, very humble. Just takes things a day at a time and expects a lot out of himself.”

That calm humility comes in stark contrast to the persona of the next-generation Lakers, led by their former superstar Johnson. The team’s pre-draft flirtation with Ball, whose father, LaVar, allowed his son to work out for the Lakers and only the Lakers, flowed seamlessly into a summer of dreaming of Ball forming a big three with superstars LeBron James and Paul George in free agency next year.

The Dodgers don’t have player with his own $495 shoe, a dad who screams about his son to anyone who will listen, or a reality show following his family... and that’s just the way they like it. Bellinger will never be that guy, instead likely making headlines only for his on-field play and lack of knowledge about 1990s sitcom stars.

Though Bellinger may not get the reference, his talent is real, and it’s spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that even he, as humble as they come, can sit back and admire it.

“I don’t think in your wildest dreams,” Bellinger said, “you’d expect to be called up to the big leagues and have this kind of success.”

0 notes

iloveyoupittsburghpirates-blog · 6 years ago

Text

You Need To Show More Urgency, Pittsburgh Pirates

My Dearest Pittsburgh Pirates,

This week could have gone so much better. After taking two out of three from the Rockies in Colorado, a team currently ahead of you in the Wildcard race, you seemed to have a lot of momentum going to San Francisco for a four-game series with the Giants. You crushed them in game one and shut them out in game three. Game two will be known for the rest of the season as the “Holmes game” that I will talk more about later. Suffice it to say, you gave up on what was a very winnable game. Game four was a terrible Jordy Mercer error, a lack of any offense until the last two innings, and some bad luck for Joe Musgrove who gave up two runs in one inning on three infield singles. Those type of games happen especially when you were facing a starting pitcher who has been dominant so far in his career. That’s what makes the “Holmes game” so frustrating. If you would have won yesterday, you take three out of four on the road and I become less upset about that decision. It’s hard to ever be upset winning three out of four on the road. But when you lose yesterday, now you split a series from a lesser team in which you didn’t even have to face their ace, Madsion Bumgarner. It feels like a missed opportunity when 16 of your next 18 games are against teams ahead of you in the standings. That gives you a chance to make up ground, but you need to beat up on the bad teams. One game doesn’t make or break a season, unless you end up one game out of the playoffs, but the only way to look at the that weekend series is that you blew a prime chance.

Now about the “Holmes game”. Obviously the most controversial move of the week was pushing all of your starting pitchers back a day and giving minor leaguer Clay Holmes a start against the Giants. The theory was based on stats that showed that pitchers typically struggle in their next start after pitching in the high altitude in Denver, so they pushed everyone back a day. The problem with that theory is that teams almost never make a move like that, so you really have no data showing what good an extra day of actually does for a pitcher. The bigger problem was how bad Clay Holmes pitched. He had been dominant over his last nine starts in the minors, but Friday he struggled mightily giving up seven earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. If it worked, you look smart. It didn’t so you look stupid. The more infuriating aspect to me was that in a 7-2 game, in the fourth inning, you had runners on second and third with two outs. Casey Sadler, who relieved Holmes, was coming up and you felt like you had to let him bat to protect the bullpen. I understand that thought process, but then you ended up getting back in the game later so you look even dumber. Again, I’m sure statically the likelihood of winning a game you trail by five runs is so small that it makes sense to save the bullpen arms for a game you have a better chance of winning. The issue there is that then you are giving up on games that you potentially could still win. The game was an unmitigated disaster especially when you let Sadler bat a second time with a runner in scoring position. I can understand your reasoning, but the fact is that it cost you a game when you are fighting for your life to stay in the hunt. You can make any excuse you want, but the fact is it was the completely wrong decision and it blew up in your face.

Trevor Williams has been the best pitcher in baseball over the last month. That’s not saying much but he does have the best ERA in baseball since the All Star break and he’s legitimately your number four starter right now. You have a league leading thirteen shutouts this season and Williams has started seven of those games. That’s astounding. His ERA is 3.66 for the year, he has ten wins, and his WHIP is a respectable 1.24. His FIP is 4.26 so there’s reason to believe there will be regression. If Williams is able to stay in this realm of consistency, your rotation could become very good very quickly if your adding him to Taillon, Archer, and Musgrove. If Mitch Keller reaches his potential and joins the rotation at some point next season, look out. Williams still doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts so there’s reason for concern there. He’s 16th in all of baseball in soft contact percentage and 10th best in hard contact percentage. Those are statistics that make you believe this could be sustainable. Williams has arguably been your most consistent pitcher this season and if he can continue at this level, he might be a staple in this rotation for the next few years.

The second base and shortstop spots are going to be the most talked about positions this off-season. The likelihood that Jordy Mercer and/or Josh Harrison coming back next season seems highly unlikely when you consider their combined WAR right now is 0.1 (JHay is 0.1 and Mercer is 0.0.) I like those guys well enough, particularly JHay, but that stat is laughable. The question then becomes what do you do about those positions. We have discussed the possibility of Triple-A prospects Kevin Newman and Kevin Kramer coming up to take those spots but given they have yet to play a major league game, and it doesn’t seem likely they will this year, there’s is absolutely no way you can rely on them. That’s also if one of the them doesn’t become the PTBNL from the Archer trade. What seems to make a lot of sense as an insurance policy would be to resign recently acquired Adeiny Hechavarria. Even with a .266 batting average and a .655 OPS, he currently has a 1.3 WAR in only 63 games played. His defense is elite and that and catcher are the two positions where if you have a top-tier defender you are willing to give up some offense for that. That feels particularly true after Mercer’s two errors yesterday, one of which set up what turned out to be the winning run for the Giants. The other interesting component has been Adam Frazier’s resurgence. Frazier has a 1.5 WAR for this season and a 0.4 defensive WAR, which is much better than I would have guessed. He’s slashing .285/.350/.435 for a .785 OPS and if he can keep that OPS in that range, he’s a viable option . Given his diving stop that kept the tying run from scoring in one of the Colorado wins and a beautiful running catch down the first baseline yesterday, he seems to be becoming more reliable defensively. Unless you sign a free agent, which seems unlikely, I wouldn’t be surprised if next year you go with Frazier, Hechavarria, Newman, and Kramer on the roster and play who hits.

This week should be challenging. You get a day off today, which makes not using your bullpen more in Friday’s game and pinch hitting for Sadler either time even more frustrating. Tomorrow you head to Minnesota for a two- game series against the struggling Twins. Your two best pitchers, Taillon and Archer, start those two games but the Twins best pitcher, Jose Berrios, will start against Archer on Wednesday. I wouldn’t say winning both games is a must, but it would be awfully helpful. That’s mostly because after that the Chicago Cubs come to Pittsburgh for a four-game series. They are first place in your division and they have the best record in the NL. You are currently eight games behind them for the division. The likelihood of you catching them is less than slim to none. You are five games back in the Wildcard with Philly and Milwaukee holding the top two spots. The Dodgers, Rockies, and Cardinals are still ahead of you as well. There needs to be a larger sense of urgency. There wasn’t from the analytics department or the coaching staff this week. That needs to change immediately. You are still in the hunt, but it only takes one bad week to sink you. Focus, play hard, and everyone just be smarter. That doesn’t seem like too much to ask. Have a great week!

Trying To Let The “Holmes Game” Go,

Brad

P.S. stands for pretty sh***y and that’s how Colin Moran has played lately. He only had one extra base hit in two months before a triple this weekend. His respectable numbers for most of the season have tapered and now his .268/.336/.391 slash line for a .727 OPS looks below mediocre. When you add in that he is one of the slowest players in baseball and that his range at third base is an embarrassment, he becomes worthless real fast. With David Freese’s impressive performance recently, Moran should be relegated to more of a back-up and picking up Freese’s six million dollar option for next season is a necessity. Hopefully, it’s just the struggles of a rookie but I’m happier than ever that you didn’t lose 3B Ke’Bryan Hayes, your second-best prospect, in the Archer deal.

0 notes

flauntpage · 6 years ago

Text

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup

Despite playing the Marlins of all teams, the bats were silenced again.

Pitching isn’t that big of an issue, but the Phils will finally have Jerad Eickhoff back in a uniform. He’s had a long road to recovery and it’s great to see him contribute in some way.

Also coming in earlier this morning, Ryan Howard is retiring from baseball in a Players’ Tribune article.

The Roundup:

Coordinators Mike Groh and Jim Schwartz spoke on Monday regarding Carson Wentz, Nigel Bradham, and much more. Pederson will hold his pregame press conference later today.

As for the injury report at practice, Mack Hollins, Alshon Jeffery, and Richard Rodgers did not practice, while Wentz and Jay Ajayi were limited. Hollins and Ajayi expect to play Thursday.

The Birds also released their first official depth chart.

In small but notable news, Malcolm Jenkins had his contract restructured to create more salary cap space.

Source: the Eagles reworked the contract of S Malcolm Jenkins, creating $6.148M in 2018 cap space. Jenkins earns the same amount of money, the team gets some cap flexibility.

— Field Yates (@FieldYates) September 3, 2018

Who do the players think will be breakout stars this year?

In other sports news, unseeded John Millman upset Roger Federer in the fourth round of the US Open.

Virginia Tech crushed Florida State in the final game of the first week of college football.

Colin Kaepernick is one of the faces for Nike’s 30th anniversary of the “Just Do It” slogan. He also agreed to a new deal with Nike.

Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything. #JustDoIt pic.twitter.com/SRWkMIDdaO

— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 3, 2018

There’s a few other faces as well, including Serena Williams.

Awesome new Nike “Just Do It” ads pic.twitter.com/JFaAfm3ize

— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) September 3, 2018

Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell didn’t report to sign his franchise tender in Pittsburgh.

In the news, REAL ID pre-verification has begun in PA.

Hearings for Brett Kavanaugh are set to begin today.

Roseanne Barr said she’s moving to Israel once “The Connors” spinoff show premieres. Alrighty then.

The post Your Tuesday Morning Roundup appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Your Tuesday Morning Roundup published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

0 notes