caulfield12

Maldonado's middle name is Andres, Spanish for Andrew...well, it's actually not, but makes for a good story anyway.

You'd have to think Robert needs to get his average back up into .240's to seriously start to consider moving him...

These are not the 2013-2023 Astros...their line-up's overall strength up and down the line-up is way down from 2-3 years ago.

Was thinking Olivia Rodrigo or Blackpink...

Already got his homer in. Wonder if Crochet's starting to hit his expected wall/ceiling between 80-90ish innings pitched? Velo 96-97, touching 98 tonight? Looking at the last inning or so, more cutters at 90-93 and fewer fastballs, usually 95-97. Seems the velo is down now a tick or two, or he's learning how to conserve his "A" fastball for critical high leverage situations like Chris Sale tended to do.

Wonder if the White Sox will ever try to let Colas split duties as a LH reliever...? Probably something his next organization MIGHT take up as he (eventually) receives a fresh start elsewhere.

DeJong and Pham with almost the same exact OPS numbers but they vastly diverge in terms of defensive value.

Rank, Player, Team, Positional Rank (Last week's rank) 1. A'ja Wilson, LV, F1 (LW: 1) Oly 2. Breanna Stewart, NY, F2 (LW: 2) Oly 3. Arike Ogunbowale, Dal, G1 (LW: 3) 4. Napheesa Collier, Min, F3 (LW: 4) Oly 5. Alyssa Thomas, Conn, F4 (LW: 5) Oly 6. Jewell Loyd, Sea, G2 (LW: 6) Oly 7. Caitlin Clark, Ind, G3 (LW: 9) alternate 8. Sabrina Ionescu, NY, G4 (LW: 11) Oly 9. Ezi Magbegor, Sea, C1 (LW: 12) 10. Jackie Young, LV, G5 (LW: 7) Oly 11. Nneka Ogwumike, Sea, F5 (LW: 10) 12. Rhyne Howard, Atl, G6 (LW: ? 13. Dearica Hamby, LA, F6 (LW: 21) 14. Kahleah Copper, Phx, G7 (LW: 14) 15. Kelsey Plum, LV, G8 (LW: 13) Oly 16. Skylar Diggins-Smith, Sea, G9 (LW: 15) 17. DeWanna Bonner, Conn, F7 (LW: 17) 18. Jonquel Jones, NY, F8 (LW: 18) 19. Marina Mabrey, Chi, G10 (LW: 16) 20. Aliyah Boston, Ind, F9 (LW: 19) alternate 21. Allisha Gray, Atl, G11 (LW: 20) 22. Brittney Sykes, Wsh, G12 (LW: 22) 23. Cameron Brink, LA, F10 (LW: 23) out of Olympics 24. Natasha Cloud, Phx, G13 (LW: 25) 25. Kelsey Mitchell, Ind, G14 (LW: 26) 26. Courtney Williams, Min, G15 (LW: 24) 27. Kayla McBride, Min, G16 (LW: 32) 28. Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, Atl, F11 (LW: 27) 29. Natasha Howard, Dal, F12 (LW: 30) 30. Brionna Jones, Conn, C2 (LW: 29) Olympic alternate 31. NaLyssa Smith, Ind, F13 (LW: 34) 32. Elizabeth Williams, Chi, C3 (LW: 31) 33. Ariel Atkins, Wsh, G17 (LW: 33) 34. Teaira McCowan, Dal, C4 (LW: 36) 35. Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, NY, F14 (LW: 38) 36. Alanna Smith, Min, F15 (LW: 35) 37. Courtney Vandersloot, NY, G18 (LW: 28) 38. Diana Taurasi, Phx, G19 (LW: 37) Oly 39. Tina Charles, Atl, C5 (LW: 39) 40. Brittney Griner, Phx, C6 (LW: 54) Oly 41. Lexie Brown, LA, G20 (LW: 40) 42. Shakira Austin, Wsh, C7 (LW: 41) 43. DiJonai Carrington, Conn, G21 (LW: 42) 44. Aaliyah Edwards, Wsh, F16 (LW: 47) 45. Rickea Jackson, LA, F17 (LW: 43) 46. Angel Reese, Chi, F18 (LW: 46) 47. Rebecca Allen, Phx, G22 (LW: 45) 48. Dana Evans, Chi, G23 (LW: 44) 49. Maddy Siegrist, Dal, F19 (LW: 49) 50. Monique Billings, Dal, F20 (LW: 48 PG for Phoenix on Olympic team to debut this week…

Probably yet another pro-Jerry sweetener likes he manages to include in all of his deals to maintain control/power.

Burger looking a little better. He was at a .615 OPS and climbing recently, for a team like the Marlins, that's not bad enough to send him down or give up on him. Although they already ate the Avi Garcia contract, and likely will soon with Anderson, Burger will get regular playing time for at least the rest of this season to fight his way out of it. If you're an Andrew Vaughn fan, for example, there's always going to be a similar Burger Bash tear just around the corner that will push his OPS at least into the 700's. Burger is not one of the worst players in baseball bad with how dominant the pitching has been in numerous aspects this season.

Sheets was 2nd, right?

Fangraphs current playoff odds/projections 57-105 That's wildly optimistic. Considering they are 75% trading Fedde, Pham, DeJong, Kopech and at least 50/50 on Crochet, Robert, Flexen, Wilson, Brebbia, Banks. Then you've got Moncada and Jimenez, as well as Clevinger. Right now, the actual pace is 44-118. Royals were 56-106 last season, fwiw. And nowhere near as bad as this White Sox team is going to be down the stretch, minus some miraculous/unexpected contributions on the minor league development side of the equation.

So minimal minimal return. Just about saving money at this point.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/40382107/kansas-lawmakers-approve-plan-lure-chiefs-missouri Just go to Kansas/Johnson County or Wyandotte County by the KS Speedway Dem Gov/Republican Legislature Story notes Chiefs are expected to eventually chip in at least $500-700 million privately…

Australian for beer.

Women's Basketball Gold Medal Winner (current betting odds) USA Women -1250 Australia Women +2000 China Women +2000 France Women +2500 Belgium Women +2500 Japan Women +2800 USA Basketball is expected to name a replacement for Cameron Brink before the games start next month. One player who won't replace her is Indiana guard Caitlin Clark, as her name is not in the 3x3 team Olympic selecting pool. Brink's spot will also need to be filled with another player at her position. yahoo sports

Swoopes calls Caitlin Clark a bully The fallout from the Indiana Fever's 91-83 win over the Chicago Sky was the hot topic on Gilbert Arenas' Gil's Arena show on Monday. Reese's flagrant foul on Clark for hitting her in the head, which both players dismissed as a "basketball play," led the former NBA star to make some comments that Swoopes didn't appreciate on the show. "With Angel, she's rugged. She's a rugged girl. She's built for trying to bully," Arenas said. "No one feels sorry for the bully." Swoopes proved that Arenas was correct, because she claimed Clark is more of a bully than Reese on the court, and felt zero sympathy for the No. 1 draft pick. In response to Reese's foul and the resulting coverage, she said, "We can't make it seem like she was assaulted." Swoopes also stated she does not think the Chi Town Barbie is a bully at all. https://www.marca.com/en/basketball/wnba/indiana-fever/2024/06/18/6671a43d22601dd5318b45bd.html https://www.yahoo.com/sports/caitlin-clark-becomes-fastest-wnba-205555386.html With her performance against the Sky, Clark became the fastest player in WNBA history to record 200-plus points, 75-plus rebounds and 75-plus assists. ..... Through the first 15 games of her WNBA career, Clark has tallied 242 points, 93 assists and 76 rebounds. Clark also has 19 steals and 15 blocks on the season. It’s already been a season of history making for Clark. During Clark and the Fever’s victory earlier in the season over the Chicago Sky on June 1, Clark joined Ionescu as the only players in WNBA history to register 150-plus points, 50-plus rebounds and 50-plus assists in their first 10 career games. Clark accomplished another bit of WNBA history in the Fever’s Sunday win over the Sky. Clark joined Breanna Stewart as the first WNBA rookie with 15-plus points, five-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in five games since Stewart did so in the 2016 season. Caitlin Clark is the third WNBA rookie to record 20/5/5 at least five times. Joins Tamika Catchings (6) and Diana Taurasi (5).

Much better than Cannon Fodder!!!

Cameron Brink just hurt her knee tonight against CT. Going to be a lot of clamoring for Clark to replace her on the roster if she's unable to play. Of course, there's a long history between Van Lith and Clark in the NCAA tourney, dating back to Louisville ("You can't see me" Cena move) and LSU this last season, where Hailey got torched defensively. Colorado Springs (USA) - USA Basketball announced today, June 5, the 2024 USA Basketball 3x3 Women’s National Team, which will compete at the Olympic Games Paris 2024. The four-member roster includes Cameron Brink (LA Sparks), Cierra Burdick (31, Valencia/Spain), Rhyne Howard (Atlanta Dream) and Hailey Van Lith (TCU). The roster was selected by the USA Basketball 3x3 Women’s National Team Committee. CBS drew the best WNBA game audience in 23 years around the second meeting of Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, with the Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game on Sunday at noon ET delivering 2.25 million viewers.7小时前

https://www.yahoo.com/news/former-wnba-owner-kelly-loeffler-090009007.html Greg will love this one, it's from Fox News. In all fairness to Loeffler, she really did (not mentioned) get screwed out of a huge increase in the value of all the WNBA franchises after she was forced to sell out of the Dream stake. Teams like the Seattle Storm went from something like a $13 million valuation to somewhere in the $125-140 million range over the last 12 months alone. Former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who co-owned the Atlanta Dream from 2011 to 2021, told Fox News Digital the rookie sensation has been widely celebrated because "she's 100% basketball." "She's not about politics," Loeffler said. "That's what people want when they purchase tickets, when they spend their family's hard-earned money and time to go to a game. They want to see pure athletic competition, the best of the best. And I think Caitlin is the best chance to get back to that." Loeffler may be the best-known owner of a WNBA squad after her Dream players revolted against her Republican politics in 2020. After she was appointed to an open Georgia Senate seat in 2019, she spoke out against the WNBA's embrace of Black Lives Matter during her run in a special election the following year. In return, her players sported t-shirts supporting her Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock, creating a media frenzy. The irony here is that while Clark is not about politics, Loeffler most certainly is, as the "right" wing of the political spectrum continues to appropriate her for their own culture wars.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/kevin-durant-says-were-better-212802370.html He didn't name any names, though. "I think she’s going to definitely be on one of these teams going forward but right now, there were better candidates out there," Durant explained during the appearance alongside his Boardroom partner, Rich Kleiman. Sabrina Ionescu, Brittney Griner, Kelsey Plum and Diana Taurasi are among the WNBA stars selected for Team USA's 2024 roster. Related: Serena Williams Encourages Caitlin Clark to 'Continue Doing What She’s Doing’ and Avoid Critics He shared praise for the WNBA as well and their work "showcasing" the no. 1 overall pick. "The WNBA is doing a great job of showcasing her. I see her games on ESPN every other day," Durant said, "I see her in talks around, no matter what they’re talking about, there's a lot of dialogue around the game right now, so that's good as well."

Montero (doing "okay" this year) one of the all-time worst reliever deals. Then you've got Abreu and Hader (doing better recently) as well. Yikes.

Cannon aiming for the AL Rookie of the Month votes if he can keep this streak going for one more start...who would they be facing the next time his turn comes up in the rotation?

Wonder if our former all-star prep water polo draft pick who played 1B had similar comments trying to break in...that was always one of the more curious player moves, but I guess nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Shouldn't the title of the thread be re-litigating 2021 with a guest first pitch thrown out by Leury Garcia?