Yankees only can hope Max Fried, Jonathan Loaisiga don't become long-term concerns
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Maybe this was just the kind of ho-hum 5-2 loss that merges seamlessly into a 162-game season.
After all, the Yankees offense wasn't going to keep scoring five or more runs a game, as they had done the previous 10 before Saturday, the most within one season in the majors since the 2023 Braves and the longest by a Yankee team since July 2012.
And it wasn't like the Yankees were going to end the regular season on a 73-game winning streak, so a five-gamer ended against the Cubs as All-Star lefty Matt Boyd efficiently subdued the Yankees for eight shutout innings.
You know there was a 'but' coming and here it is: That this was just one of those ho-hum games in a long season, but what if it wasn't? Max Fried developed a blister and Jonathan Loáisiga was blistered again. Within a month when Brian Cashman has multiple other pitching areas to address externally, the Yankees sure need these internal matters solved.
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USA Today
a minute ago
- USA Today
Notable Ravens players who are 25 and under heading into the 2025 NFL season
With the preparation for the second preseason game against Dallas, we're looking at Baltimore's notable talent under 25. The Baltimore Ravens have one of the top teams in the NFL, and plenty of young talent to help usher in a Super Bowl window. Most franchises are based on their talent under the age of 25, and the Ravens have several notable, high-profile performers who are still in their prime. With the preparation for the second preseason game against Dallas, we're looking at Baltimore's notable talent under 25. OL Emery Jones: 21 The Ravens selected Jones at No. 91 overall after the offensive tackle spent three seasons at LSU. He was a two-time second-team All-SEC selection. DB Malaki Starks: 21 A two-time All-American and Thorpe Award finalist, Starks appeared in 43 games (42 starts) during his three-year career (2022-24) at Georgia…Helped the Bulldogs finish 15-0 and win the CFP National Championship during the 2022 season as a starting freshman DB Nate Wiggins: 21 Wiggins played in 15 games (six starts) as a rookie in 2024, tallying 32 tackles (24 solo), 1 INT (pick-6), 13 PD, 1 FF, and 1 ST tackles. Wiggins helped Baltimore's defense rank No. 1 against the run (80.1 ypg), No. 2 in sacks (54), and No. 5 (tied) in yards per play allowed (5.2) LB Teddye Buchanan: 22 Appeared in 49 games at LB during his one year (2024) at Cal and four years (2020-23) at UC Davis, totaling 321 tackles (160 solo), nine sacks, 8 INTs (1 INT-TD), 10 PD, 3 FFs, and 1 FR. OLB Mike Green: 22 An All-American at Marshall, in 2024, Green led all FBS players in sacks (17), sack yardage (-144), TFL (22.5), and TFL yardage (-155) for a Marshall team that went 10-3 and won the Sunbelt Conference championship. LB Jay Higgins: 23 An All-American and All-Big 10 selection, Higgins has the look of an under-the-radar player who could end up next to Roquan Smith. Higgins (6-0, 224) started all 13 games in his final season with the Hawkeyes, totaling a team high 124 tackles (53 solo), including 2.5 tackles for loss, one sack, nine passes defensed, and four interceptions. OLB Adisa Isaac: 23 Kyle Van Noy and Odafe Oweh are the unquestioned starters, but the Ravens are hoping 2024 third-round pick Adisa Isaac can take the next step. Isaac saw action in four games and played 32 defensive snaps, as his NFL debut was delayed by a hamstring issue, which sidelined him for the Ravens' first two games. RB Keaton Mitchell: 23 Ravens RB Keaton Mitchell says he feels better than he did three years ago. As a rookie, Mitchell led all running backs with at least a dozen attempts in yards per carry (8.4 avg), and he has set personal records in all of his speed tracking analytics this offseason. OL Roger Rosengarten: 23 After alternating snaps in the first three weeks, Rosengarten took over as the Ravens' starting right tackle in Week 4 and never looked back, starting 16 games (including the playoffs). Among offensive tackles who played at least 50% of the snaps, Rosengarten ranked No. 39 at his position, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF). He was credited with four sacks allowed in 488 pass-blocking snaps. WR LaJohntay Wester: 23 Wester is another of the Colorado speedsters. In his lone season at Colorado after transferring from Florida Atlantic, the smooth and dynamic receiver recorded 74 receptions for 934 yards and 10 touchdowns. His punt return touchdown against Utah further showcased his versatility and playmaking ability. WR Zay Flowers: 24 A 2024 Pro Bowler, Flowers logged his 100th-career reception in his 21st-career game, becoming the fastest player in Ravens history (21 games) to reach the mark. DB Kyle Hamilton: 24 A second-team All-Pro last season, Hamilton started all 17 games for Baltimore in 2024, totaling a career-high 107 tackles (77 solo), two sacks, 4 TFL, 1 INT, 9 PD, 2 FFs, and 1 FR, en route to earning his second-straight Pro Bowl nod…Helped Baltimore's defense rank No. 1 against the run (80.1 ypg), No. 2 in sacks (54), and No. 5 (tied) in yards per play allowed (5.2). Kicker Tyler Loop: 24 Loop went 6-9 on kicks from 50+ yards last season for the Wildcats. LB Trenton Simpson: 24 Simpson was productive over Baltimore's first 11 games, logging 65 tackles (34 solo), but he was a liability in the passing game. Simpson was entirely out of the Ravens' inside-linebacker rotation following the Week 14 bye, and he was limited to special teams during Baltimore's two-game postseason run. Simpson finished the 2024 regular season with 73 tackles (40 solo), including 1.5 sacks, four pass defenses, and one fumble recovery across 17 games. He'll battle special-teams standout Jacob Hummel and fourth-round pick Teddye Buchanan. WR Devontez Walker: 24 After contributing primarily on special teams as a rookie, Walker has flashed speed and big-play abilities all summer long. WR Rashod Bateman: 25 Last season, Bateman played in all 17 games (14 starts) for Baltimore in 2024, tallying 45 receptions to go along with career highs in receiving yards (756) and receiving TDs (9)…Recorded three receiving TDs of at least 40 yards, tied for the most such scores in a season by a Raven since at least 2000. DT Travis Jones: 25 A breakout candidate, Jones appeared in all 17 games (15 starts) for Baltimore in 2024, posting a career-high 42 tackles (22 solo), 4 TFL, and one sack. Jones helped Baltimore's defense rank No. 1 against the run (80.1 ypg) and No. 2 in both sacks (54) and fourth-down efficiency (42.9%). OL Daniel Faalele: 25 After moving from offensive tackle to offensive guard, Faalele was named a Pro Bowl alternate after surrendering one sack and 30 pressures in 504 pass-blocking opportunities last season. An off-season working out with Ronnie Stanley should allow Faalele to take the next steps as a run blocker. TE Isaiah Likely: 25 Likely saw action in 16 games (nine starts) for Baltimore in 2024, totaling career highs in receptions (42), receiving yards (477), and receiving TDs (6). Likely became the second-fastest Ravens TE (34 games) to reach double-digit receiving scores in a career, behind only Mark Andrews (28 games). OL Tyler Linderbaum: 25 Linderbaum started at center in all 17 games and earned his second-straight Pro Bowl honor for Baltimore in 2024, blocking for an offense that ranked No. 1 in the NFL in yards per game (424.9), yards per play (6.8 – third-best single-season mark in NFL history).
New York Times
33 minutes ago
- New York Times
Ghiroli: Major League Baseball needed this. Jen Pawol deserved it
By the time you read this, Jen Pawol — who became the first female umpire in Major League Baseball's history on Saturday — will already be back in Triple A, and the buzz of the national media attention and the celebratory champagne poured in paper Gatorade cups will have mostly subsided. There aren't many fancy glass options in the belly of baseball stadiums, though the no-frills celebration with more than a dozen family and friends — following Game 2 of the doubleheader between the Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins — suits Pawol, who has perfected the fine line of simultaneously understanding how important her gender is and not wanting her ponytail to define her. Advertisement Major League Baseball, in recent years, has had all-female broadcast teams and data analysts. It's seen women ascend to become general managers, scouts in the stands and coaches on the field in full uniform. But never, in the sport's 100-plus-year history, had a woman called balls and strikes in a regular-season game until Pawol raised her right arm Sunday at 1:38 p.m. and called a game-opening strike on Xavier Edwards. The ball was immediately procured and thrown back to the side for authentication, another slice of history in a weekend full of them. Pawol donated her hat to the National Baseball Hall of Fame after Saturday's game. Sunday's ball will probably end up there, too. Pawol, who has been in pro ball since 2016, is still uncomfortable living in a spotlight where rehabbing big leaguers wish her luck, security guards tell her they're pulling for her and autograph requests have become a regular occurrence. (She often makes her entire crew sign with her.) 'Go Braves and all,' read a sign at Truist Park on Sunday, 'But I'm here for Jen.' This story of an interaction between Jen Pawol and Adam Wainwright is amazing 🥹 — MLB (@MLB) August 9, 2025 Everything the 48-year-old Pawol has done this past decade has made headlines, an unusual paradox in a profession where anonymity typically means you're doing the job right. (How many other umpires find their promotions on a minor-league scoreboard like Pawol did at the New York Mets' Syracuse affiliate?) But baseball badly needed Pawol. A sport that boasts itself as the national pastime, one that is so rich in history, can sometimes be suffocated by it. It's been more than a decade since the NBA and NFL introduced female officials and every other woman before Pawol who tried to get promoted to Major League Baseball was run out of the game. Bernice Gera, Christine Wren, Pam Postema, Teresa Cox (Fairlady), Shanna Kook and Ria Cortesio — the sport's last female umpire before Pawol arrived — a group who Pawol counts as mentors and friends, whose only crime was being ahead of their time. Advertisement A female umpire was one of baseball's final barriers. But the sport didn't just need a woman; it needed the right one. Pawol is a baseball lifer, a former softball player who texts highlights of games to other umpires so they can break them down. She has a vigilant workout routine to keep up with the demands of a physical job. In the offseason, Pawol writes umpire workbooks, participates in clinics and paints one of her favorite things: the strike zone. For years, Pawol has been viewed as baseball's best shot at a female umpire. When she was promoted to Triple A in 2023, she was the only female above A-ball. Male-dominated professions don't change overnight. It would have been easy for baseball to fast-track her, to prop Pawol up for positive press and to quiet the discontent with, 'A woman is here!' To baseball's credit, it didn't. Pawol has methodically moved up. She umpired more than 1,200 minor-league games before getting the call. Like any successful woman in a male-dominated profession, she will be heavily scrutinized. There will be people who can't be convinced that she's here on merit, fans who berate her for no reason other than her ponytail. (Pawol, it's worth noting, welcomes players and managers voicing their discontent with what she's doing on the field.) MLB knows this. The league knows that every missed call Pawol makes — like that first strike to Edwards — will bring a small, loud subset of the population out, convinced that Pawol's every misstep is not because she's human, but rather because she's a woman. But know something else, too. Pawol, who lost her mom, Victoria, to an aneurysm at 13, can handle anything thrown at her on and off the field. She is, in the words of crew chief Chris Guccione, 'incredible at her job,' a female who reached baseball's pinnacle because of her toughness and talent and because she has what those before her never did: support. Advertisement 'This is one of the proudest moments I've been a part of in all my career,' Guccione told reporters in Atlanta of working with Pawol. 'I've been blessed with working playoffs, I've worked two World Series, All-Star Games, and this one is right up there. It gives me chills just thinking about it and the magnitude. … I was just sitting here going, it just kind of hit me, the magnitude of this whole thing and how hard she's worked.' If Pawol's presence inspires women, one can only hope Guccione's words elicit a similar response in men. It's not hard to be an ally. Pawol, who initially thought her gender precluded her from being an MLB umpire, is a visible sign of progress, her dream a significant step forward for the sport. Maybe someday, female umpires will be normal. Until then, Pawol will keep pushing the ball forward, working and waiting for another chance at the big leagues. Baseball needed this. Pawol deserved it. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle
Axios
41 minutes ago
- Axios
The competition to become the capital of women's sports
Indianapolis wants to become the capital of women's sports. Why it matters: Surging viewership and engagement around women's sports have local leaders eager to capture the excitement and investment that comes with it. As developing leagues look for places to expand, these cities — and others — want to become synonymous with the explosion. The big picture: Cities throwing their support behind the boom creates an environment where those fighting for equality on the court have a greater chance of success. State of play: The Indy area is home to two professional women's sports teams — the Fever and the Indy Ignite, a professional volleyball team — making it far from the market with the highest concentration, but local sports leaders say the effort goes beyond the number of teams playing here. "When you think about what the ultimate goal is, it is to support women in sports," said Sarah Myer, chief of staff and strategy for Indiana Sports Corp. "It's to support access to women's sports. It's to support women excelling … so if all these cities are striving to do that, then we're actually achieving our goals." Flashback: Indianapolis' plan to become the global epicenter of women's sports was first shared on stage last August during the inaugural Indiana Women's Summit hosted by the Indiana Sports Corp. Zoom in: Myer pointed to last month's WNBA All-Star celebration as an example of the plan in action. Reality check: Indy isn't the only city making an effort. Kansas City is home to the first stadium in the world specifically for a women's professional sports team, where the Kansas City Current play. That arena shattered a women's rugby record this spring by packing in more than 10,000 fans. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is also bullish on his city already holding the title, telling Axios Kansas City, "I respect what's happening in other cities — but one good WNBA draft pick does not a women's sports capital make." Other interested markets: North Texas is growing into a women's sports hub with last summer's launch of the Dallas Trinity FC, making it one of eight teams to compete in the inaugural season of the Gainbridge Super League. In Columbus, Mayor Andrew Ginther announced his desire to make the Ohio city the nation's capital for women's sports during his 2025 State of the City address. Later that month, the title of women's sports capital was bestowed upon Seattle by Professional Women's Hockey League executive Amy Scheer as the city celebrated the arrival of its first PWHL franchise. The other side: Joey Graziano, Pacers Sports & Entertainment's EVP of strategy and new business ventures, called the competition among cities "amazing" and believes in the ability of a rising tide to lift all boats. Friction point: The increased attention still hasn't resulted in adequate pay for athletes. At the WNBA All-Star Game, players vented their frustration over ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations. Terri Jackson, executive director of the Women's National Basketball Players Association, thinks the battle between cities and fan bases can help.
