Latest news with #Guardians
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Guardians should cut ties with Carlos Santana at MLB trade deadline
The Cleveland Guardians are a team that's been at the center of various trade rumors over the past month. At the start of June, they were rumored to be buyers, but now, they'd been dubbed as sellers. While Steven Kwan and Emmanuel Clase are doubtful to be moved, the Guardians could ship off some of their other veterans. Zack Meisel of The Athletic laid down the case for the Guardians to move on from multiple players, but none make more sense than Carlos Santana. "The Guardians could seek a taker for impending free agents such as Carlos Santana or Lane Thomas," Meisel writes, "If the Guardians move Santana at the deadline, that would clear a spot for Kayfus, who has earned a look." A huge reason why the Guardians would need to move Santana to call up C.J. Kafus is that the team has a preferred spot for the top prospect to play once he's up in the majors. "The team would prefer him at first base instead of promoting him to try to handle right field," Meisel writes, "Where he's been a work in progress." MORE: Guardians could trade injured Cy Young Award winner at MLB trade deadline Playing Kafus in his more natural position would be ideal, and the best way to do that this season would be by moving on from Santana at the deadline. Teams around baseball are looking for first basemen help, so the Guardians could find a taker for Santana. While teams could be interested in the first baseman, there's a high chance the return for the 335 home run slugger isn't a lot. But, for the 39-year-old, any return would be a positive one. The 16-year veteran has played with the Guardians for 11 years of his career, and could be looking to head to a new team at the deadline this season. He's the player Cleveland is most likely to move, and would be an expected trade at this year's deadline. While losing a fan favorite and franchise icon would sting, it'd open the door for Kayfus to make his MLB debut, while also allowing Santana to try and win his first World Series in his incredible career. MORE MLB NEWS: Tigers get positive update on availability of top trade targets Astros GM Dana Brown reveals recovery timeline for Jake Meyers amid injury Cardinals get good news on top Diamondbacks trade targets Padres' Yu Darvish on cusp of professional baseball history Tigers 'strongly interested' in pair of Twins righty relievers Cardinals announce bad Lars Nootbaar news ahead of All-Star break
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Guardians' Steven Kwan breaks silence on wild trade rumors
The Cleveland Guardians don't seem likely to trade Steven Kwan. In fact, new reporting indicates it's "doubtful" to happen. But that hasn't stopped speculation around baseball about a potential move of the superb contact-hitting left fielder. And yeah, players hear the noise. Kwan was asked about it at All-Star Weekend. 'You kind of hear rumors of all sorts of different things,' Kwan told Mark Feinsand. 'Our job is to play baseball and do it to the best of our ability.' MORE: Kyle Schwarber is the hero of MLB's first All-Star Game Home Run Derby tiebreaker Kwan and the Guardians are facing an easy schedule out of the break. How they play in the upcoming stretch could also determine trade deadline plans. 'With that uncertainty, you can kind of let your brain just let it go,' Kwan said. 'I think if it was simpler, then you would kind of have a better idea, but because there's so much unknown with it, we just have to play the game.' The Guardians have Kwan under club control through 2027. He'd command a lot in a trade, but Cleveland fans would certainly be bummed if such a move ever came to pass. MORE MLB NEWS: Dodgers draft the latest Leiter pursuing MLB pitching dreams Eugenio Suarez breaks silence on Yankees trade rumors Giants' former top-100 prospect retires from baseball It's the year of Cal Raleigh Byron Buxton makes a bold proclamation on his future with the Twins Is Paul Skenes cursed?
BBC News
17 hours ago
- Science
- BBC News
Space Force: Inside the US base tracking global missile launches
There's a short sharp shout: "Launch Yemen!" The men and women in uniform sitting in front of computers all respond in unison, "Copy, launch Yemen."In the US Space Force, they're called Guardians, not troops. Staring into their screens at a base in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, they're able to track a missile launch from anywhere in the world - and follow it from its launch site to its likely point of the first international journalists to be allowed inside the US Space Force's missile warning and tracking operations room at Buckley Space Force base, a nerve centre where Guardians are on alert 24/ surrounded by giant monitors which provide maps and data sent from a constellation of military satellites in Guardians are the first to detect the infra-red heat signature when a missile is launched. Moments later there's another shout – "Launch Iran" - followed by a chorus of "Copy launch Iran."This time, it's a drill. But last month they were doing it for real – when Iran fired a salvo of missiles towards the US military base at al-Udeid in Qatar, in response to US and Israeli strikes on Ann Hughes describes the mood on that day as "heavy". Unlike most launches, they'd been warned about that one in advance. They were able to track those Iranian missiles and then feed that information to the air defence batteries on the ground. "Ultimately we saved the entire installation and the personnel that were there," she says, expressing relief. Col Hughes says they've been exceptionally busy in recent years, with wars raging in both the Middle East and Europe. When I ask her whether they've been giving warnings to Ukraine, Col Hughes says: "We provide strategic and tactical missile warnings to all US and allied forces." The US won't publicly confirm it but it seems likely they might also have given Kyiv a heads up when it was about to come under Russian Space Force base will form a key part of President Donald Trump's plans for a US missile defence shield, known as the Golden has earmarked $175bn (£130bn) for the ambitious programme – inspired by Israel's Iron Dome air defence system. Many believe it will cost a lot more. But the foundations are already in place at Buckley. Its skyline is dominated by massive radomes, round covers which protect powerful satellite dishes inside. They look like giant golf balls on the horizon. These satellite arrays have detected radio frequency waves from a supernova 11,000 light years General David Miller, the commander of the US Space Operations Command, says the development of the Golden Dome, still in its early days, is a recognition of the increasing threats to the US specifically mentions China and Russia. Both have developed hypersonic missiles which can travel at more than five times the speed of sound. Both have tested Fractional Orbital Bombardment Systems which are harder to track. "The speed and physics associated with intercepting those requires the consideration of space-based interceptors," General Miller says. He prefers to talk about "capabilities" to defend America's interests, rather than weapons in space. The creation of the US Space Force five years ago is proof that space is now a warfighting domain. President Trump launched the force in his first term, describing space as "the world's newest war-fighting domain".Both China and Russia have tested anti-satellite missiles, as well as ways of jamming their communications. General Miller says Russia has "demonstrated the capability to potentially put a nuclear payload" in space. He says space is already an area "that is highly contested", adding that "we also have to be prepared for conflict in space".Colonel Phoenix Hauser oversees the Space Forces Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit known as Delta 7. Their job is to find out what's happening in space. At their base near Colorado Spring, teams monitor screens showing thousands of small dots around the globe. There are already around 12,000 satellites in space. By the end of the decade that could grow to 60, Hauser says their primary focus is on China. "It's the pacing threat," she says. China already has about a thousand satellites, half of them military ones. Over the next decade, Col Hauser says it will have tens of thousands more in low earth orbit. Space is increasingly congested and contested."We're already sparring in space," she says. "We see close unprofessional and unsafe engagements from our adversaries." That includes satellites fitted with electronic jamming, lasers and even nets and grappling arms, which could be used to move another satellite off have suggested there are already "dog fights" taking place in space. "I don't know that we're quite there in the type of Top Gun like dog fighting perspective," Col Hauser says. "But it's something certainly that we need to be ready for." The US Space Force is preparing for the possibility of conflict in space. Col Hauser says a year ago they "weren't able to talk about having offensive space capabilities". Now, she says their focus "is to generate options for the president so that we can gain and maintain space superiority through offensive and defensive space control".Gen Miller says the only way to prevent conflict is "through strength and we have to have our own capabilities in order to defend our assets". He won't give detail as to what that precisely the recent US strikes on Iran's nuclear programme, Operation Midnight Hammer, gives a glimpse of what the US Space Force is already able to do. Those attacks by B-2 bombers also underline why continuing dominance in space remains crucial to the US military."You have to understand how much the United States military assumes the advantage that we derive from space," Gen Miller says. That includes the ability to navigate and communicate over the horizon, and to deliver precision strikes using BBC has been given the first details about how US Space Force Guardians were involved in the operation. "One of the things we did was leverage our electromagnetic warfare capability in order to ensure dominance throughout the operation", Gen Miller says. The electro magnetic spectrum includes radio waves, microwaves, infra-red, and visible light. "We knew the environment was going to be jammed," he says. The US Space Force ensured that jamming was denied so that US B-2 bombers could arrive at their target and deliver their GPS guided Massive Ordnance Bombs with precision. Electronic warfare specialists from US Space Force Delta 3 were already operating on the ground in the region. Their Commander, Colonel Angelo Fernandez, shows me the rows of satellite dishes and command containers they can fly to locations anywhere in the world. The dishes, he says, can be used to intercept and then drown out the communications of enemy forces, by "broadcasting noise that's louder". "They were able to both protect US assets and at the same time open up a flight corridor," he during and after the mission, US Space Force Guardians of Delta 7 were providing overwatch. Colonel Phoenix Hauser says they were able to monitor the electro-magnetic spectrum "to understand does Iran know what's happening, do they have any tactical warning the strikes might be happening". They helped preserve the element of surprise and allowed the air crews to complete the mission US Space Force may be the youngest military service but it's critical to America's military might. Gen Miller says the entire US military "is dependent on space superiority".He wants to ensure that remains the case. And he has a warning for any adversary."When the US military gets focused on something - God help you!"
New York Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Guardians second-half storylines: Trades, prospects and José Ramírez
CLEVELAND — Remember Cody Bolton? No? He made a two-inning appearance for the Cleveland Guardians in late April, a few weeks after the club claimed him off waivers from the Seattle Mariners. It's easy to forget certain names and faces during an unrelenting marathon of a baseball season. Late last season, as Guardians manager Stephen Vogt was reflecting on the accomplishment of a division title, he noted how many players contributed throughout the journey. He even mentioned pitcher Wes Parsons. Go ahead, look it up. Yep, Parsons tossed four scoreless innings for the Guardians in April 2024. Then he disappeared. No one would blame you if it slipped your mind. That's the nature of a 162-game race. Advertisement The All-Star break grants everyone — well, aside from the All-Stars — a chance to catch their breath, to ruminate on the first half and to ponder what's to come. This is the week to pause and to recall that Dom Nuñez spent a week on Cleveland's roster, or that Will Wilson pitched two innings, or that Triston McKenzie broke camp as a member of the big-league bullpen. As for what's next, well, here are three storylines to monitor in the second half: Oh, the irony of Kyle Manzardo's slugging a key three-run homer off Aaron Civale in the Guardians' final game before the break. Cleveland swapped out Civale for Manzardo at the trade deadline in 2023, a season reminiscent of the 2025 season. They dealt Civale at his peak for a consensus Top 100 prospect. Civale could be traded again this month; he's already been traded twice since the Guardians traded him. In 2023, they hemmed and hawed about whether to buy or sell or stand pat. They were hovering around the .500 mark, and they feared a daunting second-half schedule. Ultimately, they traded Civale, Josh Bell and Amed Rosario in a series of moves that upset many in the clubhouse and preceded a late-summer slumber. Here they are again in a similar scenario. The Guardians might be one of the more fascinating teams to follow over the next two weeks. As they bid to reassert themselves in the wild-card race, they encounter perhaps the softest stretch of their season schedule. They took three of four against the Chicago White Sox last weekend, and now they'll host the Athletics and Baltimore Orioles, play the Kansas City Royals in Kansas City and then welcome the Colorado Rockies to Progressive Field before the July 31 trade deadline. Many teams are trying to crack Cleveland's code and gain a better sense of its trade deadline motivations. They might have to wait. It would be much clearer if the club didn't rebound from a 10-game skid with a 6-1 trip through Houston and Chicago. The Guardians have Shane Bieber on the mend (which could come in handy with Luis Ortiz's future in jeopardy, another storyline to monitor). They have Chase DeLauter and C.J. Kayfus on the cusp. They believe there's more output for Manzardo, Lane Thomas and Nolan Jones to supply. They also stumbled through an inconsistent first half with a rancid offense. Advertisement Most of all, teams want to know whether they can pry away closer Emmanuel Clase or left fielder Steven Kwan. That seems doubtful, especially Kwan. The Guardians could seek a taker for impending free agents such as Carlos Santana or Thomas. They could also seek upgrades in the outfield, middle infield or bullpen. They're in a strange spot, where it might not make sense to push hard in either direction. There's a case to be made for buying and selling. There's a scenario in which they do neither. How they fare coming out of the break might factor into the equation. So much conversation has surrounded DeLauter, his health and his extended stay in Columbus, but there are plenty of other prospects to keep tabs on the rest of the summer. If the Guardians move Santana at the deadline, that would clear a spot for Kayfus, who has earned a look. The team would prefer him at first base instead of promoting him to try to handle right field, where he's been a work in progress. This has turned into something of a lost season for Juan Brito because of injuries, but there's still hope he can return from a hamstring strain, knock rust off at Triple A and then get a taste of the majors before the end of the season. Travis Bazzana, last year's No. 1 pick, is working back into game shape in Arizona after missing nearly two months with an oblique strain. Can he play his way up to Triple A before the end of the year? Will Parker Messick earn a start or two to get familiar with a big-league routine? The Guardians would love an opportunity to call upon him later this season for a doubleheader, the way they welcomed Doug Nikhazy to the majors in April. Will catcher Cooper Ingle force his way to Triple A? It's a long shot, but is there a way for him to snag a September call-up so he can shadow Austin Hedges and spend time with a coaching staff full of former catchers, as Bo Naylor did in 2022? Advertisement Do we agree Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh are the clear-cut favorites to finish first and second in the AL MVP race? OK, cool. How about third place? Ramírez emerged as an everyday player in 2016, and here are his MVP finishes each year since: 17th, third, third, none, second, sixth, fourth, 10th, fifth. That's seven top-10 finishes in the last eight years. It's six top-six finishes in the last eight years. It's three top-three finishes in the last eight years. Can he add to each of those totals in 2025? Here's his primary competition: Even as he speeds toward his 33rd birthday in September, Ramírez is on pace for a career-high 50 stolen bases. He's flirting with a .300 average. He's on pace for 30 homers. He rarely strikes out or gets nabbed trying to steal. He has rebounded from a rough start to the year defensively. In other words, he's up to his usual tricks. In all likelihood, he'll find himself somewhere in the middle of most voters' ballots, as he always does.
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- General
- Hamilton Spectator
Wildfires spark demand for Indigenous fire stewardship
Danny Masuzumi Sr. shakes his head, recalling the jumble of emotions he experienced as a raging wildfire bore down on the remote K'ahsho Got'ine community of Fort Good Hope, NWT. A year ago, local leaders, other emergency personnel, Masuzumi and his team of Indigenous Guardians had to make a terrifying decision to evacuate with most of the community living alongside the east bank of the Mackenzie River — or stay and fight the fire along with territorial wildfire crews. They chose to stay. 'We had no hoses, no pumps, no nothing,' said Masuzumi, executive director of the K'ahsho Got'ine Foundation that manages the protection of the community's new Indigenous and Territorial Protected Area with the help of its Guardian team working on the ground to monitor and care for lands and waters. 'It was kind of overwhelming how a person can feel when there's something coming right at you and could destroy your community,' Masuzumi said. While the K'ahsho Got'ine leadership scrambled to obtain necessary firefighting equipment, Masuzumi and the Guardians, along with another 30 or so residents, teamed up to protect their homes or evacuate residents. Some community members had recently completed basic wildfire training from Yukon First Nations Wildfire , an organization working to deepen and develop Indigenous firefighting capacity in the north, Masuzumi said. The team rounded up water trucks and other heavy equipment and started putting firebreaks in place to protect the community. While most residents were transported to nearby communities, the Guardian crew also evacuated almost 100 residents and cared for them at a fish camp across the river that they'd been setting up for an elders and youth cultural exchange. It was round-the-clock work in difficult conditions, Masuzumi said. 'It was a really busy, really overwhelming two days of fighting the fire.' While buildings in the community were saved from the blaze — sparked by an unattended campfire — the wildfire burned for three weeks, preventing residents' return and scorching more than 8,200 hectares of land before people were given the all clear to return July 6. The wildfire underscored the value of Guardian involvement in a community-led response, Masuzumi said. He added the K'ahsho Got'ine Guardians could do more if they were funded year-round — not just for their environmental monitoring, but as wildfire stewards who work in cooler months to prevent, reduce the intensity and frequency of blazes, and lead recovery and restoration efforts in their territory after climate disasters. The longstanding process of extinguishing all fires, instead of letting them burn naturally, has led to the build-up of dead wood and brush, increasing the severity of fires when they occur, said Indigenous fire stewardship expert Amy Cardinal Christianson. Replanting after logging with a single species of tree that is often more combustible has also fuelled the intensity of fires, said Christianson, also a policy expert with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative (ILI). However, cultural burning, an Indigenous practice of setting selective fires in wet, cooler seasons, helps reduce catastrophic fires and protect important natural areas. 'Indigenous people have been living on the Canadian landscape for millennia in forests that need fire,' she said. However, traditional fire stewardship isn't well-supported by government policies or funding, Christianson said. 'In some seasons, hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars go into fighting wildfires, but little actually goes into prevention or mitigation,' Christianson said. 'We see having Guardians as a really cost-effective way to employ people on the land in a way that achieves big benefits.' Australia is leading the way by including traditional fire stewardship as part of their Indigenous Ranger program, she said. 'Indigenous people [in Canada] have really demonstrated they want to be more involved in decision-making about fire in their territories,' Christianson said. It's imperative that fire management is included in the K'ahsho Got'ine land-use plan being developed for the new Ts'udé Nilįné Tuyeta conservation area, Masuzumi said. But sourcing the money from territorial or federal governments or conservation agreements — by applying for time-consuming, short-term grants — is always an issue. 'We always have to scratch our heads and figure out where the funding is going to come from,' he said. Wildfire training and certification is also controlled by outside agencies not typically geared to Indigenous communities' needs or aligned with their values, Christianson said. For example, the firefighting course the K'ahsho Got'ine took wasn't recognized at the time the wildfire threatened their community. Provinces and territories control who is a certified firefighter, and there's a growing push from Guardians and nations that want to develop training and firefighting objects suited to their needs, Christianson added. Standard wildfire suppression prioritizes human life and buildings and infrastructure while leaving wildfire to tear across open landscapes. However, all Indigenous communities have natural areas vital to their well-being that need to be included in fire management, Masuzumi said. 'When we have fires out in our territory — just like in every other First Nations territory — we all have burial sites or traditional areas where we go,' he said. 'We always try to protect those areas because those are sacred to us.' Water is also part of the equation, said Masuzumi, who has taken samples from important lakes in his territory for over a decade. 'The water that's from a lake that's got burnt trees … is not the same,' he said. 'It takes a long time for water to turn back to its normal state.' 'Our elders say we have to fight the fire around lakes because the fish are going to die. So, the government doesn't understand those kinds of things, right? They look at it from a different perspective.' There's increasing public conversation about Indigenous fire stewardship after the recent string of savage wildfire seasons, but that hasn't resulted in concrete changes on the ground, Christianson said. Long-term sustainable funding for Guardians to manage wildfire concerns, Indigenous-focused fire training, or the protection of culturally important areas when fighting fires isn't taking place, Christianson said. 'We're seeing a lot of talk, but not action in the way that we want, which is recognizing Indigenous sovereignty to the land and to fire management in our territories, and being able to make important choices,' she said. Masuzumi agreed. 'Our job as guardians is to make sure we're going to take care of the environment,' he said. 'We have the training to prevent [wildfires] from getting worse. We have to be the first line of action.' Rochelle Baker / Local Journalism Initiative / Canada's National Observer Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
