Latest news with #WhackaMole
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bloodied Tony Gonsolin struggles as Angels pull off three-game sweep of Dodgers
Dodgers starting pitcher Tony Gonsolin delivers during the first inning of a 6-4 loss to the Angels at Dodger Stadium on Sunday. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press) Andrew Friedman gave a longer answer Sunday morning when asked about the Dodgers' recent — and, by the feel of it, familiar — pitching woes so far this year, the club's president of baseball operations bemoaning another wave of injuries that has left the pitching staff short-handed. But the gist of his answer was in the two words he uttered at the start of it. Advertisement 'Not fun,' he said. In the Dodgers' 6-4 loss to the Angels later in the day, it became even less so. Read more: Dodgers release Chris Taylor, parting ways with another veteran As things currently stand, Tony Gonsolin is effectively the No. 2 pitcher in the Dodgers' rotation, thrust into such a prominent role with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all out injured. But in a four-run, four-inning start, Gonsolin was derailed by his own physical issue, battling a bloody hand in a three-run first inning that put the Dodgers behind the eight ball. The Dodgers rallied, erasing what grew to a 4-0 deficit on Shohei Ohtani's RBI single in the fifth and Will Smith's game-tying three-run home run in the seventh. But then a banged-up bullpen gave the Angels the lead right back, with Travis d'Arnaud going deep in the eighth against Anthony Banda — himself forced into a high-leverage role lately, despite a disappointing start to the year, because of injuries to Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates (who became the latest pitcher to hit the injured list on Sunday with a hamstring strain he suffered the night before). Advertisement Friedman argued the Dodgers' injury problems this year don't compare to the dire straits they navigated en route to last year's World Series title. Unlike then, the team hasn't suffered any season-ending losses. In the big picture, they remain confident they'll have enough depth to mount a title defense. And yet, the team hasn't discovered the secret to better health. Their rotation problems are giving the bullpen an unsustainably grueling workload. And figuring out how to better protect the club's expensive stable of arms is 'by far the number one thing that keeps me up at night,' Friedman said. 'I mean, everything from my brain is about what we can do, like, how we can solve this,' Friedman added, the self-described 'deep dive' the organization took into pitching injuries this offseason having yet to yield better results. 'It's like a game of Whack a Mole, and things keep popping up. … The definition of enough depth, I think is a fool's errand. I don't know what enough depth means. I think more is always better with pitching depth.' But, with the team now ranking 21st in the majors with a 4.22 team ERA, what they have currently certainly isn't enough. Advertisement After Gonsolin gave up a leadoff home run to Zach Neto on a sunny afternoon at Dodger Stadium, trainers came to the mound to check on the right-hander. As they examined his throwing hand, the television broadcast zoomed in on streaks of blood covering the backside of his pants. While Gonsolin's exact problem wasn't immediately clear, the right-hander's struggle to command the baseball quickly became obvious. With one out, he walked Yoán Moncada, looking visibly uncomfortable as he sprayed the ball wide of the zone. In a 2-and-0 count to his next batter, Taylor Ward, Gonsolin threw a fastball over the heart of the plate. Ward crushed it for a two-run homer. Gonsolin settled down from there, giving up just one more run the rest of the way. But his pitch count never got back under control, requiring 97 total throws to complete the fourth. Read more: Clayton Kershaw shaky in his season debut as Angels take series win over Dodgers Advertisement It was already the 14th time in 47 games this season that a Dodgers starter failed to work into the fifth. All those short starts have had a cascading effect on the bullpen. And pitchers like Banda have had to compensate as a result. Sunday's outing marked Banda's 21st appearance this year, becoming the fifth Dodgers reliever to reach that mark. Entering the day, no other team had more than three. After pitching a clean seventh inning, Banda returned for the eighth and was bitten again by a common problem. In a 3-and-1 count against d'Arnaud, he threw a center-cut sinker that d'Arnaud crushed to left. It was Banda's fifth home run allowed this year, tying the total he allowed in 48 appearances over all of last year. And this time, the Dodgers couldn't answer back, getting tripped up by pitching problems again en route to the Angels' first three-game Freeway Series sweep since 2010. Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Los Angeles Times
Bloodied Tony Gonsolin struggles as Angels sweep Dodgers for first time since 2010
Andrew Friedman gave a longer answer Sunday morning when asked about the Dodgers' recent — and, by the feel of it, familiar — pitching woes so far this year, the club's president of baseball operations bemoaning another wave of injuries that has left the pitching staff short-handed. But the gist of his answer was in the two words he uttered at the start of it. 'Not fun,' he said. In the Dodgers' 6-4 loss to the Angels later in the day, it became even less so. As things currently stand, Tony Gonsolin is effectively the No. 2 pitcher in the Dodgers' rotation, thrust into such a prominent role with Tyler Glasnow, Blake Snell and Yoshinobu Yamamoto all out injured. But in a four-run, four-inning start, Gonsolin was derailed by his own physical issue, battling a bloody hand in a three-run first inning that put the Dodgers behind the eight ball. The Dodgers rallied, erasing what grew to a 4-0 deficit on Shohei Ohtani's RBI single in the fifth and Will Smith's game-tying three-run home run in the seventh. But then a banged-up bullpen gave the Angels the lead right back, with Travis d'Arnaud going deep in the eighth against Anthony Banda — himself forced into a high-leverage role lately, despite a disappointing start to the year, because of injuries to Blake Treinen, Evan Phillips and Kirby Yates (who became the latest pitcher to hit the injured list on Sunday with a hamstring strain he suffered the night before). Friedman argued the Dodgers' injury problems this year don't compare to the dire straits they navigated en route to last year's World Series title. Unlike then, the team hasn't suffered any season-ending losses. In the big picture, they remain confident they'll have enough depth to mount a title defense. And yet, the team hasn't discovered the secret to better health. Their rotation problems are giving the bullpen an unsustainably grueling workload. And figuring out how to better protect the club's expensive stable of arms is 'by far the number one thing that keeps me up at night,' Friedman said. 'I mean, everything from my brain is about what we can do, like, how we can solve this,' Friedman added, the self-described 'deep dive' the organization took into pitching injuries this offseason having yet to yield better results. 'It's like a game of Whack a Mole, and things keep popping up … The definition of enough depth, I think is a fool's errand. I don't know what enough depth means. I think more is always better with pitching depth.' But, with the team now ranking 21st in the majors with a 4.22 team ERA, what they have currently certainly isn't enough. After Gonsolin gave up a leadoff home run to Zach Neto on a sunny afternoon at Dodger Stadium, trainers came to the mound to check on the right-hander. As they examined his throwing hand, the television broadcast zoomed in on streaks of blood covering the backside of his pants. While Gonsolin's exact problem wasn't immediately clear, the right-hander's struggle to command the baseball quickly became obvious. With one out, he walked Yoán Moncada, looking visibly uncomfortable as he sprayed the ball wide of the zone. In a 2-and-0 count to his next batter, Taylor Ward, Gonsolin threw a fastball over the heart of the plate. Ward crushed it for a two-run homer. Gonsolin settled down from there, giving up just one more run the rest of the way. But his pitch count never got back under control, requiring 97 total throws to complete the fourth. It was already the 14th time in 47 games this season that a Dodgers starter failed to work into the fifth. All those short starts have had a cascading effect on the bullpen. And pitchers like Banda have had to compensate as a result. Sunday's outing marked Banda's 21st appearance this year, becoming the fifth Dodgers reliever to reach that mark. Entering the day, no other team had more than three. After pitching a clean seventh inning, Banda returned for the eighth and was bitten again by a common problem. In a 3-and-1 count against d'Arnaud, he threw a center-cut sinker that d'Arnaud crushed to left. It was Banda's fifth home run allowed this year, tying the total he allowed in 48 appearances over all of last year. And this time, the Dodgers couldn't answer back, getting tripped up by pitching problems again en route to the Angels' first three-game Freeway Series sweep since 2010.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Downtown Portland businesses report improvements in theft, vandalism in newest survey
PORTLAND, Ore. () — Progress is being made in efforts to revitalize downtown Portland businesses, according to a new survey. The results of the show the majority of businesses polled are more optimistic about the future, thanks to improvements in public safety and cleanliness. Protesters gather in Portland ahead of Trump speech 'Organized crime is having a hard time doing business in downtown and that's exactly what we want,' said Downtown Portland Clean & Safe Executive Director Mark Wells. 'A year ago, you would walk around, it would be very common to see open drug use and open drug dealing. It still exists, for sure, but it's dramatically decreased, and that adds to that sense of safety and security.' The non-profit Downtown Portland Clean & Safe provides 24-hour dispatch and cleaning services. Wells said nearly all 300 participating businesses were satisfied with their safety services. The results of the new survey show businesses experiencing sheft or shoplifting incidents dropped from 47% in 2023 to 30% in 2024. Businesses repairing windows or physical damage decreased from 67% in 2023 to 47% in 2024. In addition, 57% of businesses now feel optimistic about being downtown. However, there are still areas of improvement. While nearly half of businesses reported employees quitting due to safety concerns in 2023 (45.8%), that figure dropped to on-third in 2024 (29.2%). 'We saw about a 17% decrease in those numbers, but a third, you know, that's still too high,' Wells said. 5 arrested after teen pistol-whipped, robbed Wells said Downtown Portland Clean & Safe continues to partner with the city to address top concerns, including the homeless crisis. Hundreds still live in tents downtown and Wells said his crews clean about one ton of trash daily. 'We are still playing 'Whack a Mole.' The city is coming out, posting the camp we have. The city has to follow different legal parameters. The camp can be abated on a Monday, the sidewalk is perfectly clean. We'll come out and do extra cleaning to support that, and then the next day, the campsite is right back,' Wells said. Despite the progress, businesses are still struggling. Only about one in four reported higher revenues in 2024 than the year before. Wells weighed in on what that means for the overall state of revitalization. 'At Clean & Safe, we're optimists. But we're also realists. We need more foot traffic. We need more people coming downtown and shopping and eating and dining than we did pre-pandemic. We're not back there yet.' DPCS said they and community partners will continue efforts to boost the health of downtown Portland businesses by prioritizing investments in economic revitalization, public safety and cleaning initiatives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Lawmakers, advocates launch initiative targeting predatory practices in addiction treatment
North Carolina is launching a statewide campaign to combat predatory practices in addiction treatment to help people struggling with substance use disorders find evidence-based treatment facilities. The 'North Carolina Treatment Connection' initiative is a joint effort between Addiction Professionals of North Carolina, the state legislature, the Department of Human Services and 700 treatment providers to address exploitation in the industry. 'We are creating a trusted resource to connect individuals to ethical, effective treatment providers in their communities,' said Sarah Howe, CEO of APNC. The campaign aims to address issues of misinformation and exploitation that have long plagued the addiction treatment industry. It comes on the heels of the state's 2023 enactment of the SAFE Act, which targeted patient brokering and other deceptive practices. Patient brokering is the illegal practice of paying or receiving kickbacks for referring patients to addiction treatment facilities. 'Bad actors are taking advantage of people when they're at their lowest, and we can't allow that anymore,' said Sen. Jim Burgin (R-Harnett, Lee, Sampson) a primary sponsor of the SAFE Act, during a press conference Wednesday morning. Michael Roberts, who is in long-term recovery, described being steered to fraudulent clinics: 'Patient brokering nearly cost me my life. It's a form of human trafficking.' While the 2023 SAFE Act made patient brokering a Class G felony, enforcement of the law remains a challenge. 'We need to make sure that those investigations happen around the state,' said Reeder (R- Pitt County). 'We need to make sure that if you see something, you say something.' It's unclear how widespread patient brokering is. Howe said patient brokers are often 'underground' and 'pop up a little bit like Whack a Mole.' She said her organization has already started working with the state Department of Justice on investigations in areas where they know the illegal practice exists. Sen. Burgin suggested the state should also look at developing a rating or evaluation system for treatment providers, similar to how North Carolina rates child care facilities, with APNC serving as a 'trusted resource' to help govern and oversee the process. More than 1.3 million North Carolinians struggle with substance use disorders, with about 4,000 overdose deaths annually. 'This is a turning point,' Howe said. 'We are building a future where no one has to search beyond our own state for quality treatment, where communities are empowered with knowledge and where individuals in recovery have the support they need to reclaim their lives. '
