Latest news with #Windup
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
MLB's biggest surprises thus far, plus two Game 7s clinched
The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic's daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! Don't lose in Game 6 today. When a playoff series reaches Game 6, the matchup becomes primal. The team down 3-2 is likely playing at home, back against the proverbial wall, fighting for another day. Those with a chance to clinch want to avoid the sometimes suffocating pressure of a Game 7 at home. We had six Game 6s (say that fast) last night across the NBA and NHL. Let's start with the clinchers: Real survival, though, comes via our most hallowed tradition: Game 7. Glory awaits: Both Game 7s are set for tomorrow, both involving Denver sports teams. Let's move on. We are officially a month into the MLB season, which means we can start taking these relatively small sample sizes seriously. There are things we expected to happen: The Dodgers are a juggernaut. The Rockies are abysmal. But every baseball season brings surprises, and I've identified two — one good, one bad — we need to discuss. I successfully annoyed Windup author Levi Weaver into helping me: Let's start with a Good Team, the Giants at 19-13 so far. What's our read? 💬 I'm not sure I had any strong feelings about what the Giants would be this year, but it certainly wasn't this. In a division that features a baseball Death Star and two other legit playoff contenders, they were in first place as recently as a few days ago. Despite a recent skid, this year is still a massive success. Also don't forget there is a whole new regime in San Francisco, led by franchise legend Buster Posey. Fun. Now onto the bad, which is particularly distressing: Baltimore. What gives? 💬 Because it's the Orioles and not the big-name Yankees or Dodgers, it's easy to lose sight of the number of injuries they've had (a lot). Still, this season feels a lot like lighting a firecracker fuse, standing back, and… and… and… ah dang it this one's a dud. In the last two years, the Orioles have produced at their highest level in decades, with nary a playoff win to show for it. Now they're back in the basement, looking up at traditional AL East powers like New York and Boston. Bleh. Thank you to Levi, who has done wonderful work in The Windup already this year. Let's keep moving: De Bruyne to Chicago? Manchester City legend Kevin De Bruyne is favored to sign with the Chicago Fire this summer, The Athletic's Paul Tenorio reports, after the Belgian international departs City, where he's played for the last 11 seasons. De Bruyne has said, however, that he's open to remaining in Europe. Expect competition to be rife. More details here. Advertisement Ruggs III wants a second shot In a podcast interview, Packers running back Josh Jacobs said his former teammate Henry Ruggs III is training in prison and remains hopeful for a second shot at the NFL. Ruggs is serving time for his role in a drunk driving accident that killed a woman and their dog, and is up for parole next year. Jacobs said he's even talking to teams on Ruggs' behalf. Read his full comments here. More news 📫 Love The Pulse? Check out our other newsletters. 📺 NHL: Jets at Blues 8 p.m. ET on TNT/Max Our schedule is clearing out as teams are eliminating, paving a path for us to watch only good games. Here's a lovely Game 6 in which the home team faces elimination. Playoff hockey nerves at 10 throughout this matchup. 📺 NBA: Rockets at Warriors 9 p.m. ET on ESPN Ditto here, where Golden State can close out Houston on its home floor. Is this moment too big for the young, feisty Rockets? Or is this a defining moment as the team skies upward? Legacy stuff at stake here. Get tickets to games like these here. Yes, the Kentucky Derby favorite is named 'Journalism.' No, the media did not rig this. The real story is better, in which the horse's trainer is focusing on the race after having his life upended by the Los Angeles fires. A big report from our MLB crew: The strike zone is shrinking, players say, due to a quirk in the latest umpire CBA. Read it here. Wait, is Texas really spending $40 million on its 2025 football roster? Sam Khan Jr. investigated. Loved this so much: As a kid, Pete Crow-Armstrong never wanted to root for his dad's favorite team. Now, he's starring for them. Lakers coach JJ Redick said his team needs to get 'into championship shape' this offseason. Shots fired. It's official, the Panthers are officially Florida's hockey powerhouse. Advertisement Is this 2001? Do I need to break out my binder of cards? Yes, there is a boom of Pokémon cards right now, and it's tangentially helping the sports-card market. Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: The latest update on the drama between Bill Belichick, his girlfriend and CBS. Most-read on the website yesterday: Mike Sando's report on what executives really thought of the Shedeur Sanders slide, plus other NFL Draft takes. Ticketing links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
New York Times
30-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Please watch this Daulton Varsho catch. Plus: Guess the Padres bullpen ERA!
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. The Yankees did it again. Plus: The Padres bullpen is unbelievably good, the Rockies are unbelievably bad, Daulton Varsho made an unbelievable catch and Ken has praise for Wilmer Flores. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! How in the — I audibly yelped — yelped, and in a press box, where you're supposed to be professional — when I saw this play. Here's another angle. I have watched this roughly 100 times. Now, back to your regularly scheduled Windup. Yesterday was the 29th of April. You know what that means! Time for the Yankees to hit three straight home runs in a four-homer first inning! The last time it happened — also on a 29th day of a month, back in March — was against the Brewers and former Yankee Nestor Cortes. Here's what Jayson Stark dug up in that week's Weird & Wild column: Also, you know how many pitchers in the division-play era (1969-present) have ever allowed homers to the first three hitters they faced for their new team? That, according to STATS, would also be none. Of course. Advertisement I'm not sure if this one counts as the second time or not. Kyle Gibson pitched for the Orioles in 2023 before spending last year with the Cardinals. But as the Orioles' pitching depth waned this spring, they called their ol' pal Gibby to run it back in 2025. This was his first start with the Orioles this year, and sure enough: Trent Grisham, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice greeted him with back-to-back-to-back home runs. After a Paul Goldschmidt groundout, Cody Bellinger made it four dingers in the first inning. (Again.) The Yankees (18-12) have an off day on May 29 between an Angels/Dodgers road trip, but the 29ths of June-July-August will see them facing the A's, Rays and White Sox, so … stay tuned? From my latest notes column: Nearly 10 years later, it's a shame San Francisco Giants designated hitter Wilmer Flores is still probably best known for the trade that wasn't. Flores, now 33, evolved into one of the game's most respected veterans, revered by teammates and opponents alike. He also developed into an underappreciated hitter who began the week leading the majors with 28 RBIs. 'Flo's one of the most flexible, intelligent, prepared, and easygoing teammates I've ever been around,' former Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. 'Give me my choice of right-handed hitters, give me a big moment with everything on the line — and he's right there, shoulder to shoulder with the biggest stars in the game. Quiet assassin.' In 2015, Flores was with the Mets, a 23-year-old, homegrown utility infielder. As the trade deadline neared, the Mets agreed to send him to the Milwaukee Brewers. News of the deal — Flores and Zack Wheeler, who was rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, for outfielder Carlos Gomez — leaked out while the Mets were playing at Citi Field. Flores, upon learning of the reports, grew visibly teary, but remained in the game because the deal was pending the standard medical review. As it turned out, the trade never came to fruition. The Mets backed out due to concern over a hip issue with Gomez. Advertisement Flores spent three more seasons with the Mets and one with the Diamondbacks before joining the Giants as a free agent in 2020. He has never been an All-Star and never won a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger. But after a difficult 2024 — Flores underwent season-ending knee surgery in August — he is again a force. While Flores will never be a Statcast darling — his average exit velocity is better than only 14 percent of all hitters, his bat speed only 3 percent better — he draws raves for his situational hitting. More notes here. I was looking for some other stat last night when I came across a shocking number. Would you like to guess what the Padres' bullpen ERA is? No really, take a guess. I asked a few others in the press box in Texas last night, and nobody got close. If I put the answer here, it'll spoil it, so here: click on this Google Doc. I was so surprised that I went back and double-checked that I had entered the parameters correctly. Really?! Yep! Here's the FanGraphs link if you wanna look for yourself. Going into last night's game against the Giants, the Padres (18-11) had three relievers with sub-1.00 ERAs: Robert Suarez (0.75), Jason Adam (0.60) and Wandy Peralta (0.77). The highest reliever ERA by anyone with more than five innings pitched? Yuki Matsui (2.92). So, what are they doing well? I asked our resident Padres expert Dennis Lin to help me understand, in one paragraph or less. Here's his answer: 💬 Pitcher-friendly Petco Park has done its part; Padres relievers collectively entered Tuesday with a ridiculous 0.80 ERA and a more reasonable (but still first-place) 2.71 xFIP at home. But the relievers themselves have just kept doing their parts, including on the road. While Suarez, Adam, Jeremiah Estrada and Adrian Morejon form one of the nastiest high-leverage quartets in the sport, middle relievers Yuki Matsui, Peralta and Alek Jacob have taken significant steps forward under beloved pitching coach Ruben Niebla. Remember the 2024 White Sox? Unless you're a fan who has successfully memory-holed all of it, of course you do. They broke records for futility. They lost so many games, it got nearly to 'We Don't Talk About Bruno' levels of yikes on the South Side. Through 29 games this year, the Rockies have an even worse record. In fact, at 4-25, it's the worst 29-game start in MLB history. Advertisement Even those White Sox were 6-23 at this point last year! They're still not good this year, but they currently have almost twice as many wins (seven) as the Rockies. How bad is it? I decided to investigate if the Rockies are actually worse than last year's White Sox. Here are a couple of context markers through the same number of games: Conclusion? The White Sox were probably worse, but the Rockies are picking their spots to be bad at pivotal times. To put it another way: If one team loses 8-0, but the other blows a 7-6 lead in the ninth, which one is the worse team? It's a rhetorical question, of course. It doesn't matter. Both teams lose (and both at a historic pace). More White Sox: They have new Bulls-themed City Connect jerseys. Every team has pitcher injuries, but the Dodgers have been a virtual triage unit recently. Fabian Ardaya spoke to pitching coach Mark Prior about what the team is doing to change that. In an ongoing story that has captivated the hearts and minds of countless dozens of people, Rob Manfred says he might reinstate Pete Rose. Tom Brady, Derek Jeter and Bobby Witt Jr. never gave up the card-collecting bug. Now they've each embarked on business ventures in the industry. You wouldn't think that 30 years old and playing backup catcher would be a prime circumstance for a breakout year, but that's how it's shaking out for Carson Kelly with the Cubs. The Reds are calling up a top prospect: Chase Petty will debut tonight against the Cardinals. A Mets fan who delighted a generation has passed away. Rest in peace, Seymour Weiner. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
New York Times
18-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Are the Astros cursed at first base? Plus, Patrick Corbin's spidey senses
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. In today's Windup, a cursed base, and we are on very high Spider-Man alert! Plus: These division leaders are waiting on the trade market, and Ken wonders if Bud Black's days as Rockies manager are numbered. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! Before the 2023 season, the Houston Astros signed 1B Jose Abreu to a three-year, $58.5 million deal for his ages 36-38 seasons. Eighteen games into his Houston tenure, he was hitting .253 (.584 OPS) with zero home runs, 19 strikeouts and three walks in 79 plate appearances. Halfway through the second year of that deal, Abreu was released. It was an abject disaster. Houston is still paying him $19.5 million this year. This offseason, the Astros signed 1B Christian Walker to a three-year, $60 million deal for his ages 34-36 seasons. Eighteen games into his Houston tenure? He's hitting .154/.267/.215 (.482 OPS) with 23 strikeouts, eight walks and one home run. As Chandler Rome writes in a recent story, some of Walker's underlying numbers are still OK. His bat speed is still a pretty dark red on this chart. Other numbers, though … check out that Launch Angle Sweet-Spot % percentile (that's batted balls with a launch angle between 8 and 32 degrees). Yikes. By comparison, here's Abreu's chart from 2024. You'll note that his bat speed was also still above average (but Walker isn't in this territory just yet). True story: As I was writing this up last night, I had originally planned to compare Walker's slump to that of Tigers outfielder Riley Greene — who entered play with more strikeouts than anyone in the sport — and ask which fan base should be more concerned. There's no way to prove it, but my conclusion was that Greene would be fine, despite his underlying numbers not looking so great either. Then he went 3-for-5 with a couple of RBIs and may have scooped me on his own breakout. The ritual sacrifice of a hitting coach is standard operating procedure for a team in crisis. The Colorado Rockies took that half-step yesterday, firing hitting coach Hensley Meulens. The move would merit only a yawn — it's only the Rockies, after all — if not for the person the team chose as Meulens' replacement: former Rockies manager (and hitting coach) Clint Hurdle. Advertisement Changing hitting coaches was justifiable for a team that is 3-15, last in the majors in scoring and first in strikeout rate. Changing managers also would be justifiable, considering the Rockies are a complete wreck as they head for their seventh straight losing season under Bud Black. Here's my question: If Hurdle, 67, was willing to leave his position as a special assistant to get back in uniform, why wouldn't he want Black's job? Even if he doesn't, the Rockies could have ripped off the Band-Aid yesterday and made the managerial change that seems all but inevitable. I included Black in my column Monday on managers whose job statuses could be in question. As I wrote, Rockies people think highly of him, and so do people throughout the industry. Hardly anyone seems comfortable posing the question: As the team skews younger, is Black still the right person for the job? Black cannot be blamed for the team's consistent failures or for its continued irrelevance. The Rockies seem to operate in a separate universe from the rest of baseball. But at some point, it stands to reason the team would benefit from a fresh voice. Third-base coach Warren Schaeffer, who managed at three levels of the Rockies' organization from 2015 to '22, is the obvious heir apparent. Management previously has seemed disinclined to humiliate Black and dismiss him in-season. 'Buddy's done a good job — it's a tough situation we're going through right now,' general manager Bill Schmidt told yesterday. 'I think he's been a positive influence. Our guys come to play hard every day, and that's what I'm looking at. As I said, I'm looking for the growth to continue to develop, and Buddy is the right person for that.' Fair enough. But with Black's contract expiring at the end of the season, the team will again face a decision. Schaeffer could be the Rockies' version of Brandon Hyde, taking over the organization at a low point and growing with his young players. Or maybe the Rockies will just recycle Hurdle, who managed them from 2002 to '09, leading them to their only World Series appearance. It would be typical of the game's most insular organization to turn to one of its own. And it would be the latest reflection of the team's lack of long-term vision. On Wednesday night, Patrick Corbin picked up his first win as a member of the Rangers, going 5 1/3 innings against the Angels and allowing just one run, striking out six. But thanks to Kennedi Landry of we now know there was more to the story. Corbin was bitten by something — it's still not known exactly what, though manager Bruce Bochy suggested maybe a spider — and could 'hardly walk' when he got to the park before the game. Advertisement 'Something bit me, but I still don't know what,' Corbin said the next day. 'They were able to kind of work it out and just kind of maintain it throughout the day. But it's pretty sore.' That Corbin was in a big-league clubhouse at all was notable. Here's a list of categories he's led the league in lately: 2020: hits allowed 2021: losses, earned runs, home runs 2022: losses, hits allowed, earned runs 2023: losses 2024: hits allowed, earned runs. But there's more to this story also. Since returning from Tommy John surgery in July 2015, he has been the most reliable — or at least reliably available — starting pitcher in the game. His 277 starts and 6,871 hitters faced since then are most in the league (Aaron Nola is second in both, at 272 and 6,735, respectively). Corbin's 1,586 1/3 innings trail only to Nola (1,643) and Gerrit Cole (1,596 1/3) over that time frame. So he's had more opportunities to allow hits and runs. We'll see if that continues. If he is ejected for sticky stuff in coming games, I think we'll all know why (radioactive spider). When Justin Steele went down with an injury, it seemed like a foregone conclusion the Cubs would attempt to bolster their rotation via trade. One problem: It's April. Teams aren't unloading pitchers just yet. It makes sense for sellers to be methodical; wait it out and see if there's some other team out there is willing to make a better offer. (Does Mavericks GM Nico Harrison subscribe to The Windup?) In Patrick Mooney's story about the Cubs successfully breaking even on a very tough West Coast road trip, there are quotes from president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer that essentially confirm: Yeah, the Cubs are looking. But nobody's really selling just yet. Meanwhile in Queens, the Mets' center-field situation has become somewhat shaky, after news that Jose Siri has a fracture in his leg. One solution, suggests Will Sammon, might find Jeff McNeil in center field once he returns from the IL, with Luisangel Acuña manning second base. Advertisement Or at least until the trade market starts to come into sharper focus. Thickening the plot: The Mets might find themselves bidding against their division rivals, as the Phillies are also running a little light on productive outfielders. You ever have one of those weeks where so many crazy things happen, you can't even start? Baseball did that this week. But Jayson Stark knows right where to start: his Weird & Wild column (there's even a musical). Think you know how many perfect games there have been in the Statcast era? Incorrect: The answer is two. Oh right, we're talking about umpire perfect games. Tyler Kepner has that and more in this week's Sliders. Garrett Crochet has been about as close to perfect this year as any reasonable person could expect. Apparently, Crochet is not reasonable, and wants to be even better. Well, you're not allowed to argue balls and strikes, and you're definitely not allowed to tweet about it from the clubhouse. Jazz Chisholm Jr. did both last night. After a high-and-tight pitch to Andrew McCutchen led to a brief soirée at midfield, Nats pitcher Jorge López has been suspended for three games. Everyone else is hurt in Minnesota, so it's time to call up Luke Keaschall, who was No. 3 on Aaron Gleeman's list of top 40 Twins prospects (No. 62 in Keith Law's top 100 prospects). The Twins also acquired utility player Jonah Bride from the Marlins for cash considerations. Patrick Mooney didn't use the words 'calm down' to Cubs fans when writing about Ryan Pressly, but it was sort of implied. The closer has been much better. We love a good reclamation project. For the Mets, it appears Griffin Canning is their latest. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Our 2025 MLB front office rankings, as voted on by 40 decision-makers throughout the sport. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
New York Times
16-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Kim Ng's new softball gig, plus the Cubs' third-base conundrum
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. Hope everyone had a great Jackie Robinson Day! In today's Windup: The Cubs hit pause on their third-base experiment, and Bryce Harper did a … thing? Also, Ken examines the future of Cedric Mullins in Baltimore, and we lead with news on what's next for Kim Ng. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! Kim Ng has long been a trailblazer: youngest assistant MLB GM (1998), first woman to interview for a GM job (2005) and the first female GM of any major professional men's sports team in North America when she took the job with the Marlins (November 2020). By 2023, Miami had made its first (full-season) playoff appearance in 20 years. Advertisement Ng was not around for the 2024 season. The Marlins wanted to hire a president of baseball operations who would rank above her. She had differences of opinion with owner Bruce Sherman, and she hadn't been offered a multiyear extension. Rather than stay in a GM role with reduced influence, Ng, 56, walked away from the job and (though we didn't know it at the time) baseball. So what's she up to now? Ng will be the commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited softball league. It's not AU's first foray into softball, but 2025 will be the first year with set rosters and an impressive roster of coaches, including Lisa Fernandez, Jennie Finch, Jessica Mendoza, Cat Osterman and Natasha Watley. This season will be a tour, as each team plays 24 games in 12 cities, with an eye toward determining which might be good permanent homes for a league softball team in the future. With the popularity of women's sports on the rise, it seems the timing is right for such a league. With Ng at the helm, I think the odds of success have just gone up exponentially. From my latest story: The ovation at the home opener caught him by surprise. Cedric Mullins lined up behind the center-field wall at Camden Yards, waiting to be introduced for his ceremonial jog down the orange carpet, trying to lock in for the game. When his name was called — 'batting seventh, in his eighth season with the Orioles' — he almost didn't realize the crowd's exuberant reaction was for him. 'I definitely felt the love from Baltimore,' Mullins said. For his status as the longest-tenured Oriole. For his perseverance through early struggles and Crohn's disease. For his role in restoring the franchise to prominence. And for the memories he has created in maintaining the Orioles' rich tradition of center fielders. Advertisement Many in the sellout crowd also were savvy enough to recognize that the 2025 season quite possibly will be the last for Mullins in Baltimore, the final chapter for a speedy 13th-round pick who developed into an All-Star, Silver Slugger and highlight-reel center fielder. Mullins, 30, is eligible for free agency at the end of the season. His agent, Robin Cope, says the Orioles have not initiated talks about an extension, adding, 'I wish they would. He wishes they would.' Mullins, though, seems destined to meet the same fate as Austin Hays and Anthony Santander, two other longtime Orioles outfielders who were pushed out within the last year by younger talent. The Orioles, unless they fall out of contention, would appear unlikely to treat Mullins the way they did Hays, whom they traded to the Philadelphia Phillies at last year's deadline in a deal that brought them reliever Seranthony Domínguez. More likely, they will take the same approach with Mullins that they did with Santander, making him a qualifying offer and then losing him to free agency. Santander's heavily deferred five-year, $92.5 million contract with the Toronto Blue Jays netted the Orioles the 31st pick in the draft, on top of the 30th choice they received as compensation for right-hander Corbin Burnes and their predetermined first-round selection at No. 19. Such picks are gold for the Orioles, who draft exceedingly well and, even under new ownership, will take their payroll only so far while playing in the game's fifth smallest television market. Orioles general manager Mike Elias declined to comment on what the future for Mullins might bring. Most of the extension talk with the team revolves around younger players. And one look at the club's organization depth chart reveals why Mullins might be expendable. Colton Cowser, the fifth pick in 2021, looms as a potential replacement in center field. Enrique Bradfield, the 17th pick in 2023 and No. 82 prospect in the game, according to The Athletic's Keith Law, might be ready for center by 2026. Mullins, in theory, could move to a corner-outfield spot, particularly if Tyler O'Neill opts out after one season. But the Orioles still might prefer other options. More here. After the Cubs traded Isaac Paredes to the Astros and Alex Bregman spurned them for the Red Sox, the big question became: 'Is Matt Shaw ready for this?' Shaw, 23 years old and the Cubs' first-round pick in the 2023 draft, didn't exactly answer the question definitively this spring, hitting .208/.296/.250 (.546 OPS). But the Cubs gave it a go; Shaw was the Opening Day third baseman. Advertisement Eighteen games later, they're pulling the plug on the experiment (for now). Shaw was hitting just .172 (.536 OPS) in 68 plate appearances, and he has been optioned to Triple A. So, who will play third base now? The roster moves weren't limited to Shaw, by the way. After Nate Pearson and Eli Morgan combined to give up seven runs in a combined one inning of work on Monday night, both have been given a little timeout — Pearson was sent to Triple A and Morgan to the IL with an elbow impingement. Luke Little and Daniel Palencia were recalled from Iowa to take their place. I will start this section with a caveat: I do not enjoy gender reveals. This may be the most Old Man Opinion™️ I have (it's either this or frowning upon coffee orders that take more than three words). So I'm a little biased. Anyway, here's what happened. Bryce Harper and his wife Kayla are expecting their fourth child soon, and this scene took place in the first inning Monday night: Prior to the Phillies' game against the San Francisco Giants, Harper had equipment manufacturer Victus Sports deliver one pink and one blue bat to Citizens Bank Park. Harper then asked (Trea) Turner to have the honor of breaking the news by handing him the pink bat for a baby girl or the blue bat for a boy before his first plate appearance. Turner, ever one for a good baseball prank, tried to throw Harper off by picking up the pink bat first before handing Harper the blue one. For what it's worth, Turner doubled ahead of Harper, who struck out swinging. I'm sure there will be some old-school grumps who will say something like, 'Doing that in the middle of the game took Harper's focus away from his at-bat.' I do not share that particular Old Man Opinion™️. I just don't like them as a concept. If you do, feel free to sound off on whether this was a cool one or not. At least it didn't start a fire. Yesterday, we told you that Aaron Judge would be Team USA's captain in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. It now appears Fernando Tatis Jr. will be making his WBC debut for the Dominican Republic. Speaking of Judge, he responded to Juan Soto's claim that he's being pitched differently now that the slugger isn't hitting behind him in the lineup. Judge's take? 'He's going to be just fine.' Advertisement Between two elbow surgeries and a life-threatening torn esophagus, Dustin May was away from a big-league mound for 22 months. He's back, and he looks … great? Last night's Tigers-Brewers game featured a play I've never seen before in all my days watching baseball: First baseman Spencer Torkelson's throw to second hit Brice Turang in the shoulder … and they still got the out. Well that's one of the wackiest plays I've ever seen to get an out and an RBI 4-0 MIL B7 — Dominic Cotroneo (@Dom_Cotroneo) April 16, 2025 Speaking of things I've never seen before: The Triple-A Albuquerque Isotopes scored three runs on a bases-loaded walk. No, really. Yankee for a day? Brendan Kuty tells us about the one day Bobby Witt Jr. spent in a Yankees cap. Meanwhile, the 2025 Yankees are glad to have Clarke Schmidt back. Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow is on 'Starkville' this week talking about the Dodgers' culture, his free-agent pitch to players, watching Clayton Kershaw as a kid and more. The Twins were already off to a pretty brutal start. Now everyone is getting hurt. Carlos Correa and Matt Wallner are the latest, and in Triple A, Jose Miranda strained his hand … grocery shopping. The Savannah Bananas are coming to a TV near you — ESPN will broadcast some of their games. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Chad Jennings' exploration of what Team USA's dream team could look like for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Aaron Judge is Team USA's new Captain America. Plus, Arenado on why he nixed Astros trade
The Windup Newsletter ⚾ | This is The Athletic's MLB newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Windup directly in your inbox. The World Baseball Classic isn't 'til next March, but Team USA has a captain: Aaron Judge. Plus: Nolan Arenado speaks on his reasons for refusing the Astros, Sam Blum tells the heartbreaking story of a White Sox legend and Ken tells us about Kyren Paris' impressive set of goals. I'm Levi Weaver, here with Ken Rosenthal. Welcome to The Windup! Almost immediately after sending yesterday's Windup, news broke that Aaron Judge would be Team USA's captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. As far as big names in the sport go, it's hard to think any American is more immediately recognizable or influential. In 2023, that person was Mike Trout, but given the three-time MVP's combined 126 games in the two-plus seasons since, the Yankees star is the logical first name to announce for maximum attention. Advertisement In fact, it makes so much sense, my first question was: 'Oh yeah … why didn't he play in the last one?' Coming off the 2022 season in which he broke the AL single-season home run record with 62, what happened in 2023? Brendan Kuty has your answer here in his story about the announcement: Judge felt a responsibility to be as present as possible during spring training that year, since he had just signed his $360 million mega-extension with the Yankees and had just been named the first Yankees captain since Derek Jeter. For what it's worth, we still might get Trout on next year's WBC roster; the rest of the players haven't been announced yet — though Chad Jennings did his best to project what the roster could look like. It's still nearly a year away, so this isn't information you need just yet, but in case it's information you want — I don't know your life, maybe you're planning on booking flights — the U.S. will be playing in Pool B with Brazil, Great Britain, Italy and Mexico from March 6-11 next year. The championship game will happen on March 17 in Miami. From my most recent notes column: When Angels officials visited Kyren Paris in high school, they couldn't help but notice the writing on the wall. Paris, then 17, had turned his garage into a workout area. On the inside of the door he posted a sheet of paper with different goals for his senior year at Freedom H.S. in Oakley, Calif.: Bat .400. Have good at-bats. Be a good teammate. Work hard every day. To represent another dream, he displayed a photo of a Gold Glove. There also was this: Get a 4.0. The Angels' people were duly impressed — Paris was thinking about succeeding academically as well as in baseball. Sure enough, he maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout high school. He also fared well in his chosen sport, going to the Angels in the second round of the 2019 draft. Advertisement 'My dad (Lejeune) would always tell me about putting things up so you see them more often and they're more likely to happen, just kind of manifest themselves,' Paris said. 'I wrote them down so every day when I would go into the garage to do my tee work, it was the first thing I saw.' Paris maintains the practice to this day, except now he keeps his goals on his phone wallpaper. A swing change he made with the help of Aaron Judge's private hitting coach helped revive his career. And he has helped fuel the Angels' 9-6 start, becoming the first player since Larry Walker to hit five or more runs and steal four or more bases in the first 10 games of a season. The Angels are rotating Paris between second base and center field, and finding him playing time might be more difficult once the team is healthier. Paris, though, is not about to abandon his goal of winning a Gold Glove. 'It's definitely coming,' he said, laughing. 'Don't know where, but it's coming.' More notes here. It's a little rare for a player to be this forthcoming about the reasons he invoked a no-trade clause. But in this case, it kind of makes sense. As it turns out, it wasn't so much an 'absolutely not' as it was a 'I need more time, based on what I'm seeing.' And what Nolan Arenado was seeing this offseason was an Astros team team that was shedding star players at an alarming rate. The Astros were initially on Arenado's list of teams he would have interest in playing for as the Cardinals began the process of trying to trade him last offseason. But as the deal got close, the Astros traded Kyle Tucker to the Cubs, and both Ryan Pressly and Framber Valdez were rumored to be available (Valdez stayed, Pressly followed Tucker in a separate trade with the Cubs). Furthermore, Arenado plays third base, so he knew that signing with Houston would seal the departure of Alex Bregman — something that ultimately happened anyway, when Bregman signed with Boston. Advertisement Shortly after the Tucker trade, the deal between the Cardinals and Astros was close — as in 'just awaiting approval from the player' close. Arenado didn't give a permanent 'no' answer, but he did tell the Cardinals that he needed more time to consider, given the developments in Houston. The Astros didn't have time to wait; they pivoted to first baseman Christian Walker, and the deal was dead. That squares exactly with what Katie Woo reported back in February through multiple sources. That would have been sufficient to know what happened, but hearing it in Arenado's own words was interesting to me, anyway. I obviously remember the name Bobby Jenks. He was the guy who threw the last pitch of the 2005 World Series that snapped an 87-year title drought for the White Sox. He was only three-plus months into his big-league career, having debuted on July 6. By season's end, he was the team's closer, and he pitched in all four games of that October sweep of the Astros (who were in the National League in those days). For the following five seasons, he was one of the best closers in the sport, saving 167 more games over the next five years for a total of 173. That's 75th-most in league history. Before the 2011 season, he signed with the Red Sox, but never saved another game. What I'm not sure I ever heard about was how his career ended after such a brief-but-brilliant tenure. That's on me — it's been right there on the internet since 2019. A botched spinal surgery led to an addiction to painkillers. Even without the pills, though, the surgery is what did it. The hospital ultimately paid Jenks $5.1 million in damages. Today, Sam Blum has an update on Jenks, and here is your fair warning: It's pretty heartbreaking. Jenks is battling stomach cancer. The diagnosis is terminal. He's living in Portugal with his wife, and he's in pretty dire financial straits due to medical bills. Initially, they had planned to rent out their L.A.-area home, but it was destroyed in the Palisades fires earlier this year. Here's hoping for a miraculous recovery. Kris Bryant was one of the most ascendant stars of the mid-2010s. He's spent a lot of time on the IL lately, including five back-related stints. Yesterday, we got a sobering explanation why: He has a degenerative lower-back condition. Our weekly Power Rankings ask this question: Good start or bad start aside, what might be a problem for each team? Advertisement Tarik Skubal's changeup changed (get it?) his career trajectory. Cody Stavenhagen says the pitch is now looking better than ever. In 1970, the Apollo 13 was the height of engineering prowess, but the oxygen tank failed and the astronauts had no choice but to piece it together and survive. This is a very dramatic way of introducing a story about the Phillies outfield. It looks like Jasson Domínguez might be figuring things out in left field. That would be great news for the Yankees. Garrett Crochet carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning Sunday. What was his summary? To suggest that he's not quite in midseason form just yet. Meanwhile … what's going on with the Red Sox? From the college ranks: We have a new No. 1 in the top 25, and Mitch Light checks in to see how the former Pac-12 teams are faring in their new leagues in his week in review. While we're at it, Keith Law has his top 50 prospects from this year's draft class. No. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Sam Blum's report that the Angels appear to be funding Eric Kay's legal costs. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic's other newsletters.
