Category: Sports News

Nothing says preseason football quite like a game with 10 field goals and no touchdowns, as the Las Vegas Raiders fell to the San Francisco 49ers 18-12. That drops the Raiders to 1-2 over the last three weeks, officially wraps up training camp, and sets up the final winners and losers before the regular season.

LOSER: Fernando Mendoza

I cut Mendoza some slack last week, but it’s hard to ignore back-to-back games with interceptions. This time, he got greedy and tried to fit a ball into a very tight window while targeting the 5-foot-11 Jalen Nailor. To be fair, Mendoza managed to get the ball over the linebacker, and a bigger/taller receiver might have been able to come down with it. But it was the wrong throw/decision for the pass-catcher he was throwing to.

Also, the Raiders’ offense operates more smoothly with Kirk Cousins behind center right now. Of course, that’s to be expected since he’s the veteran and has played in Klint Kubiak’s system before. However, that’s another strong sign that the rookie won’t be the team’s Week 1 starter, and it feels like any hopes of that ended on Thursday night.

WINNER: Mike Washington Jr.

Washington has been deserving of some recognition in the winners column but hasn’t gotten it yet. That had nothing to do with his play, though, and everything to do with the fact that he’s held down the second running back job essentially since he was drafted. But that changes because not only did the Arkansas product have another strong outing with eight carries for 49 yards (6.1 ypc), he also eased some concerns if Ashton Jeanty has to miss some time.

The rookie provided some hope that he’s capable of taking on a bigger role if needed and that he can be more than just a home-run hitter out of the backfield.

LOSER: Aidan O’Connell

In a way, this preseason has summarized O’Connell’s tenure in Las Vegas. He’s been up and down, with a shaky outing in the first contest against the Cardinals, then was much better to lead a game-winning drive last week, and had another tough performance on Thursday night. If the Silver and Black were hoping to shop the fourth-year pro ahead of cutdown day, going three-for-nine with 32 passing yards didn’t exactly help matters.

WINNER: JJ Pegeus

The Raiders have been looking for defensive tackles to step up all preseason, and not many had answered the call in the first two games. However, Pegues made a statement against San Francisco, standing out against the run with four tackles, the majority of which were near the line of scrimmage.

He also made a few plays that won’t show up on the stat sheet by plugging up gaps to make runs bounce, and he had a great rep as a pass rusher, pushing the pocket with a bull rush and getting his hands up to record a batted pass. If the 2025 sixth-round pick was on the bubble heading into the game, he certainly made a strong case to stay on the roster.

LOSER: Atonio Mafi

I thought Mafi had a chance to make the team with what he was bringing as a run blocker. But he’s been a problem in pass protection, and that continued in the third preseason game by giving up another sack. The franchise needs to protect its investment in Mendoza, and it’s becoming clear that the fourth-year lineman isn’t up for the job.

WINNER: Brandon Cleveland

Along the same lines as Pegues, Cleveland had a much-needed outing to boost his odds of making the team. The seventh-round pick tied for the team lead with five total tackles and led the club outright with a pair of TFLs. He also had an impressive win as a pass-rusher to get a quarterback hit and was in the 49ers’ backfield on several occasions throughout the night. That should give the coaching staff something to think about ahead of cutdown day.

LOSER: Wide Receivers

To cut the quarterbacks mentioned above some slack, it seemed like the Raiders’ wide receivers struggled to get open. The passing game was filled with a lot of check downs, and there wasn’t a receiver who really stood out against San Francisco. Tre Tucker led the team with 25 receiving yards and no one else even eclipsed 20 yards, while the group had a handful of drops on the evening.

Kubiak called out the position group after last week’s game and can’t be much happier with what he saw on Thursday night. Even after cutdown day, the receivers at the bottom of the roster shouldn’t feel comfortable because it seems like the Silver and Black will be taking a long look at the position on the waiver wire.

WINNER: Cameron McGrone

It will be interesting to see how many linebackers the coaching staff wants to keep, and if there’s an open spot, McGrone made a strong case to fill it. He was flying around all night, showing off some impressive instincts to tie Cleveland and Greedy Vance for the team lead in total tackles (five). At the least, that could have earned the 26-year-old one of the six veteran practice squad spots.

For most of the offseason, the Dallas Cowboys have operated with fewer distractions than usual, keeping them under the radar. Then, after two strong performances in the first two preseason games, Dallas became a focus of sports talk television, raising the question, “Is this finally the year they do it?”

Before jumping too far ahead in that conversation, the Cowboys have one more preseason game to play at home against the New Orleans Saints. The top end of the roster is almost set for the season opener, but questions remain about what to do with the final spots and who will win certain competitions.

Who sits and who plays on Friday night will tell us a lot to begin with, but here are four remaining questions Dallas needs answers to by the end of the preseason finale.

Can Dallas keep three quarterbacks?

Joe Milton has performed exceptionally well in his second season as a backup to Dak Prescott. When Dallas signed Sam Howell, it “pissed off” Milton, but it also brought out the best in him and pushed him to become a proficient commander of the offense.

Milton has the fourth most passing yards in the preseason (286), leads quarterbacks in passing touchdowns (3) and passer rating (142.9) for any quarterback who has had 20 percent of the total dropbacks, according to Pro Football Focus.

Sam Howell has made a case for himself to stay on the roster as well. His first preseason game was better than the second, but Brian Schottenheimer continues to praise him and what he’s brought to the quarterback room. If Howell does nothing more than continue to keep that fire under Milton lit the entire season and grow as a player, does that justify keeping Howell in the building on the 53?

If the Cowboys cut either quarterback, it might not be as easy to claim them back on the practice squad, since good backup play is hard to come by in the NFL. Dallas has kept three quarterbacks in the past. This roster makes it much harder to find a scenario where that’s possible.

Does Dallas keep five or six wide receivers?

Over the last week, there’s been chatter on social media about Camden Brown’s flaws. He can’t separate; he doesn’t have the finishing speed; Dallas could find another developmental wide receiver. And then Brown makes another highlight play in training camp practice that makes everyone remember how consistent he’s been all offseason, forcing his way onto the 53-man roster.

Jonathan Mingo has also played extremely well in training camp and in the preseason games. He has four catches on five targets, 82 receiving yards, one touchdown, and a 90.5 PFF grade, which is fifth-best among all wide receivers in the preseason. Add that on top of him becoming a special teams player for Dallas, and it makes it hard to cut a player like Mingo, too, who Dallas has invested a ton of time in and has been patient.

If Dallas decides to go with five wideouts, which player would be unlikely to return to the practice squad and get claimed by another team? The way Brown has flashed and has been showcased in games could catch the eye of another team looking to bring on a developmental player who’s ahead of the curve as a rookie. Mingo gives another team a pro-ready player who elevates the back end of a wide receiver room, with the potential to be a high-end WR3 for a team like the Miami Dolphins.

The best-case scenario is that both players make the 53, and Dallas goes short at another position. It shouldn’t be an either-or conversation because both players deserve to be on the final roster.

Do the Cowboys have their backup tackles?

Nick Leverett, Ajani Cornelius, and Trevor Keegan have played really well in the interior of the offensive line. With T.J. Bass already locked in as the sixth offensive lineman, Dallas might only be able to keep two of the three. That’s a small potato question (if you know, you know). The big potato question is what Dallas should do about their backup offensive tackles?

Nate Thomas was supposed to push Tyler Guyton at left tackle for a starting job. Guyton quickly ended that battle, pushing Thomas down to backup. Throughout training camp and the preseason, things haven’t always looked great for the former seventh-round pick. The team has tried him at left and right tackle to practice position flex, but his development seems to be taking a step back instead of forward. For a player who has started four games in the NFL, Dallas was hoping for more.

Drew Shelton will need more time to grow as an NFL tackle. The 2026 fourth-round pick has not been great and has given up the second-most pressures (seven) of any offensive lineman in the preseason. Like Thomas, the coaching staff has tried to move him from right to left so he can learn to be a swing tackle and find the best role for him.

Dallas might not feel great about where either player is in their development, and with Cornelius moving to offensive guard, the Cowboys might have to find their swing tackle on the open market. If the front office has to pick either Thomas or Shelton to make the initial 53-man roster, the tie would probably go to Shelton, considering he’s the most recent draft pick and Dallas doesn’t usually give up on fourth-round picks this early.

Sam Williams or Marist Liufau?

After the Cowboys signed Von Miller, it took away a roster spot from James Houston, Sam Williams, and Marist Liufau. Instead of all three making the team, the competition could come down to two. All three can play on special teams and have been really good at it, so who makes the roster might be decided by who can show the most as a pass rusher.

Houston was a surprise for Dallas last year, getting 3.5 sacks in the first five games as a rotational player. He’s also continued that production in the preseason. Houston is the one Dallas might be most confident in out of the three.

Williams re-signed with Dallas on a one-year deal after testing the waters of free agency and getting nothing on the open market. The transition to a 3-4 defense could benefit him at stand-up outside linebacker. Williams has done a lot on special teams during the regular season, but has hurt the Cowboys at times with costly penalties. Do the Cowboys still believe the same player exists who had 8.5 sacks over the first two seasons of his career?

After two seasons at off-ball linebacker, Liufau made the switch to outside linebacker in the new scheme in what feels like a last-ditch effort to make the cut. Liufau has received praise from Schottenheimer for the way he’s attacked the transition and played with effort. Watching the preseason games, it looks like he may be too small to consistently go up against offensive tackles and blocking tight ends. Despite being the most recent draft pick of the three players listed, he might not fit the scheme anymore.

The final preseason game will be a chance for all three to make their final mark, with Williams and Liufau being at the center of it.

A 4-2 homestand against two of the best teams in the National League has put some wind behind the Mariners’ sails. Over their last 15 games, they’re 8-7 against some pretty tough competition. From here through the rest of the season, the Mariners face either teams directly competing against them in the playoff race (TOR, BOS, TEX, HOU) or teams who are on pace to lose at least 98 games this year (ATH, LAA, COL). For those still holding onto hope, this soft schedule to finish off the season has been the guiding light; beat up on a bunch of weak teams and win just enough head-to-head games against those two division rivals to eke out the division in September. It starts with an East Coast road trip through Toronto and Boston.

After their deep postseason runs last year, both the Mariners and Blue Jays have suffered through shockingly similar seasons. They’re separated by half a game in the standings right now and both teams have started to play a little better recently, though it might be too little too late for the Jays. Toronto has continued to be plagued by injuries and its superstars haven’t been able to carry the team through the summer. The team traded away a bunch of impending free agents at the trade deadline — Kevin Gausman, Daulton Varsho, and Jeff Hoffman are out — but they also looked towards the future by acquiring José Soriano and Spencer Arrighetti.

Vladito’s struggles this year have been bewildering; his contact quality has taken a massive hit despite swinging just as hard as he has in the past. He simply can’t square up the ball right now and it’s driving his offensive production into the ground. The one guy who is hitting well right now is Alejandro Kirk. He missed more than two months of the season with a fractured finger and it took him a while to get his bat going after returning in mid June. Since the All-Star break, he has posted a 152 wRC+, easily the highest mark on the team in that period. The rest of the Jays’ postseason heroes from last year haven’t been able to keep it up this season; Ernie Clement has a 96 wRC+, Nathan Lukes is a hair higher at 98, and Addison Barger only played in nine games between two major injuries.

Probable Pitchers 

Updated Stuff+ Explainer 

• Stuff+ scores for Mariners starters

From a previous series preview:

Dylan Cease was the Blue Jays’ headlining acquisition this past offseason when he signed a seven-year, $210 million free agent contract just before Thanksgiving. He’s long been one of baseball’s best strikeout artists, though all those punchouts come with some spotty command. He’s usually able to make it work because he can just work out of any trouble he gets into by avoiding contact altogether, but he can also be prone to big blowups from time to time if his command really slips. He primarily relies on a hard fastball and a nasty slider as his out pitches. He’s increased the usage of his changeup this year and it’s been nearly unhittable; the whiff rate on his offspeed pitch is over 50%!

Cease is one of the two favorites to win the AL Cy Young award. He’s been absolutely dominant throughout the entire season. Back in July when he faced the Mariners, he held them scoreless over seven innings, striking out nine while allowing just four baserunners.

From a previous series preview:

José Soriano is a weird pitcher. He throws extremely hard, he has three pitches with elite whiff rates, and his groundball rate is among the highest in baseball. Last year, his ERA outpaced his FIP by more than half a run. This year, the script is flipped; his ERA is nearly a full run lower than his FIP. Maybe he read my profile of his issues from last summer because, all of a sudden, he’s striking out a bunch more batters. He’s reduced the usage of his sinker in favor of his four-seamer and splitter, but his command hasn’t improved with the pitch mix change. The result is more punchouts, but also a lower groundball rate, a high walk rate, and more damage on contact allowed.

Soriano was traded to the Blue Jays at the trade deadline, an interesting move made for the future at the same time the team was selling off some of their expendable parts. The Mariners are well acquainted with him from his time with the Angels, but he’s only faced them once this season; he allowed three runs in five innings while striking out nine back in June.

After helping the Blue Jays reach the World Series last year, Max Scherzer staved off retirement for one more go around with Toronto. His age-41 season has been marred by a few injuries, limiting him to just 12 starts. They haven’t been good starts either. It’s pretty clear his arsenal just isn’t good enough anymore and batters are happy to tee off on his diminished stuff. For the first time in his long career, his strikeout rate is sitting below 20% and his walk rate is sitting above 10%. It’s an ugly combination and it’s the reason why his ERA is sitting above seven right now.

The Big Picture:

The Astros kept pace with the Mariners after beating the Yankees on Thursday and winning that series in New York; they’ll head across town to face the Mets this weekend. The Rangers lost some ground after dropping the final two games of their series against the White Sox this week and face a tough challenge this weekend as they travel to Milwaukee.

In the Wild Card race, the Guardians have won seven straight and nine of their last 11 to put a sliver of daylight between them and the rest of the field. They host the hot-hitting Royals this weekend. Elsewhere, the Orioles play in Sacramento while the Twins host the White Sox.

Everything started with an email.

On July 26, 2022, just a couple of months after graduating from high school, an 18-year-old who had already been rejected for a position once before decided to try his luck one more time. He pressed send as his heart raced and fingers twitched with excitement and nervousness. Twenty-four hours later in the beige-leather interior of his mom’s Lexus, he received a response from the man he had been trying to reach — Pinstripe Alley managing editor Andrew Mearns. After being asked for a mock piece that would be “indicative of something we might publish on the site,” the 18-year-old happily obliged, feeling fortunate even to be asked for a sample, and sent a Google Doc with an article on Joey Gallo.

The article was fundamentally sound, but not good enough. Not nearly good enough.

So came a large round of edits suggested by Andrew, and the young writer sent it back after making major changes. And after a suspense-building wait, a small dream come true.

I am, of course, writing (and reminiscing) about my story of joining this incredible site.

Since that late July day, I’ve had the immense pleasure of working at Pinstripe Alley. Talking Yankees (and baseball in general) with my wonderful co-workers, hearing their opinions, seeing their reactions through some of the best and worst times, and of course, giving mine too when I wasn’t busy screaming at the TV for all the right or wrong reasons, was just a bonus for me. The real prize? Being a young, aspiring sports journalist who got to write about his favorite team every week for an outlet he had been reading consistently since the middle of high school.

My favorite memory of my time with Pinstripe Alley was easily writing an article for my grandfather’s birthday. I’ve been a Yankees fan since I was born, and it’s because of him that I fell in love with the men in pinstripes and my favorite player ever, Derek Jeter. Having that published on this site and reading it aloud to him was one of the best, most impactful moments of my writing career, even today. I will never forget it, and I owe this site everything for creating a memory like that for me.

Pinstripe Alley wasn’t just a place where I got to write about the Yankees; it was where I learned the ins and outs of journalism on a stricter, more regimented schedule. And while I admittedly wasn’t always the best at it, especially during stressful times in college, my amazing editors greeted me with the utmost grace and acceptance. And, most importantly, it showed me early on how important that part of the job is when entering the real world.

There aren’t many words to describe how I felt when I got Andrew’s email about becoming a member of the staff here at Pinstripe Alley. In that moment, I had accomplished a goal that I had set for myself, and it helped me grow not only as a writer but also as a professional.

For four years, I woke up every week and wrote about my favorite baseball team, the New York Yankees. Now, I’m stepping into the real world, with two college degrees and a full-time sports editor job on the horizon. And had it not been for Pinstripe Alley and the amazing people at this site, I don’t believe I would have made it to where I am today and, more importantly, where I intend to be in the future.

When I began this job, I was just a kid. And to many, I still am. But Pinstripe Alley afforded me all sorts of different new experiences that helped me as I stepped into my college newsroom, my internship newsroom, and my now-sports editor newsroom. The experience I gained here was invaluable, but at the crux were the people, and the people who not only made such an incredibly accepting atmosphere for a relatively inexperienced kid, but who also loved the team just as much, if not more than I do. That is what makes this place so special, and I’m so excited to continue reading as much content from this outlet as possible.

So, after four years here at Pinstripe Alley, it’s time I bid this site adieu. But every word I wrote, and every article I published, is one I’m proud of because of where it was posted and the team it’s about. I’ll never take any of it for granted, and I can’t say thank you enough to everyone on this incredible staff and all of you amazing readers. Until next time.

You’ll have to forgive me as we get a little stuck in the weeds. I promise it will be worth it. One of the more interesting debates in statistical circles is in how much fidelity Pythagorean records have. In plain English, can we use run differentials as a way to accurately gauge the quality of a baseball team? It was established baseball “science” for several decades, but science always has a way of updating itself.

For many of you, your eyes have glazed over and you are wondering what this has to do with the price of whiskey in Ireland. Simply put, Pythagorean records are one of the things we use to determine if a manager is doing a good job and whether teams are overachieving or underachieving. When we spit runs scored and runs allowed into Bill James’ trusty formula, it spits out an expected record based on that differential. The Astros are currently four games better than their expected record. Does this mean Espada is actually doing a good job?

Obviously, that explanation is overly simplistic for a number of reasons. For one, we would have to include the manager’s input into why they have scored and allowed those runs. For instance, do shoddy bullpen decisions lead to more runs allowed? Do you shaky lineup decisions limit runs scored? Is how the manager using players and does that have an impact on player health? These are things that run differentials can’t tell us on their own.

Maybe more importantly to those of us crunching the numbers, we have a baseline explanation for things we have yet to figure out. If we don’t know why something is occurring then we are apt to assume it is random. This is not something we know mind you. It is more of a default that we put in place until a better explanation comes down the pike.

There have been a ton of theories to explain why teams overachieve or underachieve their expected records. Often times, bullpen performance can turn the tide between a good and bad record in one run games for instance. Others point to performance in clutch situations. There certainly is nothing to suggest that those are not factors in Pythagorean records, but most of it comes down to simple math.

There is an affectionate term that I have attributed to the Astros throughout their World Series run. They play something called “bully ball.” Essentially, bully ball occurs when you blow out your opponents. Those games have a way of covering up a ton of sins. Suddenly, numbers like performance with runners in scoring position or with two outs suddenly look a lot better. However, the difference between a 7-2 win and an 11-2 win are negligible for those of us watching the game.

Before we look at the obligatory table, one must appreciate the history of all this. Teams that win 100 or more games almost always overachieve their Pythagorean record. In other words, there is some luck involved in piling on that many wins. I want you to notice what happens to the Astros win differentials in those seasons where they won 100 or more games (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).

Based on the Pythagorean records, the Astros should have won 100 or more games in 2021 as well. So, they not only won 100 or more games four times, but they SHOULD have won 100 or more games four times. That is extremely rare and when you remove 2020, those seasons would have happened consecutively. I think we need to take a step back and appreciate how unique that is. There aren’t many teams in history that can say the same thing. You can probably count them on one hand.

if you remove 2026 from the equation, the Astros record in blowout games (games decided by four or more runs) moves to 259-123. That is a .678 winning percentage. That is absolutely stupid good. That would be equivalent to 110-52 in a 162 game schedule. You’ll notice that the Pythag differentials started to change in 2025 when the Astros weren’t quite as good at blowing out opponents. This year has been an inverse of their recent history dating back to 2017.

If you’ve gotten this far then you’ve reached the point where we can arrive at some conclusions. First, this is not a good baseball team. I know I’m not breaking any ground there and I know many of you are thinking you don’t need the fancy numbers to tell you that. However, the Pythagorean records say they shouldn’t even be .500 and we should take a step back before we reach that conclusion because this team gets its doors blown off with more frequency than in the past.

The second point is that it is fair to suggest that Espada is doing a good job based on these numbers alone. One could argue that the art of giving up on a lost game helps preserve players for future games when they are close. I’m not sure I would completely buy into it, but it an understandable inference from the numbers above. I do think it is important to look at the differences in how these numbers break down. By sheer definition, you would likely have to score five runs or more to register a blowout. The Astros did so 23 to 37 times between 2017 and 2025 and registered between 28 and 37 between 2017 and 2024. They have only 13 with approximately 30 games to go. Unless they suddenly go absolutely nuts down the stretch, they will drastically underachieve in that department.

Many will point to the Astros;’ pitching woes as a reason for the decline in this department and it certainly is a factor, but the offensive challenges have also played a dramatic role. This means that independent of what happens to Espada, this team was not good enough when constructed. Certainly, the use of certain players will come into focus when management makes the call on Espada. The end result is that Pythagorean records are one tool we can use to evaluate managers, but they shouldn’t be the first tool and obviously should not be the only tool.

After a belated adjustment to Pacific time, the Phillies will now have to travel all the way down the coast to Los Angeles. The good news is that they’ll be greeted in Southern California by one of the worst teams in baseball.

The Angels were bad to begin with, and then they shipped out a bunch of guys before the trade deadline. What’s left? A bunch of young players of varying degree of promise, along with one notable veteran who seems content playing out his career in obscurity.

Opposition research: Mike Trout

You’d think that one of these years, Mike Trout would say, “You know what? I’d actually like to experience being on a good team before I retire.” Sure, Ernie Banks also spent his entire career playing for mostly moribund Cubs teams, never making the playoffs, but you have to keep in mind that a lot fewer teams made the playoffs back then. In the current setup where the American League allows six teams into the postseason every year, it’s rather embarrassing that Trout has only been there once – and promptly got swept.

As there is every year, there was some talk that the Phillies should trade for Trout at this year’s deadline. While he’s not anywhere near the hitter he was in his heyday, he’s still swings a good bat and would have fit in well at the top of the Phillies’ order. Of course, there’s the little matter that he’s still owed $37 million for each of the next four seasons, he’s been injury prone throughout his career (though he’s on pace to play close to a full season for the second straight year), and his defense in the outfield has slipped.

Perhaps more importantly, despite the wishes of many Phillies fans, he’s never really expressed any desire to play in Philadelphia.

If you really want to see Trout in Philadelphia, you’re in luck: Eagles season begins in just a couple of weeks, and Trout’s schedule will be nice and open by the beginning of October.

Hating on the Angels

If you’re an Angels fan, it has to be grating to see the crosstown Dodgers enjoying so much success, while your team has been a mess for almost two decades. (Those Rally Monkey shirts are looking pretty ragged these days, huh?) Since 2010, the franchise has had more name changes than playoff wins. I don’t know how had arguably the two best players in baseball over the past 15 years and still couldn’t sniff contention.

Then again, the franchise wasn’t doing all that hot before the 2000’s either. Here’s a quick summary of Angels’ history:

• One World Series title of which the lasting memory is a monkey
• They can’t seem to decide what city they represent
• One of their outfielders tried to assassinate Queen Elizabeth

Trivia

Last week’s answer: Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina each had multiple multi-home run games at Citizens Bank Park as members of the Cardinals. Multiple people guessed Pujols but nobody picked Molina.

This week’s question: The Phillies’ first ever game against the Angels was a 3-0 win on June 6, 2003. Name two of the three pitchers who combined for that shutout.

Additional thought about the series

The Angels’ offense has been horrendous, scoring the second fewest runs in the league in August. Surprisingly, the Angels’ pitching staff has been solid, carrying the fifth best team ERA since the All-Star break. Reid Detmers (Whose name sounds like how Carnac the Magnificent might describe Philadelphia Eagles history) is emerging as a star pitcher and former Phillies prospect George Klassen is off to an impressive start to his career. (Welp)

The good news is that in addition to Detmers, the Phillies are scheduled to face Ryan Johnson and Yusei Kikuchi, both of whom have been mostly bad this season. (Though Johnson has been much better over the past month and is coming off a start where he pitched seven shutout innings.)

With key series against the Diamondbacks and Braves looming, it would be ideal for the Phillies to take advantage of the talent disparity and rack up at least two wins this weekend.

Two weeks ago today, the Washington Nationals announced that they were planning to move star shortstop CJ Abrams to second base. However, for a variety of reasons, Abrams has still yet to play the position. The longer that remains the case, the more awkward this situation will get for the Nats.

From a purely statistical perspective, moving Abrams off short makes a lot of sense. He is one of, if not the worst defensive shortstop in the game. Abrams has also had years to improve defensively, but has just not taken the required leap. However, the timing of the move was curious.

Instead of waiting until the end of the season, the Nats forced the issue, switching their star’s position in the dog days of summer. While the Nats were struggling due to trades and the injury of James Wood, the new regime decided to unsettle Abrams.

Despite not being a good defensive shortstop, Abrams takes a lot of pride in playing the position. He has been a shortstop his whole life and sees himself as “the captain of the infield” when he is playing short. With this in mind, it seems like this was a decision that should have come in the offseason.

There was never going to be a perfect time to make this needed decision. However, I think the move would have been less messy in the offseason. As it stands, Abrams has reluctantly agreed to switch positions. Even his agent said that Abrams was “uneasy” about the move but was willing to put the team first.

With all this in mind, the fact that Abrams still has not played second is a bit awkward. One important piece of context to consider is his ankle injury though. It seemed like Abrams was close to finally making the move, but during the Texas series he rolled his ankle. This caused him to miss a few games, and he has only been a DH since.

However, the Nats were planning on putting Abrams back in the field the other day. They had him go through pre-game workouts, but it was determined he was not ready to go yet. Confusingly, Abrams was set to play shortstop that game, not second base.

I get he was coming back from an injury, but what does that injury prevent him from playing second base? This whole situation is just becoming a distraction for the entire team and Abrams in particular. The clear solution to this issue is to just pull off the band-aid and play him at second. I wish they waited until the offseason, but at this point you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube.

Making this ordeal even more awkward is the fact that Abrams has been in a deep slump since the position move. After winning player of the month in July, Abrams is hitting below .200 in August. Abrams came into the second half with a point to prove and looked to crush the narratives about his second half struggles.

It looked like he was on his way to doing that, but this situation has brought his momentum to a halt. Everybody involved in this does not look great right now. From the outside, it is easy to look at this situation and say that Abrams is not handling this very well. His play and enthusiasm have taken a noticeable dip since the announcement. Even that play where he hurt his ankle could have been prevented if Abrams was running harder and slid.

For the new regime, it seems like they made a star player unhappy and unsettled without much of a reason. It is not like Abrams is being moved off the position for a super star or an exciting prospect like Eli Willits or Seaver King. They are just swapping him and Nasim Nunez. Is that move really worth all the trouble it is causing?

The longer Abrams is not at second base, the weaker the team looks as well. We do not know what is going on in the building, but from the outside you can make a narrative that Abrams is dragging his feet. Why would Abrams go back to short after the injury?

In the long term, this should work itself out. However, the longer Abrams is not at second base, the weirder this looks. I hope to see Abrams playing second sometime this weekend. It would remove a distraction from a clubhouse that needs to come together over this final month of the season.

The Buffalo Bills mounted a glorious comeback to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-27 on Thursday night to cap a 3-0 preseason.

Now Brandon Beane, Joe Brady, and Co. have to trim the roster from 91 players to 53 by Sunday at 6pm EST. Therefore it’s time for my final roster projection of the summer.

Quarterback (2)

• Josh Allen
• Kyle Allen

Allen won the QB2 battle — a competition that did have some legs in training camp — with another surgical performance in the second preseason game. He’s not the best backup in the NFL but appears comfortable in Joe Brady’s system.

Running Back (4)*

• James Cook
• Ray Davis
• Frank Gore Jr.
• Ben VanSumeren

Tipping the scales back to Gore Jr. after he demonstrated how he can make something out of nothing on multiple occasions against the Steelers and had another stellar blitz pickup on a Shane Buechele long completion for the second-straight week. This is no slight on Ian Wheeler. He was dynamic in the preseason. Gore Jr. has earned this spot on the roster that he’ll at least hold until Ty Johnson returns from what I’m predicting will be a IR designation to begin the season.

Wide Receiver (6)

• D.J. Moore
• Khalil Shakir
• Josh Palmer
• Keon Coleman
• Skyler Bell
• Trent Sherfield

No changes here — I wanted to include Mecole Hardman here as the primary punt returner. But he muffed a punt last season and had three drops in the preseason. I’m guessing Ray Davis will be the primary kick and punt returner this season. Yes, his initial muff was ugly.

Tight End (3)

• Dalton Kincaid
• Dawson Knox
• Jackson Hawes

Despite strong pushes by Keleki Latu and even Shane Zylstra, the Bills opt to keep their normal three tight ends on the roster. Do not sleep on Latu or even Zylstra getting practice-squad elevations this season. They’ve proven their worth this summer.

Offensive Line (9)*

• Dion Dawkins
• Alec Anderson
• Connor McGovern
• O’Cyrus Torrence
• Spencer Brown
• Austin Corbett
• Lloyd Cushenberry
• Tylan Grable
• Sedrick Van Pran-Granger

For now, I have nine Bills blockers making the roster but there are caveats galore here. Given that Jude Bowry was seen in a walking boot at practice this week, it’s sensible for this raw, high-upside rookie to start the season on IR, making room for another player on the 53-man roster. That player is Van Pran-Granger who, despite losing the backup center job to Cushenberry, pieced together a strong summer.

Then there’s this reasonably distinct possibility — the Bills trim the roster to 52 players to prep to add a veteran blocker released by another team after they trade Van Pran-Granger to the Commanders (or another interior offensive line needy club).

Defensive Line (6)*

• Ed Oliver
• Deone Walker
• T.J. Sanders
• Landon Jackson
• Greg Gaines
• Zane Durant

No changes here, although Durant leaving the Steelers game late with what looked to be a non-serious injury, is worth monitoring.

InsideLinebacker (4)

• Terrel Bernard
• Kaleb Elarms-Orr
• Dorian Williams
• Joe Andreessen

Yes, I just advocated a place for Jenkins on the 53-man roster earlier this morning… but Andreessen is more of a proven commodity as a depth linebacker and special teams ace. He is ahead of Jenkins’ developmental track by a year, having first made the team in 2024. In this case, the Bills cling to hope Jenkins isn’t snagged by another club after Buffalo moves him to the practice squad.

RushLinebacker (6)

• Greg Rousseau
• Bradley Chubb
• Michael Hoecht
• T.J. Parker
• Javon Solomon
• Mike Danna

Based on WAWW, Danna would not make the roster. He played the majority of the fourth quarter in the final preseason. That’s typically a dead giveaway that a player isn’t going to be part of the original 53-man roster to start a regular season. HOWEVER, Danna provides Buffalo serious experience on the edge — along with some interior rushing flexibility — and I expect Leonhard would want an extra rush linebacker over another inside linebacker (see: Keonta Jenkins). Although special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers probably would lean in the opposite direction.

.Defensive Backs (10)

• Christian Benford
• Maxwell Hairston
• Dee Alford
• Davison Igbinosun
• Cole Bishop
• CJ Gardner-Johnson
• Jordan Hancock
• Jalon Kilgore
• Kani Walker
• Sam Franklin Jr.

I’ve gone back and forth on Damar Hamlin — he was an afterthought this offseason but has parlayed a strong camp into a solid preseason, and I do think in a perfect world, the Bills would like to keep him as veteran experience at safety behind Cole Bishop and CJ Gardner-Johnson. For this projection, he’s left off the 53-man roster with Buffalo hoping he can be stored on the practice squad, although I do think it’s very possible Hamlin vs. Franklin Jr. is the final roster decision for Beane to make.

Specialists (3)

• Reid Ferguson
• Tommy Doman Jr.
• Tyler Bass

Hard to say if there’s been a clear winner in the punter battle — as both Mitch Wishnowsky and Doman only got cracks at it in the second preseason game. This one could go down to the wire.

*Phidarian Mathis will begin serving his three-game suspension at the start of the regular season so he will not originally be on the 53-man roster Week 1.

*Ty Johnson and Jude Bowry begin the season on IR in this projection

It’s the last week of preseason, which means roster cuts are on the horizon for the Seattle Seahawks and the rest of the NFL. With Seattle retaining so many of its players from last season, the roster bubble is probably a bit smaller than most other teams, but nevertheless still compelling.

Let’s get to some roster bubble talk before the Seahawks take on the Kansas City Chiefs at 5 pm PT at Arrowhead Stadium. And no, Jalen Milroe is not on this list. You were going to be watching Milroe regardless of whether he was on the bubble or not, so this is about filling out positions for which the depth is a bit questionable.

Running Back: Jacardia Wright and Velus Jones Jr

It’s possible that neither player makes the cut, if only because Seattle likely has its three running backs (Jadarian Price, George Holani, and Emanuel Wilson) for the regular season. When Zach Charbonnet comes back, they’ll have four. Wright and Jones can both be practice squad stashes and game day elevations for a few weeks, if needed.

Wright returned from injury last week and rocketed his way into the end zone on a 69-yard touchdown run. Jones has had a good camp in his first proper offseason as a running back, plus he has experience (albeit not great ones in the NFL) as a wide receiver.

The edge probably goes to Wright IF Seattle keeps a fourth running back, I suspect.

Wide Receiver: Montorie Foster Jr, Cody White, Emmanuel Henderson, Ricky White III

I contemplated leaving Foster off completely because I think he has a spot secured, but let me not get ahead of my skis and risk him being the new Kasen Williams or Easop Winston. Foster should have an inside track, but Cody White has the most experience of this group, Emmanuel Henderson has done pretty much nothing at receiver but could be a very good special teams players, and Ricky White III is another special teams standout.

With Jake Bobo’s season over, will the Seahawks roster five receivers or six? This could be two spots for the aforementioned four or everyone competing for the fifth and final spot. Foster has been the best actual wide receiver among this quartet, with Henderson maybe the most versatile on special teams.

Cornerback: Andre Fuller, Michael Dansby, and Trevon Diggs

I’ve left off Noah Igbinoghene if only because he’s a vested veteran and doesn’t have to go through waivers. There’s a chance that, in order to roster one of Fuller or Dansby, the Seahawks get creative and “cut” Igbinoghene and sign him after the practice squads have formed. Even still, from what I’ve seen of Noah I believe he has value on this roster.

Fuller has been exclusively a slot corner in preseason, which is interesting to see. Dansby had the more eye-popping camp and his speed and quickness to the ball-carrier is something that has stood out at times. They’ve had their respective ups and downs with their camp and preseason reps, but I think the Seahawks would like to have at least one of these guys on the roster.

Then there’s Trevon Diggs. He says he’s had a healthy offseason for the first time, but now it’s time to see him in live game reps. The former Dallas Cowboys All-Pro corner has had a tough go of it with injuries and lackluster performances over the previous three years, so this is his first chance to show there’s still something left in the tank.

There’s obvious uncertainty as far as the cornerback depth below Josh Jobe and Devon Witherspoon. Do the Seahawks address this with a higher volume of CBs than normal? Nehemiah Pritchett should be fine, as should Igbinoghene even if they do funny roster tricks with him, but it’s still up for grabs as far as remaining spots. There’s also, of course, the looming Terrion Arnold signing, although he’s set to be on the commissioner’s exempt list the minute the ink is dry.

Safety: A.J. Finley, D’Anthony Bell, and Maxen Hook

I’m leaving Rodney Thomas II off if only because I don’t know if he’s playing tonight. He had recent hand surgery and even then was spending a fair amount of time with the third-team in his lone preseason outing versus the Dallas Cowboys.

There are question marks about Nick Emmanwori’s Week 1 readiness and, of course, who will step up now that Bud Clark’s Week 1 readiness is for the 2027 season. Finley could be a great turnaround story after tearing his ACL last training camp, and he’s generally been the starting deep safety over the last two preseason outings.

Bell is really more an approximation of Emmanwori’s presence down in the box, and he’s someone Seattle could keep even temporarily as Emmanwori insurance. Hook has drawn some praise from Coach Mike Mcadonald and had a good game (particularly his tackling) versus the Tennessee Titans.

If Ty Okada, Julian Love, and Nick Emmanwori are roster locks, we might see the Seahawks keep a maximum of two additional safeties out of the aforementioned three (well, maybe four if we include Thomas).

I swear that the goal wasn’t to get to 12 players. It just sort of happened that way! You can name your bubble players in the comments section below!

Rothesay County Championship, Division One, Scarborough (day two)

Yorkshire 263: Wharton 70, Hill 62; Hull 3-57

Leicestershire 12-0

Yorkshire 1 pt, Leicestershire 3 pts

Match scorecard

George Hill posted an increasingly-aggressive 62 and Josh Hull completed a three-wicket haul as Yorkshire and Leicestershire played out a heavily weather-interrupted day of County Championship cricket at Scarborough.

Yorkshire advanced their first innings from 144-5 in their first innings to 263 all out at tea on day two, with Leicestershire only able to respond with 12-0 inside four overs.

There was no play beyond 16:35 BST because of rain, and in all only 24.5 overs were bowled.

The start of play was delayed until 14:10 BST because of a wet outfield following overnight rain.

When play got under way, with 64.1 overs remaining in the day, Leicestershire made the ideal start through their captain Ian Holland, who had James Wharton caught behind pushing forwards for 70.

Wharton failed to add to his overnight score, and Holland had struck with the second legitimate ball of the day - he had started with a no ball - to leave the score at 146-6.

Jonny Tattersall, meanwhile, took his fifth catch and became the first wicketkeeper to claim five dismissals in an innings both for and against Yorkshire. He did it wearing the White Rose against Surrey in 2022.

Hill and Dom Bess (21) shared 56 for the seventh wicket before the latter holed out against Hull, who then removed Ben Coad.

Running out of partners, Hill became more expansive en route to a 64-ball half-century, though he did watch from the other end as Ben Cliff struck three successive boundaries off Rehan Ahmed before being bowled for 22 off the next.

At 263-9 in the 76th over, Hill and Cliff had shared 53 in 29 balls.

Leicestershire's left-arm quick Hull, who finished with 3-57 from 12 overs, has got to the level Yorkshire all-rounder Hill is aiming for.

He played one Test for England, against Sri Lanka at The Kia Oval in September 2024.

Hill has represented the England Lions in the past year or so and is cementing his standing as one of the county game's brightest talents at the age of 25. His performances have come more with the ball than the bat, though this was his fourth fifty of the season.

The performances of Hull and Hill ensured supporters got to see a high-quality, albeit shortened, day of Championship cricket.

Whether or not we get enough time over the next two days for either side to force a positive result remains to be seen, but both counties will feel that chance remains for them, especially with obvious assistance on offer for the bowlers.

Report by ECB Reporters' Network, supported by Rothesay.

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