PITTSBURGH, PA - JULY 07: Ryan O'Hearn #29 of the Pittsburgh Pirates celebrates after hitting his third home run of the game and driving in his 10th RBI setting the Pirates team RBI record in the sixth inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 7, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Seven umpires are expected to take a buyout and retire at the end of this year. This includes the much-maligned CB Bucknor. Bob Nightengale and Kevin Skiver report. Nightengale also notes that this likely opens the door for Jen Pawol to become the first woman full-time MLB umpire.
Will Sammon thinks struggling Mets right-hander Freddy Peralta is close to getting back his old form (The Athletic sub. req.) Just in time for the Trade Deadline and the no-doubt rumors of him coming to the Cubs.
Jonathan Mayo looks at the three-way debate for who the White Sox should take with the first pick. I saw so many White Sox fans making up fake Roch Cholowsky jerseys after the team won the draft lottery. Now Cholowosky probably has a less-than 50/50 chance of being the South Side pick.
Jim Callis redrafts the 2016 Draft, ten years later. It was a good year for the Cubs to not have a first- or second-round pick, if you ask me.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - MAY 23: A general view of the Giants equipment rack before the start of the game between the Chicago White Sox and San Francisco Giants on May 23, 2026 at Oracle Park in San Francisco, CA. (Photo by Larry Placido/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
The baseball world seems to believe that the San Francisco Giants will be sellers at the trade deadline, with everyone on the team receiving speculation in some form or another.
Personally, I don’t know if I think that they will actually do that, even if they probably should. This organization rarely tends to make what would be agreed upon as “smart” decisions these days. But maybe this year they will prove me wrong on that.
I’ve seen articles floating trade scenarios about everyone from Logan Webb down to the ball boys, and at this point I think the team should be willing to hear everyone out on everything. But there are always going to be guys that you just don’t want to see go.
I think for me, that would be Jung Hoo Lee. He’s been the most fun thing about watching Giants baseball for me since they traded my last favorite player, Mike Yastrzemski. Which means that it’s almost a lock that they will now trade him too. But I really hope they don’t.
Who is your “hands off!” player as we approach the deadline?
What time do the Giants play today?
The Giants wrap up this series against the Toronto Blue Jays this afternoon at 12:45 p.m. PT.
MLB.com’s Anne Rogers provided some insight into the Kansas City Royals’ draft approach for later this week, including speaking with scouting director Brian Bridges.
The Royals have been linked to shortstop Jacob Lombard out of Gulliver Prep (Fla.) — if he makes it that far — left-hander Gio Rojas out of Stoneman Douglas (Fla.) HS, outfielder Eric Booth Jr. out of Oak Grove (Fla.) HS, UC Santa Barbara right-hander Jackson Flora and Georgia Tech outfielder Drew Burress, among others. Maybe they shake up the board and go with Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS left-hander/outfielder Jacob Grindlinger, who is just 17 years old after reclassifying for this year’s Draft and has legitimate upside as a two-way player. Grindlinger is No. 16 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft prospects list and is rising on boards as Draft day nears.
Prep players usually mean a lot of upside but with more risk, while college players bring a higher floor and more experience — often with a chance to move quickly. Over the full Draft, the Royals are going to value both.
“There’s a good mix of high school and college,” Bridges said. “To tell you the truth, our range is pretty broad. There’s a clear-cut four players, five players in this Draft, and then believe it or not, where we’re picking, you can go a number of different directions. So we have a pretty good balance of what we’re looking at, both high school and college.”
Baseball America had a less-than-clear picture of Kansas City’s strategy for the upcoming draft, with a reported divide between ownership and the scouting department. Fast forward to the 44:00 mark.
The pitch itself has barely changed. Its velocity, vertical movement, and spin profile have remained almost identical. What changed was the hitters’ response. They’re no longer chasing it at the same rate. One plausible explanation is that the rest of Cameron’s arsenal no longer poses enough of a threat to force hitters to protect the zone early in the count.
The rest of his arsenal supports that theory. None of his other pitches has complemented the curveball with any consistency. His four-seam fastball has allowed a 49.3% HardHit rate and a .280 batting average. The cutter hasn’t provided a reliable alternative either, surrendering a .338 average, while both the slider and sinker have been hit even harder. Combined, those four pitches account for 61.5% of Cameron’s repertoire, compared to just 16.8% for his curveball. The results suggest hitters can afford to wait for something more hittable instead of protecting against his best pitch.
Chad wasn’t wrong in the intro. Bobby Witt Jr. has been very good, which is not an accurate representation of the Royals as a whole. Instead, we’re going with Ragans.
Why? Because Ragans was an All-Star in 2024, and a huge reason Kansas City surprised the sport and made it to the playoffs. Since then, he has pitched in just 21 games — 13 last year and eight this year — as he battles one injury or another. Even when he was on the mound this year, he was just 1-4 with a 4.84 ERA.
At the end of 2024, the Royals seemed to be a team on the brink of a glow-up. But after a disappointing 2025, this season seems to be more of the same
The Royals could very well go for Jacob Lombard or Eric Booth Jr., but there’s been a rumor for about two months now that they would love to get a college pitcher here, perhaps on a discount (Edwards would certainly come in well under slot), so they can grab several higher-upside high school picks later on, especially since scouting director Brian Bridges appears to have hit already on recent high school picks Josh Hammond and David Shields. If it’s not Edwards, it could be Logan Reddemann or Liam Peterson, and I believe this would be Jackson Flora’s absolute floor.
The Royals may not have liked the results Cerantola was providing, but it seemed wiser to give him the same merciful treatment they did with Mitch Spence after his historically bad outing a few weeks ago and kept him an option. They should’ve been content with what they’d developed with him and allowed for some patience.
It’s not a move that shoots them in the foot per se, but it certainly puts them in a precarious spot should the injury bug look to the bullpen for it’s next victim.
One big question: Do the Royals throw a curveball at pick six or play it straight?
Most teams agree on a group of six-plus players in the top tier (Roch Cholowsky, Vahn Lackey, Grady Emerson, Jackson Flora, Jacob Lombard, Eric Booth Jr.), so you’d think picking at No. 6 means the Royals just take the best player left on the board. They tend to have opinions about players who are more pointed than other teams, so the odds are a little higher that the one or two players in that group that Kansas City is less excited about will be the one who gets to their selection. Could this be another Frank Mozzicato moment where they go way down the consensus board to save money and spread it around high school players later? Those rumors are swirling around a few picks in this range, including the Royals’ pick.
CINCINNATI — Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler described his 14-strikeout outing in a victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night a “reminder for whoever needs to be reminded” that Major League Baseball erred in leaving him off of National League roster for next week’s All-Star game.
“It pisses me off and it’s kind of BS,” Wheeler (9-1) said in postgame comments broadcast by NBC Sports Philadelphia.
The 36-year-old Wheeler’s career high-tying strikeout performance in a 4-1 victory came mere hours after Major League Baseball announced that three other National League pitchers — Riley O’Brien of St. Louis, Philadelphia’s Jesús Luzardo and Pittsburgh’s Braxton Ashcraft — had been tapped as All-Star replacements.
The three late additions to the July 14 All-Star game — being held this season in Philadelphia — replaced Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes, Milwaukee’s Jacob Misiorowski and Miami’s Max Meyer, who are all scheduled to pitch for their teams this weekend.
Wheeler, too, is scheduled to pitch this weekend against Detroit, and was given the impression that is the reason he wasn’t selected as a replacement. “Just because I pitch on a certain day, I get — you know — I don’t even know the right word,” Wheeler said. “Because I pitch on a certain day, I can’t pitch in the All-Star game or even be there or get the recognition.”
Wheeler said that if a deserving pitcher wants to participate in the All-Star game, they should at least have the opportunity to be named to the roster, regardless of when they’re scheduled to pitch for their own team.
“Maybe if I wasn’t necessarily right in there I wouldn’t be saying this, but I feel like I’ve earned it,” Wheeler said. “There’s certain ways to do it and you figure they would have a clue about it by now — how many All-Star games they’ve had.”
Wheeler said he even would have been willing to pitch an inning in the All-Star game on two days’ rest, when he’d normally be throwing anyway in a bullpen session.
“It’s kind of a BS rule that just because I pitch on a certain day I get punished,” Wheeler continued. ”I’ll be fine throwing an inning. But it’s not even an option, I guess.”
Kyle Schwarber, who helped power the Phillies’ offense with his major league-best 31st home run of the season, said he understood Wheeler’s frustration.
“When someone deserves it, you want them to get that acknowledgment,” said Schwarber, a four-time All-Star who was selected to this season’s National League roster as a designated hitter.
“We’re only in this game for so long,” Schwarber said. “You want to be able to look back and feel like you have some things that put some feathers in the cap.”
LOS ANGELES — Shohei Ohtani hit his 300th career homer on Tuesday night, a leadoff shot against Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen that made him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach the milestone.
The Los Angeles Dodgers’ two-way superstar blasted a 409-foot line drive to center on a 2-0 pitch for his 20th homer of the season. Center fielder Cole Carrigg could only watch it fly out.
“It was quite the homer,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “It was 119 (mph exit velocity) off the bat, low-launching, it was squared up, got out in a hurry. I just marvel at him every day. Three hundred is a big number.”
Ohtani is the fifth-fastest in history to reach 300 and the 170th member of the club. It took him 1,102 games between playing for the Los Angeles Angels and Dodgers; New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was the quickest at 955 games.
It was Ohtani’s 31st career leadoff homer and seventh this season. He also homered in the Dodgers’ 8-7 victory in 11 innings on Monday night to highlight a 3-for-4 performance.
Roberts believes there’s a lot more homers within reach for Ohtani, who turned 32 last Sunday.
“He just had a birthday, still young, still strong, so I definitely think 500 is in his future,” the manager said.
Teammate Freddie Freeman bowed as Ohtani made his way back to the dugout.
ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - JULY 6: José Fermín #15 of the St. Louis Cardinals hits an RBI single against the Milwaukee Brewers in the third inning at Busch Stadium on July 6, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) | Getty Images
I was already leaning towards writing about this before the Brewers series, but after last night’s game, it really hammered the point home. So, through the lens of my own bullpen rankings, I will compare which teams are really thriving with a light’s out, effective bullpen, and which teams are bleeding wins because of theirs. In 2026, baseball continues to evolve, and I have a feeling that bullpens are more important than ever. It could end up that I reveal teams wasting resources on amazing bullpens, or maybe all the best teams will have the best bullpens; we shall see…
I’m going to do this in an odd sort of way, using something I am going to call Correlation Points. I am looking at team reliever stats on fangraphs, with a variety of different stats, including rate stats and fWAR.
There are 12 teams with a bullpen ERA under 4, and those teams are actually 3.8 ERA or lower. The rest of MLB is over 4 ERA. There are 10 MLB bullpens with an ERA 4.0-4.5. Then, the worst, most neglected bullpens are over 4.50 ERA, with only a handful of MLB bullpens performing at 5.0 ERA or worse. I am using a three tier system, assigning 3 CP (correlation points, remember?) to tier 1 teams, 1.5 CP to the mid-tier teams, and .5 CP to the worst teams. But wait, what about the absolutely elite bullpens? Don’t they mean something? Only 4 MLB bullpens have an ERA under 3.5. I’ll go ahead and assign those teams 3.5 CP. It ended up convenient that by my ratings sytem, the 4 best bullpens weighed out the 4 worse bullpens as the outliers. Instead of half a CP, the 4 worst get absolutely no Correlation Points. And that’s how I’m doing ERA.
Including xERA is a way to include a balance to the flukiness of ERA. I’ll again be assigning 3 CP to teams with a rate under 4.0. No bonus points this time because the teams are more tightly packed. In this case, the middle teams with an xERA under 4.40 will get 2 CP, and the worst bullpens of MLB will get .5 CP.
And then of course, you should look at it from a Fielding Independent Pitching perspective, normalizing and leveling the playing field when it comes to fielding/defense masking the effectiveness of a bullpen. I’ll use the same system for xERA here. Under 4.0 FIP = 3 CP. Mid teams get 2 CP, and the worst bullpens only get .5 CP. I’m going to skip using xFIP because you don’t want your bullpen giving up a lot of home runs and then trying to normalize that.
And because it’s good if your bullpen can eat a bunch of innings while also performing well, I’ll simply be using fWAR totals as correlation points, so the most valuable bullpens by counting stat WAR will have quite an effect on my Correlation Points system. But not all winning bullpens are used frequently, so I want to level that playing field by not just using fWAR. I want to see what teams have good bullpens across the board.
After I totaled the Bullpen Correlation Points, I listed teams’ Winning Percentage and then assigned Record Correlation Points, mirroring the Bullpen CP totals but assigning according to record. I was then able to tell what percentage of teams records match up with the performance of their 2026 bullpen.
Tiering MLB Bullpens
Tiers by ERA
Elite Tier: Braves, Yankees, Red Sox, Brewers
Top Tier SEA NYM SDP MIA TEX CLE TOR LAD
Mid Tier CHC DET ARI CHW STL BAL PHI HOU TBR PIT
Bad Bullpens SFG LAA CIN COL
Dumpster Fire ATH WSN KCR MIN
Tiers by xERA
Top Tier NYY SDP PHI MIL ATL LAD NYM MIA TOR DET BAL
Mid Tier HOU BOS CLE ARI TEX SEA LAA CHW ATH PIT SFG
Bottom Tier TBR MIN COL CHC STL KCR WSN CIN
Tiering Bullpens by FIP
Top Tier SEA ATL PHI NYY LAD MIL MIA NYM BOS SDP CLE TOR BAL
Mid Tier ARI TEX DET STL CHW PIT COL SFG
Bottom Tier HOU ATH LAA TBR MIN CHC WSN CIN KCR
Just to give you an idea on how these rankings can fluctuate depending on what stat we are using. Notice how the Cardinals bullpen is either mid-tier, or bottom tier by xERA. Compare and contrast teams, if you’d like.
Now, for the Bullpen Correlation Points! The more CP, the better the bullpen across all categories, also including bullpen fWAR.
Tiering MLB Bullpens with Bullpen Correlation Points
Elite Tier: Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Diego! All are among the best across the board using all major stat categories. The cream of the bullpen crop.
Top Tier: only a small step down. If your favorite thing in baseball is a very effective bullpen to shut things down for the starting pitcher or just keep you in the game, you might want to be a fan of the Dodgers, Blue Jays, Yankees, Mets, Marlins, or Phillies, if that’s your thing (a second favorite team, of course!)
Mid Tier: The mid bullpens are ones like the Red Sox, Guardians, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, White Sox, Diamondbacks, Tigers, Pirates, Rockies, or Astros. These ‘pens get the job done well enough. You might have noticed, none of these teams are among the very best in Winning %. The best you can hope for in this mid tier is a team like the Mariners, or Guardians, two teams who have the same record just above .500. Which is good enough in their divisions, strangely enough.
Bottom Tier: The Cardinals bullpen is the best of the bottom tier, but what has weighed them down a bit is their low fWAR total. They are probably a more mid tier team, hopefully, but for now I’ll just have to rank them as among the bottom of the bullpens. The Giants, Angels, first place Rays, Athletics, Cubs, Twins, and Reds join them. The Reds of course have a much worse bullpen than the Cardinals, but let this be a cautionary tale that the Cardinals deserve some bullpen help!
Dumpster Fires: The Nationals and Royals bullpens are just dumpsters filled with napalm on a hot summer day. Fans of these teams must turn off the TV once the starter is out, unless they are up by 7+ runs or something.
And now for the fun part! Do bullpens really matter a lot? How much do bullpens correlate with a team’s winning percentage? Bullpens after all are almost like bench players, in many ways. The pitchers don’t play as much overall, and are a bit of a hodge podge motley crew of journeymen and prospects. What I found may surprise!
I was surprised to find SEVEN teams had a DIRECT correlation between their record and bullpen. By that I mean their bullpen correlation points exactly matched their ranking according to their winning percentage.
11 teams had either a direct or a very strong correlation between bullpen effectiveness and wins and losses.
Over half the teams had a close correlation between bullpen and winning. That’s sort of impressive, all things considered.
21 teams had some correlation between their bullpen’s goodness and their record. I think that says a bullpen is pretty important.
Only three teams appeared to have really no correlation between their bullpen and their win/loss record. Can you guess who they are? The Mets really damn good bullpen cannot save them from whatever is happening in NY… while the Cubs and especially the Rays cannot be dragged down by a bad bullpen. I don’t want to see how good the Cubs would be with a bullpen.
The Cardinals are another team that is outplaying its bullpen, saved by defense and some hitting. There is only a weak correlation between the team’s bullpen and its record. The flip side of the coin is the Padres having an absolute top tier bullpen, while playing under .500 baseball. One of the best bullpens cannot save them. Same with over half of the AL East: Blue Jays, Red Sox, Orioles are floundering despite effective bullpens.
Teams with a direct correlation between bullpen effectiveness and record: Brewers elite ‘pen means a top tier team (while they do everything well), Marlins bullpen making them a contender, Rangers and Diamondbacks midrange bullpens making them around .500, and the Athletics bottom tier bullpen keeping them towards the lower reaches of MLB.
I don’t think the Braves would be as good as they are without a top tier bullpen. Playoff ready teams the Dodgers and Yankees have bullpens that are not preventing them from winning many games.
The Mets should probably trade away most of their bullpen to make their team better but I have no idea how they could do that.
Given how tough a bullpen can be to pin down, I think 21 teams having some kind of correlation between their record and their bullpen is interesting enough to draw a conclusion that maybe teams shouldn’t skimp on their reliever corps. A good to elite bullpen is very difficult to assemble, but there is some evidence that you shouldn’t blow off the assembly of it. Sure, you will have freak teams like the Rays that can win a lot despite an ineffective bullpen (and to a much lesser extent, the Cardinals), but overall bullpens might be a little underrated.
So last week I ran out of time and only got through 15 of the 30 (non heavy metal) albums I had selected for review. I am nearly out of time this week, but I will howl at the moon a bit tonight and reveal 15 more! Night owl here…
Medicine – ‘Shot Forth Self Living’ I would describe Medicine as USA’s answer to the UK’s My Bloody Valentine, even more distorted and over the top but different, in some ways also more mellow. A shoegaze genre classic from the band that would later appear on the Crow soundtrack and gain many more fans.
Boredoms – ‘Wow2’ the Boredoms (perhaps one of the most uniquely captivating bands of all time, or at least from Japan) also released the more well known ‘Pop Tatari’ in 1992, but I have enjoyed Wow2 even more! You cannot go wrong either way if you love avant garde rock, experimental music, and weirdo punk.
Lush – ‘Spooky’ another album of shoegazer goodness, but also a bit dreampop and even goth or punk at times, the UK’s Lush made a splash in 1992 with Spooky, a really fun but dark album. Top song picks: Tiny Smiles, Superblast!, Laura, and Starlust.
Gang Starr – ‘Daily Operation’ all time hiphop classic, file somewhere between conscientious rap and gangster rap, with strong hiphop production elements. Guru and Premier at their best!
Thinking Plague – ‘In This Life’ totally mental, super advanced prog rock of the highest order. Only a few preview tracks on their bandcamp, so you’re just going to have to buy this one. I did years ago, and trust me, it’s worth it!
Pete Rock & CL Smooth – ‘Mecca and the Soul Brother’ stumbled across this excellent early 90s hiphop album and I think you should listen to it. It’s certainly going into my hiphop collection!
Ruins – ‘Burning Stone’ another highly original band from Japan, the contrast between Ruins and the Boredoms being that Ruins was a duo on this album, and are much more tightly controlled and focused on the music genre known to humans as Zeuhl. A band like no other. I have had the fortune of seeing them multiple times in Chicago. Flat out astounding!
Stone Temple Pilots – ‘Core’ I had this tape before they blew up, and before anyone else I knew. They were being promoted at some mall record store, on an end cap. They were opening for Megadeth so I gave it a try, and loved it! And they were even better live. That didn’t matter to the Megadeth fans though, they booed at the end. I thought it was funny, and it was my first concert. STP’s debut album!
Meat Beat Manifesto – ‘Satyricon’ Jack Dangers and MBM began to move away from noisy industrial hiphop party music to something a bit more nuanced… However, this album still retains much of that early Meat Beat Manifesto energy and is perhaps their most signature release, bridging the band into new sonic territories.
Frontline Assembly – ‘Tactical Neural Implant’ similar to MBM, Frontline Assembly delivered an all time industrial dance classic in 1992, all the while being more futuristic sounding than just about anyone else at the time outside of NIN and Skinny Puppy.
Showbiz and A.G. – ‘Runaway Slave’ and another classic hiphop release from 1992! Definitely adding this one to my hiphop collection as well.
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – ‘Mother Of All Saints’ I may end up moving this up the list further some day *same goes for Showbiz and AG* but for now, let me just say I’m intrigued and I want to hear more! Bandcamp link, go buy a lesser known bands tunes! Good stuff.
High Rise – ‘Dispersion’ Japan really exploded onto the scene in 1992 at least in my mind, with releases by the Boredoms and Ruins, but High Rise may have been the most impressive in the intensity department, taking psyche rock to new levels and loudness, soloing all over the place with no fucks given. One of the louder live shows I have scene, incredible. The most in-your-face stoner rock possible. (bandcamp)
Naked City – ‘Grand Guignol’ and ‘Leng Tch’e’ bandcamp and youtube links, respectively. I couldn’t choose just one album from 1992 Naked City by John Zorn. Grand Guignol includes covers of 20th century avant classical composers while Leng Tch’e is a longform sludge metal/drone release. Neither sound alike or like the previous Naked City album. All three albums completely necessary.
Steven Jesse Bernstein – ‘Prison’ little known “rapper” Bernstein reminds us of one of the roots of hiphop here, spoken word and beat poetry to a sampler collage. A piece of art melding a uniquely crafted vision, and one of the hidden gems I’ve unearthed doing this project. You won’t even remotely understand what I’m talking about until you hear this masterpiece.
Ween – ‘Pure Guava’ part of Ween’s early evolution into what they would later become, I’d describe this as one of my favorite Ween albums but I pretty like all of them, so I’m not sure what to say other than that Ween occupy their own corner of the music world and this is them becoming who they are.
Screaming Trees – ‘Sweet Oblivion’ and to round out my 1992 picks for music listening, I don’t think any list about 1992 is complete without Sweet Oblivion. Stacked with classic songs that conjure up that time period rather effectively. Music as time machine, no need to invent one. I could listen to the song “Nearly Lost You There” every day of the week. “Dollar Bill” is another classic track. The whole album is stacked, really.
And last but not least I actually have the complete 1992 (non heavy metal) playlist ready! Link here
1992 Heavy Metal Playlist next week! At some point I’ll just list a bunch of years youtube playlists.
Thanks for reading all that, if you did! You rock. Special all star break edition next week… stay tuned.
Philadelphia, PA - April 30: A Boston Celtics fan sits in the stands by himself before the game. The Boston Celtics played the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs at Xfinity Mobile Arena on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) | Boston Globe via Getty Images
Celtics fans have been dropped into the wilderness.
One minute, Jaylen Brown was one of the defining Celtics of the last decade. The next, he was headed to Philadelphia, Paul George was coming back, two first-round picks were handed over like Advil, and everyone was being asked to find comfort in a word that sounds like it was created inside a front office think tank.
Optionality.
That is where the Celtics live now. Brad Stevens explained the logic Monday. The Celtics wanted more flexibility, more depth, and more ways to build the next version of the team. The new CBA made life harder. Two supermax players eating up that much cap space made the path narrower. Paul George’s contract is shorter. The picks could matter.
For now, Celtics fans are stuck in the fog between the trade and whatever comes next. In situations like these, experts recommend staying put, keeping warm, and resisting the urge to identify every snapping twig as the sound of another move coming.
So grab your emergency whistle, your emotional support No. 7 jersey and a printed copy of the second apron rules you definitely understand.
This is the Celtics fan’s survival guide to optionality.
Stay calm. Panic burns energy.
The first rule of surviving optionality is simple: do not burn all your energy before the team takes the court.
I know, easier said than done. The Celtics have dropped us into the middle of July with a backpack full of pick protections, Paul George fit questions, depth expectations, and one granola bar labeled “Trust me. Love, Brad.” Naturally, the first instinct is to start running in circles until you either find civilization or pass out next to a tree stump muttering, “70% of the cap.”
Resist that urge.
The Summer League Celtics have not even played yet, while the real Celtics are still months from taking the floor. Paul George has not missed a regular-season game in green. The 2028 pick has not revealed itself as treasure, kindling, or a weird rock Brad convinced everyone to carry because it might become useful later.
There will be time to panic. That is what October is for.
For now, conserve your energy. Sip water. Build a small fire. Do not start eating random berries from your backyard when you see the Sixers posting Jaylen Brown highlights on Twitter.
Every mention of “flexibility” may still make you want to hop on a moose’s back and whisper, “Take me away from all of this.” Fair. But when you’re lost in the woods, you don’t sprint into the fog because you saw what might be a road. You stop, breathe, and take inventory.
The Celtics chose uncertainty.
That means we must learn how to survive inside it.
Two is one, one is none.
In the wilderness, redundancy keeps you alive. One flashlight breaks, you better have another. One fire starter gets soaked, you better have matches. One person says Luke Kornet is irreplaceable, you better have a Neemias Queta ready to pull out of your backpack.
That appears to be the Celtics’ new operating theory.
For years, the survival plan was simple: when in doubt, trust the Jays. Tatum and Brown were the tent, compass, first-aid kit, bear spray, and the guy who insisted he knew how to hang food from a tree. Everything else was built around them.
That starter pack worked for a long time. After all, Banner 18 is not imaginary. It still hangs there, despite the last week making everyone feel like they dreamt it.
But Stevens looked at the new NBA landscape and decided the Celtics were carrying too much weight in one part of the pack. Too much salary. Too much usage. Too few ways to maneuver if the trail ahead got blocked.
So Boston traded one huge answer for a pile of smaller ones.
Paul George. Future firsts. Second-round sweeteners. Shorter money. More flexibility. More pressure on Pritchard, White, Hauser, Scheierman, Gonzalez, Walsh, Queta, Harper Jr., Robinson, and whoever else gets handed a flashlight and is told, “Get us the hell out of here.”
That is the bet.
Brad Stevens didn’t try to tell us that one player will replace what Jaylen gave them. He told us that with enough smaller pieces, used the right way, the Celtics can replace the version of the team that had started to feel stale and boxed in.
That might be smart, or it could be a front office TED Talk with sneakers on.
Either way, this is the shelter they built.
Everybody get inside before it rains.
Leaves of three, let the overreactions be.
Every survival guide comes with a warning about poisonous plants.
Here’s yours: some post-Jaylen thoughts may look edible. Do not be fooled.
The first is the Payton Pritchard-Jalen Brunson comparisons, which already feels like something Celtics fans are going to find growing behind a log and immediately put in their mouths.
Resist the temptation!
Pritchard can (and should) become more important without becoming Brunson. He can start, create more, bomb threes in transition, irritate opposing guards, talk like every defender in the league called him small at recess, and still not become the best player on a championship team.
Another poisonous plant to avoid: “Paul George had a bad game, so the trade failed.”
This one will be everywhere by late-October. George will miss one pull-up three in the second quarter against Orlando, and someone will be halfway through typing, “We traded Jaylen for this?” before the rebound gets secured.
Leave it alone.
George is being asked to make the toughest first impression of any new Celtic in years. Every missed jumper, quiet quarter, and maintenance day will get dragged back to the trade that brought him here. He is not arriving at a normal campsite. He is walking into camp while everyone is still staring at Jaylen’s empty sleeping bag.
Brad Stevens on Paul George:
“He’s excited to come to Boston. He already came in this weekend, we’re excited to get a chance to work with him.” pic.twitter.com/xG2rgRiWKJ
One more poisonous plant to be wary of: “Actually, I never liked Jaylen anyway.”
Stop it.
Even if you’re not ready to admit it, Jaylen is one of the best players to ever put on a Celtics uniform. You watched him posterize people, win Finals MVP, and grow from a raw 19-year-old into one of the most important Celtics of his era.
All of that happened.
You can understand the logic of the trade without pretending the Jays were some failed experiment. For almost a decade, they shared the floor, absorbed every lazy wedge people tried to drive between them, and kept showing up for each other and for Boston.
Leaves of three, let it be.
Pritchard-Brunson comps, instant George referendums, fake Jaylen amnesia.
Let them be.
Go slow to go fast.
When you’re lost, speed feels productive. Most of the time, it just gets you more lost.
Moving too quick is how you twist an ankle, drop your flashlight, walk past the trail marker, and end up trying to sleep under a damp Celtics poncho while Sixers fans in a nearby tree debate Jaylen’s on/off numbers.
The Celtics have pointed to a trail that fans cannot see yet and asked everyone not to burn the map before anyone knows where it leads.
That is both annoying and the entire concept of optionality.
Optionality is not a player. You can’t throw a lob to optionality or blame it when the bench unit gives up a 14-2 run. It’s a door the Celtics believe they needed to open and step through.
Maybe the trail leads somewhere good. Perhaps there’s a clearing ahead where Brad Stevens is standing with three second-round picks and a handful of acorns, wearing a look that says, “It’s not tasty, but it’ll keep us alive.”
The trail has not revealed itself yet, so go slow.
You do not have to love the trade today. We won’t know for a long time if Brad is a genius, a fraud, a hostage of the CBA, or just a human who sometimes makes mistakes.
Let George play. Let Pritchard’s role breathe. Let Tatum get back to being Tatum. Let the young guys be lovable spark plugs instead of instant proof that the front office knows what it’s doing.
The Celtics made the bet. Fans shouldn’t judge the survival shelter before anyone has slept in it.
Better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it.
Here is the part where everyone groans and throws their marshmallow fireballs in my direction.
Assets matter. I know. Horrible. Disgusting. Not why anyone fell in love with basketball.
Nobody grew up dreaming of the day their favorite team would have usable future assets. No kid in a No. 7 jersey has turned to their dad in the past week and said, “It’s okay, Papa. Paul George’s shorter contract creates cleaner optionality in a second-apron environment.”
If your kid has said that, congratulations. You are raising Mike Zarren Jr.
But tools do matter, not because they make anyone feel better right now, but because they give the Celtics things to use when the next problem arrives.
A future first-round pick is not a hug, nor does it stare into the Garden crowd after a clutch corner three. It certainly does not make Jaylen in a Sixers jersey any less nauseating.
But it is a flare gun.
A shorter contract? There’s your pocket knife.
A tradable salary? One of those little crank radios everyone buys before a storm without knowing how to use it.
You may not want to build your fandom around emergency supplies. Nobody does. But if the Celtics are stuck later, they will be glad they packed something besides vibes and a framed photo of the 2024 parade.
The Celtics may be right to value the tools. Fans may be right to hate the cost.
It’s snug, but both things can fit in the same backpack.
Do not mistake Summer League for rescue.
Normally, Summer League is for convincing yourself the 13th man has “real rotation equity,” and determining a second-round pick’s ceiling based on seven Vegas possessions.
This year, Summer League feels like someone spotted smoke in the distance. At last, help is within reach! Celtics fans need a distraction in a major way. They need new names, new box scores, new clips, new reasons to stop watching Jaylen Brown meet up with his new 6-year-old best friend.
Distractions can be healthy. But do not make the kids rescue you.
Hugo Gonzalez is not going to erase your grief. Chris Cenac Jr. is not a trained wilderness medic. Jordan Walsh should not have to check into a Vegas gym carrying the emotional weight of everyone who recently Googled “2028 pick protections explained in simplest terms.”
Let Summer League be what it is: a weird little basketball campsite in the desert where everyone talks themselves into at least one player they will later pretend they were always right about.
Enjoy it, but do not build a permanent shelter there.
Just keep walking.
Optionality is not closure. Brad Stevens gave us his best Doctor Strange impression, presenting 14,000,605 possible future outcomes, each one as uncertain and murky as the next.
That is the hardest part. Optionality could become a trade. It might become a better-fitting roster. It might become a cleaner cap sheet, a deeper team, or a path the Celtics could not have taken with Jaylen still on the books.
It might also morph into the word Celtics fans mutter years from now while staring into the abyss and remembering that Boston traded Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia for Paul George and picks.
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 23: Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics exits the court after winning Round One Game Four of the 2023 NBA Playoffs on April 23, 2023 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photo by Adam Hagy/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Nobody knows yet.
For now, everyone is still in the woods. The map is illegible. The compass is spinning. The trail markers were removed by a wily bunch of raccoons.
So keep breathing. Watch your step. Do not eat that berry. Avoid trying to explain the 2028 pick to your family unless you packed enough water. And be mindful of the trail marker that now reads, “Under construction.”
The Buffalo Sabres have had an eventful off-season, but they should not be done making moves yet. After losing Alex Tuch this summer, they should be looking to add another impactful winger to their roster to replace him.
One way that the Sabres could look to address this need is through the free agent market. When looking at the remaining unrestricted free agents (UFAs), Anthony Mantha stands out as a prime potential option for the Sabres to consider.
It is surprising that Mantha has still not been signed at this point in the off-season. The 31-year-old forward just had a strong 2025-26 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, setting new career highs with 33 goals, 31 assists, and 64 points in 81 games. With numbers like these, he could be a strong pickup for Buffalo's forward group if signed.
If the Sabres signed Mantha, he would have the potential to slot nicely in their top nine. Furthermore, he would be an obvious option for the Sabres' power play because of his offensive ability.
On a short-term deal, a player like Mantha could make a lot of sense for a Sabres club on the rise. It will be interesting to see if Buffalo makes a push for him this off-season because of it.
Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Sergei Murashov certainly demonstrated plenty of promise this past season. In 38 AHL appearances with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, he posted a 24-9-4 record, a .919 save percentage, a 2.20 goals-against average, and four shutouts.
Murashov also appeared in his first five career NHL games last season with Pittsburgh, where he recorded an .897 save percentage and a 2.56 goals-against average. He also recorded a 21-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Nov. 16.
With this, Murashov has undoubtedly given fans plenty to be excited about when it comes to his future with the club. Now, he is heading into the 2026-27 season as one of their top breakout candidates to watch.
With Stuart Skinner leaving the Penguins and signing with the Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh now has an open goalie spot on their roster. With that, Murashov has a golden opportunity in front him to try and prove that he is ready to be a full-time NHL goalie.
When looking at how well Murashov has performed in the AHL, it is clear that he has plenty of potential. It will be interesting to see if he can take another big step in his development next season and become a key part of the Penguins' roster in the process.
Jul 7, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates right fielder Esmerlyn Valdez (55) dumps water on first baseman Ryan O'Hearn (29) after O’Hearn recorded three home runs and ten runs batted in against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images | Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
The Pittsburgh Pirates had a huge 11-4 win in their series opener against the Atlanta Braves, with Ryan O’Hearn leading the charge from the very first inning.
Hurston Waldrep was on the bump for the Braves and did not start off his night great as in the first inning the Pirates had quickly loaded the bases. With one out and bases loaded O’Hearn came to the plate. With a 1-1 count Waldrep gave up a regrettable looking curveball that O’Hearn turned on and smashed into the right field stands. With that grand slam the Pirates were quickly up 4-1.
In the bottom of the third, O’Hearn was back at the plate with two runners on and no outs. Waldrep again gave O’Hearn an off-speed pitch in the lower part of the zone that ended up being crushed off the back drop in center field. Bryan Reynolds and Esmerlyn Valdez were driven in and the Pirates went up 7-2 with 7 RBIs and two homers on the night from O’Hearn.
Connor Thomas would relieve Waldrep but the momentum that the Pirates offense had started with at the beginning of the night had no end in sight. In the bottom of the sixth inning there was two outs with Jake Mangum and Brandon Lowe on the base pads. With a 3-1 count O’Hearn took advantage of yet another off-speed pitch and armed the cannon with another cannonball into the right field stands. The Pirates went up 10-2 at that point in the game and O’Hearn had officially set a new record for most RBIs in a game by a Bucco, breaking Johnny Rizzo’s record that he set back in 1939 when he had nine in a game against St. Louis. With his 10th RBI he set the mark for most by any player in a game this season, and became the 17th player to have 10 RBIs in a game in the modern era.
O’Hearn would take a crack at getting a fourth homer on the night in the bottom of the eighth. He didn’t drive one home, but he did hit a line drive single into right field before exiting for a pinch runner and receiving a huge standing ovation from the fans at PNC Park. He would finish the night with four hits, 10 RBIs, three homers, upped his batting average to .293 and increased his season total of home runs to 16 which is just one shy of his career high of 17 that he had last season.
Although he was snubbed of a spot on the All-Star team, O’Hearn is having what could end up being the best season of his career. At 32-years-old it would be reasonable to see him start to decline, but he has enjoyed a career year with the Buccos so far and we’re only halfway through the season.
SAN ANTONIO, TX - JANUARY 23: Tobias Harris #12 of the Philadelphia 76ers dribbles the ball during the game against the San Antonio Spurs on January 23, 2022 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2022 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
It’s been a busy week for the Spurs. They signed their draftees and sent them off to San Francisco for the California Classic. Starting Thursday, they’ll be competing in Las Vegas. They also finalized the signing of Tobias Harris, the free agency acquisition that will help fill the power forward position the Spurs desperately needed in the postseason.
Because numbers have been my thing since joining PtR nine years ago, let’s take a look at some of the players throughout the team’s history that have also worn #23 as their jersey.
Jersey #23, from an NBA standpoint, is most widely associated with Michael Jordan. From a Spurs perspective, it has not been utilized by long term players. Most recently, Zach Collins wore it for the Silver & Black from 2022 to 2025. Over three-and-a-half seasons, he played 196 games. That’s the most he’s played for any NBA team and the most that any Spurs player has worn the jersey.
Austin Daye wore #23 during his stint with the Spurs. In 40 games over two partial seasons, but he did pick up a championship ring in 2014 with the Spurs.
Speaking of rings, Devin Brown picked up a ring in 2005 with the Spurs. By then he’d been wearing #23 for two seasons.
If your memory goes back to the 1970s, you’ll recall Mike Green. He played center for the Spurs over two seasons in 139 games. He rocked #23 while the Spurs were still establishing themselves in the NBA.
Tobias Harris is by far the biggest name to don the jersey. Hopefully he’ll make it memorable.
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Happy birthday to Jerome Walton, and a mighty host of others.
Today in baseball history, in 1962 – With home runs in his first three at bats, 41-year-old Stan Musial of the Cardinals not only becomes the oldest player to hit three in a game but also ties the major league record of four straight home runs, as the Cards whip the Mets, 15-1. His home run in the second game the day before won the game, 3-2, and other stories as well.
Today in baseball history:
1907 – Bombarded by pop bottles in Brooklyn, irate Cubs manager Frank Chance throws one back into the stands where it cuts a boy’s leg. Chance is mobbed and leaves the park in an armored car with a police escort after the Cubs’ 5-0 victory. Three-Finger Brown emerges with the shutout win.
1918 – Although Babe Ruth‘s blast over the fence in Fenway Park scores Amos Strunk, as the Red Sox win 1-0 over Cleveland, prevailing rules reduce Babe’s home run to a triple. He will tie for the American League title with 11 homers, even though he plays just 95 games.
1927 – In a matchup of the NL’s top two teams, the Cubs extend their slim lead to one and a half games by edging the Pirates, 1-0, behind Charlie Root‘s one-hitter.
1945 – The Cubs take the National League lead by winning two from the Phillies, 12-6 and 9-2. They never relinquish first place, despite losing 16 of 22 games to the Cards.
1950 – Red Schoendienst of the Cards goes 5 for 5 against Pittsburgh, but the Cards lose, 7-6, to drop the Birds into second place, a game behind the Phillies.
1951 – Red Schoendienst hits a home run from each side of the plate in the second game, as the Cards beat Pittsburgh, 9-8, after losing, 6-2.
2009 – Andruw Jones hits three home runs to lead Texas to an 8-1 win over Los Angeles, breaking a tie between the two teams in the AL West race. Jones is now hitting .250 with 14 homers, putting his career back on track after a disastrous last season with the Dodgers almost forced him into retirement.
1693 – New York City authorizes the first police uniforms in the American colonies.
1776 – Colonel John Nixon gives the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence to an assemblage of citizens in Philadelphia.
1889 – John L. Sullivan successfully defends the last officially sanctioned bare-knuckle world heavyweight prizefighting championship when Jake Kilrain’s trainer throws in the towel after 75 one-minute rounds near Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
1913 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert‘s patent for the Erector Set is issued, one of the most popular toys of all time.
1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO has crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
2014 – FIFA World Cup: Germany defeats Brazil by a record 7-1 in the semi-finals to make it to the final; Miroslav Klose of Germany breaks the World Cup career goal scoring record with 16 goals (surpassed by Lionel Messi in 2026)
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - JULY 07: Pete Alonso #25 of the Baltimore Orioles reacts after striking out in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on July 07, 2026 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning Birdland,
It’s tough to win a game in which you have zero extra base hits and go just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. The Orioles proved that on Tuesday night as they lost 5-2 to the visiting Cubs. Andrea SK recapped the action for us, in case you missed it.
If you’ve seen one Orioles game this season, you have pretty much seen them all. The Tuesday night loss was boiler plate for this squad. Shane Baz was…fine. He provided a quality start and gave his team a chance to win. The bullpen, which is falling apart with injuries, did not hold up their end. Anthony Nunez coughed up a pair of runs in his two innings. And then the lineup, outside of Adley Rutschman, who drove in both of the team’s runs, failed to come through when the pressure was high.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw the O’s get the first two hitters on base. That was followed by three consecutive strikeouts. The seventh inning is where Rutschman came through with his two-out, two-run single. But then Gunnar Henderson went down on three straight strikes at the bottom of the zone to end the threat.
The loss (paired with another Red Sox win) sunk the O’s further down the standings. They are now at the bottom of the AL East, 12.5 games back of the division-leading Rays and 4.5 games back of the final wild card spot. It’s getting more difficult to make a case for the Orioles to truly “go for it” in 2026.
There could be a lane for the team to both buy and sell. That is, move players due to hit free agency this year or that you don’t see a role for in 2027, while also seeking out talent that is under team control beyond this season that would be an upgrade for a turnaround next summer. That can be a tricky proposition, but the Orioles are one of the rare teams where it might make sense.
That’s a problem to figure out in a few weeks. Right now, the focus has to be on winning games. They need to do something they haven’t done yet this year, which is to go on an extended winning streak. Bouncing back and going into next week’s all-star break on a heater would be pretty neat. Fingers crossed.
Links
Orioles Notes: Akin, Helsley, Selby, Detwiler | MLB Trade Rumors The Orioles bullpen has had some moments of brilliance, but in general the unit has fallen apart this season. Injuries have been killer, and that has only gotten worse recently. Mike Elias made some comments recently that indicated the club was intrigued by Félix Bautista’s progress, but any possible return there is still a ways off. And by the time he could be ready, it may not make too much sense to force him back into action.
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko Lots of little nuggets in this one, including the fact that Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward have combined for the third-highest hit total for a duo that is in its first season with the Orioles. It’s a very specific stat, but still interesting given some of the great hitters the O’s have had. Miguel Tejada and Javy Lopez are first with 213 hits. Alonso and Ward are at 172.
Danny Ardoin turns 52 today. He played in five games for the 2006 Orioles.
Jerome Walton is 61 years old. The outfielder spent 26 games with the O’s in 1997.
The late John Powers (b. 1929, d. 2001) was born on this day. He made his way into 10 games for the Orioles in 1960.
This day in O’s history
1969 – The Orioles beat the Yankees 4-1 as Mike Cuellar throws a complete game three-hitter. All three hits come off the bat of Yankees centerfielder Ron Woods, who singles twice and hits a home run.
1970 – Using a ninth-inning rally that includes a home run from Frank Robinson and a two-out single from Don Buford, the Orioles come back from an 8-6 deficit to beat the Yankees 9-8.
2011 – The Orioles lose 10-3 to the Red Sox, sunk by a disastrous first inning. But that didn’t prevent some fireworks late. In the eighth inning, David Ortiz charges the mound after O’s reliever Kevin Gregg brushes him back twice and then yells at him as he fails to run out a pop out. Benches empty. Ortiz, Gregg, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and Jim Johnson are all ejected.
CINCINNATI, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 06: Kevin Herget #57 of the New York Mets pitches in the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on September 06, 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kareem Elgazzar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Noah Hall tossed a terrific game, and following scoreless inning after scoreless inning, the Cyclones finally got on the board in the bottom of the sixth to make him the potential winning pitcher. Kevin Herget promptly allowed a pair of runs in the top of the seventh, and that ended up being that.
Not only did St. Lucie knock around Jupiter starter Jonas Uzcategui, but they kept the pressure on, scoring deep into the ballgame. Antonio Jimenez was a big part of that, with the infielder having his best game as a professional, logging four hits including two doubles and a home run, and stealing a pair of bases.
· SS Antonio Jimenez: 4-6, 4 R, 2 2B, HR (4), RBI, K, 2 SB (11, 12)
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler (45) throws a pitch in the second inning of the MLB National League game between the Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies at Great American Ball Park in downtown Cincinnati on Tuesday, July 7, 2026. The Phillies led 3-0 after three innings. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
I do believe that Zack Wheeler pitched that game with a decent sized chip on his shoulder. Actually, multiple chips on his shoulder – one from not being selected to the All-Star Game and one for Don Mattingly taking him out early from a game he wanted to stay in.
