In this week’s Injury Report, the Red Sox lose Willson Contreras to a hamstring strain. The Nationals could be getting James Wood back on Tuesday. And Aaron Judge could be returning to the Yankees lineup sometime next week. All that and more as we highlight the most relevant injury news around the league this week.
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Willson Contreras (hamstring)
Contreras was pulled from Sunday’s blowout loss to the Yankees with hamstring tightness. The Red Sox then placed him on the 10-day injured list on Monday with a left hamstring strain, an issue that Contreras has reportedly been dealing with for about a month. The 34-year-old first baseman will now get at least the next week and a half to rest. The hamstring issue can explain his August struggles, as he’s hit .217 in the month. Mickey Gasper was recalled to take his place on the active roster and fill in at first base.
The Braves have won seven straight, PCA is surging toward MVP honors, and the Orioles are finally approaching .500.
D.J. Short
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James Wood (oblique)
CJ Abrams (back)
Wood could be back in the Nationals lineup on Tuesday or Wednesday during a two-game set against the Braves. The 23-year-old star has been out since August 4 with a left oblique strain and took batting practice on Friday before playing seven innings and hitting a home run in a rehab game with Double-A Harrisburg on Sunday. Manager Blake Butera stated Wood would get Monday off before deciding when he’d be activated. There was some thought that Wood wouldn’t need a rehab assignment, but he wanted to see some live pitching before returning. Meanwhile, keep an eye on Abram’s status on Tuesday. He was scratched from Monday’s lineup against Miami with back tightness, though it’s thought to be precautionary.
Aaron Judge (rib)
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Monday that Judge could be ready to return to the Yankees lineup during the team’s next homestand, starting on Tuesday, September 8 against the Rockies. The 34-year-old star has been out of action since early June with a rib fracture. Despite the extended absence, it seems as though he’ll bypass a minor league rehab assignment and join New York as soon as he’s ready to return to game action.
Konnor Griffin (finger)
Griffin may be ready to return from the injured list when first eligible on Friday for the team’s series opener against the Angels. The 20-year-old shortstop started a minor league rehab assignment with Double-A Altoona on Sunday and went 1-for-3 while playing seven innings. He’s been out of action since early July with a torn ligament in his left ring finger.
JJ Wetherholt (wrist)
Masyn Winn (thumb)
The Cardinals lost both starting middle infielders over the last week. Winn had sat out a handful of games with a thumb issue before he was diagnosed with a fracture that landed him on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to August 22. The 24-year-old shortstop has already been swinging a bat with significant improvement and could return as soon as Tuesday when first eligible. Meanwhile, Wetherholt was placed on the 10-day injured list on Sunday with right wrist tendinitis. There’s no word on how much time he’s expected to miss. The 23-year-old second baseman has enjoyed an excellent rookie campaign, slashing .242/.343/.370 with 17 homers, 88 runs scored, and 14 steals across 586 plate appearances.
Xavier Edwards (thumb)
Edwards was removed from Sunday’s game against the Nationals after colliding with Jorbit Vivas on a slide into second base, leaving with thumb and elbow discomfort. He was diagnosed with a left thumb sprain and placed on the 10-day injured list on Friday. There’s no timetable for a return, but the Marlins will certainly want to get him back quickly as long as they remain in the playoff hunt. The 27-year-old second baseman is having a strong season in Miami, hitting .282/.361/.376 with six homers and 20 steals over 137 games.
Emerson Hancock (groin)
A groin issue for Hancock surfaced while making a diving play at first base against the Blue Jays on Friday, though he remained in the game, allowing five runs over five innings. The team then placed him on the 15-day injured list on Sunday with a left adductor strain, sidelining Hancock for at least the next two weeks. The Mariners had been operating with a six-man rotation, but could revert to a five-man while Hancock is unavailable. While he hasn’t been quite as successful in the second half, he’s still enjoyed a strong breakout season, posting a 3.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 126 strikeouts over 138 2/3 innings.
Byron Buxton (hip)
Buxton initially left last Tuesday’s game against the Athletics with a re-aggravation of his hip injury. After sitting out three games, the team placed him on the 10-day injured list with a right hip impingement. Twins general manager Jeremy Zoll told reporters last week that the 32-year-old outfielder could be looking at offseason hip surgery, so there’s a chance Buxton could be shut down if the Twins fall out of contention. Top prospect Walker Jenkins was recalled to take Buxton’s place on the roster after hitting .308 with 12 homers and 17 steals across 69 games with Triple-A St. Paul.
Joe Ryan (glute)
Ryan is getting closer to a return to the Twins rotation. The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make a rehab start with Triple-A St. Paul on Tuesday and is aiming to get to around 50 pitches. He’s been out of action since early August with a glute strain. Assuming he comes out of his rehab start feeling well, he could be in line to make the following start with the Twins.
Connelly Early (elbow)
Early, on the 60-day injured list with left elbow inflammation, is on track to begin a minor league rehab assignment on September 8. Out since late June with the elbow issue, there doesn’t seem to be much chance of him giving the Nationals anything but a few shorter appearances if he’s able to return at all before the end of the season.
The Yankees were defeated by the Los Angeles Angles 10-1 in the series opener on Monday night.
Here are some takeaways...
-- Elmer Rodriguez put together his best big-league outing to this point his last time out, but the Angels were able to take advantage of some ineffectiveness this time around. The youngster held them off the board in the first and the second, but two out hits in the third and fourth chased him from the ballgame.
All in all, he allowed four runs on four hits, three walks, two HBP, and five strikeouts over 3.2 innings.
-- The Yankee offense was held in check by Walbert Ureña over the first four-plus innings, but Spencer Jones provided them with some much-needed life, crushing a one out solo homer deep over the right-center wall in the top of the fifth to cut into the four-run deficit.
The youngster is up to eight home runs on the season, five of which have been over his last 30 games.
-- Michael Fulmer and New York's defense immediately gave that run back to the Angels. Christian Moore blooped in an RBI double that bounced away off of a sliding Jones' glove in shallow right, then scored a run of his own as a pair of throwing errors on a pickoff attempt brought him in from second.
Fulmer was charged with his first earned run across six outings since joining the Yankees.
-- Luis Gil was also hurt by the Yankee defense in his first MLB appearance as a reliever. Gil struck out three in his first frame, but not before Jose Caballero committed his second error in as many innings, forcing him to throw more pitches and bringing in LA's seventh run of the game.
Gil followed that with a scoreless second inning, working around a one out HBP.
-- David Bednar was called upon for the eighth inning in a six-run game, and he was roughed up pitching for just the second time over the last 10 days. Bednar gave up three runs, two of which scored on a Vaughn Grissom double, which gave him three hits and four RBI in the ballgame.
Coming into the night, Bednar had allowed just two runs (one earned) in August.
-- Other than Jones' homer the Yanks weren't able to get much else going against Ureña. The righty held them to just that one run on five hits while walking none and striking out eight batters across seven strong innings. His ERA is down to 2.85 during his impressive rookie campaign.
-- With the two miscues from Caballero, the Yanks lead MLB in errors from the shortstop position (39).
Game MVP: Walbert Ureña
The youngster continued his great rookie season with seven innings of one-run ball.
CINCINNATI (AP) — San Diego Padres second baseman Luis Rengifo will undergo season-ending surgery for a torn ACL in his right knee.
The Padres announced Monday that imaging showed a full tear of the ACL. The injury had initially been diagnosed as a knee sprain.
Rengifo was injured in the seventh inning of a 7-6 loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday when he threw across his body toward home and fell to to the infield dirt. Rengifo needed assistance getting to his feet before he was driven off the field in a medical cart.
The play happened when two Tampa Bay players were near third base at the same time and Cedric Mullins broke for home. Rengifo was chasing Taylor Walls when he made the throw and immediately went down.
Rengifo started the season with the Milwaukee Brewers, who released him on June 23. He hit .205 in 57 games with the Brewers.
The 29-year-old appeared in 38 games for the Padres, hitting .292 with four homers.
Dub Nation! This has been a piece I’ve been looking forward to writing for a minute as we finish our recap of the offseason moves of the Southwest division. The San Antonio Spurs won the Western Conference Finals and in my mind would have won the NBA Finals if they had that dawg in them. But if they had met a healthy Golden State Warriors team in the playoffs last year I HAVE NO DOUBT that the Dubs would have tucked the kids in San Antonio to sleep. But that’s just me though.
Golden State and San Antonio split the season series 2-2, but the way it split says everything. The Warriors won both meetings in November ON THE SPURS HOME FLOOR in the span of three days.
The Spurs won both in the second half over the wounded Dubs en route to a magicalish run.
San Antonio went 62-20, beat OKC in a Game 7 in the Western Conference finals, and made a climb to the NBA Finals nobody outside the building saw coming. Then they did the single most un-superstar thing a 22-year-old with a $303 million contract sitting right there in front of him could do. Victor Wembanyama signed for less money on purpose. Woooow that’s quite selfless of the skyscraping giant, very Spursy, very demure. What other Spurs 7-footer does that remind me of? Let’s check in with Sports Illustrated on the details:
Heading into his fourth year as the MVP favorite fresh off a Finals appearance, Wembanyama could have signed a five-year contract worth up to $303 million if he hit MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, or All-NBA. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that instead, Wembanyama accepted $252 million with a player option in the fifth year and no escalators to the super max. It’s 25% of the salary cap instead of 30%, and it gives the Spurs a better chance to build a contender around him.
“San Antonio worked in close partnership with Wembanyama and his representatives, offering the full super max and different variations of extensions,” Charania said on Friday afternoon. “But Wembanyama ultimately chose a contract sacrifice rooted in giving him and the organization increased ability to build a sustained title contender around him.”
Tim Duncan would be proud.
The Spurs also added Tobias Harris, a 34-year-old, 6-foot-8 forward who can space the floor and guard bigger wings, exactly what San Antonio didn’t have when their frontcourt depth ran dry in the Finals. Their only real drama is at point guard, and it’s a good problem to have. De’Aaron Fox struggled in the Finals playing through a high ankle sprain, which was tough when you have Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper chomping at the bit to take the wheel.
And then there’s the aforementioned bill they gotta pay to afford these luxurious problems. Our friends at Pounding the Rock have been mulling that this summer:
First, Stephon Castle will become eligible for an extension next summer. Assuming he continues to improve as a player, he’ll want the max. The Spurs would surely love it if he took less and will have the threat of restricted free agency, which gives them control of Castle’s destiny, as a bargaining tool. The issue with wielding that weapon is that it could damage the relationship with Castle, who was a starter on a Finals team. If the front office thinks he’s a part of the untouchable core going forward, keeping him happy and feeling important will be paramount. Can they do that without offering the 25 percent max?
De'Aaron Fox had a NIGHTMARE of a series for the Spurs in the Finals 💀
San Antonio owes the 28 year-old guard $229,000,000 over the next four seasons 😳 pic.twitter.com/A51dp8itCO
Golden State knows exactly what that math looks like on the other side of it, because the Warriors have been paying the tax to keep a core intact since before Wembanyama was drafted. San Antonio’s about to find out what that actually costs. This year, though, they didn’t have to choose. They kept everybody, added a piece, and still own bragging rights over everybody in the conference.
Enjoy the easy offseason, San Antonio. It’s the last one you get for a while. The Warriors absolutely can’t wait to see you again.
Things were calm until the third inning, when Anthony Kay saw a little base path trouble after a throwing error and a walk put two runners on. Yordan Alvarez sent Nick Allen in to score with a ground out, but a fly out straight to Sam Antonacci ended any further damage.
The White Sox knotted the score 1-1 right away, as Colson Montgomery doubled in the top of the fourth with one out, Chase Meidroth singlingand him home. Tristan Peters was plunked, and in a pickoff attempt, the ball got away, sending Meidroth to third. Antonacci picked up a walk (without being hit!) to load the bases with two outs. Houston starter Peter Lambert’s command in the fourth drastically dropped, as he walked Munetaka Murakami to force in the lead run. Miguel Vargas left the bases loaded with a liner to second, but the Good Guys were up, 2-1.
Braden Montgomery got caught in-between on a Cam Smith liner to right, and as has happened too frequently that ball skipped past him for a triple. Kay was frazzled by the three-bagger, so much so that Nelson Velázquez crushed a home deep and high to left, making it 3-2, Astros.
It got worse from there, as the White Sox mustered no offense while Houston added on. In the fifth, three singles loaded the bases, with just one out. Instead of a pitch that would prompt a ground-ball double play to end the inning and keep the score tight, Kay walked in a run. Kay bounced back with a K, but with two outs was pulled in favor of Trevor Richards, who surrendered a double to Smith double and stretching the deficit to 6-2.
Three walks sandwiched around a fielder’s choice out packed the sacks for the Sox with two outs. As old friend Bennett Sousa came into the game for Houston, righty pinch-hitter Randal Grichuk stepped up to the plate. But on the first pitch, Grichuk sent one straight to the glove of left fielder Taylor Trammell, ending the frame.
Colson Montgomery homered in the seventh to trim the lead to 6-3, but that was it for any offense. Richards managed to shut the Astros down for the rest of his outing, and Houston-area local Tyler Davis took the mound in the eighth for a 1-2-3 inning with his entire family cheering him on — a light moment in an otherwise frustrating game.
With two outs, Meidroth picked up Chicago’s 10th walk of the game, but Brenton Doyle went down swinging for his second K in two plate appearances, handing the Astros a win.
A large portion of Diamondbacks fans didn’t seem ready to forgive and forget about Ketel Marte’s recent actions.
The Arizona infielder was mostly booed in his first game back with the team following a drama-filled few weeks after he failed to show up for a game against the Red Sox in Boston, leading to the Diamondbacks briefly putting him on the restricted list.
The fans let him hear it when he stepped to the plate in his first at-bat during Monday night’s game against the Phillies.
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Ketel Marte reacts in the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona, on Monday, August 31, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
He heard it again from the fans when he grounded out.
Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo told reporters before the game that he was “a little bit” worried about the fan reception for Marte.
Ketel Marte hears some boos from Diamondbacks fans at Chase Field prior to his first at-bat since his no-show in Boston. pic.twitter.com/uUAqLE2UGK
“In that instance, I failed him by not showing up,” Marte told reporters. “That morning I woke up, my body was in pain and I just couldn’t react. No one made the decision for me. I’m the one who made the decision to not show up.”
Arizona Diamondbacks designated hitter Ketel Marte, left, hits an infield grounder as Philadelphia Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs, right, reaches for the ball during the second inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Phoenix. AP Photo/Ross D. FranklinAn Arizona Diamondbacks fan gives a thumbs down as Diamondbacks designated hitter Ketel Marte walks up to bat during the second inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday, Sept. 1, 2026, in Phoenix. AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
Lovullo defended Marte prior to the game and told reporters that the infielder had a great appreciation for the fans in Arizona, despite not addressing a question about his view of the fans prior to the game.
“I know that he loves the fans,” Lovullo said. “I know that he picks up on their energy. He pays attention to what the fans say and do, and love and support of him. Maybe he didn’t answer the question the way he would have if … he had a chance to really sit down and say what he wanted to say, but I know he loves his fans.”
With less than a month to go before the official start of the 2026-27 NHL regular season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have a lot of decisions to make regarding their roster.
Of course, the biggest story during this year's training camp will be which prospects, if any, crack the opening night roster. Lineups and deployment will also be an interesting thing to watch out for, especially since there will be legitimate positional battles at all three junctures for the Penguins.
As intriguing as things will be on the forward and goaltending fronts, though, the blue line will be equally as interesting to keep an eye on.
With the left side being, pretty much, anyone's game, the right side is a bit of a different story. On the right, two longtime NHL veterans in Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang will populate roster spots - and their respective careers are in much different places right now.
Karlsson, 36, is coming off his best year as a Penguin, as his 15 goals and 66 points in 75 games as well as his spectacular play down the stretch of the regular season earned him Team MVP honors last season. He is, by all measures, still a top-pairing defenseman who can play at an elite level on a playoff team.
As for Letang? The 39-year-old has put together an impressive 20-year career in the NHL with the Penguins, registering 178 goals and 806 points in 1,235 career games. His production wasn't bad for a player his age last season, either, with three goals and 34 points in 74 games.
However, aside from the production falling off with age, it's the other parts of his game that have become a bit of a concern. He no longer has the wheels to be the effective one-on-one defender he used to be, and he can't get himself back in plays on the backcheck like he used to. His defensive zone reads are becoming an issue, the turnovers are a concern, and he isn't quite as effective in transition as he used to be.
Letang's minutes were reduced to 21:41 per game on average last season, which was almost a two-minute dip from the 2024-25 season. According to Moneypuck, he also had the worst mark among Penguins' defensemen in expected goals against per 60 minutes (3.44), and his on-ice expected goals share of 49.4 percent was also the worst mark among the eight Penguins' defensemen with more than 300 minutes of ice time.
It's understandable to give Letang some benefit of the doubt here, especially since he had a rotating carousel of defensive partners throughout the season. He seemed to have a fair bit of chemistry with Brett Kulak in the short time he spent in Pittsburgh last season, and he did play better with Sam Girard in the last few games of the regular season and into the playoffs.
But, at this point, it's reasonable to suggest that Letang and the Penguins may benefit from slowly reducing his minutes. That is not necessarily a suggestion that Letang should be out of the lineup, as sheltered minutes could help maximize his performance in those minutes. Letang still has the capability of being a serviceable NHL defenseman, so as long as he is willing to adapt his game to be a bit more calculated and less risk-averse than it was in his younger years.
Down the stretch, we did see that a bit with him and Girard. Girard, 28, is a decade younger and plays a comparable style to Letang's at the same age, and as they got used to playing with one another, Letang took a bit more of a backseat to Girard joining the rush and jumping up on the play.
If he continues to develop chemistry with Girard and can tap into that style of play moving forward, he'll still be a valuable part of the Penguins' defensive corps. But whether he should be doing this in top-four minutes is a different story.
Karlsson will be the top right defenseman for this team, but he is also in the final year of his contract. Depending on how the season goes for the Penguins, he is a potential trade candidate, should he be willing to move. They also just acquired Kaedan Korczak from the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for left defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, and although the Penguins are intrigued by Korczak, he's still largely a wildcard and has not been tested in a top-four role.
Then, there's Harrison Brunicke - just named Pittsburgh's top prospect on our annual Top-20 Penguins' Prospects list - who will more than likely make a strong case for himself at training camp, just as he has done in the past two years. If both Brunicke and Korczak put on strong camp showings, how will the Penguins manage Letang? Could he potentially play his off-side? Will one of them unseat him for a second-pair role?
To start the season, the last thing is a bit unlikely. But, especially as the season goes on, it's a distinct possiblity, especially if either one of Brunicke or Korczak gain any kind of momentum.
Regardless, the Penguins are set to have some tough decisions to make about their blue line, and Letang's role is going to be one of the biggest questions heading into the 2026-27 season.
One of the Mets’ top picks from the year’s draft class is already taking another step.
Third rounder Aiden Robbins has been promoted to High-A Brooklyn.
Robbins generated some first-round buzz heading into the draft, but he ended up falling partially due to questions over his ability to hit breaking balls consistently.
The slugger from Texas has shown no such issues to this point.
He posted a strong .286 average with two doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI, and a .826 OPS over his first 20 games hitting towards the top of St. Lucie's lineup.
Robbins spent most of his time in center, but also appeared in the corner spots.
The 21-year-old has already jumped up into the top-10 in some organizational rankings, and he only figures to continue rising if he can keep this success up to finish the year in Brooklyn.
Another division, another team that is trying to find a better day now that the Golden State Warriors dynasty is on its last legs. We’re in the Southwest division now; let’s take it straight to the bottom. I’m not just talking about the division standings, I’m talking the Bayou where the New Orleans Pelicans reside. The Warriors took two of three from New Orleans last season, getting the best of a team that went 26-56 last year.
They fired their coach, hired Jamahl Mosley away from Orlando, and then just… stopped for a month. No first-round picks. No major free agency moves. Definitely no significant trades. They LOST Kevon Looney?! What part of the game is that? Even Sports Illustrated couldn’t believe it:
Coming off another disappointing sub-30-win season, the New Orleans Pelicans needed to make swift changes this offseason. That started with a brand-new coaching staff led by former Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will try to rebuild the Pelicans’ culture. Many thought sweeping personnel changes would be next after the team won just 26 games last year.
This is a team that won 26 games and acted like it just made the conference finals. At least they resigned DeAndre Jordan? Then, deep into the offseason, New Orleans finally did something. They got Bennedict Mathurin off the Clippers for two years and $16 million.
The Pelicans’ new projected rotation entering next season:
Starters: Dejounte Murray, Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, Zion Williamson, Derik Queen
Second Unit: Jeremiah Fears, Jordan Poole, Bennedict Mathurin, Saddiq Bey, Yves Missi pic.twitter.com/2iLdEK5vrt
Now here’s what’s curious: New Orleans already has Zion Williamson barreling toward the rim. Derik Queen wants to live down there too. Can’t forget that Dejounte Murray and Saddiq Bey like to get busy around the rim and aren’t exactly keeping defenders awake at night from three. Trey Murphy III can shoot the hell out of it, but somebody’s got to give that man some help. Herbert Jones made an All-Defensive team two years ago, and his three-point shot has cratered to 31 percent over the last two seasons.
So naturally the Pelicans went out… and got another dude who wants to attack the basket?! But don’t take my word for it, just ask the folks from Pelicans Debrief:
The one thing that always seems to elude the Pelicans is three-point shooting. When you look at their current roster, they only have one legitimate three-point shooter, and that is Trey Murphy III. Unfortunately, three-point shooting is not Mathurin’s strongest skill. He did shoot 37% from three in his sophomore season. He was able to replicate that in the first half of last season with the Pacers. However, when he was with the Los Angeles Clippers last season, he shot an abysmal 20% from three.
Twenty percent! I don’t want to use my journalism powers out of turn, but it may be time to do a Perry Mason style investigation of whether or not the Pelicans are in forever tank mode. By the way, as much as people bemoan the Warriors injury issues, the Pelicans REALLY can’t stay healthy. Dejounte Murray played 14 games last year coming back from a ruptured Achilles. Zion playing 60 games still qualifies as a special occasion.
And to add insult to injury, the one guy other than Murphy who I would really believe is supposed to be a stone cold shooter is a champion and Warriors fan-favorite Jordan Poole! What did he shoot from beyond the arc last season? 33%?! Nononono this can’t be. Somebody free my dawg JP!
— Role Player Performances (@BenchHighlights) April 8, 2026
If the Warriors want to make any kind of noise in the playoffs next season, beating teams like the Pelicans is mandatory. Even one misstep against a team like this can put a team on the bubble straight out of the sixth seed and into the play-in tournament, which the Warriors haven’t had the best of luck in since its inception. #FreePoole
Robert Stock can sleep well Monday night knowing he accomplished something against the Tampa Bay Rays that he had never done before in his MLB career: pitch into the sixth inning.
Not only that, but after going a career-long 5.1 scoreless innings against the American League’s best team, the right-hander earned his first win since 2019 and his first as a starting pitcher following the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Rays.
“It’s really cool,” Stock said about getting the win. “It takes a whole team to win the game and we saw that tonight with how great the defense was, how good the hitters were in the second half of the game. It’s great when you step back and you look at how long it’s been and I can both feel good about the team and myself.”
Yes, the defense made some nice plays behind him like Christopher Morel’s leaping catch with the bases loaded to end the fifth inning, but Stock was in total control against Tampa Bay and was the best version of himself that New York has seen this season.
Even more impressive? The outing came with the Mets in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel for most of the night and right after a rough start against the Milwaukee Brewers (MLB’s best team) where Stock allowed 10 hits and seven runs.
“The stuff’s really good. It’s always been really good,” said interim manager Andy Green. “It’s strikes. When he forces them to swing he does really well. I think he maybe ran into Milwaukee where some balls found holes, but more or less when he’s in the strike zone he’s been really good for us.”
Overall, Stock owns a 5.88 ERA in six starts for New York this season. However, if his two worst starts are removed, the right-hander has allowed two earned runs in 19 innings, more than acceptable for a 36-year-old journeyman who hadn’t started a major league game since 2021 (ironically with the Mets).
Of course, Stock would love to go deeper in some of those starts, but at least now he “finally” knows what that feels like and perhaps has it in him again in the future.
“That’s the job you’re getting paid to do so I finally did it one time,” he said.
ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - AUGUST 31: Juan Soto #22 of the New York Mets talks with Junior Caminero #13 of the Tampa Bay Rays prior to a game at Tropicana Field on August 31, 2026 in St Petersburg, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) | Getty Images
At some point, there is a conversation to be had about Yandy Diaz and his reluctance to challenges.
Tampa Bay, down one run in the ninth, Diaz came to the plate as the go-ahead run, with Richie Palacios on first.
Strike one was above the zone, and Diaz, as Diaz does, took a long glare at home plate umpire Austin Jones to say he disagreed with the call instead of simply tapping his helmet.
You can’t take the challenges home with you, as the Rays had both available.
Strike two was a forkball down the middle, and strike three barely grazed the zone, as Diaz went down looking, and the Rays went down valiantly, 3-2 in a close one at One Tropicana Drive.
How did we get to a 3-2 final, you may ask? Let me get you there.
The Metropolitans would strike first, as Mark Vientos would ground into a double play that scored Bo Bichette.
Tampa Bay had their big opportunity against Robert Stock, who had the best outing of his MLB career, when the Rays loaded the bases on three singles with no outs in the fifth.
They came up empty-handed.
Taylor Walls popped out, Diaz struck out swinging, and Jonathan Aranda lined out to former Ray Christopher Morel in left field.
Stock’s final line would go as follows; 5 IP, 4 R, 0 BB.
Vientos would announce his presence with authority again, as he jumped on an Ian Seymour changeup and deposited it into the left-center field seats. 2-1 Mets.
Seymour had another quality start, going 6.1 IP while allowing three runs and striking out ten, finishing the month of August leading the American League in punchouts.
The straw that broke the Flappy Boy’s back proved to be a Marcus Semien fly ball that left fielder Chandler Simpson got a bad read on, and didn’t take charge on, resulting in a Francisco Alvarez single that would plate another run.
We do it again at 6:40 EST from Tropicana Field, with Freddy Peralta toeing the slab against his former mates in orange and blue.
DYERSVILLE, IA - AUGUST 11: Gabe Klobosits #36 of the Iowa Cubs shakes hands after winning the MiLB Field of Dreams game between the St. Paul Saints and the Iowa Cubs at MLB Field at Field of Dreams on Tuesday, August 11, 2026 in Dyersville, Iowa. (Photo by Daniel Shirey/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images
It’s a new week here at BCB After Dark: the grooviest hang for night owls, early risers, new parents and Cubs fans abroad. Thanks for stopping by. It’s always nice to see a familiar face. There’s no cover charge and the dress code is casual. We still have a few tables available. The hostess will seat you now. Bring your own beverage.
BCB After Dark is the place for you to talk baseball, music, movies, or anything else you need to get off your chest, as long as it is within the rules of the site. The late-nighters are encouraged to get the party started, but everyone else is invited to join in as you wake up the next morning and into the afternoon.
Last week I asked you if you’d rather the Cubs re-sign Kevin Gausman or Matthew Boyd for next season. With the caveat that Gausman has made some noise about retiring, 48 percent of you would rather Gausman be back next year. One-third of you think Boyd is the better bet to re-sign and the rest of you think that the Cubs shouldn’t re-sign either one.
Here’s the part with the jazz and the movies. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. But if you don’t, you can skip it. Or you can skip the baseball part. You’re our guest.
We’re honored to feature another episode of Jazz Casual, the NET (forerunner of PBS) program hosted by jazz writer Ralph Gleason. Tonight’s featured performer is saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley. He’s got a heck of a band backing him up with his brother Nat Adderley on cornet, Joe Zawinul on piano, Sam Jones on bass and Louis Hayes on drums.
This is from 1961.
I went to see Coyote vs. Acme this weekend and I thought about that writing up, but I also watched the 1956 Douglas Sirk-directed melodrama Written on the Wind, and I know you’d rather I write about that. So . . . what’s that?
You know that there are a lot of people out there already who are writing about Coyote vs. Acme?
But Dorothy Malone won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Written on the Wind. Will Forte is not winning an Oscar.
OK, fine. Tonight we’ll talk about Coyote vs. Acme.
Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Coyote vs. Acme is a terrific film. Not only is it funny, which is what is most important, but it’s also fresh and different. It’s a sharp satire of modern life with an existential twist. I had to sit through five or six previews for animated family movies before the film started (which is sad because there were no children at the showing that I saw) and during the last preview I turned to my wife and said “My god. They’re all the same damn film.” Well, Coyote vs. Acme isn’t the same movie as every other family film on the market. It’s got a point of view that’s all its own. I know that Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is the gold standard for any animated/live action hybrid movie. I re-watched Roger Rabbit last week and I think Coyote vs. Acme belongs in the same breath as that classic. It’s that good.
In case you don’t know the history of the film, it started as an article in The New Yorker way back in 1990. There were several attempts to make a film out of it over the next 25 years, but they were always blocked by Warner Brothers, who owns all of the rights to the Loony Toons cartoons. About ten years ago, director James Gunn convinced Warner Brothers to make the movie. The fact that Warner Brothers was actively trying to lure Gunn away from Disney at the time was probably what convinced them.
So the film was made with a script from Samy Burch and directed by Dave Green. It was finished, shown to test audiences and it scored highly. But then Warner Brothers was bought out by Discovery and new CEO David Zaslav decided that it was one of three films, along with Batgirl and the animated Scooby-Doo film Scoob! Holiday Haunt that would be written off as a tax loss. To get that tax write-off, these films could never be shown to the public.
Batgirl was unfinished and still needed tens of millions of dollars of CGI effects and re-shoots before it was completed. It was also, according to those who’d seen the rough cut, terrible. The Scooby-Doo movie was almost finished, but no one thought it was much more than the kind of direct-to-video kids film.
But people had seen the completed Coyote vs. Acme and publicly said how good it was. So there was a campaign to get Warner Brothers Discovery to reverse its decision and release it or sell it to another distributer. That went on for over a year as many platforms offered to buy it, but WBD wanted to make a lot more than the $30 million they’d get as a tax write-off. Eventually, tiny independent distributer Ketchup Entertainment agreed to buy the film for $50 million.
We need to thank the people at Ketchup. Will Forte stars as Kevin Avery, a cynical, downtrodden cartoon accident lawyer. He’s takes the cases of cartoon characters who are injured in one way or another and settles with the giant Acme Corporation for a few hundred bucks every time. Since they’re cartoon characters, they aren’t permanently hurt when they get hit with a falling anvil, so each case is only worth a few hundred bucks. For Acme, that’s pocket change so they pay them out immediately.
Wile E. Coyote sees one of the ads for the law firm of Avery, Jones & Maltese (named after three legendary men behind the Loony Toons cartoons) and decides to make a claim. But Wile E. doesn’t just have one claim. As anyone who’s seen a Roadrunner cartoon knows, he has thousands of claims against Acme products that malfunctioned. On top of that, Wile E. Coyote refuses to settle. Against Kevin’s strong advice, he refuses every settlement offer, pitching this tiny strip mall law firm against the most powerful conglomerate in the entire world.
On Mr. Coyote’s side is Paige Avery (Lana Condor), Kevin’s intern and niece. She has all the “let’s change the world” energy of someone fresh out of law school. She’s the only one in the office who wants to win this case.
Acme is represented by John Cena playing Buddy Crane, a far more successful old law school classmate of Kevin’s. Buddy is a bully, as is the entire Acme corporation. He’s constantly belittling Kevin and trying to get them to settle. In lieu of a settlement, he’ll settle for destroying Avery, Jones & Maltese. Buddy is the villain, but Cena has some terrific comic chops. His interrogation of Tweety Bird in Tweety’s lisp, for example, is laugh-out-loud gold.
Coyote vs. Acme plays out as a legal conspiracy thriller and we soon find out why Acme is so eager to settle. There’s a wonderful sub-plot involving “Peter Lorre” (one of the many stars of the ‘40s that the Loony Toons cartoons used to put in their stories) and Tweety’s Granny. Dr. Lorre is the cartoon threatening to expose “Project Sisyphus,” which behind everything that Acme does.
There’s a ton of wicked satire in the film about how the system is rigged against the little guy by corporations that own everything, including the government. You have to consider the anti-corporate message and especially the anti-conglomerate message could not have gone over well with David Zaslav. Acme is all-powerful because they own everything. There’s no way to beat them. But Coyote vs. Acme does get in a shot by calling Warner Brothers “A wholly-owned subsidiary of the Acme Corporation.” Maybe that’s victory enough.
That brings back that “Projects Sisyphus,” or the Greek myth of a man condemned to roll a boulder up a hill for all of eternity, only for it to roll back down when it approaches the top. You should be able to see the parallels between Sisyphus and Wile E. Coyote, who is condemned to endlessly chase the Roadrunner and never catch him. But it also takes a cue from Albert Camus’ The Myth of Sisyphus, who argued that meaning is not gained through victory but through the struggle. To slightly mis-quote Camus, “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Wile E. Coyote happy.”
Not only is Wile E. Coyote Sisyphus, Kevin is as well. At the beginning of the film, he’s dead inside. It is only through taking on an impossible task that he can never win (along with the encouragement of his perky niece) does he find meaning and ultimately, happiness. Forte’s Kevin is the one character (well, maybe Wile E. Coyote) who has a real growth arc in the film and he pulls it off.
Coyote vs. Acme is primarily a comedy and not a philosophical tract, and it delivers in the comedy department. If you laugh at all the cockamamie devices that blow up in Wile E. Coyote’s face, they’re all here and more. Most of the Loony Tunes characters make an appearance and they all get to do their schtick. In fact, if you’re a Loony Toons fan, there are a ton of inside jokes that fly by so fast and furious you’ll probably miss some of them.
And that’s maybe the one sad part of Coyote vs. Acme. As I noted, there were no children that I saw at the showing that I saw, although admittedly it was a Sunday morning showing that was half-full. Four generations grew up watching these cartoons in the theaters or on television, but they are mostly unfamiliar to today’s kids who grew up on YouTube and a constant supply of new cartoons. Coyote vs. Acme is certainly funny enough even if you aren’t familiar with the Loony Toons universe, but it really goes to another level if you get the references.
Coyote vs. Acme is a little guy film that somehow took on an all-powerful corporation and won. No matter how much money it makes at the box office, Coyote vs. Acme is a winner.
Here’s the trailer for Coyote vs. Acme.
Welcome back to everyone who skips the other stuff.
The Springfield Cardinals, the Cardinals Double-A affiliate, announced they were changing their name for 2027. This continues a trend of minor league teams abandoning traditional names, especially ones tied to their parent club, in favor of unique and often offbeat nicknames.
So as of next year, there will be just nine teams left that share a name with their parent club.
Worcester Red Sox (Triple-A)
Dunedin Blue Jays (Low-A)
Iowa Cubs (Triple-A)
South Bend Cubs (High-A)
Syracuse Mets (Triple-A)
St. Lucie Mets (Low-A)
Fredericksburg Nationals (Low-A)
Palm Beach Cardinals (Low-A)
San Jose Giants (Low-A)
Dunedin, St. Lucie, Palm Beach and San Jose are owned by their parent club.
There are two others, the Reading Fightin Phils and the Lakeland Flying Tigers, that have names that sort of micmic their parent club.
The trend away from sharing a name with the parent club are driven by a few factors. The biggest was the affiliate “musical chairs” that used to happen before the minor leagues were re-organized in 2021. If a team called themselves the “Pirates” and then all of a sudden they were an Orioles affiliate, that was a problem. It’s not much of a problem anymore, but it was a big reason the trend started in the first two decades of this century.
Teams also want their own identity and branding to tie themselves to their community. On top of that, a lot of fans attending minor league games really have no idea what the minor leagues are, believe it or not. Gwinnett said one reason they changed their name from “Braves” to “Stripers” was because they found that many fans believed that it was actually the Atlanta Braves who would be playing in Gwinnett. Admittedly, these were probably not baseball fans who are just going with a larger group. But those people buy tickets and concessions.
Of course, the biggest reason why teams change their names is that they sell merchandise. I own a Smokies hat (Tennessee, not Knoxville) and a Myrtle Beach cap. I own Eugene and Boise caps from when they were Cubs affiliates. I haven’t bought Iowa and South Bend caps because they’re too similar to the Chicago Cubs hats I already own. Teams have “alternate” identities because they sell. Cute and goofy nicknames are also popular with children, who are the next generation of fans that the minor league should be trying to grow.
The Cubs affiliates have clearly resisted this trend. In fact, when South Bend went from a Diamondbacks affiliate to a Cubs affiliate in 2015, they changed their name from “Silver Hawks” to “Cubs” to further tie themselves to their new parent club. Iowa did the same thing back in 1982, going from “Oaks” to “Cubs,” but that was at least a decade before the off-beat name trend started. What’s more interesting is that the I-Cubs have resisted this trend and has kept their name the same for 44 years, even if they have had multiple “alternate” identities over the years, including throwback “Oaks” games.
(When the I-Cubs were founded, they were an Oakland affiliate, which helps explain the name, although they kept it through their stint as a White Sox affiliate and one year as a Cubs affiliate.)
So should the Cubs two affiliates change their name? Should one of them? Neither of them? Personally, I find it a bit frustrating to deal with Iowa and South Bend and having to call both of them the “Cubs” and keeping them and the parent club straight, although fortunately Iowa can be called the “I-Cubs.” (“SB Cubs” has never caught on.) It would make my life easier if South Bend went back to Silver Hawks or anything else, but they don’t ask me. I’d probably also be more likely to buy a cap if they were more different from the major league team’s. Do both need to change? Probably not. In my mind Iowa has seniority, but South Bend probably doesn’t see it that way.
So should Iowa, South Bend or both change their name? And if so, what? Give your suggestions in the comments.
Thank you for stopping by. We always like to see a friendly face. Please get home safely. Call a ride if you need one. Recycle any cans and bottles. Tip your waitstaff. And join us again next time for more BCB After Dark.
The 2026-27 season is on the horizon for the New York Islanders, so it's time to preview the season and highlight expectations for the team and each specific player.
Perhaps the single best story in all of hockey right now might just be the return of Semyon Varlamov to the hockey.
Varlamov, 38, underwent a double-knee replacement and has not appeared in the NHL since November 2024. The journey he's gone through since then to work his way back to this point where he's considered healthy and NHL ready is astounding.
He played two rehab games with the team's then-AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Islanders at the very end of the season, going 2-0 while making 46 saves out of 49.
Varlamov's return also can end the carousel of backups behind Ilya Sorokin, as both David Rittich and Marcus Hogberg struggled behind Sorokin, forcing the Russian into extra starts down the stretch of the last two seasons.
A healthy and strong Varlamov can change all of that and will give the Islanders two goalies they can trust.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - APRIL 07: Cody Williams #5 of the Utah Jazz walks backcourt during the first half of a game at Smoothie King Center on April 07, 2026 in New Orleans, Louisiana. 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. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The only thing less rewarding than watching Cody Williams play basketball was holding to the hope that he could develop into a talented NBA-level contributor.
The second lottery pick of the tanking era, the Utah Jazz selected Williams with the 10th overall pick in what was a putrid NBA Draft class. We knew it would be a comparatively garbage crop of talent — you could smell the stench months in advance — yet Utahns still celebrated Williams’ selection at the time.
A former 5-star McDonald’s All-American with an elastic wingspan, a 41.5% clip from three-point land in his freshman season at Colorado, and stardom in his DNA, Williams was a great proposition at that point in the draft. In theory, he was a low-danger prospect dredged from a draft pool of filth.
In practice, however, it took no time at all for Jazz fans to wallow in the melancholy of a rebuild apparently prolonged for yet another season.
He was incredibly disappointing in his first two years with the Jazz, posting stat lines that should be buried in the archives, far away from the eyes of impressionable, vulnerable youth.
Williams isn’t the worst basketball player ever, nor should he be treated as a villain or disease that must be eradicated. I tend to exaggerate for effect.
In fact, I have long been a supporter of Williams. Call it homerism, blind optimism, or poor player evaluation skills, but I still believe that there’s a world in which Williams develops into a good or even great piece of a competitive team.
He’s still only 21 years old. And though the “young = good” fallacy is still prevalent in NBA circles, I still believe that given the right training and plenty of patience, Cody Williams has the potential to be an effective NBA-level player. Patience runs thin at the highest level of basketball, and the Jazz apparently burned through their supply when they dealt Williams for a role player and a stack of bills.
The Jazz saw him in practice. They saw him in games. They had seen enough, and they quit on the second lottery pick of the post-Gobert-Mitchell era just seven months after trading Taylor Hendricks.
The key difference between the Hendricks and Williams trades? Hendricks played a key role in bringing Jaren Jackson Jr. — a multiple-time All-Star and former Defensive Player of the Year — to Utah. Williams yielded Josh Green, a player suspected to be little more than a situational outside weapon in the short-term and a tradable contract in the long-term.
Not exactly a resume-builder.
Though it spanned just two seasons, the era of Cody Williams dug up feelings in his supporters akin to the five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Please allow this article to serve as a therapy session. A moment of safety from the harsh realities of Utah Jazz basketball in the past 24 calendar page flips or so, and a calming gulp of oxygen as we move toward a better future.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – APRIL 1: Cam Johnson #23 of the Denver Nuggets strips the ball from Cody Williams #5 of the Utah Jazz during the second half of their game at the Delta Center on April 1, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. 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. (Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Five Stages of Cody Williams
Denial
On draft day, Cody Williams was seen as an underwhelming but promising prospect. He has fantastic measurables, standing at 6’8” with a 7’1” wingspan; he fit comfortably into the archetype of a modern NBA wing. Toss into the mix the fact that Williams hit 41.5% of his three-pointers at Colorado, and it seemed all he needed to transform into a dependable 3-and-D player was a few hundred hours in the weight room.
As unrefined as his game still was, Williams was always going to be a project. Surely, given enough time, he could gain the physicality and ball skills of his older brother, Jalen, right?
Anger
It didn’t take long before Williams’ uninspiring production frustrated Jazz fans, many of whom (Williams’ ride-or-die supporters) clung to denial while the remainder slipped into the second phase.
He had basically fallen out of Will Hardy’s rotation in the early stages of his sophomore season, never leaving the bench in 5 of the first 14 games of the season. Cody had visibly lost all confidence in his jump shot, and for good reason — 21.4% is an abysmal three-point rate for a wing, and even worse for a player who knocked down a sizzling rate from distance in college.
…On just 1.7 attempts per game. That’s a low sample size that might have been a bit deceptive for Utah’s scouts, considering 41.5% looks much more appealing than 0.7 made three-pointers per game. Now shooting more than that at the NBA level, Williams can’t seem to find the net on open looks (he gets plenty of those).
He just scored 35 points in a G League game — where is that guy when he suits up for the Jazz?
The Jazz could have just gone the safe route and taken Matas Buzelis. Heck, Isaiah Collier and Kyle Filipowski are outplaying Williams, and they were drafted 20 picks later.
It seems the Jazz had been fooled or simply missed in the 2024 NBA Draft lottery.
Bargaining
But he’s not even a real top-10 pick anyway, right? After all, his draft class was atrocious. Remember Zaccharie Risacher? Tijaun Salaun? Reed Sheppard? Rob Dillingham? These were all top-10 picks, and none of them have behaved as such since entering the NBA. The number-one overall pick, Risacher, was unceremoniously traded from Atlanta this offseason, and it wasn’t headline news in the slightest.
When you think about it in this frame of mind, Cody Williams isn’t a true top-10 prospect when compared to prospects typically in his draft range. He’s a project, after all, so it would be unrealistic to expect him to play well in just his second season.
These are the lies we told ourselves. These are the rationalizations we voluntarily internalized to protect ourselves from the truth that we expected more from a lottery pick.
We celebrated every routine positive. Praised him for making the right play on defense or for dunking when he had a gently obstructed runway to the basket. Williams wasn’t what we hoped, so we moved the goalposts to qualify him as a success, even if unknowingly.
Depression
In his third year at the Summer League, he was still a non-factor. Look at who AJ Dybantsa has to keep help defense at bay: Tre Johnson and Will Reily have been awesome during the Summer League.
Yet with Darryn Peterson claiming the defense’s attention, and against lesser competition, Cody Williams still shrank. He crept in the shadows. He was timid, cautious, and sickeningly irrelevant on the court.
It all came to a head when he posted a zero-point effort in 23 minutes of playing time. This was rock bottom for those still holding to the tattered remains of their Cody Williams stock. Dejected, sobbing, and crumpled into a heap on the concrete, we clenched our fists upon understanding what we saw wasn’t a larval stage of his development — it was an unforgiving telegram from reality.
Acceptance
This didn’t fully arrive until he was dealt to Minnesota.
Discarded for a bench wing who scored fewer than 5 points per game last season, Cody Williams was packaged with John Konchar in a trade that sent the pair to Minnesota.
Maybe Cody Williams will become a shade of the player many hoped he could become in Utah. The T-Wolves could have a plan to dig out the perfect version of the 21-year-old wing, and that perfect version may come back to haunt the Jazz in the years to come. Maybe.
But in Utah, the nightmare is over now. You’re safe. The Utah Jazz have traded Cody Williams, and he cannot hurt you anymore.
Calvin Barrett is the Associate Editor for SLC Dunk. Originally from Springville, Utah, he currently lives in Japan and has covered the NBA and college athletics since 2024.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - AUGUST 31: Payton Tolle #70 of the Boston Red Sox delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park on August 31, 2026 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Paul Rutherford/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Payton Tolle is one of the best stories of the 2026 season. A thoughtful prospect writer brought him to my attention early last year, knowing my affinity for a good four-seamer, a thick ‘stache and a mien that would be equally at home on a small fishing boat off the coast of Bangor in 1890 as he is on a pitching mound. Tolle wears his emotions openly across his face and through his body; the joy, the devastation, the playfulness. To be pitching at the level that he is requires skill and effort, but part of Tolle’s charm is the authenticity woven within all that baseball work. Maybe this won’t resonate to anyone else, but there are a lot of guys who present as baseball players first and humans as a secondary classification. Tolle is distinctly a human playing baseball, and it’s one of the highest compliments I can pay (see also: Gutierrez, Franklin or Wilhelmsen, Tom, among others).
It came as little surprise, then, when Tolle cited the Turnpike Troubadors as one of his favorite musical acts. There’s the Oklahoma connection, of course, with both hailing from the Sooner State, but that same authenticity runs through every song Turnpike performs. And that’s courtesy of Evan Felker, the band’s lead singer and one of the finest songwriters of the generation.
No one here needs to read any more about the Seattle Mariners today. Honestly, we’re all probably good for the rest of the year on consumption of Mariners content, but regardless of their record this is still a community, and community means continuing showing up for one another. In gratitude for you all, I offer a selection of some of my favorite Turnpike Troubadors lyrics and songs. I hope that in the ragged place baseball usually occupies, maybe they’ll prompt that thrum of recognition in your chest that only good art can inspire.
“Come back from the dark somehow Finally living in the here and now No sign of a thundercloud following you Don’t take it personal, the world don’t turn around you Hold on to the moment like it’s heaven passing through” – Heaven Passing Through
“And I would buy for you a diamond Or myself some gasoline If I can’t afford you darlin’ Then I can’t afford to dream And is it time I should be movin’? Is it time I settle down? Will I sit still or will I feel the wheels a-spinnin’ ’round?“ – Diamonds and Gasoline
“You can try to put the past behind It’s on your clothes like burning pine Is it gin or turpentine you keep in your canteen? If pressure makes a diamond babe, I still might come out clean” – A Cat in the Rain
“Well, that old scene is always comin’ to me, I I see you standin’ with your husband and your child And you’re a picture of strength, and grace and beauty And me, I’m just a fool in a supermarket aisle” – 7 & 7
“And we’re caught up in the riffraff, circlin’ ’round the sun It takes a whole lot of blood and tears just to really love someone But when it comes back around, that’s Heaven on Earth You never know ’til the end, my friend, what your love is really worth” – Pay No Rent
“Death doesn’t leave with the best part of you” – On the Red River
D.J. Short
