LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - SEPTEMBER 4: Shohei Ohtani #17, Freddie Freeman #5 and Yoshinobu Yamamoto #18 of the Los Angeles Dodgers look on from the dugout during the ninth inning against the Washington Nationals at Dodger Stadium on September 4, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Los Angeles Dodgers are in the final stretch of their push to get to the end of the season, and while they are winning much more as of late, they have to do their best to stay ahead of the Atlanta Braves for the second seed in the NL as they are still dealing with injuries to key players.
Wednesday night’s game saw both Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman out of the Dodger lineup, with and Ohtani headed for the injured list. Jack Harris at the California Post has more.
The earliest Ohtani can return from the IL is September 23, with five games remaining in the regular season.
Meanwhile, Freeman is dealing with a knee issue, and the team is hoping that by giving Freeman the night off before an off day, he will be able to return to the lineup on Friday in Miami.
Bill Shakin of the L.A. Times writes about why the Dodgers need that first round bye, of course with their injuries being first and foremost, and that the team would benefit from giving their aging stars the most rest possible before their portion of the playoffs begin.
Sonja Chen of MLB.com further discusses Freeman’s sore knee and how the team don’t see an IL stint for him at the moment.
“Freddie does a really good job of hitting against his front side, and then when you can’t do that with your front side, your right knee, then you’re compromised,” Roberts said. “I see there’s a lot more swing-and-miss the last few days. That’s just not who he is.”
As stated, the team will rest Freeman Wednesday, have an off day on Thursday, and will assess on Friday. He could also sit that first game of the Marlins series in Miami, but Dave Roberts said Freeman going on the IL is “absolutely not” a possibility.
On this day 43 years ago, White Sox Triple-A affiliate the Denver Bears swept their way to the American Association title. (By the way, that’s Oklahoma City’s Mike Jirschele, current Sox third base coach Justin’s dad, making an unsuccessful tag of Denver’s Jim Smith.) | Denver Post via Getty Images
1927 With a 11-1 loss in the nightcap of a doubleheader in Washington, the White Sox began a 12-game losing streak, which remains tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history. The South Siders came into the game at a respectable 65-68, but losing 15 of 20 to end the season dumped them down from 30 to 39 1⁄2 games off of the pace in the American League.
The last-season collapse also started a streak of nine straight losing seasons — by far the longest stretch in team history. The White Sox, in fact, had only suffered back-to-back losing seasons once in the first 29 years of team history.
1930 Future Hall-of-FamerLuke Appling made his White Sox debut. It was the start of the legacy of great Sox shortstops, which would include Chico Carrasquel, Luis Aparicio and Ozzie Guillén.
Appling went 1-for-4 in a 6-2 loss to the Red Sox.
1939 With a 5-1 loss to Detroit in the opener of a doublheader, White Sox hurler Johnny Rigney saw his 11-game winning streak snapped. The righthander hadn’t lost since June 30 (and in that, a complete game defeat yielding just one earned run), throwing 117 innings to a 1.92 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.051 WHIP and .198 opponents average. Ironically, the winning streak came on the heels of a five-game losing streak for Rigney.
For the season, Rigney had a 3.70 ERA (129 ERA+), 3.28 FIP, 1.335 WHIP, 4.5 WAR over 35 games/29 starts and finished 20th in AL MVP voting.
1954 Paul Richards, one of the greatest managers in club history, resigned to accept a dual position of general and field manager for the Baltimore Orioles. Richardswas the man credited with turning around the fortunes of the franchise in 1951 with his aggressive running/pitching/defense philosophy. White Sox pitcher Billy Pierce called Richardsthe smartest manager he ever had. Richards was also credited with turning around Nellie Fox, helping transform him into a very good hitter.
Richardsleft because the White Sox were not willing to give him a multi-year contract extension or a raise, and because of personal disagreements he had with GM Frank Lane. Marty Marion, who had just retired after 13 years in St. Louis playing for the Cardinals and Browns, replaced Richards.
1967 Coming off of two straight losses to the Tigers and in danger of falling out of the pennant race,Joe Horlen threw a 6-0 no-hitter in front of 23,625 fans at Comiskey Park.
White Sox second baseman Wayne Causeysaved the no-hitter with a grab of a smash up the middle off the bat of Jerry Lumpe in the ninth inning. Causey’s throw just nipped Lumpe at the bag. Horlenhit a Tiger and another reached base on an error, but other than that he was perfect on the afternoon. Horlen got Dick McAuliffe on a ground ball to shortstop Ron Hansen for the final out of the 12th no-hitter in White Sox history.
Rookie Cisco Carlos then shut out Detroit, 4-0, in the second game, vaulting the Sox right back into pennant contention, just 1 1⁄2 games off of the lead. It was the last time in franchise history the White Sox threw doubleheader shutouts.
1976 Nolan Ryan struck out 18 White Sox in a Angels 3-2 win at Comiskey Park. Chicago rallied to tie the game, 2-2, in the bottom of the sixth, after a walk to Jim Essian, a single by Jim Spencer and a two-run double from Jorge Orta. Two more walks (Ryan had nine in the game) loaded the bases with two outs, but Alan Bannister popped out to right field to end the threat. California came right back during their next bats to take the lead, on a run-scoring double.
Ryan finished strong, striking out the final five White Sox batters he saw in the game, but only after loading the bases again in the eighth inning.
Also, it was on this day the White Sox activated 52-year-old Minnie Miñoso, making him an active player in the majors for his fourth decade. He would make his season debut in the next day’s game.
1977 White Sox pitcher Wilbur Wood tied an AL record by hitting three Angels hitters in a row, in the first inning of the club’s 6-1 loss at Anaheim. With two out and a man on, Wood hit Dave Kingman, Don Baylor and Dave Chalk.
1981 The White Sox purchased Jerry Hairston from the Mexican League, where he had played for almost four full seasons after having been sold by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Hairston was a third round pick of the White Sox in 1970 and saw his first five seasons in the majors on the South Side.
The outfielder was brought back to Chicago mainly in a sub/pinch-hitting role, the latter at which he truly excelled. The White Sox kept him in uniform until 1989. He finished his career with 94 pinch-hits, not far behind the all-time AL leader, Gates Brown, with 107.
1983 White Sox Triple-A affiliate the Denver Bears completed a sweep to win the American Association title. The club was skippered by Jim Mahoney, and had finished the regular season 73-61. The offensive environment at Mile High Stadium and in the American Association in general led to some gaudy offensive numbers for the Bears, as 11 of their 15 batters on the season boasted an OPS better than .800; conversely, just two of 14 pitchers kept their ERAs to less than 4.00.
While many of the players on the Bears roster did make the majors, none had consequential careers, with the closest such players being Daryl Boston and Joel Skinner — unless you count end-of-career reliever Al Hrabosky, pitching in his last pro season.
There has been plenty of change with the roster, management, and everything in between over the past couple of years. One of the most impactful changes to the franchise has been the departure of Mitch Marner in July 2025, after playing his first NHL season away from Toronto this past year with the Vegas Golden Knights.
Marner was a representative for the Golden Knights at the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas and was asked about his former team. With the summer that the Maple Leafs had, the topic of their off-season came up.
With such a strong history with the Leafs, playing nine seasons with the club and 657 regular-season games, as well as growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, it's easy to follow what his former team has been up to.
Nonetheless, the right winger has his sights set on the coming campaign with his team, and doesn't hold much weight with what his former team is up to.
"Don't think very much," he said. "I'm just thinking about our team and what we've got to do to be the best we can be."
Marner, born in Markham, Ont. and growing up in Toronto, has become familiar with the local talent. Of that bunch is Toronto-born defenseman Darren Raddysh, whom the Maple Leafs acquired in a sign-and-trade in June.
Marner said he was pumped to see Raddysh get an opportunity for his hometown team after a career-high 22 goals and 70 points last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"I know Raddy quite well, I'm very happy for him," Marner said of Raddysh. "He's worked his butt."
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The gripes are legitimate. But there has to be something positive out of these last two days of back-to-back 4-3 losses, and losing the year-long series to the Brewers.
That is — for these two games, the Cubs proved they can hang with the Brewers. The Team Up North was taken to the brink of defeat each time, with the same Achilles heel occurring against the Cubs.
In both games, the team had taken the lead TWICE against the mighty Brewers, only to come up short at the latest point in each game.
In the latest example of “THE DECISION” since LeBron’s, first, second, third (?) time, Craig Counsell Monday had to decide, without either a closer or a dependable eighth-inning reliever, which way to go: Let an exhausted Matthew Boyd, with his fastball having dropped around three miles per hour, go back out to mound in the eighth; let Boyd only face one batter max, or start the inning with Zeferjahn. Zeferjahn had been building confidence in his last few outings, and putting “Z” in at the top of the inning would have given him a fresh start instead of a tremendous increase in leverage. The latter occurred, “Z” crashed and that rolled into Webb also entering in a poor situation.
It was being stuck between a rock, a hard place, and being encased in amber. Probably the only spot we would be in agreement with is that Boyd went a batter too long. However, what were the better options? They aren’t there. Nevertheless, when he left the game, Boyd pitched an excellent game, leaving with the lead, 2-1, having scattered seven baserunners and struck out seven.
The levers were pulled correctly (as best possible) Tuesday. David Peterson did not have a great game (4.1 IP, nine baserunners with four strikeouts). But he somehow did leave the game with the game locked at 1-1 against Jason Misiorowski. After Peterson left after a single and a walk, Trent Thornton provided a strikeout, then was backed up by the defense with a strike from Seiya Suzuki to nail Jackson Chourio at the plate.
After two innings from Aaron Civale, Ryan Rolison had a rough go of it, but the Cubs went into the ninth with the score still tied. After the Cubs took a 3-1 lead, they gave it back. Jacob Webb was in to close the game and was one strike away from chalking up a Cubs win, but to give up a game-tying, two-run home run to Chourio. The Brewers won in the 10th.
The points are — I’ll be positive and say that there is no consistently effective bullpen work. Or I can be real and also just drop the work “consistently”; and there’s a big gap up-and-down the line between the two bullpens. However, this is what the Cubs have and they still kept pace with the Brewers in these two games. There can be some blame on Counsell for the execution of Monday’s game (and I hate going to this easy scapegoat), but the blame is on Jed Hoyer expecting all the bullpen cards would have fallen into place by this point. They still may, but time is almost out and there’s not much that can be done about it.
The offensive stars are PCA, who not only picked up his 41st homer, but added three more stolen bases to improve his chase numbers to 41/36. Pedro Ramirez was 2-for-6 with two runs scored and a solo home run. And Carson Kelly had a huge pinch-hit two-RBI double in the ninth Tuesday to put the Cubs up, 3-1.
Complimentary Starting Pitcher Solo Home Run*
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Jeff Agrest (Chicago Sun-Times): Jacob Webb blows another save before Brewers walk-off Cubs in 10 innings. “No one is walking through the Cubs’ clubhouse door to save the bullpen. “These are our guys,” manager Craig Counsell said. “They’re the guys we’re going to rely on. We’ve got to figure it out.”
2-run walkoff HR (2 outs in 9th) 2-run walkoff HR (2 outs in 9th) 2-run game-tying HR (2 outs in 9th)
He's the only MLB pitcher to allow a game-tying or go-ahead HR w/ 2 outs in 9th in 3 straight save opps (since saves became official in 1969). pic.twitter.com/PdsS8SNgE3
Matthew Trueblood (North Side Baseball): Craig Counsell’s Mystifying Monday Screwup Continues a Troubling Trend. “Ryan Zeferjahn failed in the clutch on Monday afternoon, costing the Cubs a game they needed and had a chance to win. But the more worrisome mistake was made by his manager, before the righty could even take the mound.”
Assorted Hitting/Team Standings Stories:
Brett Taylor (Bleacher Nation): Dansby Swanson’s Oblique Recovery Continues on Schedule. “If Swanson is able to play in a couple rehab games early next week, it’s at least conceivable he could return at some point during next weekend’s Reds series in Cincinnati.”
Elias Schuster (Chicago Cubs): Cubs Hold Crucial Advantage as NL Wild Card Race Tightens. “The Chicago Cubs are hoping to outright secure the top Wild Card spot, but thy can find some comfort in knowing they have already clinched a few tiebreakers.”
Evan Altman (Cubs Insider): Who Was Jiggs Parrott, ‘Worst’ Player in Cubs History? “With Pete Crow-Armstrong chasing down Rogers Hornsby‘s 1929 11.0 fWAR in 1929 as the best single season in Cubs franchise history, I got an itch to see who has the worst season on record.”
Sophie Sherry (Chicago Sun-Times): White Sox beat Cubs 56-48 — in Chicago ballpark arrests in recent years. “Fans have mostly been charged with battery and trespassing, the Sun-Times found. One man ran onto both Wrigley and Rate fields, in one case holding a sign that read “Jesus is Lord.” Another man started a brawl outside of a Sox game after he was caught urinating on a car.“
Jordan Bastian (MLB.com): PCA reconnects with young fan, trades him a signed bat. “The sign read: “Hey Pete! I’m your biggest fan from the Smokies! I have a Javi Báez auto 1/1, I want to give it to you. Want to trade ‘4’ a bat? GO CUBS GO.”“
Williamson’s first recording session took place in 1951 for Lillian McMurry of Trumpet Records, based in Jackson, Mississippi. It was three years since the death of John Lee Williamson, which for the first time allowed some legitimacy to Miller’s carefully worded claim to being “the one and only Sonny Boy Williamson”. When Trumpet went bankrupt in 1955, Williamson’s recording contract was yielded to its creditors, who sold it to Chess Records in Chicago. He had begun developing a following in Chicago beginning in 1953, when he appeared there as a member of Elmore James’s band. During his Chess years he enjoyed his greatest success and acclaim, recording about 70 songs for the Chess subsidiary Checker Records from 1955 to 1964.
In the early 1960s he toured Europe several times during the height of the British blues craze, backed on a number of occasions by the Authentics, recording with the Yardbirds (for the album Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds) and the Animals, and appearing on several television broadcasts throughout Europe. Around this time he was quoted as saying of the backing bands who accompanied him, “those British boys want to play the blues real bad, and they do”. In 1963 while in London, on one or possibly more occasions he recorded 2 songs in front of a live television audience for the UK regional television folk and blues music series Hullabaloo, presented by the Scottish folksinger Rory McEwen. Sonny Boy took a liking to the European fans, and while there had a custom-made, two-tone suit tailored personally for him, along with a bowler hat, matching umbrella, and an attaché case for his harmonicas.
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KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - SEPTEMBER 9: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals throws the Arizona Diamondbacks runner out at first during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium on September 9, 2026 in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Bobby Witt Jr. hit his 18th homer last night, which was the difference in a 5-2 win over the Diamondbacks
In the fifth inning, D-backs reliever Michael Soroka left a 94.9 mph sinker over the heart of the plate in a tie game. It seemed like a customary get-me-over fastball after Soroka walked Carter Jensen on six pitches.
Soroka looked for strike one. Instead, Witt was ready as he belted a three-run homer over the left-field wall. It was his 18th home run as the Royals took a 5-2 lead and never looked back in Wednesday’s series finale. They won by the same score. The Royals (65-82) finished their nine-game homestand on a high note. The offense scored early after being limited the previous two nights.
Royals rookie Carter Jensen also had a big night. He blasted his 23rd homer and now sits one shy of matching Bob Hamelin (24 homers in 1994) for the club’s rookie record.
Tony Gonsolin made another rehab start last night for Omaha, and it went really well.
Tony Gonsolin tossed five scoreless innings in his third rehab outing for Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday night, another step in what the Royals hope is a path back to the big leagues by the end of the year.
Gonsolin worked around three hits and a walk and struck out two, needing 64 pitches (42 strikes) in Omaha’s win. His next start is scheduled for Sunday with Triple-A, and then the Royals will evaluate whether he’ll continue his rehab or potentially slot in Kansas City’s rotation with two weeks left of the season.
“We’ll see how that one goes,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Obviously, Monday will be a day off across the board for them, and we have that day off as well [in Houston]. We’ll be able to see what happens at that point.”
Angeibel Gomez is predicted to be the Royals top prospect in 2028.
In an ideal world for Kansas City, this is a tough call for the club by 2028 with Gomez and 18-year-old righty Kendry Chourio each having legit claims to their prospect throne. Signed for $2.9 million in January, Gomez is on a rocket ship after hitting .361/.467/.653 with nine homers and a 19/28 K/BB ratio over 47 games in the Dominican Summer League in his debut season. His power has played in games quicker than most 17-year-olds, and his bat-to-ball skills from the right side have been better than advertised. Gomez could jump several dozen places in the Top 100 by ‘28 if this level of performance carries over stateside.
With record setting heat all throughout the Royals 9-game homestand, Anne Rogers of MLB.com talked about how the Royals players handled it.
Well, Foster Griffin did not show why the Guardians got him last night. After a disastrous, eight run, third inning the Guardians fell too far behind the Orioles to be able to rally a comeback. The Guardians fell 5-9 to the Orioles. At least Chase DeLauter hit a home run in his first game back.
Jun 6, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view of a sunset during the game between the Milwaukee Brewers against the Colorado Rockiesat Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Colorado Rockies only have 17 games left in the 2026 season. If they played football that would constitute an entire season. Instead, because they play the marathon that is baseball, these final 17 games may seem inconsequential.
It’s true that the Rockies are eliminated from the playoff race, so in a sense, the remaining games are inconsequential. If we’re being honest with ourselves, though, the Rockies have been realistically eliminated from postseason contention for the past half decade, and there have still been plenty of reasons to watch them play.
There may not be too many games left, but that doesn’t mean the final three weeks of the season won’t provide opportunity for some entertainment. Let’s take a look through the remaining schedule, series by series, to wring out every last inch of exciting baseball before the long offseason (and possible lockout) arrives.
The Detroit Tigers Series
I’m not going to lie: The existence of this series almost scuttled the premise of this entire article.
There’s very little specifically interesting about a late-season matchup between the Rockies and the Detroit Tigers. Both teams are outside of playoff contention, they aren’t division rivals, and the number of former Rockies on the Tigers is limited (unless you’re still a big Tyler Kinley fan).
The Tigers, while they may not have much connection to the current Rockies, do employ the clear frontrunner for American League Rookie of the Year. If the only baseball that you have time to watch is Rockies games, this series will be your one chance to see Tigers rookie shortstop Kevin McGonigle play before taking home the 2026 AL RoY award.
That being said, if you are afraid of how many times the broadcast booth may struggle to pronounce McGonigle, this would be the one series remaining that you wouldn’t be missing too much if you skipped.
The San Diego Padres Series
This four game series against the Padres is the Rockies best opportunity to play spoiler.
The Padres started off strong with an 18-7 April, struggled to stay around .500 in May through July, before turning things around with a 17-11 August. As things stand, the Padres are 78-68 just barely holding on to the third wild card spot in the National League with a half game lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
They come to Denver hoping to keep their lead and reach the postseason for the fifth time in the past seven seasons. So far this year the Rockies have been beaten by the Padres in eight out of their nine games, making even a tie in this four-game set seem like a longshot. All that losing, however, would make it even more wonderful if the Rockies are able to eek out some wins against their division rival right at the end when it matters the most.
Besides, when these two teams play, anything can happen.
The Seattle Mariners Series
With their poor play since the All-Star break, it’s possible that by the start of this series, the Seattle Mariners will also be mathematically eliminated from the playoff hunt. Unlike the series against the Tigers, however, there are still some side stories to look forward to.
First and foremost, the Saturday game will feature the unveiling of Todd Helton’s statue outside Coors Field. As with the Larry Walker statue unveiling earlier in the year, Helton is expected to be in attendance for a pre-game ceremony. The club has not announced any other media appearances yet, but Walker was on the broadcast the night of his statue’s unveiling, so it seems likely that a similar appearance for Helton is in the cards.
Join us for a celebration and statue unveiling of Rockies Legends Larry Walker and Todd Helton!
Additionally, the final Friday home game of the season means one last chance to see the Rockies play in the pastel colors of their City Connect uniforms. The previous green City Connects were only in use for three seasons and 2027 will be the third year of the current generation. Given the uncertain status of the 2027 MLB season, it’s entirely possible this is one of the last chances to see the sunset inspired jerseys donned in game.
The Arizona Diamondbacks Series
As with the Padres series, this could be a chance for the Rockies to play spoiler in the playoff race. Unlike the Padres, I have never gotten the sense that most Rockies fans hold much ill will towards the Diamondbacks.
More importantly, we’ll all get to see Nolan Arenado who is potentially on the cusp of his third trip to the playoffs since leaving the Rockies before the 2021 season. Seeing Arenado playing meaningful baseball this late in the season should provide a wistful well meaning bit of nostalgia all by itself.
That being said, the current season series between the Rockies and Diamondbacks sits 4-6 D-Backs. A Rockies sweep of this three game set would push them ahead in the season series. The Rockies have already won their season series against the San Francisco Giants, adding a second NL West team that they were able to best would be a nice consolation prize at the end of another long season.
The Chicago White Sox Series
In 2026, the Rockies have shown progress towards righting the ship after an abysmal 119 losses last year. It has, however, shown that the climb back up to being a competitive team remains steep. Ending this transitional season against the breakout Chicago White Sox, and getting to see Brenton Doyle for the first time since his mid-season trade, is perfect.
The energy in the southside of Chicago, win or lose, will be a preview of what’s possible for the Rockies within the next few seasons. It will be the perfect hopeful send-off for the 2026 Rockies into a pivotal and uncertain offseason.
Jack Mahoney (No. 15 PuRP) started the game for the Isotopes and managed to get through four and two thirds innings with 87 pitches. Mahoney was pulled after allowing four runs on seven hits the final of which was a two-RBI line drive from Jose Fernandez. While it wasn’t a stellar performance on paper, given the running scoring environment of the Pacific Coast League and the fine performance from the Isotopes bullpen, it was enough to get the job done.
At the plate the Isotopes lineup took an early lead on an Edouard Julien two-run double in the first inning and continuously added to that lead throughout the rest of the game. All told the Isotopes scored in six separate innings on a whopping 13 hits and six walks. Five different Isotope hitters collected extra base hits but the star of the game were the aforementioned Julien, who reached base four times, and Sterlin Thompson (No. 16 PuRP) who was a triple shy of the cycle.
Both Jose Quintana and Kyle Freeland set the tone for this game in rehab appearances. The Yard Goats as a whole followed their lead en route to their 65th win of the season.
Quintana started the game and threw two innings in which he only allowed a single and a walk. Freeland took over to start the third inning and threw three scoreless of his own. While Quintana only managed a single strikeout, Freeland collected five in his three innings of work. Connor Staine finished out the final four innings of the game while only allowing three hits and a walk but no runs.
At the plate the Yard Goats got things started early. Jared Thomas (No. 8 PuRP) was hit by a pitch as the first batter of the game and eventually came around to score after a Jacob Humphrey double and a fielder’s choice hit into by Braylen Wimmer. Hartford would rest on that one-run lead throughout the majority of the game until tacking on another couple in the eighth on a two RBI single from Roynier Hernandez (No. 29 PuRP). Thomas would go on to drive in a final unnecessary insurance run with a single in the ninth.
As the Rockies were preparing to visit Yankee Stadium earlier this week, Brendan Kuty of the Athletic was reflecting on the offseason trade that brought TJ Rumfield to Denver from New York. Rumfield himself appears to have been surprised by the deal at the time as he was, at the time, focused on forcing his way onto the Yankees roster despite knowing that he was blocked by incumbent first baseman Ben Rice.
The Rockies attempt to avoid a fourth straight 100 loss season will come down to the final few weeks of the year. Mark Knudson reflects on the Rockies first manager, Don Baylor, and why keeping the fledgling expansion team from reaching that mark was a key focus of his.
In non-Rockies baseball news: The WPBL regular season came to an end this past weekend! Bradley Woodrum did a deep dive on all four teams as they entered the postseason on Wednesday. There’s been a lot of good narrative writing about the WPBL so far in it’s inaugural season but this piece applies a level of numerical analysis we, as baseball fans, have grown accustomed to having access to. Very worth the read whether you’ve been watching the WPBL or not.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 8: Mike Krukow of the San Francisco Giants at the Wall of Fame ceremony at Oracle Park on August 8, 2026 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Godofredo Vásquez/San Francisco Giants/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Good morning, baseball fans!
My life has been in shambles for the past few months, between my day job, life, and the dumpster fire that is both reality and the San Francisco Giants 2026 season I’m just flying at the speed of light and trying to hold on.
Which is why it has taken me until now to stop and really come to terms with just how much it sucks that Mike Krukow will be retiring after this season.
Mike Krukow IS Giants baseball, to me. He and his broadcasting partner Duane Kuiper have been calling Giants games for the vast majority of my life. I literally cannot remember a time before we had their delightful banter, inside jokes, crowd observations, life observations, and excellent baseball commentary.
There’s never been a bad Giants game under their watch, because they could turn even the most dull and lifeless game into one of the most memorable broadcasts you’ve ever heard. Even if they rarely commented on the actual game in question.
Somehow, I always expected that they would retire together when the time came. And somehow, despite the fact that I know how time works, I still always assumed that that time would be at least twenty years away. When I pictured the (ever unlikely) scenario of retirement, it always included a fruity beverage on the beach with the sounds of Kruk & Kuip calling a game. They were going to call games for all of time, if I’d had my way.
But we seldom get our way in reality. So all I can do is be forever grateful for the time we’ve had with Mr. Krukow on the call, and appreciate every bit of time we’ve got left this season.
What are your favorite Mike Krukow-isms and memories?
DENVER, CO - SEPTEMBER 6: Thomas Saggese #25 of the St. Louis Cardinals bats in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field on September 6, 2026 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) | Getty Images
The Bullpen is not a problem long-term
I think most of you know this, but the bullpen is a 2026 specific problem. That isn’t to say that the Cardinals shouldn’t try to improve it in 2027, that isn’t to say they shouldn’t make changes. But bullpen doesn’t really work like other positions. Third base and centerfield are bad this season and thus they are a problem that needs to be figured out long-term. Bullpen is exclusively a short-term position, even when it’s good.
And there are hidden gems. I’m a believer in second half Gordon Graceffo, who has been an entirely different pitcher from the first half. He is on a speed run to have a reasonable strikeout rate by the end of the season by striking out every other hitter whenever he can. If 2nd half Graceffo is 2027 Graceffo, he is a true weapon. Luis Gastelum got off to a slow start and has had a few too many homerable pitches, but he is striking out over 30% of hitters with a reasonable walk rate. If he pitches anywhere close to his 3.03 xFIP next season, he’s another weapon.
Cade Winquest did not pitch well today at all, but it was his 6th career game. He struck out 34.8% of hitters in the minors and had an average walk rate. He also had an over 50% GB rate. The Cardinals need two of those things to translate and he’s a good reliever. (The Ks, the walks, or the groundballs). And of course, the starting pitchers. Maybe it’s Matthew Liberatore, maybe it’s Cooper Hjerpe, maybe it’s Tekoah Roby, maybe it’s Ixan Henderson, I mean I could go on. Whether it’s for innings concerns, or a true move to the bullpen, there will be starting caliber pitchers whose stuff will play up in the bullpen next season and in seasons beyond.
Bullpens are random. Consider that a good thing for the Cardinals and their future. A move or two and this could be a good bullpen next year and I’m not taking crazy pills because that’s just how baseball works.
George Soriano’s Struggles
There has been an emerging narrative that I’ve noticed that George Soriano is struggling because he is reaching career high in games pitched. He has, after all, not had a very good second half, most recently helping to blow a six-run lead to the Giants yesterday. It’s one of the easiest narratives in baseball, guy struggles because he is worn out.
I don’t buy it. I’m sorry I don’t. I think fans desperately want to believe this to be the case, because they think he’s a better pitcher than he is. I acknowledge that not all innings are created equally. I acknowledge that he has appeared in a career high amount of games pitched. I even acknowledge that sometimes high leverage innings can stress out your arm more than low leverage innings. It’s just too easy though. Let’s look at his history.
He was first moved to relief in the middle of the 2022 season. He appeared in 8 games, started 6 of them, at the AA level, but only threw 29 innings. He got promoted to AAA and pitched 47 innings in 32 games. He threw 76 innings in 40 games pitched in 2023 overall. The next season, he became a true multi-inning reliever. He pitched 17 games and threw 25.1 innings in AAA, and in 26 games at the MLB level, he threw 52 innings. Overall, he pitched in 44 games and threw 77.1 IP.
Moving onto to last season, he threw in 29 games at AAA, throwing 42.2 IP. In his MLB time, he pitched in 24 games and threw 36.2 IP. Combined, that makes it 53 games and 78.4 innings pitched. I don’t know guys, he’s not pitching in as many games, but this is about as heavy a workload as you’re going to get from a reliever in 2026. I know they weren’t high leverage, but that is a LOT of innings.
On top of that, his 1st half performance wasn’t really supported by advanced stats. He struck out 21% of batters and walked 9.6% of them, which was “good” for a 4.44 xFIP. He didn’t really allow homers (3.90 FIP) and had a .225 BABIP. Things have obviously gone in the opposite direction in the 2nd half. Before yesterday’s game, he had a 4.03 xFIP and struck out 26.7% of batters (more walks too) in the 2nd half. But he had a .346 BABIP and 6.52 FIP because the home run luck dried up.
His season BABIP is still just .275 so one could argue he’s still getting lucky on balls in play during the season as a whole. He’s been unlucky on homers, but his career rate is 16.9% and his season rate is 14.9% so based on 179 career innings, he’s going to allow a few more homers to leave the park than expected. Too small a sample size of course, but perfectly in line with his career.
He has a career 4.51 xFIP, his ERA on the season is now 4.50. I just think this is who is guys. He’s just gotten to this place in a very strange way. I just find it difficult to buy into this narrative. You could not more perfectly design a reliever more “ready” to throw a lot of innings and in a lot of games than Soriano. It’s just easy to miss that because his stat page doesn’t show the minors unless you seek it out.
Also his struggles this year are easily explainable. He can’t get right-handed hitters out. In 2026, he has a been a true reverse splits guy. Left-handed hitters hit for a .263 wOBA and strike out 26.6% of the time with an 8.4% BB rate. Right-handed hitters hit for a .386 wOBA with a 19.2 K% and 14.4 BB%. That’s season stats. Also might I remind everyone: the first batter Soriano faced yesterday, he induced a weak groundball that’s an out for probably 90% of batters but Jonah Cox has 99 percentile sprint speed, at 30.1 feet per second. He had a .090 xBA. He suddenly does his job if someone slower is batting. Unfortunately, baseball is cruel.
The Stopgap for 3B is Here, it shouldn’t be for CF
The two weakest positions this season have been third base and centerfield, both from players initially seen as a potential long-term answer. The Cardinals should move on from Nolan Gorman, but in the meantime, I actually think Thomas Saggese and Blaze Jordan showed enough in 2026 to keep the spot open for them. Obviously, they’re both right-handed so this isn’t a platoon situation, but with Saggese’s ability to play other positions, and then Blaze occasionally platooning with Alec Burleson, there’s plenty of PAs for both.
And I say this not really believing either is the answer. But that’s okay because I think the answer is in the organization. I don’t know which specific player is, but I would be surprised if there’s not a long-term answer among Saggese, Jordan, Jesus Baez, Deniel Ortiz, and even Raniel Rodriguez maybe. I don’t necessarily think any one of them is a good bet at 3B specifically, but taken collectively, you got to like the odds.
Saggese should be a good defender at 3B, and projection-wise, he should have between a 90 and 100 wRC+. His minor league history suggests there may be more there offensively. He is 25 next season. He is the perfect stopgap option. But we aren’t even completely depending on him. Jordan is 24 next season. He had a 137 wRC+ in AAA and a .317 xwOBA and displayed better than expected defense. Do I buy the defense? No, but I’m intrigued to see more. He has earned more opportunities. These are great stopgap options.
However, I have no idea what to do with centerfield. I am fully out on Nathan Church being a starting centerfielder. Obviously, his offense has been disappointing. He is good at not swinging and missing. That is the extent of his positives as a hitter, at least how he’s played in 2026. Go to his Statcast page, it is bleak. Everything but K% and whiff% is blue. He is 3rd percentile in chase%, 8th percentile in average exit velo, 20th percentile in bat speed, 12th percentile in hard-hit%.
It’s hard to see that kind of profile and see a route to becoming a good hitter. If the Cardinals plan to go into next season with him as a starter, they need to have a serious talk with him about not chasing. Of all the stats, that is the only route for optimism. He was never this extreme and he did hit the ball hard, but Alec Burleson went through this. Just hammer that home. Wait for your pitch more. In the best version of how this could go, him selectively choosing better pitches to hit improves all his batted ball metrics.
But I’m not making him the starting CF if I’m in charge. Like I said, Burleson’s Statcast page was never this bleak so it feels like I’m hanging onto a lot more hope and wishful thinking to think Church will improve to that extent. He’s still on my team next year. I tell him he has to earn back a starting spot. Not chasing is the way to do it, if results follow, you will get your job back. Outfield is one of those positions where everyone gets hurt, so he will still play.
Of course, who the hell is starting if not Church? Certainly nobody in the organization. I don’t want to go the Victor Scott route again. It seems like the Cardinals have moved on anyway. I don’t think Joshua Baez can play CF. I can read War and Peace faster than it will take Chase Davis to adjust to a new level, so I don’t think he’s the answer to our 2027 problems. In the absolute best case scenario, I suspect Josiah Ragsdale is going to have Joshua Baez’s season next year. (They slow cook him and wait until August)
My main point is that I want to attempt to compete. I’m not asking to go all-in. I feel like Saggese/Jordan is an attempt to compete. Running it back with Church is a rebuild kind of move. Just give me somebody who has an okay chance to be good. It’s not like we’re swarming with outfielders in the near term, all the backups right now are literally infielders. In the offseason, I will probably look for an answer to this question.
DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 7: Ryan Graves #27 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates against the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center on December 7, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Glenn James/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images
Conventional wisdom states that a player with a big salary and years of NHL experience usually sticks with the NHL roster. The Penguins have been bucking that trend lately, starting with waiving goalie Tristan Jarry and sending him to the minors in the 2024-25 season. That continued in a major way last season in 2025-26 when Danton Heinen and Ryan Graves didn’t make the NHL club out of training camp and were waived then sent to the AHL. It wasn’t that long into the season before Matt Dumba and Phil Tomasino were sent in that direction as well.
Some of these players popped back up with the NHL teams at times last year (most notably Graves), some did not. The future is uncertain and getting cut from the team doesn’t have to mean the end of the road for good, but there are clear signals that the Pens value performance and ability over strictly just the contract and statuses of players involved. Being an NHL player in the past hasn’t locked in a spot for the future.
That’s a curious concept to consider when looking at the sheer volume of players that will be in the mix during the quick 13-day training camp. Barring future injuries, some tough decisions will need to be made on a number of cases. Let’s get into some of them.
Ryan Graves – Graves enters year four of a six-year contract on as shaky footing as ever. In the past, one could squint or offer hopeful reasons for improvement like “he’ll be better in year two now that he’s acclimated to the team” or “this year could be different with a new coach and fresh start”. Few reasons for optimism remain given the caliber of play when Graves has been in the NHL lineup lately. Graves would likely have to beat out many or all of Declan Carlile, Ilya Solovyov, Caleb Jones and Owen Pickering for a spot in the lineup. The odds look long to do that based off all evidence to this point. The onus is now on Graves to change the narrative and show he’s worth keeping, as evidenced last year when he was a training camp cut, the team has no reason not to jettison him if he’s not bringing a high enough level of play to be on the roster.
Hendrix Lapierre – The Penguins gave up a third round pick to acquire Lapierre, yet it seems like he’s got some work to do to turn some heads and earn a spot with the club this fall. Lapierre’s career has been in neutral or worse for a couple of seasons now. He might not have the chops defensively to fit into the heavy lift the Pens ask of their fourth liners in terms of d-zone starts and penalty killing. A natural center, Lapierre has floundered in the middle and become more of a wing option. Does he get a look at center? Is there a way to stand out and starting finding a niche somewhere in the lineup? These are unanswerable questions at the moment but loom large in the near future.
Justin Brazeau – Brazeau scored 17 goals last season, yet only five of them over his last 40 games. At the beginning of the year he was playing on a line with Evgeni Malkin and Anthony Mantha, by the end of the season Brazeau was a healthy scratch that was essentially surpassed in the lineup by newcomer Elmer Soderblom. Brazeau could be an important depth piece to have, his issue seems to be that the team keeps adding around him. Andrei Kuzmenko stands in for Mantha this year but the team has brought in wingers Soderblom, Egor Chinakhov and Nick Robertson within the last year. Not to mention younger options like Lapierre, Rutger McGroarty, Avery Hayes and the next guy on the list below. In totality, Brazeau had a career-year and would seem to be a shoo-in for a roster spot. Yet today, that doesn’t sound like a certain proposition. Of course players can’t think in this way, but overall for Brazeau, he might be the biggest beneficiary if an NHL forward gets injured in training camp the way Bryan Rust did last year. At that point, the math could change significantly for finding room to keep Brazeau around.
Ville Koivunen – What to do with the $4 million dollar man? That will be one of the most intriguing situations to watch unfold in Pittsburgh this September. The team clearly has high hopes for what Koivunen might become, the thing is the recent past doesn’t suggest that he is very close to getting there right now. This is where the advanced cap hit offers some benefit – Koivunen could have been a candidate for a top team to pluck off waivers if he had a ‘normal’ young unestablished player cap hit. Most of those teams are completely off the board for that idea now, since they don’t have an extra $4 million in cap space to play around with. Then again, the Pens might not intend to waive Koivunen at all, given his mastery of the American league. Is he bound to be a fill-in player as a scratch? Find a spot in the opening night lineup? Get placed on waivers? Each outcome sounds about as likely as any other at this point.
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What could solve a lot of this is a great camp. Many times people think about that as a young player like Harrison Brunicke or Ben Kindel bursting on the scene and forcing their way into the team’s plans. Such situations are not just reserved for the up-and-comers trying to get on the radar. All four of highlighted players above make a decent salary and all to different degrees have been factoring into NHL lineups in the recent past. They too could be in-line to show out and grab a role at the start of the year.
The big unknown will be the opportunities at hand. Will someone like Brazeau get the chance to start training camp, say on a line with Kindel and Robertson? Or will Brazeau be placed with players more likely with immediate AHL futures? Placement could tell a lot about how the team is leaning, and a brief camp won’t allow for too many chances to explore a tremendous number of possibilities. That’s not to say fates will be sealed at all based on first glimpses – lines and roles are bound to have some amount of fluidity in the early going – but the clock on camp will be moving quickly with only so many practices and exhibition games to force the issue and make an impact.
Former Minnesota Wild forward prospect Graeme Clarke is taking his career overseas.
Frölunda HC announced Tuesday that it has signed Clarke to a one-year contract that runs through the 2026-27 season. The 25-year-old will join one of the top organizations in the Swedish Hockey League.
Clarke spent the 2024-25 season in the Wild organization after Minnesota acquired him from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Adam Beckman in June 2024.
The right-shot forward never appeared in an NHL game for Minnesota, but played 64 games for the Iowa Wild, recording 16 goals and 21 assists for 37 points.
Minnesota moved on from Clarke following that season, and he signed with the Washington Capitals organization. He began the 2025-26 campaign with the Hershey Bears, recording 15 goals and nine assists in 50 games before eventually landing with the Belleville Senators.
Clarke finished the season particularly well in Belleville, producing five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in just 15 games. Despite that strong finish, his next opportunity will come overseas.
Frölunda sporting director Fredrik Sjöström described Clarke as an offensively gifted forward with strong hands and a good shot. While Clarke has primarily played on the wing, the club also noted that he has experience at center.
Clarke said he was pursued by multiple teams in different leagues before choosing Frölunda, which will compete in the SHL, Champions Hockey League and Spengler Cup this season.
Originally selected by New Jersey with the 80th overall pick in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft, Clarke developed into a productive AHL scorer. His best season came in 2022-23 when he registered 25 goals and 58 points in 68 games with Utica.
He eventually earned his first NHL opportunity with the Devils during the 2023-24 season, appearing in three games. Those remain the only NHL games of his career.
Clarke now heads to Sweden with an opportunity to establish himself in the SHL after parts of six seasons in the AHL.
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - AUGUST 30: Ranger Suarez #55 of the Boston Red Sox in action during the game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on August 30, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Yesterday, the Red Sox made what I consider to be a rather significant announcement in setting up their rotation for the upcoming weekend series against Kansas City:
This matters because the Red Sox now have exactly 15 games left. That’s three perfect trips around the rotation when coupled with off days scheduled on the 14th, 21st and (if they make the playoffs) 28th. In other words, the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 starters this weekend align perfectly to be the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 starters for the Wild Card series with an off day each trip around the rotation also baked in.
So while nothing is official, the Red Sox going Gray, Suarez, and Tolle during the next three games kind of feels like them writing down their initial playoff starters in pencil. One one hand, I get it: Gray has been their most reliable starter all year, Suarez has a career 1.48 ERA in 42.2 career postseason innings, and Tolle feels like the logical remaining choice from there.
But what do you guys think? Do you worry about potentially handing the ball to such a young, inexperienced pitcher in Game 3 of the Wild Card series for the second year in a row? Does Ranger Suarez stumbling against both the Yankees in that game in New York on August 30th and against Japan in the World Baseball Classic in March make you question his ability to still automatically turn it on when the postseason starts?
Talk about this and whatever else you’d like on this well deserved Red Sox off day (they’ve played 54 times in the last 56 days), and, as always, be good to one another!
Hockey season is finally upon us, with the Philadelphia Flyers set to kick off their rookie camp and Rookie Series this week, immediately followed by the start of training camp.
On Wednesday, we got the official Flyers training camp roster, which included Andrew Perrott, an AHL signing I didn't know about; and Zayde Wisdom, who is going to get another crack at the NHL, as small as his odds may be.
Of the rest of the inclusions on the roster, I am most excited to see what kind of roster battles take place in the bottom-six.
From last year, the Flyers still have Nikita Grebenkin and Carl Grundstrom, but it will be interesting to see if formerly esteemed prospects like Nolan Foote and Danila Klimovich can outperform them.
Newcomer Zach Aston-Reese has some NHL experience, too, but his role has substantially decreased over the last four years since leaving Pittsburgh, and perhaps there is a reason for that.
Additionally, I think Devin Kaplan has the potential to occupy such a role for the Flyers in the future, but he is more than likely going to need at least one more year of development in the AHL with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Simply put, the winger room is just too crowded right now, and some cards need to fall before we consider anything further.
In other (brief) prospect news, Egor Zavragin is on the board with his first win in his first start of the KHL season!
Flyers' Quinn Hughes pursuit gets a boost?
Most of you who have followed my Flyers coverage here and on social media know that I have long been of the opinion that a marriage between Quinn Hughes and the New Jersey Devils is inevitable.
Well, if you were hoping the Flyers would have a shot at Hughes, the superstar defenseman left all doors open during his media availability at the NHL Player Media Tour. The door that is open the widest is the one in Newark, but doors are open.
"This is going to be done whenever I feel like it needs to be done," Hughes said. "I don’t feel backed up against a wall. I’m very thoughtful. I want to make sure I’m taking my time on everything and make sure I’m making a decision that is going to be good for everyone. That’s kind of where my head has been at.
"It is my life. I’m not going to do anything to make someone else happy. Obviously, I like to think of myself as a thoughtful person to a point where it’s not good for me and I’m thinking too much about all these different things. I think that everyone’s got to do whatever makes them happy and where the chips fall they fall."
And now we can consider more fuel has been added to the never-ending fire. Know that the longer this drags out, the bigger a distraction it will become during the season for a Minnesota Wild team aspiring to compete for the Stanley Cup.
On Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Anaheim Ducks and Chris Kreider had agreed to terminate the big forward’s contract and that he would be placed on unconditional waivers for contract termination. A couple of hours later, the 6-foot-3, 232-pound 35-year-old was indeed put on waivers, and once he clears, which he will, he will be free as a bird to sign with a new team.
While Kreider is no spring chicken, he still has a lot to give to a team. Last season, he put up 50 points in 75 games, and if not for the gigantic contract the Ducks were forced to give Leo Carlsson and its ripple effect, he would still be on the team. Last season, it wasn’t rare to see him play alongside top talent like Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier.
The plan now is for Kreider, a Massachusetts native, to head back to the East Coast to play on a contending team. This is where the Montreal Canadiens come in. Back in early July, we suggested that Kreider could be an interesting target for the Canadiens in the fallout of the Carlsson contract, and now that Kreider can be had for nothing more than money, he becomes an even better target.
Of course, if Kent Hughes still believes he has a shot at landing one of his “plan A” targets, such as Kirill Marchenko or Matthew Knies, he doesn’t need to pursue Kreider. Still, if those avenues or equivalent ones are shut, the veteran becomes an interesting option. While it’s clear that the Canadiens could use a second-line center, it appears they’ve decided to wait and see what they have in Michael Hage. However, they still want to acquire top-six talent to play alongside Ivan Demidov, and Kreider is, in many ways, similar to the aforementioned Marchenko and Knies. He’s big, he’s got speed, and he’s not afraid to get to the dirty areas. Last year he landed 69 hits in 73 games.
Most importantly, though, he shows up and delivers in the playoffs. Kreider is the kind of player who is made for playoff hockey and relishes playing when the stakes are high. In 135 playoff games, he has put up 83 points (0.61 PPG) and 84 penalty minutes. In the New York Rangers' run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014, he put up 13 points in 15 games. Yes, that was 12 years ago, but in his last three playoff years, he averaged 0.80 PPG over 35 games (28 points).
Granted, there is some history between Kreider and the Canadiens, namely that incident in the 2014 playoffs when he ran into Carey Price and caused the goaltender’s first serious knee injury. Many fans still see him as the cause of Price’s early retirement, but the fact of the matter is that Price isn’t on the team anymore, nor is anyone else who played for the Habs in 2014; Brendan Gallagher was the last survivor. This isn't like bringing Mark Scheifele in to play with Jake Evans.
If Kreider really wants to win a Stanley Cup, he should be willing to sign at a reasonable cap hit, and given his age, he shouldn’t ask for that much term either. Of course, you don’t want him to block the development of your young players, but there’s a balance to be struck. In the last playoffs, it was obvious that Oliver Kapanen lacked experience and still has plenty to learn to play that kind of hockey efficiently.
Having Kreider around for the next two years could be great for the Canadiens. He could have an important role this season and, if the young players improve enough, slide into a lesser role next season. His last contract had a $6.5 million cap hit, but by agreeing to have it terminated by the Ducks, he has proven that it’s not about the money for him anymore, and if there’s someone who can get players to sign reasonable deals, it’s the Canadiens’ GM.
This is an opportunity Hughes at least has to entertain, given that he couldn't find a trading partner this summer. Furthermore, both Jeff Gorton and Martin St-Louis know Kreider well and could speak to his character and potential fit with the team.
Will the Wizards have a deep team in 2026-27? | NBAE via Getty Images
Multiple times this summer, I’ve heard it claimed by fans, pundits, and current/former coaches, players, and front office types that the Wizards are deep. My instinctual reaction is skepticism. I delved into statistical analysis in part because so much of what I heard from the “experts” on TV when I was a kid didn’t seem accurate.
I’d watch Player X (names redacted to protect the innocent) would grab a rebound, and I’d hear the “analyst” (almost always a former player) make a claim like, “Player X is a strong rebounder.” Then The Sporting News would arrive in a couple weeks, and I’d look it up and see that Player X almost never got rebounds.
First overall pick AJ Dybantsa scored 27 points in his NBA Summer League debut. | Getty Images
I’d see highlight packages that included a volume scorer like Dominique Wilkins dishing out multiple assists — clearly assembled to create an impression that he was a generous playmaker. TSN would let me know he was averaging 2-3 assists per game. (This is in no way meant to smear Wilkins, who was a) one of my favorite players, and b) earned his Human Highlight Film moniker.)
As I’ve written before, I wasn’t alone in this observation. One time, when he maybe 12 year old, I was watching a game with my son. Well, I was tracking the Wizards’ defense, and he was working on a school project and listening to the announcers spew statistical nuggets and other factoids while I sighed and the Wizards got pummeled. Again.
Anyway, at one point then-broadcaster Steve Buckhantz intoned something like the Wizards being third in the league in total offensive rebounds over the past nine days (or something), and my son asked, “If the Wizards are so great at everything, why do they always lose?”
So, I approach this “Wizards are deep” claim with skepticism. Let’s unpack.
“Deep” in sports generally refers to the idea that a team has multiple good players at the same or multiple positions. When the San Francisco 49ers had Joe Montana and Steve Young at quarterback, they had depth. When the Washington Redskins had Joe Theisman and Tom Flick, they did not.
Here’s my current best guess at the team’s depth chart for this season:
G: Trae Young | Tre Johnson | Bub Carrington | Tre Mann
W: Bilal Coulibaly | Kyshawn George | Khris Middleton
F: AJ Dybantsa | Will Riley | Justin Champagnie
C: Alex Sarr | Anthony Davis | DeAndre Ayton | Tristan Vukcevic
Note: In my thinking, there are four NBA positions nowadays — guard, wings, forward and centers. Coaches can (and do) mix and match when making lineups. This year, I anticipate the Wizards will start games with one guard (Young), two centers (Sarr and Davis), a forward (Dybantsa) and a wing (either Coulibaly or George).
Also, if you think Johnson is more of a “traditional” shooting guard/small forward type than a shooting guard/point guard type, feel free to mentally shift him to the wing bucket.
So far, this is a bunch of names. Part of being deep is that the players have to be good. Entering the season and assuming health, the Wizards can be confident that Davis, Young, and Sarr will be good to very good. Barring a catastrophic case of Idon’tcareitis Ayton probably makes that list too.
That’s four guys we can be sure will be good. Three of them play the same position.
My next tier is the probably at least average to maybe good. In this group: Coulibaly, George, Champagnie, Middleton. The first problem here is the Wizards don’t want to play two of them major minutes (Champagnie and Middleton). Champagnie because he’d be snacking on minutes that could go to his younger and more ballyhooed teammates. Middleton because he’s old (by NBA standards) and has had multiple significant injuries the past few years.
Next up: the probably below average (or worse) group. That includes Dybantsa and Johnson. In Dybantsa’s case it’s primarily an age-based evaluation. Not many teens are even average in the NBA. Turns out, it’s a tough and competitive league, and it takes time for a kid to learn how to excel.
By the way, arguably the only elite teenage rookie will be Dybantsa’s teammate this season. Davis posted a 178 PPA in 1,846 minutes in his age 19 season with the New Orleans Hornets. The only teen to beat that score was Zion Williams for the same franchise, but Williamson managed just 668 total minutes.
Where were we? Oh yeah, the probably below average guys. My thoughts on Johnson are draped on two main hooks: he’s young, and I didn’t see the athletic tools or all-around performance it usually takes to be an above average NBA player. I could be wrong — this is best guess, and Johnson (like any young player) can do the work and become great.
That leaves the probably not too good guys: Carrington, Riley, Vukcevic, and Mann.
By my count, that makes the Wizards six deep with average(ish)-or-better (eight if you count the two guys they don’t want to play much) and two more who probably won’t be good this season but will play anyway in hopes they will become good in the relatively near future.
I could see some upwards push from guys I anticipate being below average, if they work hard and improve. Odds are, some of the team’s youngsters will get better and some won’t. One of the lessons of NBA history is that it’s not safe to assume young players will improve. Sometimes they just don’t.
So, I think the best way to talk about the Wizards and depth is to say they might be deep this season, if several players improve more than anticipated. I don’t think it’s safe to believe they have the kind of depth that will make them competitive in any consistent way. There’s too much uncertainty around the relative quality of half the roster, which is compounded by significant uncertainty about the health and reliability of others the team hopes will form a veteran foundation.
