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#pounditTuesday, March 19, 2024

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Video: Corey Kluber throws no-hitter for Yankees

Corey Kluber no-hitter

Yesterday we had a no-hitter, today we had a no-hitter, so who will throw one tomorrow?

On Wednesday, New York Yankees starter Corey Kluber no-hit his former team, the Texas Rangers. Kluber walked just one batter, struck out nine, and was nearly perfect in the Yankees’ 2-0 win.

Here was the celebration after Kluber got the final out:

Based on the cheers, there must have been a ton of Yankees fans in attendance in Arlington.

Kluber spent last season with the Rangers, though he only pitched one inning because he got hurt in his first start. This season, the former two-time Cy Young Award winner looks much sharper. He is now 4-2 with a 2.86 ERA.

This is the first Yankees no-hitter since David Cone’s perfect game in 1999. It’s Kluber’s first no-hitter, the sixth no-hitter of the MLB season, and the second time this season the Rangers have been no-hit.

It’s May 19 and MLB is on pace to shatter the record for most no-hitters in a season.

Can’t anyone hit these days? Maybe it’s not such a bad idea to consider ideas like this.

Tyronn Lue responds to those criticizing Clippers for supposedly tanking

Ty Lue

Much like Conor McGregor, Tyronn Lue would like to take a chance to apologize to absolutely nobody.

Speaking with reporters Wednesday, the LA Clippers coach responded to those criticizing the team for supposedly tanking at the end of the regular season to get a more favorable playoff draw.

“I don’t give a damn what anybody else thinks on the outside,” said Lue, per Mirjam Swanson of the OC Register. “I don’t listen to that anyways, so at the end of the day, we [chose] for the team. We decided to go with health over all else. We finally got our team healthy, and that’s what we focused on.

“We took health, and that’s the most important thing to me,” Lue added. “So whatever people say on the outside I don’t care. I don’t read Twitter, or have Twitter, or InstaTwit, or all that. I don’t care about all that. I’m my own man, I do what I want to do. That’s how I live my life.”

It certainly seemed like the Clippers were intentionally losing to avoid one particular playoff opponent. They closed out the regular season with losses to Houston and Oklahoma City, two of the worst teams in the league. Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George did not play in either contest. Players like Marcus Morris Sr., Ivica Zubac, and Nicolas Batum also had their minutes heavily limited.

But as Lue said, health is probably the single most important consideration heading into the postseason. Expectations will be high for the Clippers after last year’s playoff dud, and they are gearing themselves up accordingly.

TNT reuniting old ‘NBA on NBC’ broadcasting team for play-in game

Marv Albert

1990s NBA fans may want to fire up “Roundball Rock” by John Tesh.

Neil Best of Newsday reported on Wednesday that Mike “The Czar” Fratello will join longtime former broadcast partner Marv Albert in calling TNT’s airing of the Washington Wizards-Indiana Pacers play-in game on Thursday.

The move should be a heavy dose of nostalgia for many fans. Albert and Fratello were the iconic broadcasting duo of the “NBA on NBC” era, calling games together in the early 1990s. The two have also worked with one another on TNT in more recent years but are better known for their “NBA on NBC” days. They have not done a game together since 2017 either.

The timing here is not coincidental as Albert is soon retiring from the booth. Similarly, Chris Webber is no longer with TNT.

Getting a chance to call one more playoff game with his former sidekick Fratello should make for a pretty cool moment for Albert.

Fernando Tatis Jr. names his favorite MLB player to watch

Fernando Tatis Jr

Fernando Tatis Jr. is one of the most exciting and popular players in baseball. He has become a favorite player for many fans. But even he has a favorite player to watch, and it’s not himself.

Tatis said on Wednesday that his favorite non-NL West player to watch is Shohei Ohtani.

It’s easy to see why Tatis likes watching Ohtani.

This season, Ohtani is living up to all the hype. He entered MLB from Japan touted as the next Babe Ruth. That billing seemed hyperbolic, but Ohtani is leading MLB in home runs currently, and also has a 2.10 ERA as a pitcher. For the time being, he is doing Babe Ruth things.

And after having quiet hype the last two years, Ohtani is more than making up for it now. It seems like more and more people are taking notice.

Texans add another QB in Jeff Driskel

Jeff Driskel

The Houston Texans have added yet another quarterback to their roster.

The Texans on Wednesday signed Jeff Driskel to a 1-year deal. The contract is worth up to $2.5 million.

This seems to be another sign that the Texans may not be planning to have Deshaun Watson this season.

Houston signed Tyrod Taylor over the offseason, drafted Davis Mills, and added Ryan Finley. Now they also have Driskel in the mix.

Driskel, 28, originally was a 6th-round pick by San Francisco in 2016. He has passed for 2,120 yards, 13 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 15 career NFL games, including nine starts. Driskel spent last season with Denver but has also played for Detroit and Cincinnati. He visited with the Cowboys earlier this month but did not end up signing with them.

Tony La Russa had amazing response to White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn

Tony La Russa

Tony La Russa had an amazing response to one of the pitchers on his Chicago White Sox.

On Tuesday, White Sox pitcher Lance Lynn defended Yermin Mercedes for swinging at a 3-0 pitch late in the White Sox’s win over Minnesota Monday night and hitting a home run. Lynn said there are no more rules once a position player is pitching. He also said that the more he plays, the less the “unwritten rules” matter.

In response, La Russa pulled rank on Lynn. La Russa said he is the manager while Lynn is just a player.

La Russa, 76, is as old school as it gets. He’s got seven decades in the game, three World Series and four Manager of the Year Awards. You think he’s about to pushed around by Lynn? Think again.

And despite all the talk of him being “out of touch,” his White Sox are tied for the best record in MLB. He can’t be all that bad.

Aaron Boone thinks mercy rule could help resolve unwritten rules in MLB

Aaron Boone

Aaron Boone thinks he knows one way MLB could address the “unwritten rules” issues that occur during some blowout games.

Boone said Wednesday that MLB having a mercy rule could help fix the situation.

There is a paradox involving blowout games. It’s considered against the “unwritten rules” aka unsportsmanlike, to steal or swing 3-0 when one’s team is up big late in a game. But the issue is the opposing team has not surrendered, so it seems counterintuitive for the leading team to stop trying to extend a lead.

Perhaps MLB could implement a rule that would allow losing teams the option to concede in certain circumstances (e.g. trailing by X amount of runs with Y amount of innings remaining). That would address the blowout etiquette problem. But it might be bad for the overall product because fans would be robbed of getting to see what they may feel they paid for.

Interestingly, Boone made the same point two years ago following a blowout.

Rangers manager Chris Woodward has interesting take on Yermin Mercedes controversy

Chris Woodward

Texas Rangers manager Chris Woodward found himself involved in an unwritten rules controversy in 2020 that has lots of similarities with the Chicago White Sox’s current situation. Interestingly, Woodward now thinks he was in the wrong when it came to his reaction.

Woodward was in the opposing dugout last August when Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a grand slam on a 3-0 pitch to give San Diego a 14-3 eighth inning lead. With the Padres well ahead at the time, there were some who felt Tatis was being disrespectful by swinging. Woodward was among them, admitting at the time that he felt Tatis crossed a line by swinging in that situation.

In light of White Sox rookie Yermin Mercedes swinging 3-0 and homering off a position player in a blowout on Monday, Woodward was asked for his thoughts on the situation. His answer was surprising, as he admitted he has “completely” changed his stance and his previous opinion was “silly.”

“I’ve completely changed my opinion on it,” Woodward said. “I never swung a 3-0 pitch because it was never allowed. Now I look back, I’m like, ‘That was silly.’ It’s the best pitch in baseball to hit.”

The change of opinion puts Woodward at odds with Tony La Russa, who remains a staunch traditionalist no matter how much the game changes around him. The game has changed, though, and many things that never would have been acceptable even two decades ago are much less controversial now. Woodward is smart to adapt to those changes, even if he doesn’t love them, instead of simply digging his feet in.

James Harden hints at mentality shift ahead of NBA Playoffs

James Harden

Throughout his career, particularly with the Houston Rockets, James Harden became known for his gaudy statlines and outstanding scoring ability. Now with the Brooklyn Nets, poised for arguably his best shot at a championship, things seem to be changing a bit.

Harden averaged 35.3 points per game over his previous two seasons with Houston. That number dipped to a comparatively modest 24.6 points per game in 2020-21, the lowest mark of his career since his trade to the Rockets. However, he saw a significant spike in his assist and rebounding numbers, with his 10.8 assists and 7.9 rebounds falling just short of his previous bests.

Part of that is down to playing with Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, who demand more usage than any of Harden’s Houston teammates ever did. However, Harden suggested on Wednesday that this was a conscious choice, even moreso since his recent hamstring injury.

Harden was the guy in Houston, but he can play creator with Irving and Durant around him knowing that both of them are elite scorers in their own right. The Nets were only going to be successful if their big three stars made some sacrifices, and Harden appears to have embraced that. In fact, the whole team appears to be doing it to some degree.

The Nets enter the playoffs as the second seed in the East. Harden has had limited time to play with both Irving and Durant, so it’s not out of the question his scoring numbers dip a little bit more. He’s been making up for it in other categories, and it certainly seems to be benefitting the team. Defense remains an area of concern, but it’s going to be very hard to slow the Nets down on the offensive end with Harden playing facilitator like this.

Video: Zdeno Chara goes down in pregame collision

Zdeno Chara pregame

Zdeno Chara went down after being clipped by teammates in a collision prior to Game 3 of the first round playoff series between his Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Both teams were taking warmups ahead of the game. Chara was hanging out just beyond the blue line when two teammates seemed to bump into him.

The massive defenseman went down on the ice afterwards.

Chara is 6-foot-9 and 250 pounds. It’s hard to imagine anyone not spotting him on the ice, but it seems like his teammates missed him that time.

Chara is in his first season with the Caps after spending the last 14 with the Bruins.