Baseball fans are about to see more of Joc Pederson over the next week as his Atlanta Braves get set to face the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLDS. There is something fans should know about him: he just started wearing a pearl necklace during games.
Yes, beginning last week, Pederson was seen wearing pearls while at the plate.
The reason for Pederson wearing the pearls is a clubhouse secret. He says it’s a mystery for everyone else.
“It’s a mystery for everyone. They’ll never know,” Pederson said.
When asked again about the pearls again, he offered an amazing explanation. The outfielder said there was no particular reason, just that he’s a bad b-tch.
Incredible.
The Braves acquired Pederson in a trade with the Cubs before the deadline. He has batted .249 with seven home runs in 65 games for them this season. He’s also been credited with helping to keep the Braves clubhouse loose. The pearl necklace definitely is a way to keep things loose. He’s been doing that since this funny giveaway in the minors.
New York Yankees announcer John Sterling was completely fooled on a long single by Giancarlo Stanton on Tuesday night and absolutely butchered the call.
Stanton hit a high ball off the Green Monster at Fenway Park in the top of the first inning of the AL Wild Card Game. Stanton admired his hit and only ended up with a single after the ball bounced off the wall. Stanton’s ball had both TV announcer Matt Vasgersian and radio announcer John Sterling fooled.
While Vasgersian made a good recovery on the call, Sterling remained clueless. Take a listen:
That was embarrassing. Keep in mind that Sterling was present at Fenway Park for the game, giving him less of an excuse for being so clueless.
“What did I do wrong? What did I see wrong?” Sterling wondered.
It’s one thing to think it was a home run and adjust as Vasgersian did. Sterling didn’t even adjust after the ball hit off the wall.
For comparison, you can hear Vasgersian’s call on ESPN here.
Sterling, 83, has called Yankee games on the radio since 1989.
FedEx Forum was evacuated before the start of the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s preseason game between the Memphis Grizzlies and Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks decided they were done for the night and left the arena to eat even with a quarter left to play.
Here is video from TNT when the incident first occurred.
The Grizzlies later shared on Twitter that a sprinkler was inadvertently triggered.
The Bucks didn’t care to stick around for the fourth quarter. They changed into street clothes, loaded up their equipment and headed out. They even took their postgame food with them with plans to enjoy a picnic!
Mike Budenholzer doing the throat slash seemed to pretty conclusively show that the Bucks had no plans to play the fourth quarter.
At the time of this story being published, the Bucks’ bus had not left the arena, but the team changing clothes and eating their postgame meal made a restart difficult.
Phil Nevin was crushed on Twitter by New York Yankees fans on Tuesday night over a bad decision he made to cost his team.
The Yankees had something cooking in the top of the sixth inning in the AL Wild Card Game. They scored their first run of the game on an Anthony Rizzo home run to make it 3-1 Boston. Then Aaron Judge reached on an infield single, bringing Giancarlo Stanton to the plate with one out and the Red Sox leading 3-1.
Stanton, who crushed a ball in the first off the Green Monster, hit an absolute bullet off the wall in deep center. Nevin, who is the Yankees’ third base coach, sent Judge. Judge was easily thrown out at home by a nice relay from the Red Sox.
Given how hard Stanton hit the ball and that Judge was on first, Nevin should have known to hold Judge at third. Instead, he sent the big man to the plate, and the Red Sox got him out easily for a huge save.
The Yankees would have had runners on the corners (or second and third) with one out in a 3-1 game. Instead they ended up with a runner on second and two outs for Joey Gallo, who popped out to end the inning.
Here is a sampling of the criticism Nevin faced on Twitter immediately:
If Nevin gets replaced this offseason, you’ll know why.
Kyle Schwarber’s big home run in Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Game likely provided a sense of deja vu for many baseball fans.
On Tuesday, Schwarber took Gerrit Cole deep for a home run to start the bottom of the third inning, putting Boston up 3-0 on the New York Yankees.
In 2015, Schwarber took Cole deep to right field in the third inning of the NL Wild Card Game to put his Chicago Cubs up 3-0 on Cole’s Pittsburgh Pirates.
That sure looked similar. Both homers came in the third and gave his team a 3-0 lead.
Schwarber’s Cubs won the NL Wild Card Game that year and advanced to the NLCS, where they were swept by the Mets.
Schwarber is only 3-for-17 in his career against Cole during the regular season and does not have a home run. But in the postseason, things change in a big way.
Gerrit Cole did not come through for the New York Yankees in Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Game against the Boston Red Sox. Not even in the least bit.
Cole was lifted from the game by Yankees manager Aaron Boone after allowing the first three batters in the bottom of the third inning to reach base. He allowed a leadoff home run to Kyle Schwarber, an infield single to Enrique Hernandez, and a walk to Rafael Devers.
Cole also walked Devers when he faced him in the bottom of the first. Xander Bogaerts followed with a 2-run home run to make it 2-0. The combination of allowing the first three batters to reach in the third plus Bogaerts coming up next likely led Boone to make the switch.
Cole allowed four hits and two walks in his two-plus innings. He left down 3-0 and was responsible for both runners on base. Another former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher, Clay Holmes, came in to relieve Cole. He got a strikeout and double play to escape the jam.
Boone did not want to give the Red Sox a chance to do even more damage against Cole with the stakes so high. The winner of the game moves on to face the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS, while the season ends for the loser.
Though Cole has largely been excellent since signing with the Yankees, he has not been his usual dominant self since leaving his Sept. 7 start with a hamstring issue.
Jaylon Smith has been with the Dallas Cowboys since 2016, made the Pro Bowl in 2019, and signed a big contract with the team two years ago. Tuesday’s news that the team was cutting him left many stunned.
So, why would Dallas get rid of Smith, especially when they still owe him $7.2 million this season? We have our answer, and it has to do with the linebacker’s contract situation.
Smith was set to make $9.2 million next season. That amount would become fully guaranteed if he were on the roster on March 20, 2022. But there’s a twist: Smith has an injury guarantee.
That means if Smith cannot pass his physical leading up to the March 20 date, the Cowboys would have to pay the $9.2 million.
Dallas decided it was worth it to eat the $7.2 million they owe Smith for this year now rather than risk him getting injured, which would cost them $9.2 million next season.
The move also frees up $5 million against the salary cap for next season.
This is the second notable move Dallas has made to their linebackers this year. They also declined the 2022 option for Leighton Vander Esch in March.
Dallas apparently tried to trade Smith but were unable to do so, leading to his release.
Teams did not want to pick up the 26-year-old on his current contract, but they will likely have interest in him for more favorable financial terms.
The Dallas Cowboys made a surprising move on Tuesday regarding their defense.
Dallas cut linebacker Jaylon Smith despite him being owed $7.2 million.
The 26-year-old was a 2nd-round pick by the Cowboys in 2016, though he missed that season due to an injury he suffered in Notre Dame’s bowl game. He has not missed a game since beginning to play in the 2017 season and made the Pro Bowl in 2019. Smith had 18 tackles in four games this season.
Dallas signed Smith to a 6-year, $68.4 million contract before the 2019 season. He still has five years left on his contract and will count for $16.6 million in dead cap money.
Smith has actually graded out fairly well this season according to PFF, making the move even more surprising.
Photo: Jeffrey Beall/Wikimedia via CC-BY 4.0
Giancarlo Stanton cost himself extra bases by misjudging a ball he crushed in the top of the first inning of Tuesday night’s AL Wild Card Game between his New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Stanton sent a Nathan Eovaldi breaking ball deep to left field. Stanton thought it was gone for a solo home run that would have put his Yankees up 1-0, so he began to pimp the deep shot. However, the ball had everyone fooled and didn’t travel as far as initially thought. It hit off the Green Monster.
Because he was admiring his ball instead of running, Stanton only got a single. The Yankees’ Joey Gallo struck out next for the third out, but that still was a poor reflection upon Stanton.
This has become a trend for Stanton, who also pimped a ball last week that didn’t even go for a hit!
Giannis Antetokounmpo is now an NBA champion and Finals MVP, but he still is not taking himself too seriously.
The Bucks tweeted a video on Tuesday of Antetokounmpo having a funny conversation with the social media staffers. In the video, Antetokounmpo hilariously roasted himself over his shooting ability.
“Yоu guys pоst my dunks, my threes,” Antetokounmpo told the staffers. “When I make a three, make it lооk gооd. Post it frоm diffеrent anglеs, you know what I’m saying? Like post it from this angle, from this angle, sо it lооks like I madе four of thеm. Sо peоple can think I can shооt nоw.”
Antetokounmpo’s shooting ability is really the only weakness in his entire game. He shot 30.3 percent from deep last season and is only a 28.7 percent career three-point shooter. Opponents are more than willing to seal off the paint and sag off Antetokounmpo in the hopes that he launches a jumper.
But Antetokounmpo is quietly becoming a very effective midrange jump shooter, especially out of post-up situations as we saw in this year’s Finals against Phoenix. He has remained humble through it all though and still does not mind poking fun at himself every now and then.
