Ronald Acuña Jr. Has Unmatched Swagger On and Off the Field
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USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Broadcast was dumbfounded after umpire Brian Walsh had worst missed call of the season
There's no argument that it's generally a difficult job to be an MLB umpire. Pitchers are throwing with more velocity and movement than we've ever seen before, and umpires are still held to an impossibly high standard. But there are some pitches that are so easy to call that there's no excuse. Yet, umpire Brian Walsh managed to miss the easiest call we'll see all season. During the fourth inning of Monday's game between the Orioles and Blue Jays, Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin went middle-middle with a 1-0 sinker. Somehow Walsh stood there without a reaction, calling the pitch a ball. The Orioles broadcast was so shocked that announcers Kevin Brown and Ben McDonald proceeded to roast the umpire. "That's literally right down the middle," Brown said. McDonald added, "I mean, you couldn't set it on a tee in the heart of the plate any better than that. How do you miss that?" With the at-bat flipped in his favor, Ernie Clement would end up hitting a single and scoring later in the inning. And on top of having the worst call of the MLB season, Walsh wasn't great the rest of the way behind the plate. He missed 12 pitches on the night. (Expand tweet to see the strike zone). Could you imagine if the ABS challenge system was in place for that game? It would have been even more embarrassing for Walsh.
Newsweek
25 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Former GM Calls MLB Trade Deadline 'The Most Bizarre I Can Remember'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Circumstances beyond the control of major league teams have conspired to create a confounding week for MLB executives looking to improve their teams' fortunes before Thursday's trade deadline. Jim Bowden of MLB Network on SiriusXM and The Athletic, writing on his Twitter/X account Tuesday, rattled off a variety of unusual issues that combine to make this year's deadline "the most bizarre I can ever remember." This is most bizarre trade deadline I can ever remember: some of best starting pitchers having subpar yrs incl: Cease,Gallen,Alcantara; the best closer Clase on Admin leave; the best Pwr hitter Suarez gets HBP; the best 2 CF Robert and Mullins struggle & best avail DH Ozuna… — Jim Bowden⚾️ (@JimBowdenGM) July 29, 2025 Those issues include: · Three of the best starting pitchers reported to be made available in trades — San Diego Padres right-hander Dylan Cease, Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen, and Miami Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara — are suffering through arguably the worst seasons of their careers. · Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase, whom Bowden reported was available in trades last week, was placed on paid administrative leave by MLB on Monday while the league investigates unusual betting activity related to his on-field performance. · Eugenio Suarez, who is tied for the MLB lead in RBIs, was injured Monday when he was hit by a pitch in the Diamondbacks' game in Detroit, leaving his health in doubt just three days before Thursday's 6 p.m. ET deadline. · Center fielders Luis Robert of the Chicago White Sox and Cedric Mullins of the Baltimore Orioles, both Silver Slugger Award winners in the past, are hitting .205 and .221, respectively. · Three-time All-Star Marcell Ozuna, who's hitting .233 himself, can block any trade because of his veteran status (players with 10 years in the league, and five with their current team, have the right to veto any trade). More news: MLB Puts Guardians All-Star on Paid Leave in Connection With Gambling Probe None of these factors suggest Thursday will be an exciting trade deadline — or, at least, one in which several big-name stars change teams. Most if not all of the best available players are struggling in one way or another. Zac Gallen #23 of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks on from the mound with teammates Eugenio Suarez #28 and catcher Gabriel Moreno #14 prior to leaveg a game against the New York Mets in the first... Zac Gallen #23 of the Arizona Diamondbacks looks on from the mound with teammates Eugenio Suarez #28 and catcher Gabriel Moreno #14 prior to leaveg a game against the New York Mets in the first inning at Citi Field on May 30, 2024 in New York City. MoreBaseball executives sometimes struggle with decisiveness as it is. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported Tuesday that four teams just outside the postseason bubble — the San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Angels, Tampa Bay Rays and Texas Rangers — haven't signaled to other teams whether they will buy or sell. More news: Yankees Make Trade, Send Veteran Pitcher to Atlanta Ahead of Trade Deadline A year ago, 11 trades were executed the day before the deadline and 32 on the day the clock ran out, according to Baseball Reference (via Cespedes Family BBQ on Twitter/X). using @baseball_ref transaction data, here's a look at how many trades have been made on each day leading up to the trade deadline over the past 25 years quantity of trades has soared recently, so we're basically guaranteed to have a flurry of activity over the final 48 hours — Céspedes Family BBQ (@CespedesBBQ) July 29, 2025 The quantity of deals made Thursday might be large, but the quality remains questionable. Bowden, the former Washington Nationals and Cincinnati Reds, reported Tuesday that Alcantara's market is heating up in spite of his performance, and "there is a real chance he gets traded by Thursday." More news: Brewers Make Trade to Acquire Veteran Catcher From AL East Contender So while industry executives froth over a pitcher with a 6.66 ERA (Alcantara), fans can be forgiven for their ambivalence. For more MLB news, visit Newsweek Sports.
Newsweek
25 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Reeling Tigers Get One-Two Punch Of Bad News as Playoff Chances Slip
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The Detroit Tigers were one of the great MLB feel-good stories of 2024. Coming from seven games under .500 as late as Aug. 4, the Bengals surged into the postseason for the first time since 2014, winning 33 of their last 49 games. This year, at least through the beginning of July, they seemed to have picked up where they left off. On July 8, Detroit boasted the best record in baseball at 59-34, a .634 winning percentage. That was significantly better even than the defending World Series champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, who at the time stood at .602. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers walks across the field during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 03, 2025 in Washington, DC. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 03: Manager A.J. Hinch #14 of the Detroit Tigers walks across the field during the game against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on July 03, 2025 in Washington, then it all started to go south. Since that date, the Tigers have won only three games and lost 12. Amazingly, they still enjoy a comfortable — at least for now — lead of nine games in the American League Central over the Cleveland Guardians, who have problems of their own. But according to Fangraphs, the Tigers' chances of making the playoffs have slipped somewhat from a virtual certainty of 99.8% on July 8 with an 11.7% chance of winning the World Series — better than any team in MLB except the Dodgers — to 96.6% with an 8% chance of winning the World Series. In their most recent two games, the Tigers showed signs of turning their fortunes back around, snapping a six-game losing streak with a 10-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, followed by a 5-1 defeat of the Arizona Diamondbacks Monday. More MLB: Tigers Reportedly Acquiring Chris Paddack In Trade With Twins But all was still not well. The Tigers were slammed with a double shot of terrible injury news on Monday. First, 25-year-old, third-year starting pitcher Reese Olson — who had just returned from a five-week stay on the injured list July 4 — was sent back to the IL with a strained pitching shoulder. The Tigers did not reveal the exact nature of the "strain," but they know it must be bad enough to end the righty's season. The team sent Olson and his 3.15 ERA — effectively making him the Tigers No. 2 starter behind reigning Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal — straight to the 60-day IL, removing him from the 40-man roster. With top-rated rookie Jackson Jobe also out for the season since late May with Tommy John surgery, the Tigers have now lost three-fifths of their opening day starting rotation. The Tigers quickly engineered a trade with the Minnesota Twins to obtain Chris Paddack, a 29-year-old righty with a 4.95 ERA. But Paddack has reliably showed up for all 21 of his starts, which may be the most important factor for the Tigers at this moment. The seven-year veteran is scheduled to start Wednesday's game at home against Arizona, taking Olson's spot in the rotation. More MLB: Big Trouble For MLB-Best Tigers as Top Rookie Pitcher's Season Now Threatened But the bad news did not stop there for the Tigers. Also on Monday the team announced that centerfielder Parker Meadows, who missed the first 60 games of the season with a nerve injury in his right arm, was headed back to the IL. Unlike Olson, the Tigers expect Meadows to return at the end of his 10-day IL stay, or soon thereafter. The quad strain that sent him there, according to a report by the Detroit Free Press, was caught early and the team believes any serious tear to the muscle was averted. Meadows never got into a groove after returning from his first IL stint, scraping together an anemic .566 OPS on just 25 hits in 125 at-bats. The Tigers selected Andy Ibáñez from the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to take Meadows' spot on the 26-man roster. More MLB: MLB's Best Team Gets 'Big Upgrade'; Tigers Outfielder Activated For Season Debut
