Team news
[Arizona Sports] Diamondbacks offseason needs: What does the starting pitcher trade market look like? – The free agent class of starting pitchers is not chalk full of aces, but it has quality depth to
it. The trade market, meanwhile, could get wild depending on whether mid-market teams decide to sell No. 1 arms. The Diamondbacks are going to have to explore every avenue to improve the pitching staff. Hazen told MLB.com this week that he would be open to dealing from the club’s pool of top prospects. So, based on contracts, effectiveness and media speculation, here is a list of pitchers to watch on the trade market.
[SI] How Scott Boras Could Cost the Diamondbacks a Top Draft Pick – If Boras aims unreasonably high, as he often does, that could end up pushing Gallen to taking a “make good” contract instead of signing a long-term deal. For example, if Boras shoots for something much higher, like six years, $180 million, similar to the Aaron Nola deal, it’s unlikely any team would go near that number. If the process drags out into spring training, Gallen may then end up accepting a deal such as two years, $45 million, with a player opt-out after the first year. If such a scenario unfolds, as it has before with Boras clients, then the D-backs would see their draft compensation pick fall over 40 slots.
[Dbacks.com] From world champs to Fantasy Camp coaches, 2001 D-backs’ bond as strong as ever – The 2001 Diamondbacks still commemorate moments together on their group text thread. They celebrate when someone’s kid gets married or they become grandparents. And even more importantly, they are there to lift up and encourage each other when illness or tragedy strikes. “It’s just a special bond,” Gonzalez said. “We were a tight-knit group before that, but winning the World Series just really adds to it. We had a lot of veteran guys who had little kids and our kids got to know each other, too. And we had a bond with the fans. We didn’t shy away from interacting with the fans or the community. We embraced them and they embraced us.”
[Burn City Sports] Silver Slugger sweep was historic for Diamondbacks – Their history-making season offers insight into how far the team’s offense has come and how much potential remains. It also marks the beginning of the payoff from the organization’s emphasis on scouting and developing homegrown talent. The Diamondbacks have demonstrated that they can trust the players they have, without relying on big-money free agents to deliver production. Carroll became the first Diamondbacks player to record 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases in the same year. Perdomo made franchise history by driving in the most RBIs by a shortstop in a single season.
And, elsewhere…
[ESPN] Guardians’ Emmanuel Clase, Luis Ortiz indicted for pitch rigging – Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz were charged with fraud, conspiracy and bribery stemming from an alleged scheme to rig individual pitches that led to gamblers winning hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to an indictment unsealed by federal prosecutors Sunday. Clase and Ortiz each could face up to 20 years in prison for wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years for honest services wire fraud conspiracy, 20 years for money laundering conspiracy and five years for conspiracy to influence sporting events by bribery, according to prosecutors.
[CBS Sports] How can MLB address prop betting problem? Five possible solutions amid Guardians’ gambling scandal – The allegations are that each pitcher on multiple occasions manipulated pitch outcomes for the benefit of gamblers, taking money in return. Each bet in question was either regarding the velocity of a specific pitch or a ball or strike call. In terms of MLB moving forward, the league will face plenty of questions with its gambling partnerships and how to try and prevent something like this ever happening again. Here are some solutions.
[MLB] ‘Biggest guy I’ve ever seen’ wins Fall League HR Derby in honor of late father – 6-foot-7, 243-pound Pirates prospect Tony Blanco Jr. drew a fawning crowd of his peers. Once he unleashed his right-handed swing and began to connect, it delivered a sound very few can produce. Then the event itself started. One of his homers was recorded at 122.9 mph, harder than any home run hit during an MLB game or MLB Home Run Derby in the Statcast era (2015). Another at 119.7 mph landed onto a nearby roof, sending the entire ballpark into a frenzy, including many of Blanco’s fellow Fall League participants standing at field level. Everyone who saw the ball and where it landed agreed on one thing: It’s the furthest ball they’ve ever seen hit.
Weapons
Rating: B
Dir: Zach Cregger
Star: Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan
You will need to be patient before the pieces finally fit together into a coherent whole. The poster child for that would be Mrs. SnakePit, who turned to me about an hour in, and politely inquired if it was ever going to make sense. It will, though at 128 minutes overall, I could probably have done without Justine and Paul sitting in a bar, yakking about stuff of tangential (at best) relevance to the situation. However, I always enjoy that tasty moment of satisfaction, when everything suddenly comes together and slots into place. This has a top-shelf example – especially for horror, a genre which typically tends to the linear and relatively straightforward. Thereafter, it’s excellent, with an ending whose like I had not seen before
