Sports
These Five MLB Bottom Feeders Are Already Pretty Much Eliminated From 2025 Playoffs
Sep 16, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Chicago White Sox left fielder Andrew Benintendi (23) and second baseman Lenyn Sosa (50) head off the field after the final out of the ninth inning defeating the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images Major League Baseball’s exhibition schedule opened Thursday with the Chicago Cubs visiting the defending World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers. You know what this means, right?
It means we have enough of a sample size to mathematically eliminate at least five MLB teams from the 2025 World Series chase.
Now, you might say, hey, give these teams a few months to prove they don’t belong in a pennant race. And we’ll respond, hey, these teams had four months since the 2024 regular season ended to do ANYTHING to prove they’re interested in winning—and they basically chose not to.
The first team on our list is a gimme because the Chicago White Sox lost 121 games last year—the major league record since 1900.
When professional teams in the Windy City plunge past dreadful and inept and sink so deep they turn into jokes, they become known as “fun bad.” Sadly for Chicagoans, fun bad is about the only type of fun offered these days. Think Bulls, Hawks, Bears, etc. And nowhere is it funnier or badder than on the South Side.
Considering the Sox’s big move in the offseason was dealing ace starter Garrett Crochet to Boston for four prospects, their big free-agent acquisition was utility infielder Josh Rojas (1 year/$3.5 million!) and they’ll deal center fielder Luis Robert Jr. as soon as he has a hot fortnight; there’s a non-zero chance they threaten their own record for losses.
Realistically, the Sox are a decent bet to win at least 50 games because baseball is weird like that. But, last we checked, that’s still 35-40 wins shy of being a legit wild-card contender. So scratch them off the list. If you can find somebody willing to wager they won’t post 100-plus losses for the third year in a row, make that bet immediately.
Next up? The Colorado Rockies. Like the White Sox, the Rockies are a legitimate threat to lose 100-plus games for the third straight season.
Sep 13, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) celebrates with first baseman Michael Toglia (4) and second baseman Brendan Rodgers (7) after hitting a grand slam in the eighth inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images If you’re wondering why, it’s because they’re stuck in a Catch-22. In general, they try not to make any moves to improve. But on the rare occasions when they convince themselves to take a big swing, they have an alarming tendency to miss like Javier Baez, which reinforces their desire to stand pat.
A prime example is Baez’ former Cubs teammate, Kris Bryant. Since signing a seven-year, $182 million deal prior to the 2022 season, Bryant’s injuries have limited him to 159 of a possible 486 games. But maybe his unavailability has been a good thing—because he has managed a -1.3 WAR when playing.
So perhaps we should be applauding Colorado’s offseason strategy to lay low in the mountains. After finishing 37 games out of first in the NL West and 28 wins below the wild-card teams last year, the Rockies’ boldest move to beef up their roster was acquiring utility infielder Thairo Estrada. Yes, the Thairo Estrada who batted .217 with a .590 OPS last year in San Francisco.
Shall we bother discussing the Miami Marlins? They lost 100 games last year, too. Fearful they might have the personnel not to do it again, they dispatched leading home-run hitter Jake Burger to Texas and traded intriguing lefty starter Jesus Luzardo to Philadelphia for four prospects.
Jul 6, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Marlins right fielder Dane Myers (54) is doused with Gatorade by catcher Ali Sanchez (47) as they celebrate their win against the Chicago White Sox at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports Former Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara is back from Tommy John surgery and looking strong, so that will be a big plus—when Miami ships him out of town for more prospects. If the Marlins play their cards right, they might have a farm system ranked in the top half of MLB someday.
Apr 6, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout (27) makes a leaping catch at the wall off a fly ball hit by Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran (16) in the eighth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images It doesn’t seem fair to pick on the Los Angeles Angels, so we’re going to stay positive here while still insisting they won’t contend in the AL West this year. You’ve heard how badly third baseman Anthony Rendon’s seven-year, $245 million contract has worked out for the Angels, right?
Well, here’s the positive news: After being healthy enough to be in the Angels’ Opening Day lineup each of the last four years—only to play 57, 46, 42 and 56 more games the rest of the way due to multiple maladies—Rendon had the forethought to suffer this year’s big injury before spring training.
The Angels announced last week that Rendon required “long-term hip surgery” and will miss the season. While that’s bad for him, we choose to believe he deliberately sacrificed himself to the baseball gods—who have promised in exchange to allow Mike Trout to play a full season after being limited to 111 games the last two years.
St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) is bigger than ever, hoping to produce power numbers to match in 2025. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Who’s our fifth team mathematically eliminated? Sadly for the Best Fans In Baseball ™, it’s the St. Louis Cardinals. Given a choice between working hard to fill holes and contend or working hard to get maximum trade value for veterans like Nolan Arenado, Sonny Gray and Ryan Helsley to accelerate the rebuilding process, the Cardinals have chosen atrophy.
In response, Cardinals fans have chosen apathy.
Here’s the Cards’ sole offseason trade: They stole Michael Helman, a 28-year-old utility player with 10 career major-league at-bats, from Minnesota for “cash considerations.”
Yeah, yeah, the offseason has been full of reports of their attempts to trade Nolan Arenado. Is that to try to win a pennant? Or try to save money?
Ah, the sound of dollars being sucked back into an owner’s bank vault. Now that’s the sweetest soundtrack of spring.
Sports
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
Oct 1, 2024; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Las Vegas Aces center A’ja Wilson (22) and New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart (30) during game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Entering her eighth season in the WNBA, Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson is poised to build on what was arguably the most dominant individual campaign in league history.
Wilson joined Cynthia Cooper (1997) as the second player in league history to win a unanimous MVP award and joined an exclusive club as the fourth player to win the award three times. She averaged 26.9 points and 11.9 rebounds per game last season and set the all-time single-season mark for points (1,021) and rebounds (451).
Unfortunately for Las Vegas, injuries and fatigue from their two previous championship runs mounted and resulted in the team’s worst regular-season record (27-13) since 2019. The Aces’ three-peat hopes ended with a 76-62 home loss to the New York Liberty to drop their semifinal series 3-1.
It’s that loss on her home floor that served as Wilson’s motivation this offseason.
“Losing sucks, especially on your home court,” Wilson said “It still kind of burns a little bit, but I’ve used that as fuel to help my teammates understand how hard it is to win in this league. Yes, we can celebrate the two championships. They were great. But for us to move forward, we have to understand how hard this league is and value the basketball and the little things. I think that’s what we lacked last season, so we’re going to make sure that we can show up better than we did.”
While the Aces appeared to be on top of the world heading into their potential three-peat campaign in 2024, the reality inside the locker room was that both the internal and external pressure to win another championship had become suffocating. A common theme across media day was the fact that the team feels less pressure entering the 2025 season, a sentiment Wilson shared as the unquestioned leader of the team.
“(Three-peat talks) obviously impacted us, because it’s like, y’all think we don’t want to win? We’re trying as well,” Wilson said.
“I would definitely say it’s refreshing this year. I feel like this is one of my only years where it feels like there’s no weight. There’s a lot of weight to be defending champs. It’s a lot of weight to be trying to win one. We don’t have that. We actually have a clean slate to really dial into getting back to who we are culturally, like, in our system and everything.”
Leading the Aces back to the top of the mountain for a third time in four years is one of a few historically significant achievements Wilson can collect this upcoming season. Wilson could also become the first four-time MVP in league history, though the meaning of that is something she hasn’t quite allowed herself to ponder yet.
“I haven’t given it much thought, but it would be a blessing to have my name in that conversation,” Wilson said. “Every year, I try to be better than I was the year before just to give myself a chance in this league. Because the league is getting better. We’re growing. At this point, you just want to maintain your stamina. You want to maintain your mental, all of that, because the season gets hard. I can’t think too much about that just yet, but I’m definitely going to try to be better than I was last year.”
As Aces coach Becky Hammon put it, fans can expect to see an even better version of Wilson this season.
“What I see is, she went and got better,” Hammon said. “Which is hard to do when you’re already the best, but it speaks to her work ethic, her desire and her mindset this whole offseason. We talked a lot this offseason. She’s a busy lady, but I can tell you what she always does is her workouts. She’s always getting her workouts in. That comes first and foremost, she never gets her priorities jumbled up.”
When Hammon was asked what a player like Wilson would possibly need to improve after last season’s campaign, the coach did not feel like revealing too much.
“There was (something for Wilson to improve), and she did,” Hammon said. “I’m not going to tell you what it was. Actually, there were two things.”
–Will Despart, Field Level Media
Sports
Jacob Wilson joins Aaron Judge in spotlight for Yankees-A's series
May 5, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Athletics shortstop Jacob Wilson (5) throws to first for an out against the Seattle Mariners during the seventh inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images The top two hitters in the majors square off Friday night when the New York Yankees face the Athletics in the opener of a three-game series in Sacramento, Calif.
It’s no surprise to see Yankees star Aaron Judge off to a superb start after winning American League MVP honors last season. He has a major league-best .400 batting average and entered Thursday’s play tied for the big-league lead with 12 homers and 34 RBIs.
But who had Athletics rookie Jacob Wilson ranking second in the majors at .357 as the season nears the quarter pole? Wilson has played in just 64 career games and quickly has solidified himself as a future All-Star, perhaps even this season.
Sharing the marquee board with Judge seems quite surreal for the 23-year-old shortstop who was the No. 6 overall pick of the 2023 draft.
“It’s a great feeling, for sure,” Wilson said of his name being mentioned with Judge. “Obviously, everybody has seen what he is doing. It’s pretty incredible watching him do his thing on a daily basis. To be up there with him is pretty cool for me.
“I’m excited to play against him this week and see what it looks like in person.”
Wilson had his first career four-hit game during Wednesday’s 6-5 home loss against the Seattle Mariners and has six multi-hit outings in the past eight games. He went 8-for-14 with one game-winning hit in the three-game series against the Mariners and is 16-for-34 (.471) with four walks during the eight-game stretch.
The hot hitting led to Athletics manager Mark Kotsay moving Wilson to the leadoff spot on Wednesday. Kotsay indicated Wilson may be sticking at the top of the lineup.
“I think you’ll see Jacob up there now,” Kotsay said. “Jacob’s earned it. … Jacob has shown enough over the last week. He’s walking and taking pitches, and, obviously, swinging the bat really well.”
Judge arrives in Sacramento in the midst of a four-game funk in which he is 2-for-15.
The two-time MVP just went 1-for-10 in a three-game home series against the San Diego Padres, but the one hit was a homer.
Judge grew up 50 miles south of Sacramento in Linden and starred for Linden High but wasn’t highly sought by major league teams. The then-Oakland Athletics selected him in the 31st round in 2010.
Judge instead went the college route and starred for Fresno State. He was chosen in the first round (32nd overall) by the Yankees in the 2013 draft.
Trent Grisham was one of the heroes of Wednesday’s 4-3, 10-inning win over the Padres. He hit a tying two-run pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning.
Grisham had two homers and five RBIs in the series against the Padres — one of his former teams — and already has 10 long balls in just 89 at-bats. He hit just nine last season in 179 at-bats.
“I’m having fun with the guys, I would say that more than anything,” Grisham said. “The clubhouse is really good in here, led by Cap (Judge). So, I would say the guys have been the most enjoyable part.”
New York is starting right-hander Will Warren (1-2, 5.65 ERA) in Friday’s series opener. Right-hander Osvaldo Bido (2-2, 4.71) will be on the mound for the Athletics.
Warren, 25, struck out a career-high eight in 4 2/3 innings while losing to the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. He gave up five runs (three earned) and seven hits. Warren hasn’t previously faced the Athletics.
Bido, 29, received a no-decision against the Miami Marlins last Saturday when he gave up four runs on three hits over five innings. He is winless (0-1) over his last three starts. Bido hasn’t faced the Yankees.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Report: Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao coming out of retirement
Aug 21, 2021; Las Vegas, Nevada; Manny Pacquiao (right) fights Yordenis Ugas in a world welterweight championship bout at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao plans to end his retirement and return to the ring on July 19 against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas, ESPN reported Thursday.
Pacquiao, 46, will be fighting for the first time since losing a unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.
The fight will be for Barrios’ WBC welterweight championship belt. Barrios turns 30 on May 18.
Pacquiao is an eight-division champion who is slated to be inducted into the boxing Hall of Fame in June. He reportedly will formally announce his return to boxing next week. The report stated that Pacquiao has been cleared to compete by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.
In recent years, Pacquiao has been focusing on his political career in the Philippines.
The boxer nicknamed “PacMan” has a 62-8-2 record with 39 knockouts during his career. He won his first major title — the WBC flyweight crown — at age 19 in 1998.
Pacquiao was 54-3-2 prior to turning 33 and 8-5 afterward. One of those losses was to Floyd Mayweather Jr. via unanimous decision in 2015, a bout that reportedly drew nearly $400 million in pay-per-view sales.
Barrios (29-2-1, 18 knockouts) fought to a 12-round, split-decision draw against Abel Ramos last November. This will be his third defense since winning the title by beating Ugas in 2023.
–Field Level Media
A'ja Wilson has no shortage of motivation after Aces' early exit in '24
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