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| Dallas Braden |
| @DALLASBRADEN2 |
| Eno Sarris |
| @enosarris |
Gallegos’ four-seam spin rate was down 30 RPM in the game after he changed his hat, which is less than the impact we found from the better sticky substances, and might not be meaningful, but is still somewhat interesting. 5/26/21, 2:48 PMThe secondary stuff is so ridiculous, and they can throw it at any time; that's what makes it so hard to hit," Zimmerman said. "These guys throw 95, 98 mph, but they only throw their fastball 40% of the time. It's the combination of them throwing all their pitches in any count from the beginning. You used to have guys try to go through the lineup first time through throwing only a fastball. But now, from the first batter on, you might get the whole arsenal because if they get to 100 pitches, they are lucky. They might as well use everything they got from the beginning. That's what makes it so hard."
This year, some hitters claim, it is even harder to hit because the sticky substance that Major League Baseball has allowed a pitcher to legally put on the baseball (Bullfrog, etc.) to give the pitcher a better grip, especially in cold weather, has also given the pitcher another added advantage. Now they have the ability to spin a ball faster than ever, so fast it will cut your shirt.
"I'm not accusing anyone of anything, but the secondary stuff has gotten nastier and nastier," Seitzer said. "It's unbelievable. We've had hitters this season come back to the dugout saying, 'There's no way the ball can move that way without help. I've never seen a pitch do that before.' And it was a slider."
"I've never seen sliders and cutters like I've seen this year," Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said.
Cubs manager David Ross just shook his head.
"The Brewers have a guy [Burnes] throwing a cutter at 97," Ross said. "He makes Mariano's [Rivera, the greatest closer ever, with the greatest cutter ever] look like a child's."
The remarkable amount of analytic data and the stunning technological advances have greatly helped pitchers improve arm speed, velocity, spin rate, etc.
"The analytics have identified what truly is a strength for a pitcher," Boone said. "And now you can match up those numbers with a hitter. A lot of times, it is strength against weakness."
Jason Ochart is the minor league hitting coordinator for the Phillies. He is deep in analytics.
"A pitcher's development, the ability to leverage information and technology, has outraced the hitters significantly," Ochart said. "Pitchers are able to train and replicate game conditions. With hitters, it's a lot harder to do that. Hitting inside [in a cage, not on a field] is a problem, especially if you don't have HitTrax or batted ball feedback. On a field, you learn to use the whole field. In a cage, you get literal tunnel vision. Your bat speed goes down and your launch angle gets lower. Working out inside hurts a pitcher far less. For a hitter, it can be hard to replicate game conditions without a pitcher throwing to you. Pitchers are using all this information to optimize an arsenal and a strategy against hitters. In the hitters' world, we can't even agree if hitting a ball harder is better."
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| Jomboy Media |
| @JomboyMedia |
He was ejected by Joe West today when umpires made pitcher Giovanny Gallegos change his hat due to speculation of using foreign substances pic.twitter.com/
—Russ after a fan poured popcorn on him in Philly pic.twitter.com/
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CHICAGO -- Giovanny Gallegos got into a sticky situation with the St. Louis Cardinals clinging to a one-run lead and two on in the seventh inning. It quickly became a heated one.
Umpire Joe West ordered Gallegos to switch caps because apparently there was sunscreen on the bill. Cardinals manager Mike Shildt, thinking his player was unfairly singled out, got ejected during an animated argument
That overshadowed everything else in the Cardinals' 4-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday.
"This is baseball's dirty little secret, and it's the wrong time and the wrong arena to expose it," Shildt said. "Here's the deal. First of all, Gio wears the same hat all year. Hats accrue dirt. Hats accrue substances. ... Did Gio have some sunscreen at some point in his career to make sure he doesn't get some kind of melanoma? Possibly. Does he use rosin to help out? Possibly. Are these things that baseball really wants to crack down on? No.''
In a statement released later Wednesday, Shildt said, "I have a great working relationship with the umpires and Major League Baseball. They have a lot of challenges to doing their job and they do it well. Having to police foreign substances, candidly, shouldn't have to be a part of their job."
The Cardinals brought in Gallegos with one out in the seventh, after Genesis Cabrera hit Yoan Moncada, putting runners on first and second.
West, who on Tuesday set MLB's record for most games umpired, said second-base ump Dan Bellino noticed a substance on the brim of the pitcher's cap.
West said Gallegos told him it was sunscreen. Even so, he made the pitcher switch caps before throwing a pitch because "we don't want anybody to be accused of cheating or any of that stuff.'' The cap was sent to the commissioner's office.
"The whole point of this is we're trying to protect his pitcher, and he got ejected," West said.
Shildt, who was tossed for the second time this season, said he appreciated the motivation. But he questioned why there was enforcement.
"Let's go check the guys that are sitting there going into their glove every day with filthy stuff coming out, not some guy before he even steps on the mound with a spot on his hat," he said.
Once the situation cooled, Gallegos squashed the threat, striking out American League MVP Jose Abreu and Yermin Mercedes.
- ine.”
- James Wiseman‘s meniscus surgery last month forced the team to delay a plan to have him work out with Kevin Garnett over the summer, according to Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area. The Warriors don’t expect to issue an official update on Wiseman’s condition until September, and they hope he will be ready for the start of training camp. “KG is pretty unique — on the court and what he brings and the mentality,” president of basketball operations Bob Myers said. “Exposing James to a guy like that (would be great). We (also) talked to David West and we were gonna get something going with him. So we have these people in mind that we think can really be helpful.”
- Stephen Curry, who will be eligible for a four-year, $215.4MM extension starting in August, deserves to be a Warrior for life, Poole contends in a separate story.
The Warriors owe Oklahoma City a top-20-protected first-round pick in 2021 from the Kelly Oubre Jr. trade. They will also send Memphis a top-four-protected first in 2024. The pick is top-one-protected in 2025 and unprotected in 2026. As a result of both trades, Golden State cannot trade its own first in any of the next seven seasons. The Warriors can trade the Minnesota (top-three-protected) 2021 first.
Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green have 15% trade kickers. Curry's and Thompson's bonuses would be voided if either player is traded.
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| Dianna Russini |
| @diannaESPN |
The Atlanta Falcons have discussed several trade offers for Julio Jones, including an offer for a future first round draft pick, per sources. There is a sense around the league a trade could go down as early as next week. 5/27/21, 6:30 AM
| ProFootballTalk |
| @ProFootballTa |
Fred Warner confident contract will work itself out in due time. wp.me/pbBqYq-bVuNick Wagoner's offer: The 49ers would send a 2022 second-rounder and 2023 fourth-rounder.
Why make this offer? The 49ers have two exciting young wideouts in Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk, but that duo combined to play 19 games last season as injuries and COVID-19 issues kept them on the sideline. Adding Jones -- who knows Kyle Shanahan and his offense well -- would offer the opportunity to protect Samuel and Aiyuk while adding the big outside receiver the Niners lack. The move also puts Jones on a contender, which he expressed as a personal priority.
Jones would be an immediate starter as the X receiver and provide a needed deep threat, allowing Aiyuk to line up opposite him and Samuel to work from the slot. The Niners would boast the type of weapons whoever is playing quarterback would need to thrive.
Speaking of which, the simplest way for the Niners to make this deal work financially would involve moving quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. San Francisco needs to sign linebacker Fred Warner to a lucrative contract extension, and that is the first priority. But it would be far easier to fit Jones' $15.3 million salary for 2021 in along with a Warner extension if they were to save $25 million by moving on from Garoppolo after June 1.
That would be the easiest move, but it would be tricky because the Niners would want to be sure that Trey Lance is ready to start before handing him the reins. There are, of course, other ways to fit Jones and a Warner extension in, so a Garoppolo trade or cut is not a prerequisite for a potential deal involving Jones. -- Wagoner
The verdict: The Falcons accept the 49ers' offer
Why this deal? This was tough. While I anticipated a little bit more of a market for Jones, particularly with the Chargers and Colts, there are just four deals on the table. One stuck out as making a good deal of sense for Atlanta: The Niners' offer of a 2022 second-rounder and 2023 fourth-rounder. A quick run through the other three offers:
Part of this is to create cap room, so the Ravens asking Atlanta to eat salary was a non-starter -- unless, perhaps, the draft compensation were higher.
Jarrett Stidham doesn't solve the future quarterback issue for the Falcons, so the Patriots' deal is out.
The Titans' offer is really intriguing, and I almost considered taking it. Evans had his best NFL season under Pees in 2019 (111 tackles, nine tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks), and he'd essentially be another one-year contract since Tennessee didn't pick up his option.
The San Francisco deal was the simplest but also made the most sense. The Falcons acquire two picks that can help reshape the roster or offer Fontenot draft capital to maneuver the next two years. It gave, to me, the best return of the offers put out there. That said, this was not an easy decision, and I'd only take this deal if I felt something couldn't get done quick with Jarrett to open up the necessary cap space. So in a close call, I'd take San Francisco's offer. -- Rothstein
What happens now for the 49ers: After signing their draft class, the 49ers will have roughly $11 million in salary-cap space, which is not enough to take on Jones' contract, extend Warner and leave wiggle room for potential in-season needs.
As mentioned, the easiest way to create the needed space would be to do something with Garoppolo's contract. Ideally, they could trade him for a Day 2 pick that could be used as part of a trade for Jones. That seems unlikely given the lack of teams that have the need and motivation to take on his contract right now. They could restructure Garoppolo's deal, but that would only make the hit more painful when they do eventually move on from him.
“He’s a little embarrassed as to how it happened, but that’s how it happened.”
sfchronicle.com/
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