(“The TEN” is not a top ten but ten items worth being included in “The TEN”)
1. Clayton Kershaw threw five and two-thirds shutout innings and Cody Bellinger hit his first home run of the year to lead the Dodgers to a 3-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks Sunday. The Dodgers are 7-3 through the first 10 games.
2. A group of Pac-12 football players from multiple schools are threatening to opt out of fall camp and the season unless their demands for fair treatment, safety regulations and concerns over racial justice for college athletes are met by the conference.
3. Sources say that multiple members of the St. Louis Cardinals organization have tested positive for the coronavirus.
4. The New York Mets Yoenis Cespedes has opted out of the 2020 season.
5. The Las Vegas Raiders signed free agent running back Jeremy Hill. Hill was a second round pick out of LSU by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2014.
6. Indiana forward T.J Warren scored 53 points to lead the Pacers to a 121-117 win over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday night.
7. Angels outfielder Mike Trout, whose wife gave birth to the couple’s first child Thursday, is expected to rejoin the team Tuesday.
8. On this day in 1936 American sprinter Jesse Owens won the 100m in front of Adolph Hitler in the Berlin Olympics, his first of four gold medals at the games.
9. Happy Birthday to former LA Kings star Marcel Dionne, who turns 69 today.
10. Tampa Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady also celebrates his birthday today as he turns 43.
I offer my takes on the major league baseball season so far:
1. The Dodgers are in a virtual tie with the Colorado Rockies for first place in the National League West. While a few of the L.A. hitters are struggling, their pitchers have been outstanding. The Dodgers’ team earned-run average of 2.42 is the second-best in major league baseball. Teams with good pitching tend to be winners.
2. The Angels’ pitching is almost never good enough, and it’s just more of the same so far this season. Their team ERA of 4.90 places them at 25th (out of 30 teams) in the majors. Consequently, the Angels share the American League West cellar with the Texas Rangers.
Memo to the Angels’ front office: “It’s the pitching….”
3. The Miami Marlins are not only playing again, but they now lead the National League East by half a game over the Atlanta Braves. Their record is now 5-1 after they swept the Baltimore Orioles in a doubleheader yesterday, but they still have several games to make up which were postponed because of a coronavirus outbreak on the team.
The Marlins must have brought up a bunch of minor leaguers in order to resume play. Who are those guys? They’re doing OK at the moment.
4. Despite all the rancor about the length of the 2020 season during negotiations between the team owners and the players’ association, the owners’ idea of having a shorter regular season was most likely a wise one.
Some teams, like the Dodgers, are already about one-fourth of the way through their 60-game schedule. And, if they can continue to exercise proper coronavirus protocols, all of the squads (including the Marlins) might be able to make it to the end of the season without any more serious outbreaks.
I hope they can do it.
@ #2: Well, college football players can at least go to class, whether remotely or in person. Take advantage of that higher education for as long as you have the opportunity.
#1) We already know what he can do in the regular season. We also know what he can’t do in the post season.
#2) I heard Washington State has already dismissed this group of players.
Small fry from some Trout?
#2 Who do they think they are? The pros? They do realize that opting out would be the end of any chance for a pro career right? What do they think will happen to their scholarships? Bad move guys making demands.
#7 Just hope he doesn’t decide to opt out because of concerns for his wife and son. But wouldn’t blame him.
#6 212? That’s a huge number
From T. Peterson: Yeah it was a typo. It was 121. Thanks Rams Fan.
I heard that after Owens took the gold, Hitler never again posted comments on Mid-Reich Sports. It’s just as well, because he never understood that MRS was for entertainment, not politics, and Adolf just didn’t get it.