data-mm-id=”_et6mq57e4″>Though the call-ups of vaunted pitching prospects Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal garnered most of the attention — and for good reason — it's the position player the Detroit Tigers are baptizing by Major League fire who has been the most productive of the trio. Isaac Paredes, a 21-year-old third baseman, has five hits in his last six at-bats and has reached base in all but one of his last eight plate appearances. Paredes made his debut on April 17 and promptly collected a two-RBI single in his second at-bat. From the very first time he stepped in the box, it was clear he felt comfortable. His eye is impeccable and the way he takes close but not entirely hittable pitches is something one would expect for a 10-year veteran. The righthander has drawn four base on balls to go with eight strikeouts, a ratio that will only improve. Last night on the Fox Sports Detroit broadcast they displayed an incredible stat. In 21 swings at pitches in the strike zone, Paredes has connected on all of them. I believe he made it 22-for-22 a moment later. In an era where putting bat on ball has become a rare commodity, it's a skill set that stands out. Now, it's at this point that the brakes should be at least tapped. Paredes has not shown otherworldly production during his four minor league seasons, posting a .274/.355/.420 slashie with 40 dingers. It's not a given that power will come, though that's certainly the hope. And who can really put too much stock into statistics compiled years before someone reaches a legal drinking age anyway?The Tigers have a full complement of stud pitching supposedly just on the horizon. There's the good news. The bad news is that the offense is spotty and nowhere near as inspiring in the prospect ranks. Realistically competing in a few years only happens if Paredes, Spencer Torkelson, and a few others become competent, everyday sticks. It's been a few rough years in Motown. Hope was at a dangerously low level. But dammit if a few rays of sunshine haven't managed to brighten a few days, if only ever so briefly.
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data-mm-id=”_x0uawn23k”>Major League Baseball is hosting their yearly owners meeting in Arlington, Texas this year. The meetings come in the midst of quite a controversy in baseball right now as the investigation into the Houston Astros' cheating scandal continues. Things are a bit different at the meetings this year. Multiple reporters have said that there is a police presence at the hotel where the owners are staying, and seem to be tasked with keeping these owners away from reporters. Just to be clear: There are police officers stationed in the lobby of the hotel working as security, and when they got the sense Jim Crane did not want to talk, they cut in to the media scrum and escorted Crane to a staircase leading to the level where meetings are taking place.— Jeff Passan (@J…
data-mm-id=”_dkpp1e0fn”>After the resounding success of The Match II featuring Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Tom Brady, and Peyton Manning, this may only be the beginning. Mickelson said on Wednesday that he believes this could be a viable format going forward and he wants to see more iterations of The Match. This naturally begs the question: who do we want to see on the course, assuming Woods and Mickelson are consistent members of the group? Brady had some great back-and-forth over the course of the match, and Manning got his jabs in early on, but both are pretty PR-cognizant guys. With live mics on everybody, we could get some excellent entertainment with the right pairing. Who could join Tiger and Phil to make the best possible television?Tiger Woods/Charles Barkley vs. Phil Mickels…
data-mm-id=”_jjpw6bds5″>The Chicago Bears have declined their fifth-year option on Mitchell Trubkisky's contract, showing just how far the 25-year-old quarterback has fallen. Last summer, the Bears were all-in on Trubisky, sure that he was the key to their future. Roughly 10 months later, he's being pushed aside. The Bears shocked everyone during the 2017 NFL Draft when they traded up from the third pick to No. 2 and selected Trubisky out of North Carolina. In doing so, they passed on future stars Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson. Instead they got Trubisky, who has been a mess. Even his 2018 season that offered so much hope was a bit of a facade. In 2018, Trubisky completed 66.6 percent of his passes for 3,223 yards, with 24 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. But while his To…
data-mm-id=”_lz25zlh4d”>In the middle of his second season with the Brooklyn Nets, D'Angelo Russell tweeted, "Control what you can control 2019, 20, 21."“I started living by that,” Russell told The Big Lead. In the ninth game of that 2018 campaign, Russell was benched during the entire fourth quarter in a loss against the Houston Rockets. Sitting for the final period was not an uncommon occurrence for Russell that year. “I couldn’t control that,” Russell said. “I’m not going to let it break me or bring me down. You see players nowadays, younger players in the league go through that same adversity in their careers and they let it break them. I try to send that message of, 'Man, you gotta play the game, dog.'" Russell missed 34 games due to i…
data-mm-id=”_k5mjhvmgl”>The Miami Heat were clicking. In the opening minutes of Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals, Jimmy Butler and his teammates were on fire. They raced to a 23-10 lead with 5:38 remaining in the opening quarter, forcing the Los Angeles Lakers into an early timeout. The buzz was palpable as it was clear Miami could hang with the big boys from LA. Then reality set in and the Lakers looked like a championship team. That early run was the high point of a profoundly disappointing night for the Heat. Los Angeles answered that early onslaught with a 21-8 run of its own and actually led at the end of the first quarter, then 65-48 at halftime. It was barely a contest after that. The Lakers took Miami's best punch and never seemed rattled. Instead, they walked right on throug…
data-mm-id=”_3zuqo594z”>Alabama won the College Football National Championship on Monday night with a 52-24 win over Ohio State. After the game, Alabama students took to the streets and celebrated, but did so in exceptionally close quarters and most were maskless. Twitter was quick to react to the crowd, and it wasn't lost on anyone that it was happening in the middle of a global pandemic that has caused 375,000 deaths in the United States alone. Here's what the scene looked like:Alabama Crimson Tide fans flood the streets of Tuscaloosa after the team secured its 18th national title. pic.twitter.com/k9UCH8BC4m— James Benedetto (@james_benedetto) January 12, 2021 pic.twitter.com/V4BZ0f7Rv9— Allison R (@Allymae11) January 12, 2021More pics and video available pic.twitter.co…
data-mm-id=”_x032fh5td”>Building statues of former athletes can be tricky. Only the all-time greats are honored with a statue, no matter what the sport, but not every athlete has a signature stance or pose that makes building a statue easy. Michael Jordan, for example, has the Jumpman logo that is inseparable from his entire legacy as a player and thus the Chicago Bulls had an immediate and easy vision for his statue. Shaq, on the other hand, didn't really have a particular signature move and so the Lakers had to get creative with his likeness in statue form. Dirk Nowitzki is a similar case to Jordan. He is an all-time great and the best player in Dallas Mavericks history. He also has a signature pose– the one-legged fadeaway, synonymous with who he was during his career. Yet, th…
data-mm-id=”_m3ea5v1t6″>LeBron James coached his son Bryce's team at the 2023 Nike EYBL Peach Jam Basketball Tournament over the weekend. While the event was highlighted by some of the top prospects in the country, LeBron was able to briefly steal the show in what might have been his coaching debut. One TikTok user put together a compilation of LeBron on the sideline doing a number of classic coach things like drawing on a clipboard, talking to players and complaining to a referee. It was all very LeBron.These highlights of LeBron James coaching at Peach Jam are too funny 😂(via: brentwilson771 TikTok) pic.twitter.com/9BuV1Rq3A9— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) July 9, 2023The highlight for me was clearly LeBron arguing his case to the one referee who could not belie…
data-mm-id=”_6p5cnww2g”>Trent Williams may be the best offensive lineman in football and he's an integral part of the immensely talented and diverse San Francisco 49ers offensive attack. So Niners fans everywhere held their breath when he went down during the first quarter of today's game against the Cleveland Browns with a lower leg injury sustained when defensive lineman Shelby Harris rolled over on him. After staying on the ground for a little bit, Williams was able to make it over to the sideline and his return is questionable. Wide receiver Deebo Samuel also just sustained an injury and his return is questionable.Hoping the best for Trent! pic.twitter.com/rt24I0RfVR— Ian Valentino (@NFLDraftStudy) October 15, 2023Watching Williams rules and basic human decency means ro…
data-mm-id=”_s8brzo1h1″>We've had a lot to talk about this week regarding officiating in the NFL, not to be outdone, NBA officials must have felt left out. Early in the Denver Nuggets face-off with the Chicago Bulls Tuesday night, reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic was ejected for mildly arguing a no-call. To make matters worse, it was Serbian Heritage Night in Chicago. Jokic is probably the most famous Serbian on the planet. Check this out, even Bulls announcers Adam Amin a Stacey King couldn't believe it:Nikola Jokic is immediately ejected from the Bulls-Nuggets for arguing a no-call and even Bulls announcers Adam Amin and Stacey King are in disbelief."The people didn't come to see the officials, let's be honest, they came to see the players."It's Ser…