<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/phillies-news-whit-merrifield-roasts-philadelphia-collapse');   ga('set', 'title', 'Whit Merrifield jokingly roasts Phillies’ collapse');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Whit-Merrifield-jokingly-roasts-Philadelphias-collapse.jpg"></figure><h1>Whit Merrifield jokingly roasts Phillies’ collapse</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T07:19:05-07:00">October 16th, 7:19am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T07:19:05-07:00">October 16th, 7:19am</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut based sports journalist and a graduate of both Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University. Dan has spent time covering high school and professional sports in both the print and online medium. He hopes to see his beloved Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite winning the NL East, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/phillies-news-philadelphia-slapped-harsh-reality-playoff-dud-mets">Philadelphia Phillies were ousted from the postseason</a> in the NLDS. Whit Merrifield thinks he figured out exactly what went wrong for the Phillies.</p><p>Merrifield was a member of the team from Feb 19 to July 12. The utility player <a href="https://x.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1846287431512797439" rel="noopener">joked that his release played a role</a> in Philadelphia’s demise, via Foul Territory.</p><p>“Have you seen their record after they released me?” Merrifield said with a smile. “Numbers are numbers.”</p><p>Getting more serious, Merrifield acknowledged the Phillies’ struggles towards the end of the season. Perhaps he could’ve helped <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/phillies-make-whit-merrifield-roster-decision">if he was still on the roster</a>. But ultimately, he admits the team went cold while facing a red hot New York Mets.</p><p>“Everything that went right early on seemed to go wrong towards the end. It’s just about being hot at the right time. You look at the two teams. I’m not going to take anything from the Mets, they’re a good team. But they’re hot right now. In no world do you put those two teams on paper and the Mets advance over the Phillies in my opinion.”</p><p>Merrifield’s joke hits a little harder when you realize his own personal struggles with the team. Over 53 games in Philadelphia, the utility player hit just .199 with three home runs, 11 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He ended his season with the Atlanta Braves, hitting .248 with a home run, four RBI and six stolen bases over 42 games.</p><p>While Whit Merrifield is able to laugh, the Phillies will be entering their offseason looking to bounce back. Philadelphia has already committed to their coaching staff, proving that they believe they have all the pieces in place to succeed.</p><p>But to Merrifield’s point, games aren’t won on paper. Ultimately, the Phillies will need to earn their right to compete for a World Series title. Merrifield will be watching intently to see how Philadelphia responds.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Whit Merrifield jokingly roasts Phillies’ collapse

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-playoff-slump');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hints at secret to breaking out of playoff slump');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Shohei-Ohtanis-50th-HR-ball-headed-to-auction-after-restraining-order-denial.jpg"></figure><h1>Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hints at secret to breaking out of playoff slump</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T06:58:32-07:00">October 16th, 6:58am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T06:58:32-07:00">October 16th, 6:58am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>MLB’s best players, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, have been mired in 2024 postseason slumps. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-mlb-playoffs-home-run">Judge, though, broke out of his slump with a home run</a> in the New York Yankees’ 6-3 Game 2 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series. So will Ohtani end his slump soon?</p><p>The Dodgers star is currently slashing .222/.344/.333/.677 in his first ever MLB postseason. He has hit a home run, but Ohtani is not playing up to his elite standards.</p><p>“I do feel OK at the plate,” Ohtani <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/10/15/shohei-ohtani-slump-dodgers-mets-nlcs/75694890007/" rel="noopener">said recently</a>, via Bob Nightengale of USA Today. “I do feel like I should recall back to the times when I feel good and perhaps incorporate that into it. …. Regardless of however they are pitching to me, my plan is to stay with the same approach as much as possible, and not really be too focused on how they attack me.”</p><p>Rumors have swirled about a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-dave-roberts-not-keen-on-making-big-shohei-ohtani-move-in-game-3-vs-mets">potential lineup change amid Ohtani’s struggles</a>. However, the Dodgers may not change anything in hopes of Ohtani bouncing back soon. After all, he is arguably the greatest player in the game today. Even stars endure slumps, but they also find ways to get back on track.</p><h2><b>Dodgers need Shohei Ohtani to defeat Mets</b></h2><p>The Dodgers and New York Mets will go head-to-head on Wednesday night. The series is currently tied at one game apiece. New York is looking to pull off the upset against a Dodgers ball club that finished with the best record in the regular season.</p><p>Anything short of a championship will be considered a failure for the Dodgers. They were the most aggressive team in the offseason, adding stars such as Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tyler Glasnow and Teoscar Hernandez. Injuries have significantly impacted the Dodgers, but they still feature more than enough talent to clinch a World Series appearance.</p><p>The Mets will not back down, though. They are playing with momentum right now and the remainder of the National League Championship Series projects to be competitive. LA will earn a crucial advantage if Ohtani is able to find his rhythm at the plate.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hints at secret to breaking out of playoff slump

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-aaron-judge-message-fans-new-york-alcs');   ga('set', 'title', 'Aaron Judge’s 3-word message to fans amid Yankees’ 2-0 ALCS lead');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Aaron-Judges-3-word-message-to-fans-after-2-0-ALCS-lead.jpg"></figure><h1>Aaron Judge’s 3-word message to fans amid Yankees’ 2-0 ALCS lead</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T06:29:41-07:00">October 16th, 6:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T06:34:16-07:00">October 16th, 6:34am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees defeated the Cleveland Guardians 6-3 in Game 2 of the American League Championship Series to clinch a 2-0 series lead. New York still has work to do in the best-of-seven series, but they are in a great position at the moment. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-mlb-playoffs-home-run">Aaron Judge, who hit his first 2024 postseason home run in Game 2</a>, <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1846406799840207032" rel="noopener">sent a three-word message</a> to fans amid the Yankees’ series lead.</p><p>“Keep showing up,” Judge said, via MLB Network.</p><p>“That’s what it’s about,” Judge added. “Yesterday was a little light, but today was better so let’s just keep it like that.”</p><h2><b>Aaron Judge, Yankees leading ALCS</b></h2><p>The Yankees simply appear to be the better team. Cleveland exceeded expectations in 2024. Fans were not sure what to expect from the Guardians with first year manager Stephen Vogt taking over head coaching duties. An inexperienced manager and a young roster often do not lead to success, yet the Guardians proved the doubters wrong and ultimately clinched the American League Central Division title.</p><p>The Guardians finished with the second best record in the AL as well. Aaron Judge and the Yankees had the best record in the league, though.</p><p>Cleveland’s inexperience has displayed itself in the series. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-1-stephen-vogt-decision-vs-yankees-chris-rose-response">Vogt has made some head-scratching decisions in the series</a>. Yankees manager Aaron Boone receives criticism at times, but he has managed in the postseason before and knows what to expect.</p><p>It needs to be noted that Vogt managed well throughout the season, especially for a first year head coach. Additionally, he is not the only one to blame for the Guardians’ ALCS deficit. The offense is struggling and the defense has experienced some forgettable moments.</p><p>Of course, stars such as Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have stepped up for a Yankees team that is looking to win the World Series. New York has not earned a Fall Classic victory since 2009, which feels like an eternity in New York. Meanwhile, the Guardians are trying to win their first World Series since 1948.</p><p>So will the Guardians bounce back? Is there hope for this Cleveland ball club? The Yankees are unquestionably in the driver’s seat, but anything can happen in the MLB playoffs.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Aaron Judge’s 3-word message to fans amid Yankees’ 2-0 ALCS lead

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-clayton-kershaw-la-2025-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Clayton Kershaw drops big 2025 Dodgers update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Clayton-Kershaw-drops-big-LA-2025-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Clayton Kershaw drops big 2025 Dodgers update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T06:13:09-07:00">October 16th, 6:13am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T06:13:09-07:00">October 16th, 6:13am</time><address><a>Dan Fappiano</a>Dan Fappiano is a Connecticut based sports journalist and a graduate of both Tunxis Community College and Central Connecticut State University. Dan has spent time covering high school and professional sports in both the print and online medium. He hopes to see his beloved Chicago Bears win a Super Bowl someday.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Los Angeles Dodgers star <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-clayton-kershaw-confirms-comeback-2025-season">Clayton Kershaw has already made his intentions about returning</a> for the 2025 season clear. But when he does make that return, there’s only one team Kershaw will play for.</p><p>The right-hander has a player option for the 2025 season. Even if he doesn’t accept it, he seems likely to work out <a href="https://x.com/billplunkettocr/status/1846326059651739718" rel="noopener">some form of contract agreement</a> with Los Angeles, via Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register.</p><p>“I’m going to be a Dodger,” Kershaw said emphatically.</p><p>While the Dodgers are competing for the National League pennant, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/clayton-kershaw-to-miss-entire-dodgers-postseason">Kershaw has had to watch from afar</a>. His toe injury ended his season, as the righty has already been ruled out for the playoffs. While he played a role in helping Los Angeles get to this point, his 2024 numbers weren’t as sterling as usual.</p><p>He only appeared in seven games, as Kershaw began the season still recovering from shoulder surgery. Kershaw put up a 2-2 record with a 4.50 ERA and a 24/9 K/BB ratio. He never went longer than six innings with his final start before getting shut down lasting just one.</p><p>But with everything Kershaw went through injury wise, the Dodgers can call it an anomaly. He was an All-Star in back-to-back seasons before 2024. He is a 10-time All-Star overall, alongside a former MVP, three-time Cy Young winner and a World Series champion.</p><p>The Dodgers have seen their rotation depleted, forced to employ a bullpen game during Game 2 of the NLCS. Getting Clayton Kershaw back into the rotation would give LA some consistency and an arm they can trust in big games. While he would do the same for any pitching staff in the major leagues, Kershaw has found his home.</p><p>He has spent his entire 17-year MLB career playing for the Dodgers. When he makes his return for 2025, he doesn’t want any other name across the front of his jersey.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Clayton Kershaw drops big 2025 Dodgers update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mets-news-david-wright-mark-vientos-praise-new-york-fans-dreaming-big');   ga('set', 'title', 'David Wright’s Mark Vientos praise has Mets fans dreaming big');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mets-news-David-Wrights-massive-Mark-Vientos-praise-will-have-fans-dreaming-big-of-NYs-future.jpg"></figure><h1>David Wright’s Mark Vientos praise has Mets fans dreaming big</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T04:35:58-07:00">October 16th, 4:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T04:35:58-07:00">October 16th, 4:35am</time><address><a>Chris Dodson</a>Chris Dodson is a New Orleans Pelicans beat reporter for ClutchPoints. He has covered Louisiana high school and college basketball in spurts for over a decade. A basketball lifer from the bayou, his gumbo-stirring form matches his elbow jumper celebrations. Fast enough for varsity hoops, tall enough for a soccer scholarship. He has words and will travel, just not on the court.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The MLB Postseason pressure cooker is starting to cause some shakiness in even the most consummate professionals. Infield flies become error-scored singles. Intentional walks become unforgettable slights, as the r<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-francisco-lindor-gold-glove-finalist-snub">ecently snubbed, Francisco Lindor-led New York Mets</a> reminded the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLCS. Specifically, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-mark-vientos-reaction-nlcs-game-2-grand-slam">Mark Vientos delivered a grand slam</a> sucker punch to square up the series.</p><p>Mets legend David Wright <a href="https://sny.tv/articles/mets-david-wright-praises-emerging-star-mark-vientos" rel="noopener">shared a few clubhouse secrets</a> about Vientos with SNY after the big win.</p><p>“I remember meeting him for the first time in spring training when he was in the minor leagues,” Wright began. “They asked me to go speak to a group of infielders during early work. Mind you, it’s the middle of spring at 7 a.m. He asked if I had extra time after working, speaking with the group to spend with him individually.”</p><p>“We hung out for the next 20 minutes just talking baseball,” continued Wright. “That has always stuck with me. When I watch him play he looks like a 10-year veteran as opposed to a rookie. Nothing fazes him and he doesn’t allow one bad at bat or one error to faze him.”</p><p>The Mets-Dodgers series is all tied up at one game a piece. Game 3 (October 16) will bring the seven-game slugfest to the Big Apple. Vientos is very likely to get a hero’s welcome when walking up for that first NLCS home plate appearance.</p><h2><b>Mets getting good value from Mark Vientos</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mark-Vientos-celebrates-a-home-run.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Vientos posted a .266/.322/.516 slash line over 413 regular season at-bats. The 24-year-old has a .378 batting average, a .410 on-base percentage, and a .676 slugging percentage with three home runs during this unlikely MLB Playoffs run. That is great value for someone who was demoted during spring training after signing a one-year, $800,000 deal last winter.</p><p>Manager Carlos Mendoza’s Mets<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2024/08/29/mets-mark-vientos-breakout-season/74993190007/" rel="noopener"> would be at a loss</a> with Vientos, per USA Today’s Bob Nightengale.</p><p>“He has meant everything to us,’” Mendoza said. “This guy has done such a good job handling adversity. He went through a lot. He went to spring training with a pretty good chance of making the ballclub, and the last week we sign J.D., and he gets the news that he’s going back to the minors.’”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

David Wright’s Mark Vientos praise has Mets fans dreaming big

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-aaron-judge-reacts-guardians-bold-juan-soto-tactic');   ga('set', 'title', 'Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts to Guardians’ bold Juan Soto tactic');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-news-Aaron-Judge-reacts-to-Guardians-bold-Juan-Soto-tactic-.jpg"></figure><h1>Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts to Guardians’ bold Juan Soto tactic</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T00:55:26-07:00">October 16th, 12:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T00:55:26-07:00">October 16th, 12:55am</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees have taken a 2-0 lead in their ALCS series versus the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday, partly because <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-mlb-playoffs-home-run">Aaron Judge finally hit his first homer</a> of the postseason. The hitter’s two-run homer also put the finishing touches on a 6-3 win that pushed the Yankees to within two games of the World Series. Meanwhile, Aaron Judge also reacted to the Guardians’ bold tactic in Game 2 of walking Juan Soto to load up the bases before his sacrifice fly put the Yankees up 3-0.</p><p>“You want to try to get a double-play ball. You want to try to get two outs with one pitch,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401701051" rel="noopener">via a report</a> from the Associated Press.</p><p>When he heard this comment, Judge put himself in his opponent’s shoes.</p><p>“I would probably walk him, too,” he said. During the season, Judge led the MLB with 58 homeruns and 144 RBI.</p><h2><b>ALCS Game 2: Yankees def. Guardians, Yankees lead series 2-0</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Aaron-Judge-and-Juan-Soto-celebrating-an-ALCS-win.jpg"><figcaption>© Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Throughout the postseason, Aaron Judge’s bats have gone cold, but that didn’t stop the Yankees from advancing to the ALCS, even taking a 2-0 lead over the Guardians after Game 2. Fortunately, Juan Soto and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-fans-harsh-aaron-judge-take-giancarlo-stantons-hr-vs-royals">Giancarlo Stanton have shown up</a> so far, while <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-luke-weaver-completes-wild-mlb-feat-2000-mariano-rivera">Luke Weaver entered MLB history</a> in their Game 1 of the ALCS.</p><p>Still, the team knows they must play better if they want to win it all this year, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo admitted as much. For his part, Rizzo had a gutsy performance in Game 2, giving the team a pair of hits shortly after recovering from broken fingers.</p><p>“We’re not satisfied. We know the Guardians are a very, very good ball club, and being up two games means nothing to us,” he said, <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/10/15/sports/aaron-judge-finally-has-his-postseason-moment-as-yankees-in-control-of-alcs/" rel="noopener">via a report</a> from Greg Joyce for the New York Post.</p><p>Noting that they’ll play the next three (if necessary) games at Cleveland, he kept his focus on the next one. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-anthony-rizzo-returns-lineup-after-missing-alds">Rizzo had missed the ALDS</a> due to his injury.</p><p>“We need to go into [Cleveland], it’s going to be hostile, and take care of business,” he added.</p><p>Meanwhile, Aaron Judge’s 14th career home run came off a fastball from Hunter Gaddis in the seventh inning, extending the Yankees’ 4-2 lead.</p><p>“It was a big swing to kind of give us that cushion,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of the likely AL MVP’s homer. “The bench was pretty pumped when that happened.”</p><h2><b>Looking ahead</b></h2><p>Both teams get a day off before heading to Cleveland for Game 3. This is also the first time the Yankees hold a 2-0 series lead in the ALCS since 2009 against the Los Angeles Angels.</p><p>Moreover, the Yankees also went on to win their 27th World Series championship that year. Can history rhyme for the Yankees, led by Aaron Judge and Juan Soto, or can the Guardians write another chapter?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees’ Aaron Judge reacts to Guardians’ bold Juan Soto tactic

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-fearless-take-amid-2-0-series-deficit-vs-yankees');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians’ Stephen Vogt issues fearless take amid 2-0 series deficit vs. Yankees');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Guardians-news-Stephen-Vogts-take-amid-2-0-series-deficit-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians’ Stephen Vogt issues fearless take amid 2-0 series deficit vs. Yankees</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-16T00:48:54-07:00">October 16th, 12:48am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T00:49:22-07:00">October 16th, 12:49am</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Weaknesses are often exposed in October, and that is exactly what is happening to the Cleveland Guardians in the American League Championship Series. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-guardians-doomed-2024-mlb-playoffs">Suspect starting pitching and a thin lineup</a> are hurting them against the New York Yankees and might be what ultimately ends this standout season. What is most irksome for fans, however, is that this ballclub could actually have survived those shortcomings by simply embodying the traits that have carried it this far.</p><p>If not for two errors that directly resulted in runs (Brayan Rocchio dropped an infield pop fly and Will Brennan bobbled the baseball) and a dreadful 0-for-7 showing with runners in scoring position, the Guardians could have stolen Game 2 in Yankee Stadium. Instead, they are heading back home to Progressive Field down 2-0 in the series following a 6-3 loss on Tuesday night.</p><p>Manager Stephen Vogt knows that the outcome of Game 2 could have easily shifted in Cleveland’s favor and <a href="https://www.espn.ph/mlb/recap/_/gameId/401701051" rel="noopener">expects his team to stay in striking distance</a> going forward. The AL Central champions just need to land one or two of the blows they are whiffing on right now.</p><p>“We’re one swing of the bat away from taking the lead in that game,” Vogt said, via ESPN. “We’re one swing of the bat from being right back in it. That is who we are. We don’t quit. We just need to keep being us.”</p><h2><b>Guardians had their chances vs. Yankees in Game 2</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cleveland-Guardians-bullpen-Stephen-Vogt.jpg"><figcaption>David Richard-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The rookie skipper is right. Cleveland had the bases loaded multiple times and just could not deliver the huge hit that would have changed the complexion of Game 2. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole did not make it out of the fifth inning but made a critical pitch in the fourth, striking out the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-brayan-rocchio-cleveland-history-alcs-game-2-yankees">history-making Rocchio</a> with a knuckle curveball that appeared to just catch the top part of the zone. Reliever Clay Holmes then fanned Austin Hedges with the bases full again in the next inning to limit the Guardians’ damage and maintain a slim 3-2 lead for New York.</p><p>Failing to capitalize on key opportunities is a death sentence for a club that is already rife with limitations. Alex Cobb has logged only five starts in 2024, and Tanner Bibee is pitching in his first postseason. These are the two guys Vogt trusted to set the tone in the first two games of the ALCS, and they came up woefully short. Their inability to provide the Guardians with meaningful innings (Bibee was pulled in the second after allowing two runs on five hits) is forcing the AL Manager of the Year candidate to play chess much earlier than he probably prefers.</p><h2><b>Is ALCS Game 2 the wake-up call that Cleveland needs?</b></h2><p>If the starters continue to struggle and the offense squanders more chances, Stephen Vogt will have to keep employing unconventional methods, like intentionally walking Juan Soto to face Aaron Judge or going to one of his top relievers a half hour into the game. Even a seasoned skipper with a wealth of playoff experience is not going to succeed in such adverse conditions.</p><p>The Guardians have to display the resilience that Vogt and their fans have witnessed firsthand throughout 2024. But belief is not enough. They must clean up the uncharacteristic mistakes pronto and play <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-steven-kwan-cleveland-mlb-playoffs-alds">their brand of fundamental baseball</a>. Because, whether or not they want to admit it, this group cannot get by on talent alone. It must quickly rediscover its identity for Thursday’s Game 3.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians’ Stephen Vogt issues fearless take amid 2-0 series deficit vs. Yankees

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-dave-roberts-not-keen-on-making-big-shohei-ohtani-move-in-game-3-vs-mets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dodgers’ Dave Roberts not keen on making big Shohei Ohtani move in Game 3 vs. Mets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Dodgers-news-Los-Angeles-not-keen-on-making-big-Shohei-Ohtani-move-in-Game-3-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Dodgers’ Dave Roberts not keen on making big Shohei Ohtani move in Game 3 vs. Mets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T23:25:35-07:00">October 15th, 11:25pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T23:47:48-07:00">October 15th, 11:47pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a multifaceted writer who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After struggling mightily<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-new-mets-end-shohei-ohtani-streak-nlcs-game-1" rel="noopener"> as the Los Angeles Dodgers lead-off hitter</a> through the playoffs, recording just six hits and a single home run over his seven postseason games of the season, some fans have been banging the table to see another hitter, likely Mookie Betts, take Shohei Ohtani’s spot at the top of the order.</p><p>On paper, it makes sense; <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-the-hole-shohei-ohtani-game-new-york-exploit-padres">while Ohtani is a certified weapon on base</a>, he’s rarely getting there, and as a result, the Dodgers are often starting off the game down and out before Betts goes up to bat.</p><p>Discussing this concept ahead of Game 3 of the NLCS with reporters, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts acknowledged the suggestion but let it be known that he <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/41817702/dodgers-keeping-ohtani-leadoff-nlcs-game-3-vs-mets" rel="noopener">doesn’t plan to make a move any time soon</a>.</p><p>“It’s just funny how things change, where there was a lot of concern about Shohei not being able to get hits with the runners in scoring position — and now we’re all trying to find ways… to get guys on base so he can hit, right?” Roberts said. “I kind of find that comical, a little bit.”</p><p>Asked if he thinks Ohtani can get his game back on track ahead of an incredibly important Game 3, Roberts asserted that he believes the star DH’s issues are “isolated” and that he will eventually get back on track… from the lead-off position.</p><p>“I think it’s isolated. There have been times that he has to reset, as all hitters do. Sometimes certain pitchers sort of kind of trigger bad habits,” Roberts explained. “And you’ve got to identify that to then reset… But to think that I’m going to move Shohei to the 4 or the 3, that’s just not going to happen.”</p><p>Could the Dodgers benefit from placing Ohtani at the three or the four spot? Sure, maybe the MVP would attack the ball differently with players on base instead of hoping that he makes contact from the dugout. But considering Ohtani is the highest-paid player in baseball, if he wants to be a lead-off hitter, it’s hard to justify moving the MVP to a different spot, especially with the season on the line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dodgers’ Dave Roberts not keen on making big Shohei Ohtani move in Game 3 vs. Mets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/anthony-volpe-praises-tone-setter-amid-yankees-mlb-playoff-surge');   ga('set', 'title', 'Anthony Volpe praises tone-setter amid Yankees’ MLB playoff surge');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-news-Anthony-Volpe-praises-tone-setter-amid-NYs-MLB-playoff-surge.jpg"></figure><h1>Anthony Volpe praises tone-setter amid Yankees’ MLB playoff surge</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T21:45:50-07:00">October 15th, 9:45pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T21:47:43-07:00">October 15th, 9:47pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For many fans, the biggest takeaway to come out of the New York Yankees’ 6-3 win versus the Cleveland Guardians will be the long-awaited <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-mlb-playoffs-home-run">Aaron Judge home run</a>. No one on this team is more important than the soon-to-be 2024 American League MVP, but there is an unlikely candidate who can significantly impact its World Series prospects. And he just so happens to be one of the most scrutinized athletes in the area.</p><p>Gleyber Torres led off the bottom of the first inning with a double, paving the way for an offensively productive evening in The Bronx. He scored the Yankees’ first run and then recorded two more hits to ignite the lineup. Fans might still be reluctant to give the two-time All-Star the benefit of the doubt due to his trend of defensive <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-issues-blunt-take-gleyber-torres-baserunning-blunder">and baserunning blunders</a>, but his teammates <a href="https://x.com/MLBNetwork/status/1846391899147407707" rel="noopener">are definitely noticing the positive effect</a> he is having on the rest of the batting order.</p><p>“The way [Gleyber Torres has] been setting the tone ever since he started hitting lead-off,” shortstop Anthony Volpe told MLB Network’s Lauren Gardner after the Yankees took a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series. “He goes, and the guys hitting behind him, we go. {He’s} such a great table-setter, and that’s the player he is. We’re so appreciative to have him.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"The way [Gleyber Torres has] been setting the tone ever since he started hitting lead-off. He goes, and the guys hitting behind him, we go."</p><p>Anthony Volpe spoke with <a href="https://twitter.com/LGRed?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LGRed</a> after the <a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Yankees</a> took a 2-0 lead in the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALCS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALCS</a>! <a href="https://t.co/LXwyXOP0vR">pic.twitter.com/LXwyXOP0vR</a></p><p>— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork/status/1846391899147407707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>Gleyber Torres is an X-factor for Yankees</b></h2><p>Torres’ impressive Game 2 showing eased some of the burden that is on New York’s star sluggers while also giving them more favorable pitches to hit. If he can apply pressure on opposing hurlers, just like he did during the final two months of the regular season, this ballclub should be able to feast on the Guardians’ wobbly starting rotation.</p><p>When guys like Torres, Volpe, (2-for-3, two runs scored), Giancarlo Stanton and Alex Verdugo (RBI double) come through, the Yankees are incredibly tough to beat. The two-man lineup narrative has held true for various stretches of the 2024 campaign, but Aaron Judge and Juan Soto are getting valuable help at the perfect time of the year.</p><p>That opportune surge could be the thing that finally boosts New York back to the top. What a story it would be if the much-maligned Gleyber Torres acts as the “table-setter” for the franchise’s 28th World Series championship team.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Anthony Volpe praises tone-setter amid Yankees’ MLB playoff surge

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-aaron-judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-mlb-playoffs-home-run');   ga('set', 'title', 'Aaron Judge has Yankees fans going bonkers after first 2024 MLB playoffs home run');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-news-Aaron-Judge-has-fans-going-bonkers-after-first-2024-MLB-playoffs-home-run.jpg"></figure><h1>Aaron Judge has Yankees fans going bonkers after first 2024 MLB playoffs home run</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T20:08:59-07:00">October 15th, 8:08pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T20:08:59-07:00">October 15th, 8:08pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For a stretch during the regular season, Aaron Judge had entered flow state and looked poised to, once again, break the single-season AL home run record. Alas, Judge has cooled off significantly during that stretch; in fact, entering <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-new-york-fans-checks-juan-soto-alcs-game-2-guardians">Game 2 of the New York Yankees</a>‘ ALCS clash against the Cleveland Guardians, the 6’7″ slugger hasn’t yet hit a home run in this year’s playoffs. But with one swing of the bat on Tuesday night, Judge has finally risen.</p><p>With the Yankees holding a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning, Judge came to the plate and promptly worked a 1-1 count against Hunter Gaddis with one runner on base and one out. The Guardians reliever tried to challenge Judge with a 95-mph fastball towards the top of the strike zone, but the Yankees slugger launched it above the center-field wall to <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1846376559340392631" rel="noopener">double their advantage</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">AARON JUDGE DOUBLES THE <a href="https://twitter.com/Yankees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YANKEES</a> LEAD! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALCS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALCS</a> <a href="https://t.co/XBzdccyp3A">pic.twitter.com/XBzdccyp3A</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1846376559340392631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Judge, prior to tonight’s ballgame, has been hitting .133 with an <a href="https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/aaron-judge-2024-playoff-ops-until-october-14-2024" rel="noopener">OPS of .564</a> — a steep downfall from his usual level. It’s his incredible ability to get on base that has kept him valuable for a Yankees lineup that has done enough to this point of the postseason to get by. But now that Judge has woken up from his slumber, fans are <a href="https://x.com/AtlasPharaoh/status/1846379622596071852" rel="noopener">hyped up</a> for what it means for the Yankees’ potential World Series run.</p><p>“HE DID IT HE FINALLY DID IT AARON JUDGE FINALLY GETS A HOMER,” X user @AtlasPharaoh wrote.</p><p>“Everybody Gansta Until Aaron Judge starts hitting home runs in October,” @404raheem added.</p><p>“All rise for the honorable Aaron Judge. The playoffs are now in session!!!” @ImYourHostVick3 exclaimed.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Rick Pitino celebrating an Aaron Judge playoff home run <a href="https://t.co/pvWkHZGm6l">pic.twitter.com/pvWkHZGm6l</a></p><p>— Ryan Cassidy (@ryancassidycbb) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryancassidycbb/status/1846377291460628662?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Judge only needs to see one ball leave the yard for him to enter a hot streak. Perhaps this is the start of another heater from him at the plate, and it could not have come at a better time for the Yankees.</p><h2>Aaron Judge makes history for the Yankees</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Yankees-celebrate-Judge-Torres.jpg"></figure><p>Aaron Judge, ever since becoming an everyday player for the Yankees in 2017, has been their heaviest hitter — someone the team relies on to create the bulk of the team’s run production. Hitting in the playoffs, however, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-not-feeling-good-royals-series">hasn’t exactly come easy to Judge</a>.</p><p>Judge had a nightmare 2022 playoff run even after setting the record for most home runs in a single season in AL history. He had a ghastly OPS of .490 in nine playoff games two years ago (38 plate appearances), and it appeared as though he was on track for an encore with the way he has hit the ball thus far in the 2024 postseason.</p><p>But perhaps this home run jolts Judge wide awake as the Yankees look to win their first World Series title in 15 years. In fact, as pointed out by Sarah Langs of MLB.com, Judge, with his latest home run against the Guardians, now has the fifth-most home runs in playoff franchise history with 14.</p><p>Judge is only trailing the likes of Babe Ruth (15), Mickey Mantle (18), Derek Jeter (20), and Bernie Williams (22) on the all-time Yankees playoff home-run ladder. If that is not an exclusive club, then nothing is.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Aaron Judge has Yankees fans going bonkers after first 2024 MLB playoffs home run

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-brayan-rocchio-cleveland-history-alcs-game-2-yankees');   ga('set', 'title', 'Brayan Rocchio makes Cleveland history in ALCS Game 2 vs. Yankees');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Brayan-Rocchio-makes-Cleveland-history-in-ALCS-Game-2-vs.-Yankees.jpg"></figure><h1>Brayan Rocchio makes Cleveland history in ALCS Game 2 vs. Yankees</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T19:46:44-07:00">October 15th, 7:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T19:46:44-07:00">October 15th, 7:46pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Brayan Rocchio didn’t exactly have a regular season to remember at the plate, but the Cleveland Guardians rookie is making up for it against the New York Yankees — with his bat, at least.</p><p>Rocchio hit a third inning line drive single on Tuesday night in Game 2 of the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-joey-cantillo-mlb-record-game-1-yankees">American League Championship Series</a>, extending his playoff hitting streak to seven games. That’s the longest hitting streak to <a href="https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1846349237782478954" rel="noopener">start a postseason career</a> in Guardians history, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.</p><p>This comes after Rocchio played 143 games in the regular season, batting just .206 with a 76 OPS+. He didn’t exactly end the season on a hot streak, either. Over the last 17 games of the regular season, Rocchio hit .136 with 16 strikeouts in 44 at bats.</p><p>But then the postseason started, and Rocchio transformed into the epitome of consistency. He had precisely one hit in each of the first four games against the Detroit Tigers in the American League Division Series, including two doubles and only two strikeouts in 12 at bats.</p><p>Rocchio then turned it up in Cleveland’s Game 5 win, going 2-4. He carried it into the Championship Series against the New York Yankees, going 2-4 with a home run in Game 1, ahead of his record-setting hit in Game 2.</p><h2><b>Brayan Rocchio’s long journey to the Big Leagues with the Guardians</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Brayan-Rocchio.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Rocchio is only 23, but he’s been in the Guardians’ organization for seven years. Signed as an international free agent in 2017, he took his first cuts as a pro in the Dominican Summer League the next summer.</p><p>He played more than 500 games between the American minor leagues, DSL, and Venezuelan Summer League, and hit well just about the whole way. He played almost the entire 2023 season in Triple-A, where he hit .280 with a .788 OPS. Rocchio got a quick cup of coffee in the Majors last year before cracking the Guardians’ Opening Day roster in 2024.</p><p>Though he struggled with the bat during the regular season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-stephen-vogt-reveals-1-key-takeaway-from-alcs-game-1-loss-to-yankees">manager Stephen Vogt</a> lauded Rocchio’s defense during the season, where he was worth seven outs above average, <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/outs_above_average?type=Fielder&amp;startYear=2024&amp;endYear=2024&amp;split=yes&amp;team=&amp;range=year&amp;min=q&amp;pos=6&amp;roles=&amp;viz=hide" rel="noopener">good for ninth in baseball</a>, per Baseball Savant. That was, of course, before he dropped a pop-up that led to the Yankees’ first run in Game 2.</p><p>After Game 1, Vogt <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/guardians/2024/10/what-stephen-vogt-said-after-the-guardians-lost-alcs-game-1.html" rel="noopener">applauded his rookie</a> for staying with it offensively.</p><p>“He’s had a great year defensively and has really stepped up for us,” he said. “That’s the beauty of this team, we don’t stop. Even tonight where it felt like we were out of it, we got the tying run to the plate multiple times. This team doesn’t quit, and that’s what I love the most about them. I know we’re going to come back out tomorrow ready to go and fight like we do.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Brayan Rocchio makes Cleveland history in ALCS Game 2 vs. Yankees

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-walker-buehler-brutally-honest-admission-on-pitching-vs-mets');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dodgers righty Walker Buehler’s brutally honest admission on pitching vs. Mets');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Dodgers-news-Walker-Buehlers-brutally-honest-admission-on-pitching-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Dodgers righty Walker Buehler’s brutally honest admission on pitching vs. Mets</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T18:56:27-07:00">October 15th, 6:56pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T19:00:00-07:00">October 15th, 7:00pm</time><address><a>Alex House</a>Alex House is a sports journalist who covers the NFL, NBA, and MLB for ClutchPoints. He grew up in a New York sports-heavy region in Connecticut and earned his journalism degree at the University of Rhode Island. His in-depth knowledge of two of the most passionate and raucous fan bases in the country gives him a truly unique writing voice.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Walker Buehler may be a shell of himself these days, but Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts is still trusting him with a huge responsibility in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-darryl-strawberry-dwight-gooden-new-york-nlcs-first-pitch-plans">Game 3 of the National League Championship Series</a>. It will be the right-handed starting pitcher’s job to silence the New York Mets in front of a wild Citi Field crowd on Wednesday night.</p><p>If he fails this daunting task, it will be quite difficult to slow down the Mets’ momentum. Their offense can be relentless, as the MLB playoffs have repeatedly shown, which could create a disastrous matchup problem for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-walker-buehler-admission-frustrations">the shaky Buehler</a>. He combusted in the second inning of his NL Division Series start versus the San Diego Padres, giving up a whopping six runs. The two-time All-Star settled down, but the damage was done. Another implosion could result in a 2-1 series lead for New York.</p><p>Despite the overwhelming pressure facing both him and the Dodgers, Buehler <a href="https://x.com/DodgerInsider/status/1846298531931505070" rel="noopener">is relishing the chance</a> to take the mound in a frenzied postseason atmosphere against one of the most resilient lineups in baseball.</p><p>“I imagine it’s going to be rocking here tomorrow,” he said, per Dodger Insider. “That’s what excites me more than anything is the noise and the excitement. And the kind of live-or-die feeling on every pitch is something I’ve really grown to love.”</p><h2><b>Can Walker Buehler put the Dodgers in position to win Game 3?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Dodgers-SP-Walker-Buehler.jpg"><figcaption>Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>Buehler’s October numbers support his enthusiasm. He has a respectable 3.40 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 16 postseason appearances. Again, though, this is not the same player who dominated hitters during LA’s 2020 World Series run. The 30-year-old has yet to bounce back from 2022 Tommy John surgery, making him one of the more unpredictable starters in the 2024 MLB playoffs.</p><p>Buehler has been more trustworthy in the last few weeks, but withstanding a boisterous reception from Queens requires supreme composure. He will try to make Dodgers fans forget all about the 5.38 ERA he recorded this season and remind them why he was one of the best hurlers in the sport only a few years ago.</p><p>The Walker Buehler comeback tour heads to Queens for its most important test yet. First pitch is set for 8:08 p.m. ET.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dodgers righty Walker Buehler’s brutally honest admission on pitching vs. Mets

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/capitals-news-alex-ovechkin-nhl-milestone-wayne-gretzky-record-chase');   ga('set', 'title', 'Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin hits NHL milestone amid Wayne Gretzky record chase');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alex-Ovechkin-hits-NHL-milestone-amid-Wayne-Gretzky-record-chase.jpg"></figure><h1>Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin hits NHL milestone amid Wayne Gretzky record chase</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T18:51:38-07:00">October 15th, 6:51pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T18:51:38-07:00">October 15th, 6:51pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Washington Capitals superstar forward Alex Ovechkin hit another milestone on Tuesday with his 700th career assist. He reached the mark on<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/golden-knights-vs-capitals-prediction-odds-pick-10-15-2024"> Tuesday night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights</a>. He is the sixth player in NHL history to reach 700 goals and 700 assists <a href="https://x.com/Capitals/status/1846345775371972750" rel="noopener">in his</a> career, according to the team.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Alex Ovechkin is the sixth player in NHL history to have recorded at least 700 goals and 700 assists in his career <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ALLCAPS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ALLCAPS</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/LeidosInc?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LeidosInc</a> <a href="https://t.co/SKoKWki1hJ">pic.twitter.com/SKoKWki1hJ</a></p><p>— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Capitals/status/1846345775371972750?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 16, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The assist made Ovechkin the seventh active player to hit 700 helpers. He joins his former Capitals teammate Nicklas Backstrom and long-time rival Sidney Crosby, to name a few. The bigger chase for The Great Eight is his goal total, which was at 853 entering the season and Tuesday’s game. Only Wayne Gretzky stands in the way of him holding the record.</p><p>Ovechkin entered the season needing 42 goals to break the record of 894 goals. The good news is that the Capitals’ star has reached that total 13 times in his first 19 seasons. The bad news is that he did not come close to that total in 2023-24. He scored 31 on a late-season barrage that brought the number to a respectable level.</p><p>The Capitals added several pieces to help Ovechkin reach the total and the team make the playoffs. Jakob Chychryn was traded from the Senators to be an offensive defenseman. Pierre-Luc Dubois came in as Darcy Kuemper went out to improve their center depth.</p><h2>The Capitals are still built around Alex Ovechkin</h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alex-Ovechkin-with-Washington-Capitals-2.jpg"><figcaption>Geoff Burke-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While he is freshly 39 years old, the Capitals have still built their team around <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/ranking-10-greatest-washington-capitals-of-all-time">Alex Ovechkin, the greatest player in franchise history</a>. It is not surprising, as he is one of the greatest goal-scorers ever, but a testament to his longevity. Their powerplay will still succeed because Ovechkin is the greatest powerplay scorer ever. And they will have a chance in important games because he can still snap it with the best of them.</p><p>The reign of the Capitals at the top of their division is firmly over, however. They have not won their division since 2019-20 and even missed the playoffs in 2022-23. That was no fault of Ovechkin’s, who scored exactly 42 goals that season. Washington was able to sneak into the playoffs because of poor seasons from half of the Metropolitan Division. They cannot expect to make it with a similar season this year.</p><p>The Capitals had 91 points and a -37 goal differential but took the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The New Jersey Devils had an unexpectedly terrible season, only putting up 81 points. They are off to a 4-1 start this year and do not appear to be floundering this season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin hits NHL milestone amid Wayne Gretzky record chase

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mets-news-darryl-strawberry-dwight-gooden-new-york-nlcs-first-pitch-plans');   ga('set', 'title', 'Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden highlight New York’s NLCS first pitch plans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Mets-news-Darryl-Strawberry-Dwight-Gooden-highlight-New-Yorks-NLCS-first-pitch-plans.jpg"></figure><h1>Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden highlight New York’s NLCS first pitch plans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T18:35:35-07:00">October 15th, 6:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T18:36:11-07:00">October 15th, 6:36pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-dishes-franciso-lindor-connection-nlcs"> New York Mets</a> are back in the National League Championship Series for the first time since 2015, and some of the biggest stars in franchise history will be on-hand at Citi Field to take part in the festivities.</p><p>New Yor announced its <a href="https://x.com/AnthonyDiComo/status/1846314911858655446" rel="noopener">first pitch plans</a> on Tuesday for their three home games during the series. Each game will celebrate a different era of Mets success, starting with their 1986 World Series title team.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-legend-daryl-strawberry-posts-gracious-message-after-surviving-heart-attack">Darryl Strawberry</a> will toss out the opening ball to Dwight Gooden before Game 3. Both were All-Stars for the Mets in their 1986 World Series championship season and have stayed involved in the organization in the years since they retired.</p><p>Game 4 will feature a nod to the 2000 Mets team that reached the World Series, falling to the New York Yankees in a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-mets-world-series-matchup">Subway Series Fall Classic</a>. Robin Ventura, the starting third baseman on that team, will throw the first pitch to Edgardo Alfonso, the 2000 team’s second baseman.</p><p>Game 5, naturally, will continue the celebration in chronological order, bringing fans back to the Mets’ most recent World Series appearance in 2015. One-time pitching sensation Matt Harvey will throw the first pitch to fan-favorite Yoenis Cespedes.</p><p>If the Mets are going for vibes at Citi Field, their first pitch selections couldn’t possibly be better. The NLCS between New York and Los Angeles Dodgers is currently tied at one game apiece.</p><h2><b>Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry remain the heartbeat of the Mets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Dwight-Gooden.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Gooden and Strawberry weren’t career Mets, but they represent the glory years of the franchise’s most recent championship. Therefore, it’s only fitting that the two of them will get the Citi Field portion of the NLCS started.</p><p>The Mets retired Gooden’s No. 16 earlier this season and have brought him out for a slew of big events throughout his retirement — including the final game at the old Shea Stadium and first game at Citi Field. Gooden has also remained outspoken about his Mets opinions, saying just last week that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-francisco-lindor-mvp-take-david-stearns">Francisco Lindor</a> should be the next Mets captain and that New York deserves another Subway Series in the World Series.</p><p>And just days after the Mets retired Gooden’s number, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-darryl-strawberrys-passionate-message-to-mets-fans-amid-jersey-retirement">did the same for Strawberry</a>. During the ceremony, he even apologized for signing with the Dodgers, calling it “the greatest mistake I ever made.” Notably, he didn’t say the same about signing with the rival Yankees, where he won three World Series.</p><p>Game 3 between the Mets and Dodgers is set for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Darryl Strawberry, Dwight Gooden highlight New York’s NLCS first pitch plans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/rays-news-tropicana-field-unfortunate-2025-update');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rays’ Tropicana Field gets unfortunate 2025 update');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Rays-news-Tropicana-Field-gets-unfortunate-2025-update.jpg"></figure><h1>Rays’ Tropicana Field gets unfortunate 2025 update</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T18:12:20-07:00">October 15th, 6:12pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T18:45:31-07:00">October 15th, 6:45pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It has been a week since Hurricane Milton tore through Tampa, Florida. One of the most stunning visuals was the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rays-news-tropicana-fields-roof-torn-off-amid-hurricane-milton-wrath">roof of Tropicana Field, which was torn off in the storm</a>. The home of the Tampa Bay Rays was supposed to be a shelter but was significantly damaged. Now, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times is reporting <a href="https://www.tampabay.com/hurricane/2024/10/15/where-rays-will-play-2025-one-many-questions-after-trop-damage/" rel="noopener">that the</a> stadium will not be ready for the Rays to open the 2025 season.</p><p>“About the only thing that seems certain is that the team won’t be able to open the 2025 Major League Baseball season at home as planned on March 27,” Topkin reported. “Where the Rays play, how long they are displaced, and what repairs beyond a new custom roof are needed to return to Tropicana Field — until the planned 2028 opening of their new stadium on an adjacent site — are among myriad things they don’t know, but hope to address in the coming weeks.”</p><p>This would not be the first time that a professional team had to temporarily move because of a hurricane. The NFL’s New Orleans Saints played games at the Alamo Dome in San Antonio, Texas after Hurricane Katrina. A Minnesota Vikings-New York Giants game was moved from Minneapolis to Detroit after snow collapsed the Metrodome roof.</p><h2><b>Where will the Rays play in 2025?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Tropicana-Field-before-and-after.jpg"><figcaption>Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The first game back in Tampa will be a great scene. That first game back in New Orleans after Katrina featured a blocked punt that will live in NFL lore forever. The Rays hope to bring a similar moment to their hometown in 2025.  Tropicana Field is already at the end of its run while a new building is under construction next door. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rays-issue-statement-on-tropicana-field-damage-from-hurricane-milton">Reconstruction plans are not announced yet</a>, but a new roof is needed to give the stadium a great final run.</p><p>Finding a site in-state where the Rays could open their season would be difficult. It would have to be a dome, as the rainy Florida summers are not conducive to MLB play. Sharing a stadium with the Marlins would be a logistical nightmare and the Rays’ spring training facility has no roof.</p><p>Topkin points out that Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska is the largest non-MLB facility in the country. The home of the College World Series has open dates and could be a great spot for the Rays. They would take an extended road trip when the CWS is there, similar to the ones the Rangers and Knicks take during the Big East Tournament.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rays’ Tropicana Field gets unfortunate 2025 update

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/yankees-news-new-york-fans-checks-juan-soto-alcs-game-2-guardians');   ga('set', 'title', 'Yankees fans bring checks for Juan Soto before ALCS Game 2 vs. Guardians');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/NY-fans-bring-checks-for-Juan-Soto-before-ALCS-Game-2-vs.jpg"></figure><h1>Yankees fans bring checks for Juan Soto before ALCS Game 2 vs. Guardians</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T17:00:23-07:00">October 15th, 5:00pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T17:00:23-07:00">October 15th, 5:00pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New York Yankees fans have seen enough. Winning over the fans in New York is certainly a difficult task, but Juan Soto has accomplished the feat in only one season. In fact, <a href="https://x.com/TalkinYanks/status/1846329465183391952" rel="noopener">fans even brought checks</a> to Game 2 of the American League Championship Series for the soon-to-be free agent, via Talkin’ Yanks and Michael Castaldo.</p><p>One of the checks read “$700,000,000.” That would of course be the same as what Shohei Ohtani signed for with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Soto is great, but would the Yankees consider offering hm that kind of deal? After all, Ohtani hits and pitches.</p><p>Nevertheless, Soto is going to make no shortage of money during the offseason. He is only 25 years old and has established himself as one of the best hitters in all of baseball. Some stars struggle in New York, but Soto continued to play at an elite level in his first season with the ball club.</p><h2><b>Juan Soto’s impressive first season with the Yankees</b></h2><p>He ultimately slashed .288/.419/.569/.989 across 157 games played. The Yankees outfielder added 41 home runs, 31 doubles and 109 RBI.</p><p>One has to imagine that the Yankees will try to re-sign Soto. However, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-jon-heyman-two-favorites-juan-soto-free-agency-pursuit">Soto is set to receive plenty of attention in free agency</a>. He features franchise-altering talent. Every team in MLB surely understands that fact.</p><p>The Yankees have become one of the league’s most dangerous teams with the duo of <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-aaron-judge-juan-soto-pull-off-feat-not-done-in-63-years">Juan Soto and Aaron Judge leading the way</a>. Both superstars had big 2024 seasons and are looking to lead their team to a World Series victory.</p><p>At the moment, the Yankees are focused on their ALCS clash against the Cleveland Guardians. New York leads the series 1-0 as of this story’s writing. The teams are currently playing in Game 2. Perhaps Juan Soto will take notice of the checks being offered to him by the fans.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees fans bring checks for Juan Soto before ALCS Game 2 vs. Guardians

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mets-news-francisco-lindor-gold-glove-finalist-snub');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mets’ Francisco Lindor responds to Gold Glove finalist snub');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Francisco-Lindor-responds-to-Gold-Glove-finalist-snub.jpg"></figure><h1>Mets’ Francisco Lindor responds to Gold Glove finalist snub</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T16:31:02-07:00">October 15th, 4:31pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T16:31:02-07:00">October 15th, 4:31pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New York Mets star Francisco Lindor is an MVP candidate. He will not win the award since <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-shohei-ohtani-honest-admission-50-50-chase-bonkers-dodgers-win">Shohei Ohtani enjoyed a historic season</a>, but Lindor still had a quality campaign. Lindor is one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball as well, yet he surprisingly did not finish as a National League Gold Glove finalist.</p><p>According to Rawlings Baseball, Masyn Winn, Dansby Swanson and Ezequiel Tovar <a href="https://x.com/RawlingsSports/status/1846203144788742223" rel="noopener">finished as</a> the Gold Glove Finalists for shortstop in the NL. So what does Lindor think of the snub?</p><p>“I thought that… Let me see how I can put this one,” Lindor <a href="https://x.com/SNYtv/status/1846305750089429231" rel="noopener">said Tuesday</a>, via SNY. “I had a good defensive year, but I guess there’s other players that had a better defensive year than me. That was it. At the end of the day, I’m trying to win a World Series… I’m trying to make it to the World Series and then win it.”</p><h2><b>Francisco Lindor and Mets have World Series aspirations</b></h2><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mets-news-francisco-lindor-take-mark-vientos-game-2-heroics">Mets are currently playing the Los Angeles Dodgers</a> in the National League Championship Series. The shortstop is trying to lead New York to the Fall Classic. Lindor has experience in doing so, having led the Cleveland Guardians (formerly Cleveland Indians) to the 2016 World Series.</p><p>Cleveland held a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Cubs before surrendering the advantage and losing in seven games. It was a heartbreaking defeat for Francisco Lindor and the team.</p><p>Lindor wants to win his first championship this year. Overcoming the Dodgers will prove to be a challenge. If the Mets are able to book their ticket to the Fall Classic, there is a chance that Lindor will play against his former team. The Guardians are currently battling the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series, but New York holds a 1-0 series lead as of this story’s writing.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mets’ Francisco Lindor responds to Gold Glove finalist snub

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/dodgers-news-dave-roberts-freddie-freeman-expectation-nlcs-game-3');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dodgers’ Dave Roberts drops Freddie Freeman ‘expectation’ for NLCS Game 3');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Dodgers-news-Dave-Roberts-drops-Freddie-Freeman-Gavin-Lux-expectation-for-NLCS-Game-3.jpg"></figure><h1>Dodgers’ Dave Roberts drops Freddie Freeman ‘expectation’ for NLCS Game 3</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T15:50:12-07:00">October 15th, 3:50pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T15:50:12-07:00">October 15th, 3:50pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets are <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-dave-roberts-makes-striking-admission-after-game-2-loss-to-mets">tied in the NLCS after two games</a>. Los Angeles first baseman Freddie Freeman and second baseman Gavin Lux have been battling through injuries all postseason. They both played in the first two games, but Freeman especially was limping around the field. Manager Dave Roberts gave his expectations <a href="https://x.com/MikeDiGiovanna/status/1846301128859803859" rel="noopener">for the</a> Dodgers’ Game 3 lineup, per Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times.</p><p>“Dodgers MGR Dave Roberts said “my expectation” is that 2B Gavin Lux and 1B Freddie Freeman will be in lineup for Game 3 on Wednesday night and that reliever Daniel Hudson will be available after being down for Game 2.”</p><p>This is massive news for the Dodgers, who are already working with a limited bench. Starting shortstop Miguel Rojas is not on the NLCS roster after he suffered an injury in the NLDS. That has sent Tommy Edman to shortstop and Andy Pages into the everyday lineup. They need innings from Freeman and Lux to not completely tax their depth.</p><p>Freeman has been solid at the plate this season despite his ankle injury. He is 6-22 in the five games, which is a .273 average, with a .577 OPS. He hobbled around third and scored in the first inning of Game 1 against the Mets. Lux has also been good, with a .263 average and a home run, which came against the Padres.</p><h2><b>Dodgers need their stars to shine in NLCS</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Freddie-Freeman-with-LA-Dodgers-1.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Mets have been a magical team this season. From 0-5 and 11 games under .500, they have battled back into the NLCS. They upset the Phillies in a tidy four-game NLDS. After their comeback win in Game 161 to make the postseason, they have felt like a team of destiny. The Dodgers had a one-billion-dollar offseason and expected to be here. They must lean on their stars, including Freeman, in this series.</p><p>Shohei Ohtani leads off for the Dodgers and has been sensational with runners on base. He is 6-8 this postseason with ducks on the pond but does not have a hit with the bases empty. While that is a tough stat for the leadoff hitter, it shows that he is close to putting it all together. Mookie Betts has multiple home runs and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/dodgers-news-teoscar-hernandezs-agent-gets-last-laugh-1-year-deal">Teoscar Hernandez hit a big homer</a> against the Padres.</p><p>Freeman has a chance to have his Kirk Gibson moment in Dodger Blue this October. As he hobbles around the bases, don’t think that he is no longer a threat in the box.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dodgers’ Dave Roberts drops Freddie Freeman ‘expectation’ for NLCS Game 3

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/2-offseason-moves-cardinals-must-make-after-missing-playoffs');   ga('set', 'title', '2 offseason moves Cardinals must make after missing playoffs');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/bb4b02ba-8a84-11ef-a7b4-66479fb447ac.avif"></figure><h1>2 offseason moves Cardinals must make after missing playoffs</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T14:05:09-07:00">October 15th, 2:05pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T14:05:09-07:00">October 15th, 2:05pm</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>St. Louis made its first big move of the offseason before the regular season even ended when the franchise announced that <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-news-st-louis-announces-front-office-shakeup">Chaim Bloom would lead the Cardinals’ rebuild</a>.</p><p>On one hand, this isn’t an all-out, blow-it-all-up rebuild. The Cardinals won 83 games in 2024. On the other hand, big contracts from aging veterans and a mediocre farm system leave St. Louis with little ability to maneuver. That doesn’t bode well for a team that wants to contend in 2025 — and that’s not their focus.</p><p>It seems the Cardinals are content with punting on the next couple seasons as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-chaim-bloom-set-to-lead-st-louis-rebuild">Bloom works his magic</a>. The executive was the architect behind the competitive Tampa Bay Rays teams of the early 2010s that managed to beat divisional foes like the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox despite a meager payroll.</p><p>The Cardinals brass is asking Bloom to both cut payroll and build a competitive team over the next few years. It’s no easy task, but there are a few moves he can make this winter that will set the Cardinals up for success down the road.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals should try to part ways with superstars Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Nolan-Arenado.jpg"><figcaption>Jeff Curry-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>One of the Cardinals’ two high-paid superstars will be easy to part with and the other might be impossible — but they need to try.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-brewers-eyeing-paul-goldschmidt-move-in-free-agency">Paul Goldschmidt is an unrestricted free agent</a>. After he hit .245 with a 98 OPS+, there’s not much that indicates he should be the veteran to return amid a rebuild, continuing to produce for years to come. That’s $26 million off the books right there, simply by doing nothing.</p><p>Trading Nolan Arenado is a much tougher task and the Cardinals’ brass might come to discover that it’s just not possible. They are, however, <a href="https://www.si.com/mlb/cardinals/st-louis-cardinals-news/cardinals-to-pursue-trade-involving-260-million-star-although-difficult-pat3" rel="noopener">expected to try</a>, according to St. Louis Post-Dispatch’s Derrick Goold.</p><p>“Sure sounds like the Cardinals will pursue [an Arenado trade] if that’s what Arenado wants, and he has the no-trade clause to make his involvement key,” Goold wrote. “That’s only part of the reason why seeing where this goes is so difficult. Not to mention the fact that the Cardinals don’t yet know what payroll limits they’re going to be dealing with. So many variables.”</p><p>Trading him is going to be difficult and there’s no reason to expect they can do it without eating at least a chunk of the $52 million remaining on his deal. Arenado, however, is still a productive player, if not the superstar he was earlier in his career. His 101 OPS+ puts him right at the league average, but after finishing his third straight season hitting fewer home runs than he did the year before, it’s fair to question if the third baseman heading into his age 34 season has three years left in the tank.</p><p>Moving Arenado would provide another benefit for the Cardinals. It would give  Thomas Saggese a chance at consistent playing time at third. The 22-year-old came to St. Louis in the Jordan Montgomery trade last year and has emerged as one of the team’s best prospects. He didn’t do much in 18 games with the Big League club, but he profiles as a solid power hitter who has met or exceeded expectations at every stop in the minors.</p><p>César Prieto is another possibility from the minor leagues. Known for putting the ball in play, Prieto is a contact machine with a 9.6% strikeout rate in the minors.</p><h2><b>The Cardinals’ pitching needs to get younger</b></h2><p>The Cardinals took the first step toward revamping their pitching rotation at the trade deadline when they acquired Erick Fedde as part of a last-ditch effort to make a playoff push. He has another year on his deal, worth $7.5 million, and it’ll be worth it to see if his magical 2024 was indeed a product of him reinventing himself in Korea or a mere flash in the pan.</p><p>Sonny Gray is the only Cardinals pitcher signed beyond next year (other than Andre Pallante, who has yet to hit arbitration). The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-rumors-reds-to-aggressively-pursue-trade-for-75-million-cardinals-pitcher">Cardinals already plan on shopping Gray</a> and the $65 million minimum that he’s still owed on his contract. They have club options for Kyle Gibson and Lance Lynn, who will be 37 and 38 next year, respectively. Miles Mikolas has one year left on his deal, worth $18.5 million. Tough as it might be to part with any the three veterans, the Cardinals will likely not bring all of them back.</p><p>To replace any departures, the Cardinals have a few youngsters internally who can step in. Lefty Quinn Matthews is their best pitching prospect, and at 23, he has soared through the St. Louis farm system. Ignoring his lackluster numbers in only four Triple-A starts, Matthews has all the tools to last in the Major Leagues. He boasts a mid-90s fastball that, on its own, isn’t too daunting. Coupled with a <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/cardinals/quinn-mathews-687273" rel="noopener">low-80s fastball</a> that MLB.com says has 12-13 inches of horizontal break, however, he can make hitters look foolish.</p><p>Michael McGreevy and Gordon Graceffo both got looks in the Majors this year and could compete for a spot in the rotation out of Spring Training. McGreevy saw the most success, going 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA in four appearances (three starts). He walked only two batters over 23 innings pitched.</p><p>As for Graceffo, he only threw 7.2 innings so it’s even harder to judge how his stuff translates to the Majors. The former Villanova Wildcat struggled to find his command in the upper levels of the Minors. His best pitch is his slider and his other secondary pitches have shown signs of improvement. After an offseason of development, it will be interesting to see what he brings to Spring Training.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2 offseason moves Cardinals must make after missing playoffs

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/guardians-news-cleveland-removes-injured-pitcher-alcs-roster');   ga('set', 'title', 'Guardians remove injured starting pitcher from ALCS roster');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Guardians-news-Cleveland-removes-injured-starting-pitcher-from-ALCS-roster.jpg"></figure><h1>Guardians remove injured starting pitcher from ALCS roster</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T13:28:21-07:00">October 15th, 1:28pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T13:28:21-07:00">October 15th, 1:28pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Cleveland Guardians lost <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/guardians-news-joey-cantillo-mlb-record-game-1-yankees">Game 1 of the ALCS 5-1</a> to the New York Yankees on Monday. The story of the game was Cleveland’s pitching, which faltered under the bright lights. Starter Alex Cobb only pitched 2.2 innings and allowed three earned runs in a loss and now has an injury. He <a href="https://x.com/GuardsInsider/status/1846273031758291433" rel="noopener">is off the</a> ALCS roster and Ben Lively has been activated, according to the team’s official social media account.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Our ALCS roster has been modified.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ForTheLand?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ForTheLand</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GuardsBall?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GuardsBall</a> <a href="https://t.co/OB4y251DA0">pic.twitter.com/OB4y251DA0</a></p><p>— GuardsInsider (@GuardsInsider) <a href="https://twitter.com/GuardsInsider/status/1846273031758291433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 15, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Cobb was visited by the athletic trainer before exiting the game, so the news is not a total surprise. He was one of the few starting pitchers that the Guardians could rely on with Shane Bieber being out for the season. They do add a fresh arm in Lively, who made 29 starts in the regular season but did not pitch in the ALDS.</p><p>The Guardians’ pitching will have to be much better to beat this Yankees team. The offense has not clicked yet for the Bombers but they have put together five incredible games from their bullpen to start this postseason. With a 1-0 lead and a raucous crowd behind them, New York sends defending Cy Young winner Gerrit Cole to the hill in Game 2. Tanner Bibee will get the ball looking to tie the series before it shifts back to Cleveland.</p><h2><b>Guardians must improve to win the ALCS</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alex-Cobb-with-Cleveland-Guardians.jpg"><figcaption>Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Cleveland Guardians scraped by the Detroit Tigers in the ALDS because of timely hitting. Nothing was more timely than <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cavs-news-donovan-mitchell-min-lane-thomas-guardians-grand-slam">Lane Thomas’ Game 5 grand slam off Tarik Skubal</a> that gave them the lead. They did not get that in Game 1 despite having a few opportunities. Steven Kwan had an RBI single against Tim Hill and that was it for the Guardians’ scoring.</p><p>The good news is that the Yankees got no clutch hitting either despite the Guardians’ bad pitching. Joey Cantillo faced four batters and walked three, which included multiple wild pitches. That is why the Yankees won and they may not have if the bullpen came out and shoved like they normally do.</p><p>The Guardians will have their top starting pitcher and a fully-rested Emmanuel Clase to try and erase the series deficit. Still, they are massive underdogs in this game. Even without Aaron Judge mashing home runs, the Yankees are 4-1 and finally do not have to face the Astros to get to the World Series. The team and the public know that this is a series the Bombers should win and the Guardians must spoil that in Game 2.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Guardians remove injured starting pitcher from ALCS roster

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/steelers-news-justin-fields-social-media-post-losing-spot-russell-wilson');   ga('set', 'title', 'Justin Fields’ social media post after likely losing spot to Russell Wilson');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Steelers-news-Justin-Fields-social-media-post-after-likely-losing-spot-to-Russell-Wilson.jpg"></figure><h1>Justin Fields’ social media post after likely losing spot to Russell Wilson</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T22:26:58-07:00">October 15th, 10:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T22:26:58-07:00">October 15th, 10:26pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After an <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/why-justin-fields-steelers-loss-cowboys-proves-time-turn-russell-wilson">ugly loss to the Dallas Cowboys</a> in Week 5, Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers got back on track with a big win against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 6. Fields got the job done with a 32-13 victory over the Raiders. The fourth-year quarterback has led the Steelers to a 4-2 record through the first six weeks of the season as Pittsburgh is tied with the Baltimore Ravens for first place in the AFC North.</p><p>Despite his success, Fields could soon find himself on the bench. Veteran QB <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-russell-wilson-full-participant-practice-amid-calf-injury-rehab">Russell Wilson returned to practice</a> last week. Now a quarterback change could be coming as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-russell-wilson-week-7-start-jets">Wilson is trending towards starting Week 7</a> for the Steelers.</p><p>With his role on the team in jeopardy, Fields is keeping things in perspective. In the midst of all the noise over who should be under center for the Steelers when they take on the New York Jets Sunday night, Fields posted a simple but <a href="https://x.com/PortersBurgh/status/1846304684866183222" rel="noopener">meaningful message</a> to his Instagram story. “Your ‘normal’ day is someone’s dream, so be thankful everyday,” the post read, per Portersburgh on X.</p><p>The Steelers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/grading-russell-wilson-contract-steelers">landed Wilson for the veterans’ minimum</a> after the Denver Broncos released him prior to the 2024 season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-russell-wilson-starting-quarterback-justin-fields">Wilson was named the team’s starting quarterback</a> during the preseason but a calf injury has kept him sidelined through the first six weeks.</p><h2><b>Justin Fields has become a leader with the Steelers</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Justin-Fields_1b88a3.jpg"><figcaption>Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Fields has, for the most part, played well in his place. And in Week 6 he demonstrated his ability to lead the team and bounce back from adversity. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-fans-want-russell-wilson-justin-fields-struggles-cowboys">Fans were calling for Wilson</a> to replace Fields after the Steelers’ lackluster loss to the Cowboys. The following week, the 25-year-old signal caller helmed a dominant win over Las Vegas. Fields was more effective as a runner than a passer in the Week 6 rout. He was 14/24 for 145 yards through the air while carrying the ball 11 times for 59 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Most importantly, he didn’t turn the ball over.</p><p>When Wilson recovered from his calf ailment and returned to practice, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-not-ready-to-replace-justin-fields">Steelers didn’t appear ready to move on from Fields</a>. New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith gushed about the young quarterback, calling him “<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-arthur-smith-raves-extremely-coachable-justin-fields">extremely coachable</a>.”</p><p>Now head coach Mike Tomlin has a difficult decision to make. Former defensive back <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-richard-sherman-gets-real-about-russell-wilson">Richard Sherman</a>, current Steelers wideout <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-george-pickens-russell-wilson-vs-justin-fields-debate">George Pickens</a> and even Phoenix Suns forward <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/steelers-news-kevin-durant-justin-fields-russell-wilson-quarterback-debate">Kevin Durant</a> have all shared their thoughts on who should start for Pittsburgh moving forward. But the decision will come down to one man. Given Tomlin’s exemplary track record as a head coach, it’s likely he’ll make the right decision for the team. If Fields does take a back seat to Wilson, he’s probably shown enough to get a starting opportunity elsewhere in 2025.</p><p>The Steelers take on the 2-4 New York Jets at home in Week 7. The Sunday night game will showcase <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/jets-news-davante-adams-reunites-aaron-rodgers-trade-raiders">new Jets receiver Davante Adams</a> who has reunited with quarterback Aaron Rodgers after being traded by the Raiders. The Steelers starting quarterback will also be featured in prime time. Whether that’s Wilson or Fields remains to be seen.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Justin Fields’ social media post after likely losing spot to Russell Wilson

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/bears-news-caleb-williams-postgame-attire-london-win-mocked');   ga('set', 'title', 'Caleb Williams’ postgame attire in London win mercilessly mocked');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bears-news-Caleb-Williams-postgame-attire-London-win-mercilessly-mocked.jpg"></figure><h1>Caleb Williams’ postgame attire in London win mercilessly mocked</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-13T12:35:40-07:00">October 13th, 12:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-14T09:51:01-07:00">October 14th, 9:51am</time><address><a>Matt De Lima</a>Matt De Lima is an Associate Editor for NFL and college football at ClutchPoints. He has been covering sports for over 12 years at sites like Sports Illustrated, The Game Day, and countless others. Born and raised in California, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech and a diehard Hokies fan who now resides in southern Maryland.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NFL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The internet couldn’t stop roasting Chicago Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams for his postgame attire after their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/3-bears-overreactions-blowout-win-over-lowly-jaguars">dominant 35-16 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars</a>. Taking questions from the media, Williams wore a poorly fitted light brown pinstripe suit with oversized lapels. The folks with the 79th &amp; Halas Podcast did a great job crowdsourcing <a href="https://x.com/79thAndHalas" rel="noopener">the funniest replies</a> teasing Williams.</p><p>But first, we have to see the suit in question.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">QB Caleb Williams is up <a href="https://t.co/Nwg3g1gALR">pic.twitter.com/Nwg3g1gALR</a></p><p>— 79th &amp; Halas Podcast (@79thAndHalas) <a href="https://twitter.com/79thAndHalas/status/1845513297870610867?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>With that out of the way, on with the jokes.</p><p>“we really lost to somebody public defender smh” – <a href="https://x.com/OGTatum_/status/1845523255529988436" rel="noopener">@OGTatum_</a></p><p>“stole that suite out of lori lightfoots closet” – <a href="https://x.com/mitch__cumstien/status/1845520457056862390" rel="noopener">@mitch__cumstien</a></p><p>Lori Lightfoot is the former mayor of Chicago, known for wearing poorly-fitted suits.</p><p>“Pulled up in a Steve Harvey fit that’s my QB1” – <a href="https://x.com/DillonCaraballo/status/1845516697282699618" rel="noopener">@DillonCaraballo</a></p><p>“I feel like he’s about to pull a giant machine gun out of that jacket.” – <a href="https://x.com/LeeRoyDiggler/status/1845524180030083543">@LeeRoyDiggler</a></p><h2><b>Bears’ Caleb Williams finding his rhythm</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Bears-Caleb-Williams-throwing-the-ball-against-the-Jaguars.jpg"><figcaption>© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>With his best game as a pro, Williams completed 23-of-29 for 226 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. He also added 56 yards on the ground. The rookie started the season a bit slow, only passing for 267 yards and two interceptions in his first two contests. Since then, he has averaged 260 pass yards and 2.2 TDs per game over his last four games.</p><p>Meanwhile, the floundering Jacksonville Jaguars can’t stop the bleeding. Now 1-5, they are among the league-worst with a -65 point differential. Jacksonville can’t get their ground game going as D’Ernest Johnson (six carries for 28 yards) and Tank Bigsby (seven carries for 24 yards) couldn’t get many opportunities with the game script against their favor. RB Travis Etienne Jr. (hamstring) doesn’t look 100 percent and was limited to negative-one rushing yards.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/bears-news-caleb-williams-makes-rookie-history-london-blowout-over-jaguars">Williams made Bears history</a> in the big win, becoming the first Bears rookie QB to throw <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1845502771564314737" rel="noopener">four or more touchdowns</a> in a single game. Cole Kmet caught five passes for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Keenan Allen caught five passes for 41 yards and two touchdowns. D’Andre Swift added 91 yards and a score on 17 carries plus another four catches for 28 yards.</p><p>There’s a lot of positive news trending in the Bears’ favor with the possibility of a new stadium in the works and possibly hosting the Super Bowl afterward, per Bears president Kevin Warren said, via the Associated Press.</p><p>“The status is we’re continuing to make progress. We stay focused still to be able to be in the ground, start construction sometime in 2025,” Warren said. “We’re having regular meetings with key business leaders, key politicians, just staying focused and on course.</p><p>“This is a long journey. This takes time. I’ve been there before. We’re exactly where I thought we would be at this point in time.”</p><p>The 4-2 Bears travel to Washington D.C. after a Week 7 bye to face No. 2 overall pick Jayden Daniels and the Commanders on Sunday, October 27 at 1:00 p.m. EST.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Caleb Williams’ postgame attire in London win mercilessly mocked

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/serena-williams-shares-photos-daughter-adira-ohanian-first-time');   ga('set', 'title', 'Serena Williams shares photos of daughter Adira Ohanian for the first time');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Serena-Williams-shares-photos-of-daughter-Adira-for-the-first-time.jpg"></figure><h1>Serena Williams shares photos of daughter Adira Ohanian for the first time</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T18:54:29-07:00">October 15th, 6:54pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T18:54:29-07:00">October 15th, 6:54pm</time><address><a>Autumn Hawkins</a>Autumn Hawkins is an Associate Entertainment Editor at ClutchPoints. She enjoys writing about music, lifestyle, film, and television. When she's not writing, she is trying the newest makeup trend, reading a romance novel, or planning her next trip. She is also a proud member of the BeyHive.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>We finally got photos of Serena Williams’ youngest bundle of joy, Adira Ohanian. Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian Sr. welcomed their second child together in August 2023 however this is the first time the internet has seen their youngest child.</p><p>In a joint post between Ohanian and Williams, Adira <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBE9kClSQ81/" rel="noopener">officially joined Instagram</a>, showing off her first photo on the social media platform. The account, which her parents operate, the 1-year-old “posted” a photo of herself enjoying a snack in her highchair with the caption, “Oh hello there- I know it’s been over a year but I’m just getting to this.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBE9kClSQ81/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DBE9kClSQ81/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Adira Ohanian (@adiraohanian)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>Comments immediately began flooding in comparing her to her older sister Alexis Olympia and her likeness to her father Alexis Sr.</p><p>“So cute…she copied and paste her father’s face to her face…too cute,” one fan wrote.</p><p>“Omg it’s a mini Olympia,” another fan reacted comparing the 1 year-old to her older sister.</p><p>“she’s adorable. Yeah she’s a cross between Serena and hubby! but looks more like a papa and her big sister,” another fan argued of Adira’s resemblance.</p><p>“So basically @alexisohanian and @serenawilliams y’all gave birth to the same child twice?” a fan jokingly asked.</p><p>Just like Adira, Olympia also has her own Instagram page operated by mom and dad.</p><p>The couple has been married since 2017 and Williams surprised the world when she arrived on the<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/serena-williams-steals-met-gala-show-announces-shes-pregnant-with-baby-no-2" rel="noopener"> Met Gala red carpet</a> last year with a baby bump.</p><p>In August, Williams posted a photo of herself, Alexis Sr. and Olympia explaining the meaning behind her youngest daughter’s name.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-sj4frpHxD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading"><div style="padding: 16px;"><p> </p><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div><div style="display: flex;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div></div></div><div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div><div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div><div style="padding-top: 8px;"><div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 14px;"><div><div></div><div></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: 8px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div><div></div></div><div style="margin-left: auto;"><div></div><div></div><div></div></div></div><div style="display: flex; margin-bottom: 24px;"><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"></div><div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; height: 14px; width: 144px;"></div></div><p> </p><p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; white-space: nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C-sj4frpHxD/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" rel="noopener" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams)</a></p></div></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>“Adira is a girl’s name of Hebrew origin and means ‘mighty,’ ‘strong,’ and ‘majestic.’ The elegant name is popular in many cultures around the world,” the tennis great wrote at the time. “Adira is the feminine form of the classic name Adir. It is a Biblical name, meaning ‘Strong One.’”</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Serena Williams shares photos of daughter Adira Ohanian for the first time

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/lakers-news-jj-redick-calls-out-lakers-going-rogue-vs-warriors');   ga('set', 'title', 'JJ Redick calls out Lakers for going rogue vs. Warriors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/JJ-Redick-calls-out-LA-for-going-rogue-vs.-Warriors.jpg"></figure><h1>JJ Redick calls out Lakers for going rogue vs. Warriors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-15T23:48:09-07:00">October 15th, 11:48pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-16T05:30:09-07:00">October 16th, 5:30am</time><address><a>Michael Aaron Gomez</a>Michael Aaron Gomez is a creative writer and longtime NBA fan. He has been a fan of the Lakers since the three-peat but believes LeBron James is the greatest player of all time.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Golden State Warriors 111-97 in their preseason matchup on Tuesday. Anthony Davis paced the team with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while rookie Dalton Knecht came second with 19 points, another promising showing for the rookie. However, Golden State’s shot-making proved too much for the Purple and Gold, who couldn’t make enough shots to counter. Likewise, coach JJ Redick called out the Lakers for free-styling against the Warriors.</p><p>In <a href="https://x.com/jovanbuha/status/1846409334038618207" rel="noopener">a postgame interview</a>, the coach “pointed to the Lakers’ off-ball coverages as one of their primary struggles tonight,” per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha on X, formerly Twitter. Likewise, Redick added that “when the team followed its pregame instructions, they were successful. When they didn’t, the Warriors made them pay.”</p><p>“When we made stuff up, they hurt us,” the coach said.</p><h2><b>The Lakers need to figure it out</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/JJ-Redick-coaching-a-game.jpg"><figcaption>© David Frerker-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Losing a preseason game isn’t a major cause for concern, but how the Lakers lost to the Warriors troubled JJ Redick for good reason.</p><p>For instance, making things up on offense was one of their worst habits from last season, which caused them to lose too many winnable games, many against lesser teams. Even Redick caught on to this tendency before the Lakers hired him after the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/lakers-news-jj-redick-hired-head-coach-after-dan-hurley-fiasco">whole Dan Hurley fiasco</a>.</p><p>During an NBA Summer League broadcast, the rookie head coach talked about the team’s offensive efficiency while running sets.</p><p>“If you look at the efficiency numbers when you look at [the Lakers] playing ‘random’ vs in sets, the sets had a higher efficiency,” Redick said.</p><p>Meanwhile, his comments about the team playing “random” dovetailed with <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba-rumors-anthony-davis-lakers-firing-darvin-ham">Anthony Davis’ complaints about Darvin Ham</a> during their first-round loss to the Denver Nuggets last season.</p><p>It was a series where these habits bit the Lakers, who led for most of its minutes but couldn’t pull out the win because they started playing undisciplined basketball on both sides of the ball.</p><p>After the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nuggets-news-jamal-murrays-crazy-game-winner-completes-denvers-20-point-game-2-comeback-vs-lakers">Lakers lost Game 2 of that series</a>, Davis criticized Ham’s offensive coaching, however indirectly.</p><p>“We’ve also had stretches where <a href="https://lakersnation.com/anthony-davis-lakers-have-stretches-where-they-dont-know-what-theyre-doing/" rel="noopener">we don’t know what we’re doing</a> on both ends of the floor,” the Lakers big man said, via Ron Gutterman for Lakers Nation.</p><p>In response, the former coach downplayed his remarks, which might have finally lost him the locker room, convincing the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/los-angeles-lakers-darvin-ham-fired-lebron-james-anthony-davis-rob-pelinka">Lakers to fire Darvin Ham</a> in the offseason. While unlearning bad habits takes time, the Lakers might not have enough of it as the preseason winds down, and they start to face teams in actual competitive games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

JJ Redick calls out Lakers for going rogue vs. Warriors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-nsfw-trash-talk-mikal-bridges');   ga('set', 'title', 'Anthony Edwards’ leaked NSFW trash talk to Mikal Bridges goes viral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Anthony-Edwards-leaked-NSFW-trash-talk-to-Mikal-Bridges-goes-viral.jpg"></figure><h1>Anthony Edwards’ leaked NSFW trash talk to Mikal Bridges goes viral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2024-10-14T10:39:38-07:00">October 14th, 10:39am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2024-10-15T11:27:46-07:00">October 15th, 11:27am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Anthony <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwovles-news-anthony-edwards-blasts-jayson-tatum-netflix-show-yall-trippin">Edwards is getting recognition as a trash-talker</a>, and he’s starting early in the preseason. In the Minnesota Timberwolves game against the New York Knicks, Edwards was caught talking to Mikal Bridges while he was <a href="https://twitter.com/legendz_nba/status/1845680058586849345" rel="noopener">shooting his free throws</a>.</p><p>“That n—- done changed his shot, man…. D—,” Edwards is heard saying.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">LEAKED Audio Of Anthony Edwards Trash Talking Mikal Bridges👀:</p><p>“That n**** done changed his shot, man…. Damn!” <a href="https://t.co/Aieczd0SPv">pic.twitter.com/Aieczd0SPv</a></p><p>— LegendZ (@legendz_nba) <a href="https://twitter.com/legendz_nba/status/1845680058586849345?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 14, 2024</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>It does look like Bridges has tweaked his shot just a bit, but Edwards being the one to mention it made the moment hilarious. There’s no doubt that during the season, there will be more moments of Edwards talking trash to other players around the league.</p><h2>Anthony Edwards is becoming one of NBA’s best trash-talkers</h2><p>Anthony Edwards was most recently seen talking trash on Netflix’s Starting 5. During one of the segments, the Timberwolves had just beaten the Boston Celtics in overtime, and Edwards did his best on trying to contain Jayson Tatum.</p><p>After the game, the cameras heard him talking about Tatum and his status in the league.</p><p>“You seen Tatum trying to get me on the switch, locked his a– up 2 times,” Edwards said. “He started talking s—. Tatum was talking crazy, saying, ‘Yeah, I’m here,’ then I said, ‘I’m coming again.’ Talking ‘bout best player in the league, y’all trippin’.”</p><p>Edwards was also seen talking trash to Kevin Durant in the playoffs last season, and there have been many more moments where the Timberwolves star has gotten the best of his opponents. Nobody gets a pass with Edwards, not even the older generation of NBA players. A few months ago, he was asked how he thought <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-anthony-edwards-claims-michael-jordan-was-only-older-generation-player-with-skill">basketball is different now compared</a> to back in the day</p><p>“I didn’t watch it back in the day so I can’t speak on it,” Edwards said. “They say it was tougher back then than it is now, but I don’t think anybody had skill back then. [Michael Jordan] was the only one that really had skill, you know what I mean? So that’s why when they saw Kobe [Bryant], they were like, ‘Oh, my God.’ But now everybody has skill.”</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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