Sign up for the daily newsletter, Jay’s Plays of the Day, to get sports betting recommendations for the top games of the night and the week ahead.
Elite pitchers
So TBS had two games on last night.
Braves-Phillies, and yes, missing the over by half a run hurts, and the Dodgers-Angels.
Spencer Strider pitched for the Braves. He has magnificent stuff.
Clayton Kershaw pitched for the Dodgers. He used to have Strider-like explosiveness.
Strider became the second pitcher since 1901 to record 300 strikeouts in his first 35 pitching starts. Matt Olson is close to doing that as a hitter, but I digress.
Strider’s accomplishment is even more impressive when you consider he joined Dwight Gooden on that list, and gang, if you were not around for mid-1980s young Doc Gooden, well, it was a bona fide treat.
Strider’s quick start to his K career is a testament to his next-level velocity that truly forces opposing hitters to guess. And if/when that third pitch — looks like Strider has been working on his change-up — becomes even mediocre, he’s going to be a handful every fifth day.
He could only hope to dream to be the monster that a young Kershaw was back in the day. Filthy. With four plus-pitches and a mid-to-upper 90s heater, he was Smoltz-plus-Glavine with a better curveball.
And that may be underselling Kershaw’s dominance early on when he had seven straight seasons with top-five finishes in the NL Cy Young voting and three wins.
But watching last night, the mid-90s, here-comes-the-ol-No. 1 smoke was not there. In fact, for the 35-year-old future Hall of Famer, it likely will never be there again.
Still, Kershaw’s adjustments by be on par with MJ taking his aerial highlight reel antics to the mid-range efficient jump shot.
Kershaw’s slider was around 88 last night, but the Angels still haven’t put a barrel on it yet.
Strider is an amazing talent. I hope for the Braves sake, he becomes an amazingly talented pitcher.
Kershaw has proved he’s all of those things, and getting better all the time.
So Zion
Zion Williamson is a bona fide dude. And the dude has had a bad week.
The Pelicans are entertaining offers for one of the most physically daunting match-ups in the NBA. Want to know how many players in league history have averaged 25 points per game and shot better than 60% from the floor in their first four seasons?
One. Zion Williamson.
But he’s on the trade block. Some adult film star is promising she’s going to release a Zion sex tape. His availability — and maybe worse, his conditioning — are real concerns for any coach or executive trying to decipher the Zion riddle.
He’s not alone. With the star-studded names atop the draft — and by that I mean Brandon Miller and Scoot Henderson, because there is no way anyone could put together an offer for the Spurs to deal the rights to Victor Wembanyama — Dame Lillard could be on the move. So could Paul George. Heck, Chris Paul has already been sent to the purgatory that is Washington for Bradley Beal.
And all of this commotion is happening and we have not even heard a peep from Kyrie Irving over the last few weeks.
But the biggest mystery to be is Zion, because when healthy — and when he’s not going horizontal with porn stars — he’s a no-doubt 1A alpha for a championship contender.
But considering he’s missed more games than he has played in his four NBA seasons, what would you be willing to deal for a guy that is great in uniform but too often in street clothes.
(And coming soon to the interwebs, buck naked allegedly.)
Speaking of bad beats
Yeah, we had the Rangers too last night. Yikes.
Texas gave away a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth and lost 7-6 to a scuffling Chicago White Sox crew.
And what made it even more painful was the winning run scored with two outs in the eighth and was put on the board when the replay crew wrongly overturned the call on the field on a play at the plate for the catcher blocking the plate.
Here’s more, and as you would expect Texas manager Bruce Bochy was hot under the collar.
One, I understand the why, but I still don’t have to like the fact that baseball has not outlawed the catchers doing catcher things like blocking the plate.
Still, that call last night was awful. And head-scratchingly bad.
It also reminded me that our replay systems really are pretty stinky, you know?
Thoughts?
This and that
— UT’s baseball season ended last night in Omaha. Yes, some UT fans I know are disappointed, but considering what Tony Vitello inherited in Knoxville and where they are now, yeah, he’s done some heavy lifting.
— The Best of Preps banquet is always a treat, and congrats to those honored and the named award winners. Here’s a rundown of the event, which featured former Kentucky star Bud Dupree stepping in for Jalin Hyatt at the 11th hour.
— You know the rules. Here’s Paschall with the skinny on UT’s latest football commitment.
— Speaking of Victor Wembanyama, he threw out the first pitch at the Yankees’ game last night. And it was dreadful. And Lord, the size of his hands.
Today’s questions
Which way Wednesday starts this way:
Which sport’s replay system is the best? Which is the worst?
Which side of the Zion fence do you sit — star who is still only 22 or bust who will never stay healthy?
Which left-handed pitcher of the last 50 years is better than Kershaw? Is there one?
Heck, Rushmore of left-handed pitchers all-time.
Go.