<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/braves-news-ronald-acuna-jr-suffers-terrifying-injury-scare.jpg"></figure><h1>Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. suffers terrifying injury scare</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T13:42:23-07:00">May 13th, 1:42pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T13:46:37-07:00">May 13th, 1:46pm</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Atlanta Braves fans held their breath when they saw star Ronald Acuna Jr. <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/ronald-acuna-jr-suffers-ankle-injury-after-awkwardly-landing-on-first-base-braves-star-day-to-day/" rel="noopener">crumple to the ground</a> after hitting first base awkwardly while running out a ground ball in the seventh inning of Thursday’s game against the Toronto Blue Jays.</p><p>Luckily, it doesn’t seem as if Acuna’s injury is too serious. The superstar outfielder had to leave the game after remaining on the ground for a bit, but he did walk off on his own power and X-rays on his left ankle came back negative. He’s considered day-to-day moving forward, so that’s a relief. The 23-year-old hasn’t been ruled out of Friday’s lineup.</p><p>Acuna is off to a monster start to this 2021 season. He hit his MLB-leading 12th dinger on Thursday, and he’s now hitting .302 with 24 RBI to go along with those 12 long balls.</p><p>Despite Acuna’s prowess, the Braves are off to a mediocre 17-20 start after losing 8-4 to the Blue Jays on Thursday. Atlanta ranks in the bottom half of MLB in batting average and on-base percentage, even with Acuna going nuts at the dish.</p><p>Meanwhile, the pitching has been a real problem. The Braves are 23rd in ERA, and it doesn’t help that Mike Soroka <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/braves-news-mike-soroka-hits-roadblock-in-return-to-mound/" rel="noopener">just suffered a setback</a> with his Achilles injury and will require surgery.</p><p>Hopefully, Ronald Acuna Jr. will be back in the lineup as soon as possible and isn’t bothered by this ankle injury. Atlanta needs him at full strength in order to make a push up the NL East standings.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Braves’ Ronald Acuna Jr. suffers terrifying injury scare

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Brewers-Corbin-Burnes.jpg"></figure><h1>Brewers starter Corbin Burnes sets record the MLB has never seen</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T12:02:16-07:00">May 13th, 12:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T12:02:46-07:00">May 13th, 12:02pm</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Freelance Sports Journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>A perfect example of complete dominance on the mound is the ability to strike out hitters and command all of your pitches. Milwaukee Brewers righty Corbin Burnes has done just that while breaking a major league record in the process.</p><p>Burnes became the first pitcher ever to strike out 52 hitters and issue NO walks <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1392903804228673539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1392903804228673539%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php">during Thursday’s start against the Cardinals</a>.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Let it Burnes!</p><p>52 Ks and 0 BB to start the season for Corbin Burnes, an MLB record! <a href="https://t.co/oQ0mXS7vs4" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/oQ0mXS7vs4</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1392903804228673539?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 13, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>This is truly outstanding. The Brewers starter has tossed just over 30 innings this season and has issued zero free passes. Just comprehend that for a second. Burnes also has one of the best ERA’s in the show at 1.53. He gets the majority of his K’s from a 95 mph cutter which is the primary pitch of use, while also throwing a sinking fastball in the high 90s.</p><p>Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen previously held the record, striking out 51 batters before giving up a walk. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/milwaukee-brewers/schedule">the Brewers are currently 20-17</a> and just two games behind St.Louis for first place in the National League Central. They also sport a 3.51 team ERA, which is top-10 in the majors.</p><p>Burnes throws extremely hard, shows great command, and has a bevy of offerings to choose from. Maybe a future Cy Young winner? Who knows. But this record is a great start for the 26-year-old Brewers right-hander.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Brewers starter Corbin Burnes sets record the MLB has never seen

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/White-Sox-Lucas-Giolito.jpg"></figure><h1>White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito reveals change that has MLB pitchers abuzz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T08:00:18-07:00">May 13th, 8:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T08:05:54-07:00">May 13th, 8:05am</time><address><a>Johnny Recks</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Chicago White Sox righty Lucas Giolito isn’t having a fantastic start to the season, but it can’t be denied that he’s got one of the best turnaround stories in the MLB today. He was highly regarded as a prospect before hitting the big leagues, but in his first three seasons in the majors, he went just 13-17 with a 5.48 ERA and a 5.68 FIP.</p><p>However, Giolito has been so much better ever since, and it’s largely because of a change in mechanics as noted by <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/lucas-giolito-changed-his-delivery-and-pitchers-around-mlb-are-following-his-lead/">Brian Menendez of FiveThirtyEight</a>.</p><blockquote>“Before 2019, Giolito’s arm swing was longer, extending far behind him before coming up to his release point. After he made the adjustment, his arm went from his glove to his release point in a shorter, more intentional path. This shorter arm path, which is more common with infielders, is generally not taught to youth pitchers because it goes against the old wisdom of “reaching back and firing.” But the shorter action seems to be exactly what Giolito needed.”</blockquote><p>Baseball is a game of subtleties. For Giolito that seemingly minor shift in his delivery has given his career a shot in the arm. Not only that, but other pitchers are also trying to follow his lead, as guys like Shane Bieber, Brandon Woodruff, and Joe Musgrove are some of the hurlers following the example of the White Sox’s ace.</p><p>Even though Giolito is only 2-3 with a mediocre 4.54 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP this year, albeit with a FIP (4.13) lower than his ERA, it could just be a matter of time before he gets out of his slump, as he tries to help <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/white-sox-news-tony-la-russa-complete-cluelessness-on-extra-innings-rule-costs-chicago/">Tony La Russa’s club</a> stay on top of the AL Central.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

White Sox RHP Lucas Giolito reveals change that has MLB pitchers abuzz

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Yankees-COVID-CDC.jpeg"></figure><h1>Yankees being investigate by the CDC following COVID-19 outbreak</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T06:10:13-07:00">May 13th, 6:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T06:10:40-07:00">May 13th, 6:10am</time><address><a>Galen Donnelly</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees are dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak. While that part of the story has been widely reported on, there’s now a twist involving the CDC.</p><p>The following is a statement from the New York State Department of Health:</p><blockquote>“While there have been anecdotal reports of New Yorkers who have had a positive COVID test 14 or more days after receiving their last vaccine dose, DOH is investigating those cases along with the ones linked to the Yankees further to determine if they meet the formal CDC definition of vaccine breakthrough,” the statement said</blockquote><p>It’s worth noting, that despite seven people now testing positive within the organization, the Yankees were able to relax COVID-19 protocols in late April after 85% of the team were fully vaccinated.</p><p>Six of the seven members are asymptomatic, something manager Aaron Boone feels pretty good about.</p><blockquote>“I think one of the things we’re seeing is that being vaccinated en masse like we are, we’re seeing the vaccinations also kind of blunt the effects of the virus,” Boone said, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31434171/new-york-yankees-7-covid-19-positives-coaching-support-staff-aaron-boone-says" rel="noopener">via ESPN</a>. “I feel like in a lot of ways, because we’re vaccinated, we’re kind of good and able to deal with this. So there’s a little bit of a frustrating part there, in all the testing that we’re gonna do.”</blockquote><p>Regardless of fan affiliation, let’s hope the Yankees c<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/new-york-yankees/schedule" rel="noopener">an get back to full heath</a> sooner or later. It’s really hard to hate on The Empire when they’re up against it like this.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees being investigate by the CDC following COVID-19 outbreak

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Gerrit-Cole-makes-franchise-history-for-New-York-with-absurd-stat.jpeg"></figure><h1>Yankees ace Gerrit Cole makes franchise history with absurd stat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T19:19:13-07:00">May 12th, 7:19pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T19:19:13-07:00">May 12th, 7:19pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees paid a whole lot of money to bring over Gerrit Cole from the Houston Astros. So far, they are not regretting that in any way, shape, or form. Cole has been off to a blazing hot start and is running away with the Cy Young Award and it’s only been six weeks. This <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1392660872686968841">latest record</a> by Cole is hard to believe.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Gerrit Cole recorded his 5th game this season with 10+ strikeouts and 0 walks (8th start), already the most such games in a single-season in Yankees history. It's Cole 18th career game with 10+ strikeouts and 0 walks, tied for 6th-most in MLB history. <a href="https://t.co/MEFN5eRFdN" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/MEFN5eRFdN</a></p><p>— ESPN Stats &amp; Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/1392660872686968841?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 13, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Somehow, someway, Cole keeps dominating basically every time he steps on the mound. Cole tossed eight innings of shutout baseball against the Tampa Bay Rays and gave up just four hits with no runs and no walks while punching out 12.</p><p>His ERA is down to 1.37 <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/yankees-news-gerrit-cole-becomes-first-pitcher-in-120-years-to-pull-off-remarkable-feat/">on the year</a> and his shortest start was Opening Day when he tossed 5.1 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Yankees have enjoyed a hot start to the year and are right behind the Boston Red Sox for first place in the American League East.</p><p>Of course, Cole signed a nine-year contract worth $324 million to earn him an average of $36 million per season. If Cole can pitch like this every week for the Yankees, they will be more than happy they shelled out that insane amount of cash for him.</p><p>Besides Jacob deGrom, another New York pitcher who has been dominant for the Mets, Cole is the best in the game and should be one of two picks for the Cy Young if he continues to throw like this.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole makes franchise history with absurd stat

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/MLB-news-Astros-take-unprecedented-step-regarding-Minor-League-players-thumbnail.jpeg"></figure><h1>Astros take unprecedented step regarding Minor League players</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T14:07:27-07:00">May 12th, 2:07pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T14:07:27-07:00">May 12th, 2:07pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Astros are taking a major step in regards to the treatment and salary of Minor League players. <a href="https://theathletic.com/2583263/2021/05/12/ghiroli-astros-give-their-minor-leaguers-a-big-boost-jose-bautista-talks-bat-flips-and-the-current-game-more-notes/?source=twitterhq">According to The Athletic</a>, the organization has decided to provide housing for all players across their Minor League system. This move is expected to propel a series of teams following suit in a valiant effort to find a way to help provide for the small salary the players receive before reaching the big leagues.</p><p>The conversation about the lack of payment for the minor leaguers has been a hot topic as of late. After COVID-19 forced the minor leagues to be canceled across the country in 2020, there were a lot of discussions on how to proceed. Major League Baseball had to cut 40 affiliates, mostly due to budget reasons and profit loss from the loss of an entire season.</p><p>However, they did raise salaries across the system. Rookie-level players start at  $400 per week and Triple-A players receive $700 per week. Keep in mind, that’s after the MLB increased the salaries.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/houston-astros/roster">For the Astros</a>, this is step one in what should hopefully become a leaguewide movement as far as teams implementing such protocols to help out their players in the minor league systems. Some clubs already offer a small stipend for housing, although it’s nowhere near enough to cover the monthly cost.</p><p>In the past, there have been stories of multiple players cramming into a one-bedroom apartment to save money and make ends meet, which shouldn’t be the case. For the extreme income the Major League teams receive and shell out to their players on the starting roster, there should be a way to provide for those in the Minors.</p><p>Hopefully, this is the beginning of a big movement that should propel teams to help take care of the players in their system who are grooming to become Major League talent.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Astros take unprecedented step regarding Minor League players

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Braves-Mike-Soroka.jpg"></figure><h1>Braves right-hander Mike Soroka hits roadblock in return to mound</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T13:30:31-07:00">May 12th, 1:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T13:31:02-07:00">May 12th, 1:31pm</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Freelance Sports Journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Atlanta Braves right-hander Mike Soroka really can’t catch a break lately. After being cleared to begin throwing activities a couple of weeks ago, Soroka is now having issues with his Achilles, which kept him out for the majority of 2020.</p><p>The 23-year-old Canadian made just two starts in Spring Training before the Braves shut him down with shoulder soreness. He’s been trending towards a return in the next month or so, but now with the Achilles acting up, Soroka will need to get exploratory surgery, <a href="https://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/1392571246597091333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1392571246597091333%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fclutchpoints.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php">per MLB.com’s Mark Bowman</a>:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Soroka had some discomfort in his Achilles. They did a MRI and he'll now have to undergo exploratory surgery.</p><p>— Mark Bowman (@mlbbowman) <a href="https://twitter.com/mlbbowman/status/1392571246597091333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>This is an awful scenario for the Braves and Soroka. He showed so much promise in his first two seasons at the major league level, posting the National League’s third-best ERA in 2019. He also finished second in Rookie of the Year voting that year to Mets slugger Pete Alonso.</p><p>It’s unknown what the recovery period would be like for Soroka here, but it’s a clear setback. Now, the Braves youngster won’t be able to continue a throwing program due to the surgery. At this point, his status for the rest of the 2021 campaign is extremely uncertain.</p><p>Atlanta<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/atlanta-braves/roster"> could really use another solid arm in rotation right now</a>, too. Brian Snitker’s squad currently has a 4.55 team ERA, which is 24th in the big leagues. Lefty Max Fried has already missed time this year as well with a strained hamstring.</p><p>Hopefully, we’ll see Soroka back on the bump for the Braves not too far down the road.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Braves right-hander Mike Soroka hits roadblock in return to mound

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Nets-Kevin-Durant.jpeg"></figure><h1>Kevin Durant’s fawning over Shohei Otani draws hilarious response from Trea Turner</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T13:07:49-07:00">May 12th, 1:07pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T13:07:49-07:00">May 12th, 1:07pm</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant said he is yearning to trade for Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani in <i>MLB The Show</i>, even at the expense of Washington Nationals shortstop Trea Turner. The Nats star responded in kind.</p><p>Durant called Ohtani a “Different breed” last night, suggesting Turner might be out of a roster spot after he virtually acquires the Angels’ two-way star.</p><p>One day later, Turner <a href="https://twitter.com/treavturner/status/1392538851084750850">mused</a> he still does not know the status of his video game counterpart.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Still don’t know if I’ve been benched or traded?? 😐 <a href="https://t.co/8YjG279eJL" target="_blank">https://t.co/8YjG279eJL</a></p><p>— Trea Turner (@treavturner) <a href="https://twitter.com/treavturner/status/1392538851084750850?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Although Durant spends his playing days in Brooklyn with the Nets, his sporting allegiances remain in Washington, D.C.</p><p>The Nets forward has remained steadfast in his fandom of the Washington Football Team and Washington Nationals. Still, even Durant is marveling at the things Ohtani is doing with the Angels this season.</p><p>Ohtani is a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/angels-news-shohei-ohtani-continues-to-break-unheralded-records/">talent unlike any other</a> in modern baseball. He has been one of the foremost sluggers in the sport, with 10 homers and a .903 OPS. The 26-year-old also boasts exceptional speed, with six stolen bases. Of course, he has brilliant stuff on the rubber.</p><p>Ohtani did it all for the Angels on Tuesday against the Houston Astros. He struck out 10 batters and gave up one run in seven innings and even moved to right field after being replaced on the mound.</p><p>In many ways, Ohtani is to baseball what Durant is to basketball. The Nets All-Star is pretty much in his own category as a 7-footer who can score from anywhere on the floor and use his tremendous handle to break opponents down off the dribble. Perhaps it is no surprise, then, that Durant appreciates what Ohtani is doing on the diamond.</p><p>Still, Durant can’t find a way to keep Turner on his virtual Nationals roster? The 27-year-old is hardly a slouch, slashing .323/.366/.548 with eight homers and seven steals.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Kevin Durant’s fawning over Shohei Otani draws hilarious response from Trea Turner

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Mets-Matt-Harvey.jpeg"></figure><h1>Mets fans give warm ovation to returning Matt Harvey</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T10:03:50-07:00">May 12th, 10:03am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T10:05:12-07:00">May 12th, 10:05am</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>New York Mets fans gave former ace and current Baltimore Orioles right-hander Matt Harvey a standing ovation as he returned to Citi Field on Wednesday.</p><p>Fans <a href="https://twitter.com/BRWalkoff/status/1392515505538404353">applauded</a> Harvey as he warmed up prior to the start of Wednesday’s game. Some fans showcased their old Harvey Mets jerseys, while another had a sign saying “Happy Harvey Day!!”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Standing O for Matt Harvey in his Citi Field return 👏</p><p>(via <a href="https://twitter.com/SNYtv?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@SNYtv</a>)<a href="https://t.co/uGyOMnaAu3" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/uGyOMnaAu3</a></p><p>— B/R Walk-Off (@BRWalkoff) <a href="https://twitter.com/BRWalkoff/status/1392515505538404353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The 32-year-old right-hander broke into the majors with the Mets in 2012, quickly cementing himself as one of the top young arms in baseball.</p><p>Harvey made the National league All-Star team in his first full season with New York in 2013, leading the majors in fielding independent pitching (2.01) and finishing fourth in the NL Cy Young voting. He experienced a setback late in the year, undergoing Tommy John surgery and missing the entirety of the 2014 season.</p><p>However, the man who became known as the “Dark Knight” would return with a vengeance.</p><p>Harvey was brilliant for a 2015 Mets team that made it all the way to the World Series. He had a 2.71 ERA in 29 starts and was terrific in October, though New York would lose to the Kansas City Royals in the Fall Classic.</p><p>Unfortunately, Harvey’s career would begin to take a turn for the worse. Injuries limited him over the course of the next couple years, and he established a bit of a sour reputation in various clubhouses.</p><p>However, Harvey has experienced something of a rebirth after breaking camp and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/orioles-news-orioles-peg-bruce-zimmermann-no-4-starter-as-matt-harvey-era-begins-in-baltimore/">earning a spot</a> in the Orioles rotation. He had a 3.60 ERA in his first seven starts, though his old club touched him up for three runs in the second inning on Wednesday.</p><p>Harvey had a bit of a tumultuous stint in the Big Apple, but Mets fans made sure to honor his contributions to the organization.</p><p> </p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mets fans give warm ovation to returning Matt Harvey

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Rangers-news-New-York_s-massive-housecleaning-continues-with-firing-of-David-Quinn-thumbnail.jpg"></figure><h1>Rangers’ massive housecleaning continues with firing of David Quinn</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T08:35:09-07:00">May 12th, 8:35am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T09:10:20-07:00">May 12th, 9:10am</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NHL</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>James Dolan’s New York Rangers <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-james-dolan-shocks-world-firing-john-davidson-jeff-gorton/" rel="noopener">fired</a> president John Davidson and general manager Jeff Gorton last week, and now head coach David Quinn is on the way out after three seasons.</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/NYP_Brooksie/status/1392490335197179906?s=20" rel="noopener">Larry Brooks of the New York Post</a> reported the news, and the Rangers have since confirmed it:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">OFFICIAL: <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NYR?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#NYR</a> President and General Manager Chris Drury has announced that Rangers Head Coach David Quinn and Assistant Coaches David Oliver, Jacques Martin and Greg Brown have been relieved of their coaching duties.</p><p>— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYRangers/status/1392502485617549314?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Assistant coaches David Oliver, Jacques Martin, and Greg Brown have also been canned, as noted, but goalie coach Benoit Allaire is sticking around … at least for now.</p><p>It has been a whirlwind few weeks for the Rangers organization. In addition to this housecleaning that resulted in Chris Drury taking over as president and general manager, there was a lot of drama with the Washington Capitals.</p><p>That drama may have played a role in the big changes. After Capitals goon Tom Wilson failed to get suspended for several dirty plays against the Rangers, New York sent out a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-rangers-finally-respond-to-tom-wilsons-uncalled-for-attack/" rel="noopener">harshly worded statement</a> aimed at the NHL for its decision. Dolan was reportedly behind the statement, while Davidson and Gorton tried to distance themselves from it.</p><p>After the firings, which came right after the Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention, New York and Washington engaged in multiple brawls on the ice. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/rangers-news-new-york-shambles-with-wild-brawls-capitals-after-firings-john-davidson-jeff-gorton/" rel="noopener">It was pure chaos.</a></p><p>The Rangers finished this season with a 27-23-6 record, which gave them 60 points.</p><p>Quinn failed to get New York to the postseason in each of his three seasons with the franchise. The Rangers will now look to somebody else as they overhaul this organization. There’s certainly plenty of work to do for Drury.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rangers’ massive housecleaning continues with firing of David Quinn

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Yankees-Rays-prediction-Yankees-Rays-pick-Yankees-Rays-odds-MLB-Odds.jpeg"></figure><h1>MLB odds: Yankees vs. Rays prediction, odds, pick, and more</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T08:11:00-07:00">May 12th, 8:11am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T08:11:39-07:00">May 12th, 8:11am</time><address><a>Josh Fisher</a>Bringing you daily picks with detailed analysis and the latest news.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Betting</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will square off for the second of a three-game set at the Trop on Wednesday night. It’s time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Yankees-Rays prediction and pick.</p><p>The Yankees took the first game of this series by a score of 3-1 last night. New York has bounced back in a big way with wins in eight of their last 10 games to date. Despite the Rays struggles of late, they have won 11 of the last 15 head-to-head matchup’s with the Yankees in Tampa.</p><p>Here’s how <a href="https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/baseball/mlb">sportsbooks</a> have set the opening Yankees-Rays odds.</p><h2><b>MLB Odds: Yankees-Rays Odds</b></h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Yankees-news-Gerrit-Cole-becomes-first-pitcher-in-120-years-to-pull-off-remarkable-feat-1024x574.jpeg"></figure><p>New York Yankees -1.5 (-122)</p><p>Tampa Bay Rays +1.5 (+102)</p><p>Over 7.5 Runs (+110)</p><p>Under 7.5 Runs (-130)</p><h2><b>Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>New York took the opener of this series behind a huge outing from Jordan Montgomery and home runs from Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez. Montgomery was stellar for the Yanks, allowing just two hits in six innings of work. The bullpen came in and allowed just one more hit as they shut the door.</p><p>It’s likely that the Rays offensive struggles will carry over as they have to face Gerritt Cole in this game. Cole is 4-1 with a 1.61 ERA on the season and hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his seven starts this year. Although Cole’s lone loss came against the Rays, he still had a dominant performance with two earned runs and 10 strikeouts in that game.</p><p>The Yankees offense didn’t provide much support for Cole in that loss against the Rays. New York was struggling at the plate earlier in the year and only scored seven runs during that whole series. That should hopefully change in this game as the Yankees have scored at least four runs in seven of their last 10 games.</p><h2><b>Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread</b></h2><p>Tampa Bay has been very good against the Yankees overall this season as they swept the Bombers in the Bronx last month. The Rays have their usual low payroll and competent team that will make noise across the league. They don’t seem to have their usual home field advantage, though. Tampa Bay is 7-11 at the Trop coming into this game.</p><p>Tampa will have their hands full against the Cy Young favorite in Gerritt Cole. After scrapping just three hits together last night, the Rays will have to find other ways to produce offense in the second game of this series. Cole has had some struggles against the Rays over the last few years, which is promising for a group that is desperate for some runs.</p><p>The Rays will go with their infamous opener strategy in this game as Collin McHugh will start and face the lineup one time through. They will then likely hand the ball to left-hander Ryan Yarbrough to face the lineup one time around himself. It’s interesting to see Tampa continue to go to these two as they’re ERA’s are 7.36 and 4.58, respectively.</p><h2><b>Final Yankees-Rays Prediction &amp; Pick</b></h2><p>There has been a lot of chatter supporting the under in this spot. I could certainly see it happening, but I’m reluctant to support it because of the Yankees offensive production of late. I’m confident that New York will jump all over the opener strategy and the below-average arms that the Rays will send out. Cole has been phenomenal, but has allowed at least two runs in his last four starts against Tampa. Gerritt will be lights out like he always is and the Yanks will provide a significant amount of run support to secure the win and the series.</p><p><b>FINAL YANKEES-RAYS PREDICTION:</b> New York Yankees -1.5 (-122)</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

MLB odds: Yankees vs. Rays prediction, odds, pick, and more

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Giants-Drew-Robinson.jpeg"><figcaption>This will give you goosebumps 🥲</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants prospect Drew Robinson homers a year after surviving suicide attempt</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T07:06:56-07:00">May 12th, 7:06am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T07:06:56-07:00">May 12th, 7:06am</time><address><a>Mitchell Widmeier</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>San Francisco Giants minor leaguer Drew Robinson’s story is one filled heartbreak, horror and then perseverance and joy.</p><p><a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31427287/this-just-where-belong-drew-robinson-return-baseball-suicide-attempt">It was just last April, in 2020, that Robinson planned and tried to take his own life</a> with a gunshot to the head. Jeff Passan of ESPN did an incredible job documenting and telling Robinson’s story.</p><p>Miraculously, Robinson survived although losing his right eye. Fast forward to 2021 and on Tuesday evening and Robinson launched his first home run of the season playing for the Giants’ Triple-A affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">🚨HOME RUN🚨</p><p>The moment every baseball fan has been waiting for: a Drew Robinson bomb! 💣 <a href="https://twitter.com/Drewrobbb?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Drewrobbb</a> </p><p>T3 | SAC – 4, LV – 1<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ClawsUp?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#ClawsUp</a> <a href="https://t.co/abX434fcRZ" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/abX434fcRZ</a></p><p>— rivercats (@RiverCats) <a href="https://twitter.com/RiverCats/status/1392309502918209541?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Robinson was batting just .077 in a small sample size of games to start the year. His second inning bomb was a moment worthy of making the hair on your arms stand up as he attempts to make another go at his MLB career.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb-news-drew-robinson-set-to-pull-off-the-unthinkable-after-losing-eye-in-suicide-attempt/">The Giants’ minor leaguer</a> has since become an advocate and has spoken out about the difficulties of dealing with suicidal thoughts while dealing with mental health issues. His return to baseball and a second chance at life has provided him with a fresh outlook on life.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">One year ago today, I chose life. What a year it’s been. Lots of highs, some lows. Grateful for all of it. Thank you to everyone whose reached out, offered support or sent some love my way. You are all so appreciated ❤️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Alive?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Alive</a> <a href="https://t.co/IFZUgReLOZ" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/IFZUgReLOZ</a></p><p>— Drew Robinson (@Drewrobbb) <a href="https://twitter.com/Drewrobbb/status/1383636352936210433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">April 18, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>Whether or not Robinson makes it all the way back to show at the major league level with the Giants is yet to be seen, and perhaps that isn’t the ultimate goal for the 2010 4th round pick anymore. Regardless, his viral moment from Tuesday night provided hope for that career in the big leagues and a spark for so many who have followed along with his path since he survived his suicide attempt last April.</p><p>A tip of the cap to Drew Robinson!</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants prospect Drew Robinson homers a year after surviving suicide attempt

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Mark-Davis-slams-Oakland-amid-Athletics_-relocation-request.jpeg"></figure><h1>Raiders owner Mark Davis slams Oakland amid Athletics’ relocation threat</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T14:24:13-07:00">May 11th, 2:24pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T14:24:13-07:00">May 11th, 2:24pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oakland Athletics came out and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/athletics-threatening-relocation-in-order-get-new-stadium-oakland/">announced their threat</a> to leave the city if they aren’t given a new stadium when their lease runs out in 2024. Now, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis criticized the city and said it’s “expected”, <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1392220017547087872">according to Vincent Bonsignore of Vegas Nation.</a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">.<a href="https://twitter.com/Raiders?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Raiders</a> owner Mark Davis on <a href="https://twitter.com/Athletics?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Athletics</a> looking to relocate: "I hate to say it's expected, but it's expected. It's what we went through…the government up there, is just not capable of putting a deal together that's win-win. And that's all you ever look for is win-win."</p><p>— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) <a href="https://twitter.com/VinnyBonsignore/status/1392220017547087872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The Raiders ultimately packed their bags and dashed for Las Vegas after dealing with a similar situation. Their reward? A huge, state-of-the-art, $1.9 billion home, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/raiders-news-las-vegas-end-zone-to-feature-wild-nightclub-during-games/">named Allegiant Stadium</a>. The move to Vegas has warranted immense success for Oakland and Mark Davis.</p><p>As for the Athletics, their desire- and the MLB’s- for a waterfront ballpark would help bring more attraction to the stadium in an effort to fill the seats, once the COVID-19 restrictions are fully lifted.</p><p>Oakland also lost the Golden State Warriors, who moved across the bridge to San Francisco in 2019 and got a brand new arena. The trend isn’t a good one for the city of Oakland, as they could potentially lose three major sports teams in the span of a decade.</p><p><a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/athletics/2021/05/11/mlb-gives-oakland-athletics-permission-explore-relocation/5041589001/">According to Steve Gardner of USA Today</a>, the Athletics proposed a $12 billion complex that would feature a brand new ballpark on the waterfront, similar to that of the San Francisco Giants.</p><p>It seems that Davis is right on cue, and perhaps the Athletics would be better off moving to another city and starting from scratch.</p><p>Could they potentially head to Las Vegas and reunite with the Raiders? That certainly seems like a viable option.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Raiders owner Mark Davis slams Oakland amid Athletics’ relocation threat

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Yankees-Aaron-Boone-Aaron-Judge-Giancarlo-Stanton.jpg"></figure><h1>Yankees dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T13:59:30-07:00">May 11th, 1:59pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T15:21:33-07:00">May 11th, 3:21pm</time><address><a>Quinn Allen</a>Freelance Sports Journalist.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the New York Yankees have started playing better baseball as of late, they’ve been hit with a wave of COVID-19 cases. Thankfully though, it hasn’t infected any actual players yet.</p><p>According to the <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1392218156198940675">MLB Network’s Jon Heyman</a>, five coaches have been diagnosed with the virus.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Yankees have 5 coaches with Covid. All had been vaccinated, word is. Most asymptomatic. No players known to have Covid to this point. Game up in air tonight.</p><p>— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) <a href="https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1392218156198940675?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>While this isn’t ideal by any means, all the coaches have reportedly been vaccinated and aren’t dealing with any symptoms. However, this whole situation could potentially postpone the first of a three-game set on Tuesday night against AL East rivals, Tampa Bay.</p><p>The Yankees just took two out of three from the Nationals and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/new-york-yankees/schedule">have gone 7-3 in their last 10 games</a>. The bats have been coming alive, with Giancarlo Stanton clubbing three homers in his last six contests. DJ LaMehieu has also been raking lately, collecting five hits in the Washington series.</p><p>It’s unknown at this point which coaches actually have COVID-19. If manager Aaron Boone has tested positive, that could really complicate things as well. This comes just after the MLB announced that New York was eligible to back off on COVID-19 protocols due to 85% of the organization being vaccinated.</p><p>The Yankees need to get on top of this instantly because they certainly can’t afford a full-blown outbreak. With these variants floating around, who knows what’s possible.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Yankees dealing with a COVID-19 outbreak

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Padres-Fernando-Tatis-Jr..jpeg"></figure><h1>Padres without Fernando Tatis Jr again</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T13:55:26-07:00">May 11th, 1:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T13:55:26-07:00">May 11th, 1:55pm</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Diego Padres will once again be without star shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. for an extended period. This time, the absence appears to be COVID-related.</p><p>The Padres <a href="https://twitter.com/Padres/status/1392215454744150020">announced</a> Tuesday afternoon they were placing Tatis–in addition to utility men Jurickson Profar and Jorge Mateo–on the injured list due to “health and safety protocols.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Due to health and safety protocols, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Padres?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#Padres</a> placed SS Fernando Tatis Jr. and INF/OFs Jurickson Profar and Jorge Mateo on the injured list today. The club will announce corresponding roster moves prior to tonight’s game at COL.</p><p>— San Diego Padres (@Padres) <a href="https://twitter.com/Padres/status/1392215454744150020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>It is unknown whether any of the three players contracted COVID-19, or if they have been deemed close contacts. Regardless, it is likely Tatis, Profar and Mateo will all spend some time on the shelf.</p><p>This is tough news for the Padres as they try to build momentum in a crowded National League West division.</p><p>San Diego is currently second in the NL West at 19-16, but it’s been more of an uphill battle as of late. The Padres five of six games between April 16 and April 21, only to bounce back by winning six of their next eight.</p><p>However, manager Jayce Tingler’s team has been rather stagnant in May. The Padres are 3-4 in their last seven. What’s more frustrating is the offense just erupted for 11 runs in Sunday’s win over the San Francisco Giants, with Tatis homering and notching a pair of hits. Now, San Diego has been deprived of its best hitter and aded depth pieces.</p><p>Tatis himself has had a hard time sustaining momentum. He struggled early and missed time in April due to a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/padres-news-fernando-tatis-jr-suffers-shoulder-subluxation-after-awkward-swing/">shoulder subluxation</a>, though the issue did not require surgery. The Padres megastar had gradually begun to right the ship, but will once again be forced to take a seat.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Padres without Fernando Tatis Jr again

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Athletics-threatening-relocation-in-order-to-get-new-stadium-in-Oakland.jpg"></figure><h1>Athletics threatening relocation in order to get new stadium in Oakland</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T11:30:41-07:00">May 11th, 11:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T11:37:02-07:00">May 11th, 11:37am</time><address><a>Jason Patt</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Oakland Athletics are ready to look at the possibility of relocation, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/31427293/oakland-athletics-start-looking-relocating-elsewhere-sources-say" rel="noopener">according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.</a> This threat is being made in order to put pressure on local government officials to move forward with a new stadium project in Oakland that has failed to get off the ground in recent years.</p><p>The Athletics have played in Oakland since 1968. They have a desire to stay in the city and build a new stadium at the Howard Terminal site, but a failure to go forward with these plans has the franchise ready to look elsewhere.</p><p>Athletics owner John Fisher released this statement on the matter:</p><blockquote>“The future success of the A’s depends on a new ballpark. Oakland is a great baseball town, and we will continue to pursue our waterfront ballpark project. We will also follow MLB’s direction to explore other markets.”</blockquote><p>Here are some details of the proposed Howard Terminal project:</p><blockquote>The Howard Terminal project — in which the A’s have proposed privately funding a $1 billion stadium and spending more on a development that would include 3,000 units of affordable housing, office and retail space, and a hotel — is the latest and has been seen as the likeliest to succeed.After the A’s outlined proposal, which the organization said would include $450 million in community benefits, $955 million in general-fund revenues and an $855 million commitment from the city for infrastructure improvements, a spokesman in the mayor’s office said in a late-April statement: “The City is willing to bear its resources to help make this vision a reality; however, today’s proposal from the A’s appears to request public investment at the high end of projects of this type nationwide.”</blockquote><p>The Athletics currently play at 55-year-old RingCentral Coliseum, which is badly in need of an upgrade. The franchise’s lease there ends in 2024, and MLB has zero desire to see a new stadium on that site.</p><p>If the Athletics were to actually move, Las Vegas is reportedly the likeliest destination. Las Vegas just got the Raiders, Golden Knights and Aces in recent years.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Athletics threatening relocation in order to get new stadium in Oakland

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Red-Sox.jpeg"></figure><h1>The Boston Red Sox are MLB’s ‘best’ team in record only</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T10:09:50-07:00">May 11th, 10:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T10:09:50-07:00">May 11th, 10:09am</time><address><a>Marty Fenn</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Boston Red Sox have the best record in baseball. They can be found atop numerous power rankings. But are they really the “best” team in the sport thus far?</p><p>Boston had reason for optimism entering the 2021 campaign. Alex Cora was brought back as manager following a one-year suspension for his role in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. Cora played a big role in the clubhouse during the Red Sox’s 2018 championship season, and he figured to have a positive impact on the players in his return to the bench.</p><p>Additionally, the Red Sox had one of the best offenses in baseball. Boston ranked third in the American League in OPS in 2020 despite a poor showing from J.D. Martinez. The upside was there, with president of baseball operations Chaim Bloom supplementing the roster by adding versatile types like Enrique Hernandez and Marwin Gonzalez in the offseason.</p><p>Indeed, the Red Sox have powered their way to the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/boston-red-sox/news">top of the AL East thus far</a>. Still, looks can be deceiving, and this is a team with some pretty apparent issues.</p><p>Let’s dissect Boston’s start and break down why the Red Sox could falter if they fail to make some changes ahead of the July trade deadline.</p><h2>Pitching staff leaves something to be desired</h2><p>Pithing was a major question mark for the Red Sox this past offseason. That is still the case nearly 25 percent of the way through the 2021 campaign.</p><p>There have been positives, to be sure. Nick Pivetta has displayed pretty good stuff since he was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in last year’s Brandon Workman trade. Left-hander Martin Perez has kept the team in games and has been a serviceable back-end starter. Eduardo Rodriguez is inducing soft contact and has <a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/eduardo-rodriguez-593958?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb">strong peripherals</a>.</p><p>Yet, there is plenty of reason for skepticism as far as the rotation is concerned.</p><p>Garrett Richards has rebounded nicely since a shaky start to the season. He also has a 1.46 WHIP and has produced mixed results limiting baserunners. Nathan Eovaldi has had a really tough time as of late. He gave up seven hits and five runs to a lackluster Detroit Tigers offense in a May 6 start and has given up at least four or more runs in three of his last four outings.</p><p>Additionally, while guys like Perez and Pivetta have been effective, they don’t always go deep into games. This notion especially could eventually result in more pressure in Boston’s bullpen.</p><p>Now, that bullpen has been pretty strong early. That unit ranks fifth in <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=all&amp;stats=rel&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=0&amp;type=8&amp;season=2021&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2021&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0,ts&amp;rost=0&amp;age=0&amp;filter=&amp;players=0&amp;startdate=2021-01-01&amp;enddate=2021-12-31&amp;sort=19,a">xFIP</a>. Matt Barnes, Garrett Whitlock and Phillips Valdez have been especially good. But there are still questions in the middle innings.</p><p>Both Adam Ottavino and Darwinzon Hernandez have dealt with command issues. Matt Andriese has a 1.62 WHIP. Josh Taylor has looked dominant at times and totally ineffective at others. Hirokazu Sawamura has been victimized by the home run ball.</p><p><a href="https://theathletic.com/2579734/2021/05/11/exploring-the-red-sox-strategy-of-5-inning-starts-and-a-deep-bullpen/">Jen McCaffrey</a> of The Athletic wrote about Cora’s reliance on a deep bullpen. But that depth will continue to be tested so long as starters cannot go past the fifth or sixth innings. Remember, relievers are as volatile as any other position in the sport.</p><p>The eventual return of Chris Sale to the rotation should help matters. Still, it’s worth monitoring especially how Boston’s bullpen arms handle the heavy workload as the season progresses. The Red Sox seem likely candidates to add some arms at the deadline.</p><h2>Top-heavy offensively</h2><p>On paper, the Red Sox are once again an offensive juggernaut.</p><p>Boston ranks first in the AL in both OPS and runs scored. The high-powered attack has given Cora’s team an advantage with the pitching staff holding its own early. Still, it’s hard to ignore how top-heavy the Red Sox lineup has been.</p><p>The No. 2 through No. 5 hitters are the most dangerous quartet in baseball. J.D. Martinez (1.073 OPS) has been galvanized by the return of in-game video. Xander Bogaerts has probably been the best offensive shortstop in baseball. Indeed, he ranks first among qualifiers in <a href="https://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=ss&amp;stats=bat&amp;lg=all&amp;qual=y&amp;type=8&amp;season=2021&amp;month=0&amp;season1=2021&amp;ind=0&amp;team=0&amp;rost=0&amp;age=0&amp;filter=&amp;players=0&amp;startdate=2021-01-01&amp;enddate=2021-12-31">fWAR</a> and wRC+. Rafael Devers has a .926 OPS, while Alex Verdugo is hitting .297 with an .813 OPS.</p><p>But, where is the rest of the production coming from? Hunter Renfroe has begun to heat up a bit, but still has a .652 OPS. Franchy Cordero has a .428 OPS. Rookie first baseman Bobby Dalbec mashed everything in sight during spring training, but has a .558 OPS to begin the year. Christian Vazquez is hitting .275, but his OPS is nearly 100 points lower than it was in 2020.</p><p>The depth is being tested, as well. Both Hernandez and Christian Arroyo are on the IL. Gonzalez has a .634 OPS.</p><p>Boston’s four best hitters are consistently driving the team’s success. That’s not necessarily the worst thing, but it feels like the Red Sox could use more top-to-bottom production, especially in the outfield and first base.</p><h2>Red Sox truly among the best in the bigs?</h2><p>The Red Sox have one of the best run differentials in baseball. That’s usually a good indicator of success. They are also 6-3 in one-run games.</p><p>Still, it’s quite early, and Boston’s depth might not be quite as projectable as a team like the Los Angeles Dodgers or San Diego Padres. Heck, the San Francisco Giants have attained early success mostly because of depth.</p><p>The Red Sox have proven they can win. However, Boston has a ways to go yet before proving it truly deserves to be among the top World Series contenders.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The Boston Red Sox are MLB’s ‘best’ team in record only

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Albert-Pujols_-next-team-may-be-surprising-after-release-from-Angels.jpeg"></figure><h1>Albert Pujols’ next team may be surprising after release from Angels</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T09:51:32-07:00">May 11th, 9:51am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T13:12:47-07:00">May 12th, 1:12pm</time><address><a>Matt Wadleigh</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Longtime major league veteran and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/angels-news-los-angeles-releasing-albert-pujols-final-year-253-million-deal/">was released</a> by the Los Angeles Angels in the midst of the final year of his contract. While rumors circulated about potential teams having some interest in Pujols, the Dominican Republic is considering bringing Pujols on with the Olympic qualifier for the Tokyo Games set to take place, <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1392127923629473794">according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network. </a></p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Source: The Dominican Republic is interested in having Albert Pujols play for the national team at the upcoming  <a href="https://twitter.com/Tokyo2020?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Tokyo2020</a> Olympic baseball qualifier in Florida. Pujols would be eligible now that he’s no longer on an <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@MLB</a> 40-man roster. <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBNetwork?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@MLBNetwork</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCOlympicTalk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@NBCOlympicTalk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WBSC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@WBSC</a></p><p>— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) <a href="https://twitter.com/jonmorosi/status/1392127923629473794?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 11, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>The 41-year-old was born in the Dominican Republic and would certainly be honored to compete for them in the Olympics. However, the fact that Pujols <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cardinals-rumors-albert-pujols-return-to-st-louis-unlikely-despite-his-strong-desire/">hasn’t drawn much interest</a> from MLB teams is a bit of a surprise. While the last couple of seasons weren’t great for Pujols, he could still provide some offense and leadership for a team that is competing for a World Series.</p><p>The slugger <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/mlb/los-angeles-angels/roster">hit just .198 with five homers</a> and 12 RBI in 24 games for the Angels in 2021, with most of them being in a reserve role. Nonetheless, Pujols representing the Dominican Republic would be a big get for the Olympics and for the country as a whole.</p><p>The most logical options were the St. Louis Cardinals, where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career, and the Chicago White Sox, who are managed by former Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. The fact that Pujols is still available shows just how much interest teams are expressing towards him.</p><p>The Olympic qualifiers for baseball will be from May 31 to June 5 in Florida, so Pujols has a little bit of time to make a decision and wait for the phone to ring with an offer from an MLB team.</p><p>If not, perhaps everybody will get to see the Hall of Famer <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/angels-news-albert-pujols-plans-to-retire-after-2021-season/">ride out his baseball career</a> in the Olympic Games while sporting a Dominican Republic uniform in Tokyo in the summer.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Albert Pujols’ next team may be surprising after release from Angels

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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;*/}.webfeedsFeaturedVisual {	display: None !important;}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <div><img alt="" class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image" height="673" src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Cody-Bellingers-net-worth-in-2021-Dodgers-Cody-Bellinger.jpeg" style="display: block; margin-bottom: 5px; clear: both;" width="1200"><p>The Los Angeles Dodgers had made the playoffs for eight straight seasons, and had played in three of the last four World Series, but it was only last month when they finally got over the hump, beating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games to win their first championship in 32 years. <span class="Apple-converted-space">In this post, however, we’re specifically focusing on Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021.</span></p><p>One of the players who helped the Dodgers erase years of postseason heartbreak was outfielder Cody Bellinger, who was drafted by the team in the fourth round of the 2013 MLB Draft and made his debut in the majors four years later.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span></p><h2><strong>Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021 (estimate): $2.5 million</strong></h2><p><img alt="Dodgers, Cody Bellinger's net worth in 2021, Cody Bellinger, Justin Turner" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-1058655" height="561" src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cody2-1024x574.jpg" width="1000"></p><p>A handful of seasons into his MLB career and Bellinger had already a couple of All Stars appearance, a National League MVP trophy, along with other individual awards, and now has a championship to go with them. He is coming off a season where he earned $11.5 million, which <a href="https://www.mlb.com/dodgers/news/cody-bellinger-arbitration-record" target="_blank">set a record<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>for a player in his first year of arbitration eligibility</a>. That’s more than 19 times his salary in his MVP season in 2019, when he made just $605,000, which was part of his rookie salary.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Bellinger’s massive pay day earlier this year boosted his net worth, which is now estimated to be at $2.5 million, per <a href="https://www.celebnetworths.com/famous/cody-bellinger-net-worth-age-height-wife" target="_blank">CelebNetWorths</a>. But after winning a championship for Los Angeles and establishing himself as one of the best players in the league, the 25-year old will likely be rewarded with more big contracts. He’s already set to make $13 million in the 2021 season, according to <a href="https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/cody-bellinger-21735/" target="_blank">Spotrac</a>, which is a far cry from his earnings in his first few years and a testament to how far he’s come since his majors debut.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Bellinger, the son of former MLB player Clay Bellinger, who played as an outfielder for three seasons for the New York Yankees and the then-Anaheim Angels, earned a $700,000 signing bonus after being drafted by the Dodgers in 2013. After playing in the minor leagues for nearly four years, he was finally called up to the majors in April 25, 2017, making his debut for the Dodgers against the San Francisco Giants, where he had one hit in three at-bats with an intentional walk.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>He would player 132 games in his first season, slashing .267/.352/.581 with 39 home runs and 97 RBIs, helping the Dodgers finish with a 104-58 record, the best in the division. Bellinger would play in all 15 of the team’s playoff games, with a .219 batting average, with three home runs and nine RBI. The Dodgers, however, would lost to the Houston Astros in seven games in the 2017 World Series. Bellinger’s efforts, however, would not go unnoticed, as he was unanimously named as the National League Rookie of the Year while earning a salary of $535,000 in his first year in the majors.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Los Angeles would finish with a 92-71 record the following season, with Bellinger seeing action in 162 of the team’s 163 games. He finished the season with averages of .260/.343/.470 with 25 home runs, seven triples, 28 doubles, 76 RBIs, and 14 stolen bases. On April 1, 2018, he became the third fastest player in MLB history to hit his 40th home run, doing it in just 136 games, which trails Rudy York and Mark McGwire.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>The Dodgers would reach the World Series for the second straight year, with the outfielder playing in 16 games. He was named as the NLCS MVP, helping Los Angeles beat the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. The Dodgers, however, would lose to the Boston Red Sox in five games in the 2018 World Series. Bellinger’s salary would see a slight increase from his rookie year, as he earned $585,000 in his second year in the majors.</p><p>Bellinger’s best season of his young career would come in 2019, when he was named as the National League MVP, slashing .406/.629/1.035, with 47 home runs, 34 doubles, 115 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases, which are <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/bellico01.shtml" target="_blank">all career highs</a>. He rewrote the record books during his MVP season, becoming the fastest player in Dodgers history to hit 100 home runs, and the youngest in franchise history to hit 40 home runs in a season at 24 years old. Los Angeles would finish the season with a 106-56 record, shattering the franchise record for most wins in a season previously held by the 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Their playoff run, however, would come to an abrupt end at the hands of eventual champions, the Washington Nationals, who defeated them in five games in the 2019 NLDS. Nevertheless, Cody Bellinger reaped more awards by the season’s end, taking home the Rawlings Gold Glove Award and the Silver Slugger Award, becoming just the fifth player in Dodgers history to win both awards in the same season. He would earn just $605,000 in his third season with the Dodgers, but with him entering his first year of arbitration eligibility, that was about to change.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>The Dodgers rewarded Bellinger’s MVP run with a record one-year, $11.5 million deal for the 2020 season, which was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 25-year old would help Los Angeles finish with a 43-17 record and the team’s eighth consecutive division title, hitting .239/.333/.455, with 12 homers, 10 homers, 30 RBIs, and six stolen bases in 56 games, which are all career-low numbers and far from his percentages during his MVP year.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>In the<a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=bellico01&amp;t=b&amp;year=0&amp;post=1" target="_blank"> team’s title run</a>, he would play 18 games, slashing .212/.316/.455 with four home runs and 13 RBIs. In the 2020 World Series against Tampa Bay, he hit just .136 with one home run and three RBIs, but the Dodgers would finally win their first title since 1988 after beating the Rays in six games. He didn’t end the 2020 season with a host of individual awards unlike the previous year, but Bellinger was finally able to call himself a champion.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></p><p>Now, he’s not only lined up for more big pay days, but also has the opportunity to help the Dodgers win more titles, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2024 and will earn a staggering $13 million in 2021, with Los Angeles looking to repeat as champions. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tim-tebow-an-absolute-blessing-for-jaguars-and-urban-meyer/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">After toiling in the minor leagues for years</a>, Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021 is going to rise… even more so moving forward.</p><p>Bellinger had a hot start to his MLB career, winning a number of awards, including the NL MVP last year. But the Dodgers could not match his individual success as they fell short in postseason after postseason, including two painful World Series losses. But even if his numbers were down this year, Bellinger was finally able to help his team win a championship. That can only mean good things for his future salary and net worth, which are both about to have a massive increase.</p><p>Nonetheless, given all the intel provided, were you at all shocked by <span class="Apple-converted-space">Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021?</span></p><p>The post <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/cody-bellingers-net-worth-in-2021/" rel="nofollow">Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021</a> appeared first on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com" rel="nofollow">ClutchPoints</a>.</p></div>    </body></html>

Cody Bellinger’s net worth in 2021

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Alex-Rodriguez-Ben-Affleck-Jennifer-Lopez.jpeg"></figure><h1>Alex Rodriguez handling the Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez reunion as well as you would</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-11T08:00:03-07:00">May 11th, 8:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-11T12:40:16-07:00">May 11th, 12:40pm</time><address><a>Galen Donnelly</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With Alex Rodriguez no longer with Jennifer Lopez, the musician and actress is reportedly back to dating Ben Affleck, making me wonder what year we’re currently living in.</p><p>Couple the above information with the fact Tim Tebow <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/tim-tebow-an-absolute-blessing-for-jaguars-and-urban-meyer/" rel="noopener">is back in the National Football League</a>, and I need to ask it again: What bleeping year is it?!</p><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Alex-Rodriguez-Jennifer-Lopez-1024x574.jpg"></figure><p>Circling back to the Alex Rodriguez, Jennifer Lopez, and Ben Affleck situation, the former MLB slugger is “shocked” by his former significant other’s decision to reunite with the Batman cosplayer.</p><blockquote>“A-Rod is shocked that J.Lo has moved on,” a source close to Lopez <a href="https://www.eonline.com/news/1267777/alex-rodriguez-is-very-shocked-by-jennifer-lopezs-reunion-with-ben-affleck" rel="noreferrer noopener">told E! News</a>. “He truly thought they would be able to make it work and reconnect. He has been reaching out to J.Lo trying to meet with her and she has been very short with him.”</blockquote><p>Love gossip! Also, Ben Affleck was a terrific Batman, I don’t care what you bums think!</p><p>If that wasn’t bad enough for Alex Rodriguez, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/timberwolves-news-alex-rodriguez-loses-jennifer-lopez-to-ben-affleck-immediately-hits-ownership-snag/" rel="noopener">he has reportedly hit a snag</a> in his bid to buy the Minnesota Timberwolves.</p><p>So, to recap: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are back together. Alex Rodriguez lost his spouse to the guy who starred in Gigli and is also maybe going to lose out on buying the Wolves. Oh, and Tim Tebow is back in the NFL. Thanks a lot, Tuesday!</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Alex Rodriguez handling the Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez reunion as well as you would

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image_2021-05-13_235229.png"></figure><h1>The one free agent wide receiver the Bears must sign for Justin Fields</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T08:55:03-07:00">May 13th, 8:55am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T15:14:12-07:00">May 13th, 3:14pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/emasseysports/" rel="facebook">Evan Massey</a>Evan Massey is a sports writer who has also covered politics, entertainment, and many other things. He is also the Editorial Manager for ClutchPoints.com. His work has been featured on ESPN, Forbes, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! Sports, and plenty of other online publications.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Chicago Bears are entering the 2021 NFL season with a lot more excitement than they have had over the last couple of years. Gone are the days of wondering whether Mitchell Trubisky would finally turn things around. Trubisky left town this offseason in free agency to become the backup to Josh Allen for the Buffalo Bills. Bears fans aren’t exactly mourning his departure.</p><p>To replace Trubisky, the Bears originally went out in free agency and signed veteran quarterback Andy Dalton. Ryan Pace instantly named him the starter, but Chicago also brought in another quarterback. That quarterback was Ohio State star Justin Fields, whom the Bears <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/bears/bears-2021-draft-day-trade-maybe-only-chance-land-justin-fields">traded up to snag</a> with the No. 11 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.</p><p>At this point in time, the Bears are remaining steadfast in their plans to start Dalton at quarterback. However, teams do not trade up aggressively for a quarterback without planning to play him early in a career. It seems very likely that Fields could take over as the starter in Chicago at some point during the season.</p><p>Either way, the Bears have more work to get done. They could use another legitimate weapon for Dalton and Fields alongside star wide receiver Allen Robinson II. Right now, Chicago has Darnell Mooney and Anthony Miller as their No. 2 and No. 3 wideouts on the depth chart.</p><p>Should Pace and the Bears try to bring in another wide receiver, there is a very intriguing option available in free agency. Chicago could form a reunion with veteran wideout Alshon Jeffery, who was released earlier this offseason by the Philadelphia Eagles.</p><p>Over the last two years, Jeffery has struggled to stay healthy. His career has been derailed, but he still has a little bit of time to turn things around. Going back to Chicago where his career started could be a perfect move to give him a fresh start.</p><p>During the 2020 season with the Eagles, Jeffery played in only seven games, and they weren’t complete games. He caught six passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Back in 2019, he caught 43 passes for 490 yards and four touchdowns in 10 games.</p><p>Jeffery would not be signed to become the savior of the offense. He would be signed to come in and compete for the No. 2 wideout role across from Robinson. If he can stay healthy, there is no question that he can still produce quality numbers.</p><p>In the limited action he has had over the last two years with the Eagles, Jeffery has shown the ability to make plays down the field and be a possession wideout. Chicago doesn’t need him to be a 1,000-yard receiver. All the Bears would need from Jeffery is a 50-60 reception season for 700 yards and a handful of touchdowns.</p><p>Simply giving Justin Fields or Andy Dalton a second legitimate big body would be a noticeable win for the Bears. The best part about potentially signing Jeffery would be that they would not have to break the bank for him.</p><p>Due to injury problems and a lack of big-time production, the Bears could likely get Alshon Jeffery for near the veteran minimum. A one-year deal for the 31-year-old wide receiver would be well worth the risk. If the move doesn’t work out, the Bears would simply cut ties with him and not offer a new deal following the 2021 season.</p><p>Matt Nagy and the offense need more weapons; that much has been obvious for the Bears over the past two years. Jeffery may not end up being the weapon that takes them to the next level, but it would be worth a shot. If he can stay healthy, it would not be shocking to see Jeffery become the needed threat producing the numbers we mentioned above.</p><p>Expect the Bears to continue to seek improvements for their roster ahead of training camp. This could be an option if they truly want to upgrade their offense and give their quarterback another weapon.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The one free agent wide receiver the Bears must sign for Justin Fields

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Victor-Oladipo_s-final-status-in-4-game-road-trip-after-awkward-fall.jpg"></figure><h1>Heat definitely should not re-sign Victor Oladipo after another surgery</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T16:22:49-07:00">May 12th, 4:22pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T16:22:49-07:00">May 12th, 4:22pm</time><address><a>Edward Marlowe</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Miami Heat and two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo delivered some tough news on Wednesday after the club announced that their most recent star acquisition is bound for a season-ending surgery on his right quadriceps tendon.</p><p>Dipo has been out since injuring his right knee during an April 8 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, but it seems this was a reaggravation of an injury he first suffered amidst his 2018-19 All-Star campaign with the Indiana Pacers. It set him back a full year, and after returning for 19 games with the Pacers in 2019-20 (and nine more games in 2020-21), the charismatic, song-singing guard has since been twice traded this year alone: Indiana to Houston, and Houston to Miami.</p><p>It has been a series of unfortunate events for the elite scorer and defensive stalwart, and there’s little question long-time Heat President/General Manager Pat Riley acquired him to put alongside guys like small forward Jimmy Butler and power forward Bam Adebayo to create a new “Big Three.” In the Heat/Rockets trade, Riley shipped guard Avery Bradley, forward Kelly Olynyk and the first-round swap rights in 2022 for Oladipo’s talents—and expiring four-year, $85 million deal.</p><p>Expected to test the free-agent waters this upcoming offseason, Riley and the Heat might be tempted to resign Oladipo after not only trading for him, but only getting to see him play in a Miami jersey four times before his injury. Drafted in 2013 by the Orlando Magic, the former Indiana Hoosiers star is a lifetime 17.5/4.6/4.0 NBA stud on 43.8 percent shooting from the floor and 34.7 percent from the arc, and if Riley got even 80 percent of that for the next four years, it’d be a welcome addition.</p><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/image_2021-04-02_120402.png"></figure><p>But honestly, Oladipo needs a fresh start, and it’s not like Riley gave up the farm for him. He has only played in 52 games since his difficult 2019 setback, and though his 2020-21 season has been a roller coaster, he just turned 29 last week. Should he return to full health, he’s easily got another five-to-six years of high-quality hoops left, which will entice some other club to overpay for the “last big contract.”</p><p>As it stands (per spotrac.com), the Heat already have Butler, Adebayo, Andre Iguodala, Tyler Herro, Precious Achiuwa and KZ Okpala on the books barring release/retirement—leaving *roughly* $28-30 million in potential cap space for the 2021-22 season, and maybe more.</p><p><a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/nba/miami-heat/article242986981.html">From the Miami Herald’s Anthony Chiang</a>, prior to the start of the 2020-21 NBA campaign:</p><blockquote>“The Heat is on track to have cap room for one max free agent in 2021 to potentially add to its All-Star core of Bam Adebayo and Jimmy Butler, even with the COVID-19 pandemic impacting NBA economics,” Chiang said. “The cap is currently projected to rise to $125 million for the 2021-22 season, but that number will almost assuredly drop because of a dramatic decrease in league revenues caused by the pandemic.“But the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/barry-jackson/article242565531.html" rel="follow noopener">Heat could survive the 2021-22 cap dropping by as much as about $10 million</a> from the $125 million projection and still achieve max space if it doesn’t add any other salary commitments for that season and declines Andre Iguodala’s $15 million team option for 2021-22 . And even if the cap drops by more than $10 million, the Heat likely would be close enough to open a max slot if needed.”</blockquote><p>Duncan Robinson needs to get paid, and Goran Dragic should also probably return on a formidable deal. And what about Kendrick Nunn, who blossomed as a rookie in 2019-20, and sustained it for the most part during 2020-21 behind 14.3 points per game?</p><p>As for a “max free agent” to add into the mix? Riley could make a run at Atlanta Hawks restricted power forward John Collins or Utah Jazz point guard Mike Conley for that slot, or maybe Phoenix Suns point guard and future Hall-of-Famer Chris Paul or Los Angeles Clippers forward (and also future Hall-of-Famer) Kawhi Leonard—if they opt in to free agency and spice up the offseason buffet.</p><p>Whatever permutation of free agents are available, Oladipo’s services will require a boatload of cash—regardless of his potential health concerns—and the Heat should find more efficient ways to spend it. The Eastern Conference is only getting more powerful, with the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks all currently above Miami in the 2020-21 standings in this moment. The Hawks, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics and Charlotte Hornets aren’t far off the trail, and teams like the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards and Pacers have their own young pieces and won’t stay dormant forever.</p><p>Riley and the Heat need to be true power brokers this offseason, no matter what happens in the playoffs, after making the 2020 NBA Finals. Players like Butler and Adebayo don’t come around very often, and what good is Oladipo…if he can’t stay on the floor long enough to build something with them?</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Heat definitely should not re-sign Victor Oladipo after another surgery

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/warriors-news-headband-klay-thompson-returns-to-dubs-lineup.jpg"></figure><h1>‘Headband’ Klay Thompson returns to Warriors lineup</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T16:32:09-07:00">May 12th, 4:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T16:56:35-07:00">May 12th, 4:56pm</time><address><a>Paolo Songco</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>He’s back! Klay Thompson has officially returned for the Golden State Warriors… for team photos that is.</p><p>Nevertheless, there is certainly still reason to get excited as these were actually the official team photos for the 2021-22 season. To make things even better, the All-Star shooting guard brought back Headband Klay for the shoot (h/t A<a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/warriors/headband-klay-thompson-returns-warriors-team-photo">lex Espinoza of NBC Sports</a>):</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Headband Klay was all smiles at Warriors Picture Day 📷</p><p>[via <a href="https://twitter.com/warriors?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@warriors</a>] <a href="https://t.co/8gpVGIvOPh" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/8gpVGIvOPh</a></p><p>— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBCSWarriors/status/1392600238414774278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>This all but confirms what we’ve all been looking forward to: Klay Thompson will be good to go for the Warriors to open the 2021-22 campaign. His recovery from a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/warriors-news-klay-thompsons-crucial-next-step-in-recovery-from-achilles-injury-per-steve-kerr/" rel="noopener">season-ending Achilles injury</a> has been progressing as scheduled, so barring any unforeseen setbacks (we earnestly pray that there aren’t any), Klay should be back in the starting lineup come opening night. And he’s busting out the infamous headband as well.</p><p>In case you forgot, Headband Klay first made an appearance back in 2018 when Thompson sustained a cut on his head during a matchup against the Chicago Bulls. The five-time All-Star ended up setting a new record of 14 tripled made during that game, which officially brought the legend of Headband Klay to life.</p><p>It looks like Thompson has every intention of bringing back that type of fire when he finally makes his much-awaited comeback on the basketball court. He’s certainly going to make up for lost time, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he comes firing on all cylinders right out the gate.</p><p>We’re all now just counting the days before Klay Thompson finally returns. I can’t wait.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

‘Headband’ Klay Thompson returns to Warriors lineup

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image_2021-05-13_220717.png"></figure><h1>One bold move Celtics must make to become title contenders again after Jaylen Brown injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-13T07:15:30-07:00">May 13th, 7:15am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-13T09:19:33-07:00">May 13th, 9:19am</time><address><a href="https://medium.com/@rpsalao">R.P. Salao</a>Check out my best stuff on Medium - medium.com/@rpsalao.I also post quality NBA YouTube content - tinyurl.com/SalaoYouTube.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>This has been the absolute season from hell for the Boston Celtics. They’ve been dealt with a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/sports/nba/boston-celtics/injuries">myriad of injuries</a> and health complications all throughout the season, both COVID-19 related or otherwise.</p><p>Kemba Walker started off the year on the shelf, missing the team’s first 11 games. Walker would end up missing 27 total out of the team’s 70 games played. Marcus Smart has missed 22 games for the team as well.</p><p>Trade deadline addition Evan Fournier just started finding his shot with Boston when he got hit with COVID-19. In his words, it felt quite literal, as the Frenchman admitted to feeling concussed by the illness thereafter:</p><blockquote>“I’ve been feeling really weird, to be honest,” the Celtics addition said, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/celtics/2021/05/03/celtics-evan-fournier-playing-concussion-like-symptoms-after-covid/4926541001/" rel="nofollow noopener">via USA Today</a>. “My plan was to stop talking about it so it might help me, but the thing is it’s like I have a concussion. Right now, it’s actually doing a little bit better, but at first, the bright lights were bothering my eyes and my vision was blurry.</blockquote><p>But at the end of the day, the team is built around its two cornerstones: All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The Celtics actually started off the season hot, posting seven wins in their first 10 contests with both Tatum and Brown absolutely rolling.</p><p>When Jayson Tatum fell ill with COVID-19, things took a turn for the worse, with the Celtics never really recovering, and apparently <a href="https://nba.nbcsports.com/2021/02/17/jayson-tatum-still-dealing-with-covid-19-impacts-i-think-it-messes-with-your-breathing/">neither did he.</a> Despite a couple of minor win streaks that felt like they might be figuring it out (Fact check: they didn’t), the Celtics hovered around mediocrity throughout the rest of the season. They stand at 35-35 through 70 games, a fitting ode to a season where they didn’t really achieve much.</p><p>While the Celtics’ Tatum and Brown are surefire stars for years to come, franchise cornerstone stability has been fleeting in the NBA, as we’ve seen in the last few offseasons. That’s why the Celtics cannot rest on their laurels, trying to run it back with the same roster iterations over and over until Tatum and Brown get fed up. The Celtics must trade Marcus Smart.</p><h2>Trade Marcus Smart: The Huge Decline</h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/image_2021-03-22_110242.png"></figure><p>While there are many factors that contributed to the Celtics’ lost season, arguably the biggest has been Marcus Smart. Celtics fans have had the longest love-hate relationship with Smart for years. He’s come up with some of the gutsiest plays throughout the team’s recent string of NBA playoff successes. He’s served as defensive agitator against opposing stars big or small and vocal leader when the team needs some fire to rally around.</p><p>Smart has been an integral part of the Celtics’ identity for years. But the difference this year is that Marcus Smart is gone.</p><p>Marcus Smart has always been an <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/s/smartma01.html">inefficient scorer.</a> He’s only shot above 40% from the field once in his entire seven-year NBA career. After improving his outside shot during the previous two seasons, he’s fallen back to an ugly 33% on nearly five attempts per contest.</p><p>But the reason Smart has been worth playing was always because of his defense and intangibles. During the past three seasons, the Celtics hung their hat on the defensive end. Last year, they ranked fourth in defensive rating in the entire NBA. The previous two years, the Celtics sixth and second in the NBA on the defensive side of the floor.</p><p>Smart has always led the charge in that department. But his defense has <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/player/203935/advanced/?Season=2020-21&amp;SeasonType=Regular%20Season">seemingly fallen off a cliff.</a></p><p>His individual defensive rating numbers during those three years prior were absolutely stellar. His personal impact rated to 99.6 in 2018, 106.7 in 2019, and 104.6 in 2020. All those marks were well below the average line of scoring for opposing teams those seasons.</p><p>But this year, the Celtics have gone from a top 6 defense to a below-average one ranking at 18th in the NBA. Marcus Smart’s pedestrian defensive effort this season is a big reason why, with a defensive rating of just 111.3 which is basically league average.</p><p>So if Smart is playing as just a league-average defender, there’s absolutely no reason to put up with his crazy inefficient production on offense. This especially because both Tatum and Brown have no problem putting the ball in the basket.</p><p>While some would argue that Kemba Walker has been equally underwhelming this season, it would be virtually impossible to trade Walker <a href="https://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/BOS.html">given his contract.</a> Marcus Smart’s deal is expiring after next season and is relatively palatable at under $15 million for a team willing to gamble on the veteran.</p><h2>How trading Smart impacts Celtics</h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/Bradley-Beal-is-NBA_s-most-underrated-player-claims-Jayson-Tatum.jpg"></figure><p>Yes, you could hope his defense improves again next season. But with only just so few shots to contend with star players nowadays, it would serve Danny Ainge and the Celtics’ best interest to move Marcus Smart while he still has trade value.</p><p>But at the same time, getting rid of smart also allows their stars to learn how to play on the ball more.</p><p>Think of Jayson Tatum’s childhood friend and mentor Bradley Beal. The Washington Wizards star used to be known as the shooting guard playing off of ball-dominant John Wall. But with Wall being sidelined with injuries for two consecutive seasons, Beal had to learn how to be the alpha, and boy has that helped his game develop.</p><p>Bradley Beal has turned into a bona fide superstar. And while Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are already hovering around that level, with Tatum arguably already exceeding Beal depending on how bullish you are on him, the potential improvements they can make still ring true.</p><p>Beal’s assist numbers slowly crept up until his supernova season last year, averaging 30.5 points with a career-high 6.1 assists per game. While Tatum and Brown already generate 4.3 and 3.4 assists per game respectively, neither of them are considered elite playmakers for others just yet.</p><p>Marcus Smart actually leads the team in assists, often acting as a ball-dominant guard alongside the two star swingmen. But with his inability to space the floor well and just so-so passing ability, he’s definitely not the guy you need to unlock Tatum and Brown’s next gear.</p><p>At least with Kemba Walker, he shoots at a respectable rate from deep. If Tatum or Brown dish off for a Marcus Smart three instead of creating something themselves, the other team will live by that result.</p><p>Trading Marcus Smart could be addition by subtraction, and be the subtle change that impacts the Celtics in a big way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

One bold move Celtics must make to become title contenders again after Jaylen Brown injury

<!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>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 18px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px;    font-size: 16px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: #0000FF;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 16px;    text-decoration: none;}ul {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 16px;}ol {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    padding: 0px 0px 0px 15px;    font-size: 16px;    border-left: 2px solid black;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: #333333;    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 12px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;    background-color: #EFEFEF;}.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><header><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image_2021-05-13_093836.png"></figure><h1>3 Reasons Lakers Should Absolutely Embrace the Play-In Tournament</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2021-05-12T18:44:24-07:00">May 12th, 6:44pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2021-05-12T18:44:24-07:00">May 12th, 6:44pm</time><address><a>Nicole Ganglani</a></address><h3 class="op-kicker">Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>If people would’ve said at the start of the season that the Los Angeles Lakers were going to be in this year’s play-in tournament, they would’ve looked absolutely insane. The defending champions entered this season with the most stacked roster, at least on paper. However, their Achilles heel of the team has been injuries and COVID hence why the Lakers have dropped to seventh in the competitive Western Conference. </p><h2>Lakers Need To Buy Into the Play-In</h2><figure><img src="https://clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/image_2021-05-10_001258.png"></figure><p>That said, the Lakers now find themselves in the play-in tournament. Their team captain, LeBron James and several other players have made it clear that they don’t want to be in this situation but unfortunately, they have no choice. Head coach Frank Vogel said that there’s just too many risks that can happen in a solitary do-or-die game. </p><blockquote>“For me I’m unafraid of the play-in tournament with this team,” Vogel <a href="https://theathletic.com/2575142/2021/05/08/lakers-unafraid-of-play-in-after-loss-to-blazers-drops-them-to-seventh-in-west/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=bill%20oram">said.</a> “I feel like we can beat anybody, but we definitely want to finish in the top six. There’s just too many things that can happen in a one-game series: foul trouble, roll of an ankle, anything like that could pop up. So we definitely want to finish in the top six, it’s a high priority for us.”</blockquote><p>While a six day break would really do wonders for this team, the Lakers are likely headed to the play-in tournament since they don’t own the tie-breakers versus both the Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers. They don’t have control of their own destiny, so it’s best for them to start embracing the play-in madnesss. Here’s why the <b>play-in tournament could actually be a blessing in disguise</b> for them: </p><p> </p><p><b>The matchups are more advantageous </b></p><p>If the Lakers end up in the seventh seed, they will likely face the Golden State Warriors or the Memphis Grizzlies. The defending champions should be favored in both matchups. If the Lakers win this, they will then play the team in position of the second seed which is the Phoenix Suns—who the Lakers just defeated without James and Dennis Schroder. The Suns are one of the teams that the Lakers perfectly match up with since they don’t have a player that can stop Anthony Davis or even James, when he’s healthy and cooking. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">And AD puts the exclamation point on a <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LakersWin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">#LakersWin</a></p><p>(📺: <a href="https://twitter.com/SpectrumSN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@SpectrumSN</a>) <a href="https://t.co/TyrsYxWzwU" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/TyrsYxWzwU</a></p><p>— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers/status/1391616240720830469?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 10, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>If the Lakers continue to fight for the sixth seed and miraculously steal it, it then chances are they’ll be going up against the Los Angeles Clippers—who believe it or not, have been better than their 2019-20 selves. While the Lakers have made it clear that they don’t fear any team, it would still be best for James and company to ramp up before facing their biggest threat in the Western Conference right away.</p><blockquote>“This is the predicament that we’re in right now,” Kyle Kuzma <a href="https://theathletic.com/2575142/2021/05/08/lakers-unafraid-of-play-in-after-loss-to-blazers-drops-them-to-seventh-in-west/?article_source=search&amp;search_query=bill%20oram">said.</a> “Whether we’re still trying to fight for that sixth or be in the play-in, we just got to keep in mind it’s all about trying to get healthy and compete right now, try to win games every time we’re out there. (If) the chips fall where they fall and we’re in the play-in, we have to play a No. 1 or 2 seed, then we’ll see how it goes,” added Kuzma.</blockquote><p><b>LeBron must find his rhythm </b></p><p>James, who was expected to be in a playing jersey versus both the Knicks and Rockets, is going to sit out once again. This was disappointing given that Lakers fans are worried about his ramp up and if there’s enough time for him to get into playoff form. The play-in tournament will give James more reps with the team and hopefully a chance to build chemistry with center Andre Drummond. </p><p><b>A storybook ending</b></p><p>Davis has mentioned this a couple of times—the challenges the team are going through now will make up for a great ending. That’s championship confidence right there from the Brow. Sadly, history isn’t on the side of the defending champions this time. In the modern era of basketball, no repeat champion’s two best players have missed more time than James and Davis this season (56). No championship team has also won the title as the sixth seed or lower. </p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Every game for us is crucial. Guys came out and left it all on the floor."<a href="https://twitter.com/AntDavis23?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@AntDavis23</a> joined the TNT Tuesday crew after the <a href="https://twitter.com/Lakers?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">@Lakers</a>' big win. <a href="https://t.co/cysMvrZS1l" target="_blank">pic.twitter.com/cysMvrZS1l</a></p><p>— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1392349834745503744?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank">May 12, 2021</a></p></blockquote><p></p></figure><p>This Lakers team is in it for an uphill battle. They successfully finished last season on top despite the challenges they had to endure in the NBA bubble. Can they do it again this year? Probably yes, if they’re healthy and ready to go. It’s clear that the defending champions are confident and believe that they’re the best team in the league. As Alex Caruso said, champions don’t make excuses. </p><blockquote>Caruso: “You got every excuse in the world for us this year, we’ve had injuries, we’ve had COVID sit-outs, we’ve had the short offseason. We’ve been given every excuse, or every opportunity to make an excuse, but champions don’t make excuses, champions find a way to get it done.”</blockquote><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

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