Month: July 2025

— Tuesday was a good night for baseball; the All-Star Game was interesting, the new ball/strike challenge system was a success and the game had an interesting, albeit weird ending. 

Home Run Derby is a good way to decide the outcome of an exhibition game, especially since one of the teams was out of pitchers. What was weird is that apparently, the players didn’t know the Home Run Derby was going to happen, until like 10 minutes before it happened.

Would’ve been better TV if Aaron Judge/Shohei Ohtani had been in the Home Run Derby, but they were long gone by then. Tough loss if you bet on the American League, losing a bet that way, when no one even knew Home Run Derby was an option.

In the future, I’d kind of want the option to take a push on the bet if the game goes to extra innings. With live betting so prevalent, that should be a choice.

— Dan Iassogna was the home plate umpire for the All-Star Game; does that mean he has graded out the best out of all the umpires this season?

— Corbin Carroll is the first Diamondback to homer in an All-Star Game; Brett Rooker is the first A’s player since Terry Steinbach in 1988 to homer in an All-Star Game.

— In the history of the Chicago Cubs, three players have hit three home runs in a game against the St Louis Cardinals:
1939- Hank Leiber
2003- Moises Alou
2025- Michael Busch

I mention this because all three of those games happened on the 4th of July.

— If you’re looking for a hitter to add in your fantasy baseball league, Giancarlo Stanton has four homers, 10 RBI in his last nine games, with six runs scored, two walks. He is rostered in only 47% of CBS fantasy leagues.

— Major League home run leaders, over the last 365 days:
59- Aaron Judge
57- Shohei Ohtani
52- Cal Raleigh
51- Eugenio Suarez
49- Kyle Schwarber

Schwarber is the first Phillies player since Johnny Callison in 1964 to be MVP of an All-Star Game.

— Famous birthdays, July 17th:
Don Kessinger, 83
David Hasselhoff, 73
Scott Norwood, 65
Bobby Thigpen, 62
Frank Stams, 60

Calbert Cheaney, 54
Kevin Curtis, 47
Mason Rudolph, 30
OG Anunoby, 28
Noah Cameron, 25

Today would’ve been the great actor Donald Sutherland’s 90th birthday.

— It takes ten fouls to foul out of an NBA Summer League game, which is a lot, but it has happened this year.

Memphis Grizzlies rookie Jahmai Mashack, who played college ball at Tennessee, played 23:00 in a summer league game this week, scoring 5 points, dishing out 9 assists, grabbing 4 rebounds, all while he committed 10 fouls. It was a very busy 23 minutes for him. 

It was also a productive 23:00-; Memphis was +6 in the 23:00 that Mashack played.

— Grizzlies head coach Tuomas Iisalo is also coaching their summer league team, which is very unusual, but Iisalo only coached nine games with Memphis last year, so he is getting his footing as an NBA head coach.

— Dallas Mavericks rookie Joan Beringer has looked pretty good in summer league, but he’s only played basketball for four years, starting when he was 14 years old and grew out of his soccer cleats while growing up in France.

— Mavericks shut down rookie Cooper Flagg after his second summer league game, after h scored 31 points in that game, after he shot 5-for-21 in his debut. Not really sure why they shut him down; he could use the experience, but maybe they just used his 31-point game to try and promote their new star get fans to buy season tickets

— Wednesday, Bulls beat Milwaukee 102-96 in a Summer League game. 

Chicago’s coach was Billy Donovan III, whose father is the Bulls’ head coach. 

Milwaukee’s coach was Spencer Rivers, whose father is the Bucks’ head coach.

— Former Marquette/Indiana coach Tom Crean is great as an analyst on TV; has been fun listening to him on summer league games, Sean Farnham, Isiah Thomas have been good too; they just talk about basketball, with a minimum of nonsense.

— It has been hot around here the last couple weeks; there is a convenience store near my house that makes great milkshakes, so I go there a few times a week. Was in there Tuesday and there is a guy in there wearing a Willie Stargell Pirates’ number 8 jersey.

There is no way this guy was alive when Stargell was playing (he retired in 1982) but it was pretty cool to see anyone wearing a Pirates’ jersey these days.

— I love game shows; was glad to see that ABC is bringing Match Game back, with Martin Short as the new host.

— Notes for the Cleveland Browns:
Kevin Stefanski is 40-44 in four years with the Browns, 3-14 last year.

Browns has only 12 takeaways last year, were minus-22 in turnovers.
Browns gave up 66 sacks last year, were minus-25 in sacks. 

Former college QB Tommy Rees is the new OC; he was with Cleveland last year, was with Nick Saban at Alabama before that.

Last year, Browns were 3-4 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Cleveland was 0-10 in games decided by more than 8 points.

Browns are 7-13 ATS in last 20 games as an underdog.
Cleveland is 4-13 ATS in its last 17 road games.

Under is 11-5 in their last sixteen home games.

This year, Browns are #19 in NFL in $$$ spent on offensive players.
This year, Browns are #6 in NFL in $$$ spent on defensive players, #1 on CB’s.

— It is July 17th, NFL training camps will all be open soon, and the Saints/Browns don’t seem to know who their starting quarterback is going to be. Both teams have rookie QB’s who figure to take over at some point, but when? It is a difficult decision.

— Only two of 32 second round draft picks have signed their contract; Cincinnati is the only team that hasn’t signed its first round pick yet. 

AL teams’ records, by starting pitcher:
(thru All-Star break)

— Orioles (43-52)
Eflin 6-6
Morton 8-7 (7-1 last eight; under 8-2 last 10)
Kremer 9-9 (under 11-3 last 14)
Sugano 11-7 (under 12-3 last 15)
Povich 4-8
Young 1-5 (over 4-2)
Gibson 0-4 (over 3-1)
Rogers 4-2
McDermott 0-1
Akin 0-3 (opener)
Blewett 1-0 (opener)

— Red Sox (53-45)
Crochet 13-7 (under 14-6)
Houck 2-7 (over 5-1 last six)
Buehler 9-7 
Pitts 2-6 (under 6-2)
Newcomb 2-3 (over 4-1)
Dobbins 8-3
Bello 8-7 
Giolito 9-4 (over 4-0 last four)
Bernadino 0-1 (opener)

— White Sox (32-65)
Burke 7-10 
Cannon 4-9 (won last 3; over 7-2 last nine)
Smith 4-14 (0-5 last five)
Martin 3-10
Houser 6-3 (4-0 last four; under 9-0)
Wilson 3-2 (over 4-1)
Civale 0-6 (under 4-1-1)
Gilbert 1-2 (opener)
Eisert 1-2 (opener)
Shuster 0-2 (opener)
Vasil 0-3 (opener)
Taylor 0-1 (opener)
Leasure 0-1 (opener)
Perez 2-2

— Guardians (46-49)
Lively 7-2 (under 6-2 last eight)
Williams 9-10 (1-6 last 7; over 12-7)
Bibee 9-10
Ortiz 6-10 (under 9-3 last 12)
Allen 8-9 (under 6-2 last  eight)
Cecconi 5-5 (under 8-2)
Cantillo 2-1
Nikhazy 0-1
Allard 1-0

— Tigers (59-38)
Skubal 13-5  (over 4-1 last five)
Flaherty 6-13 
Olson 6-5
Jobe 9-1
Mize 11-5 (over 9-2 last 11)
Montero 6-1 (under 6-1)
Gipson-Long 1-1
Enns 1-1
Holton 2-3 (opener)
Hurter 2-2 (opener)
Guenther 0-1 (opener)
Brieske 0-1 (opener)

— Astros (56-40)
Valdez 14-5 (under 7-4 last 11)
Brown 13-6 
Arrighetti 1-1
Blanco 5-4 (under 5-1 last six)
Wesneski 2-4 (under 5-1)
Gusto 6-6
McCullers 5-4
Gordon 7-3 (under 7-3)
Walter 2-5
Blubaugh 0-1
Alexander 1-0

— Royals (47-50)
Ragans 5-5 (over 5-1 last six)
Lugo 9-8 (under 5-1 last six)
Bubic 10-8 (under 11-4 last 15)
Lorenzen 10-8 
Wacha 8-11 (1-6 last seven)
Cameron 4-8 (under 9-3)
Lynch 1-1 (opener)
Zerpa 0-1 (opener)

— Famous birthdays, July 16th:
Ron Yary, 79
Ron Brewer, 70
Gary Anderson, 66

Terry Pendleton, 65
Phoebe Cates, 62
Charles Smith, 60

Will Ferrell, 58
Barry Sanders, 57
Aaron Glenn, 53

— Angels (47-49)
Kikuchi 10-10 (over 5-2 last 7)
Soriano 8-12 
TAnderson 12-7 (under 4-1 last five)
Hendricks 9-9 (over 6-2 last eight)
Kochanowicz 8-11

— Twins (47-49)
Lopez 7-4 
Ryan 9-9
Ober 8-9 (over 7-1-1 last nine)
Paddack 5-14
Woods-Richardson 8-6 (under 5-1 last six) 
Matthews 3-1
Festa 5-4 (under 4-1 last five)
Topa 0-1 (opener)
Sands 2-0 )opener)
Coulombe 0-1 (opener)

— New York (53-43)
Rodon 10-10 (over 3-0 last 3)
Fried 14-6
Warren 11-9 (under 5-2 last 7) 
Carrasco 2-4 (under 4-2)
Schmidt 7-7 (under 7-2 last nine) 
Stroman 4-2 (over 6-0)
Yarbrough 4-4
Schimmer 1-0
Winans 0-1

— A’s (41-57)
Severino 5-15 (over 10-3 last 13)
Springs 10-8 (under 5-1 last six)
Bido 4-5 (over 4-1 last five)
Sears 10-9 
Lopez 6-4 (under 6-1 last seven)
Spence 2-5
Hoglund 2-4 
Ginn 2-2 (under 3-1)
Estes 0-2
Sterner 0-1 (opener)
Holman 0-2 (opener)

— Mariners (51-45)
Gilbert 9-3 (over 6-2 last 8)
Castillo 11-8 (over 5-2 last seven)
Miller 4-6 (over 6-0 last six)
Woo 10-8
Kirby 6-4
Hancock 7-8 (over 4-1 last five)
Evans 4-5 (over 7-2)
JFCastillo 1-1 (opener)
Legumina 0-1 (opener)

— Rays (50-47)
Pepiot 8-12 (under 6-3 last nine)
Littell 10-9
Bradley 6-7 
Rasmussen 7-6 (under 11-2)
Baz 12-7 (under 4-0 last four)
Boyle 1-0

— Rangers (48-49)
Eovaldi 9-7 (under 12-4)
Leiter 5-11 
Mahle 7-7 (under 12-2)
deGrom 12-7 (over 5-1 last six) 
Rocker 6-5 (under 6-2 last 8)
Corbin 7-10 (over 5-1 last six)
Armstrong 1-1
Latz 2-0

— Blue Jays (55-41)
Berrios 12-8 
Gausman 11-8
Bassitt 12-7 (over 7-1-1 last nine)
Francis 4-10 (over 7-2 last nine)
Lucas 2-2
Scherzer 3-2 (over 4-1)
Lauer 6-2 (under 6-2)
Urena 1-1
Schultz 2-0 (opener)
Rodriguez 1-0 (opener)
Fisher 1-0 (opener)
Turnbull 0-1 (opener)

Teams’ records by starting pitcher:
(thru All-Star break)

Diamondbacks (47-50)
Gallen 9-11 (over 8-1 last nine)
Kelly 10-10 (1-4 last five home starts)
Burnes 6-5 (under 5-1 last six)
Pfaadt 10-9 (over 9-2 last 11)
Rodriguez 6-10 (over 10-3 last 13)
Nelson 6-4 (under 7-3)
DeSclafani 0-1

— Braves (42-53)
Sale 8-7 (under 8-3 last eleven)
Schwellenbach 12-5 (over 9-4 last 13)
Smith-Shawver 5-4 (under 7-2)
Holmes 7-12 (under 10-4 last 14)
Elder 6-9 (under 9-3 last 12)
Strider 3-8 (under 9-2)
Daniel 0-1
Lopez 0-1
Fuentes 1-3 (over 3-1)
Bummer 1-1 (opener)
Blewett 0-1

— Cubs (57-39)
Imanaga 8-4 (under 9-3)
Steele 3-1 (over 4-0)
Taillon 8-9
Boyd 11-8 (won last four; under 7-2 last nine)
Brown 7-7 (over 11-3)
Rea 12-4 (over 3-1 last four)
Horton 7-4 (under 6-3 last nine)
Flexen 0-1
Pomeranz 2-1 (opener)
Keller 1-0 (opener)

— Reds (50-47)
Greene 6-5 (under 8-2 last ten)
Lodolo 10-9 (under 6-1 last seven)
Abbott 12-4 (over 4-1 last five)
Martinez 7-12 (over 7-2 last nine)
Singer 10-9 (under 12-3 last 15)
Burns 1-3 (under 3-1)
Miley 2-0 (over 2-0)
Petty 0-2
Suter 2-1 (opener)
Spiers 0-2

— Rockies (22-74)
Freeland 3-14 (over 6-2 last 8)
Senzatela 5-13 (under 3-1 last four)
Marquez 6-13
Dollander 4-11 (under 8-1 last nine) 
Palmquist 1-6 (under 5-2)
Gomber 1-5 (under 3-1 last four)
Blalock 0-4
Feltner 1-5 (under 4-0 last four)
Gordon 1-2
Rolison 0-1 (opener)

— Dodgers (58-39)
Yamamoto 11-8 (under 4-1 last five)
Kershaw 7-3 (under 3-0 last three)
May 9-8 
Ohtani 3-2 (opener)
Snell 2-0 (over 2-0)
Glasnow 3-3 (under 3-1 last four)
Sheehan 1-1
Sasaki 6-2 (over 6-2)
Knack 5-2 (over 5-2)
Gonsolin 3-4
Wrobleski 0-2
Miller 1-0
Casparius 1-2 (opener)
Dreyer 4-1 (opener)
Sauer 1-0 (opener)
Trivino 1-1 (opener)

— Marlins (44-51)
Alcantara 7-11 (over 3-0 last three)
Quantrill 10-8 (under 10-2 last 1)
EPerez 5-2 (3-0, 0.50 last three)
Cabrera 8-8 (under 11-5)
Junk 4-1 (under 4-1)
Weathers 2-3
Mazur 0-1
Bellozo 1-4
Meyer 5-7 (over 7-1 last eight)
Gillispie 1-5 (over 5-1)
Gibson 1-0 (opener)
Veneziano 0-1 (opener)

— Brewers (56-40)
Peralta 13-7 (won last six; over 5-0 last five)
Woodruff 2-0
Patrick 5-13 (under 13-5)
Quintana 8-3 (under 9-2)
Priester 6-6 (under 8-4)
Misioroski 4-1
Myers 2-3
Rodriguez 0-2 (over 2-0)
Alexander 2-2 (over 3-1)
Henderson 3-1 (over 3-1)
Hall 3-0
Zastryzny 1-0 (opener)
Civale 3-2
Cortes 1-1

Famous birthdays, July 15th:
Billy Truax, 82
Jesse Ventura, 74
John Stallworth, 73
Lolita Davidovich, 64

Brigitte Nielsen, 62
Carnell Lake, 58
Khalid Reeves, 53
Damian Lillard, 35

Tobias Harris, 33
Masataka Yoshida, 32
Ramon Laureano, 31
Landon Knack, 28

— Mets (55-42)
Holmes 12-7 (over 3-1 last four)
Megill 6-8 (over 9-2 last 11)
Senga 10-4 (under 12-2)
Peterson 10-8 (home team 17-1)
Montas 2-2 (over 3-1)
Canning 12-4 (over 5-2 last seven)
Blackburn 1-3 (under 3-1)
Tidwell 0-2
Brazoban 1-2 (opener)
Devenski 0-1 (opener)
Haberman 1-0 
Waddell 0-1 (opener)

— Phillies (55-41)
Wheeler 13-6 (under 3-1 last four)
Luzardo 11-8 (over 6-2 last eight)
Suarez 8-5 (under 10-3)
Sanchez 14-5 (under 6-0 last six)
Walker 4-5 (under 4-1 last five)
Nola 3-6 (under 6-3)
Abel 3-3
Ross 0-1 (opener)
Banks 1-0 (opener)

— Pirates (39-58)
Skenes 9-11 (under 12-4 last 16)
Keller 6-16 (2-0, 2.11 last four; under 10-3 last 13)
Falter 10-9
Heaney 6-12 (over 3-1 last four) 
Burrows 3-5 (over 3-1 last four)
Mlodzinski 3-6 (under 4-1 last five)
Harrington 0-1
Ashcraft 1-0

— Cardinals (51-46)
Gray 15-4 (under 7-2 last nine)
Fedde 5-14 (2-9 last 11; under 5-2 last seven)
Mikolas 9-9 (over 6-2 last 8)
Liberatore 9-9 (over 7-2 last nine)
Pallante 9-9
Matz 2-0
McGreevy 2-1 (over 3-0)

— Padres (52-44)
Cease 9-10 (0-3, 7.88 last three)
Vasquez 12-7 (under 12-7)
Pivetta 12-7 (2-0, 0.71 last four)
Darvish 1-1
Bergert 5-1 (under 5-1)
Hart 3-3 (over 4-2)
Kolek 4-8 (under 5-2 last seven)
Waldron 0-1
Reynolds 0-1
King 5-5 (1-5 last six) (over 3-0-1 last four)
Morgan 1-0 (opener)

— Giants (52-45)
Ray 15-5 (under 12-4 last 16)
Webb 11-9 (under 6-2 last eight)
Verlander 4-11 (2-9 last eleven)
Roupp 11-8 (under 9-2 last eleven)
Birdsong 4-5 (over 5-1 last six)
Harrison 3-1 (under 3-1)
Hjelle 0-1 (opener)
Hicks 4-5 (over 7-2)

— Nationals (38-58)
Gore 8-11
Irvin 10-10 (over 5-1 last six)
Parker 9-10 (over 5-1 last six)
Williams 6-11 (under 4-1 last five)
Soroka 4-9 (over 5-0 last five)
Okasawaga 0-2
Lord 2-4

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Mets, Padres

Trends for major league teams
(thru All-Star break)

— Arizona (47-50)
Arizona is 4-8 in its last 12 games.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Arizona hasn’t scored in first inning in its last nine games.
Arizona is 8-19 in last 27 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (42-53)
Braves is 5-12 in its last 17 games.
Atlanta is 9.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot.
Atlanta is 24-22 at home, 18-31 on the road.
Under is 25-11 in their last 36 home games.

— Cubs (57-39)
Chicago is 11-6 in its last 17 games.
Cubs lead NL Central by a game over Milwaukee.
Over is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
Cubs are 44-24 vs righty starters, 13-15 vs lefties.

— Reds (50-47)
Cincinnati is 4-1 in its last five games.
Terry Francona won his 2,000th game as a manager Sunday,
Reds are 37-30 vs righty starters, 13-17 vs lefties.
Under is 7-2 in their last nine games.

— Rockies (22-74)
Colorado is 5-16 in its last 21 games.
Under is 13-7 in Rockies’ last 20 games.
Rockies are 3-23 vs lefty starters, 19-51 vs righties. 
Colorado is 6-3 in last nine games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Dodgers (58-39)
Dodgers lost seven of their last nine games.
LA leads San Diego by 5.5 games in NL West.
Dodgers are 42-26 vs righty starters, 16-13 vs lefties.
Under is 12-5 in their last 17 games.

— Marlins (44-51)                                                                       )
Marlins are 21-13 in their last 34 games.
Miami is 20-27 at home, 24-24 on the road.
Under is 16-3 in Marlins’ last 19 home games.
Over is 8-4 in Marlins’ last 12 road games.

— Brewers (50-40)
Brewers won their last seven games, scoring 40 runs.
Milwaukee is 33-17 at home, 23-23 on the road.
Over is 7-0 in their last seven series openers.
Milwaukee would be the #1 NL Wild Card team right now.

— Mets (55-42)
Mets are 7-4 in their last eleven games.
Mets are 33-14 at home, 22-28 on the road.
Over is 19-9 in their last 28 games.
Mets are #2 Wild Card team right now, trail Philly by half-game in NL East.

— Phillies (55-41)
Phillies are 4-8 in their last 12 road games.
Phillies are 44-25 vs righty starters, 11-16 vs lefties.
Under is 14-5 in their last nineteen games.
Phillies are 11-4 in home series openers.

— Pirates (39-58)
Pirates had a 1-8 road trip the last three series.
Pittsburgh is 26-21 at home, 13-37 on the road.
Under is 10-2 in their last 12 games.
Pirates are 10-5 in last 15 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (51-46)
St Louis lis 5-8 in its last 13 games.
Cardinals are 11-5 in home series openers.
St Louis is 29-20 at home, 22-26 on the road.
Over is 8-1 in their last nine games.

— Padres (52-44)
Padres are 8-8 in their last 16 games (starting pitchers have one win).
San Diego is 2-8 in its last ten series openers.
Under is 16-8 in their last 24 games.
San Diego leads Giants by half-game for the last Wild Card slot.

— Giants (52-45)
Giants ware 7-4 in their last 11 games.
Giants are 42-29 vs righty pitchers, 10-16 vs lefties.
Under is 6-2 in their last eight games.
SF is 21-10 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (37-53)
Nationals are 1-5 since they fired their general manager/manager.
Washington is 3-12 in its last fifteen home games.
Over is 18-3 in their last 21 games.
Washington is 17-7 last 24 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Notes for the Cincinnati Bengals:
Bengals were 9-8 LY, 4-7 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Bengals were 1-3 in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

Cincinnati is 22-14 ATS in last 36 games as a favorite.
Bengals are 17-9 ATS on the road.

Last two years, over is 21-13 in Bengal games.

Bengals are #3 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #1 on WR’s, #26 on OL.
Bengals are #25 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #26 on DL

— Famous birthdays, July 14th:
Ken Willard, 82
Steve Stone, 78
Ken Burrough, 73
Robin Ventura, 58
Tim Hudson, 50

Erick Dampier, 50
Darrelle Revis, 40
Carson Kelly, 31
Lucas Giolito, 31
Alaric Jackson, 27

— Orioles (43-52)
Baltimore is 8-5 in its last 13 games.
Orioles are 7-2 in their last nine series openers.
Orioles are 13-13 vs AL East foes, 30-39 vs everyone else.
Under is 26-14 in their last 40 games.

— Red Sox (53-45)
Red Sox won their last 10 games.
Boston is 12-19 in one-run games.
Over is 11-5 in their last sixteen games.
Red Sox are 16-9 in 25 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (32-65)
Chicago is 2-6 in its last eight games.
White Sox are 21-29 at home, 11-36 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 road games.
Chicago is 24-50 vs righty starters, 8-15 vs lefties.

— Cleveland (46-49)
Cleveland was 6-1 last week, after an 0-10 skid.
Guardians are 4.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Guardians are 37-30 vs righty starters, 9-19 vs lefties.
Under is 19-9 in their last 28 games.

— Detroit (59-38)
Detroit lost its last four games, giving up 42 runs.
Tigers are 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 11.5 games.
Detroit is 13-3 in home series openers.
Over is 8-4 in their last dozen games.

— Houston (56-40)
Astros are 1-5 in last six games, lead AL West by 5 games.
Astros are 33-19 at home, 23-21 on the road.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Astros are 18-11 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (47-50)
Royals won seven of their last 10 games.
Kansas City is 36-43 vs righty starters, 11-7 vs lefties.
Under is 11-3 in Royals’ last 14 home games.
Royals are 1-8 in last nine home series openers.

— Angels (47-49)
Angels are 5-7 in their last 12 games.
Halos are 13-5 in last 18 series openers.
Angels are 40-39 vs righty starters, 7-10 vs lefties.
Angels are 23-12 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (47-49)
Twins are 10-7 in their last 17 games.
Minnesota is 28-20 at home, 19-29 on the road.
Twins are four games out of the last playoff slot.
Under is 11-4 in their last fifteen games.

— New York (53-43)
New York is 11-18 in its last 29 games.
Over is 12-2 in their last 14 games.
Right now, New York is the #1 Wild Card in the AL.
New York is 42-32 vs righty starters, 11-11 vs lefties.

— A’s (41-57)
A’s are 8-6 in their last fourteen games.
Under is 8-4 in their last 12 home games.
A’s are 12-14 in one-run games, 6-3 in extra innings.
Last nine series, A’s are 6-0 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (51-45)
Mariners won their last three games, scoring 35 runs.
Seattle is 9-4 in its last thirteen home games.
Over is 18-4 in their last 22 road games.
Under is 12-5 in Mariners’ last seventeen home games.

— Tampa Bay (50-47)
Tampa Bay lost 11 of its last 14 games.
Rays are 28-25 at home, 22-22 on the road.
Tampa Bay is 1.5 games out of the last Wild Card slot.
Rays are 1-7 in last eight games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (48-49)
Rangers are 19-14 in their last 33 games.
Texas is 8-20 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 26-19 at home, 22-30 on road.
Over is 6-1 in their last seven games.

— Toronto (55-41)
Blue Jays won 11 of their last 14 games.
Blue Jays are 18-5 in their last 23 home games.
Over is 13-7 in their last 20 road games.
Toronto is 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Mets, Padres

— Brewers’ rookie P Jacob Misiorowski has started only five major league games; he is 4-1, 2.81 in those starts, a solid start to his career, but when he was named to the NL All-Star team this weekend, it ruffled some feathers, especially in Philadelphia.

First of all, in my opinion, five games doesn’t make you an All-Star, it just doesn’t.

Then when you consider that Cristopher Sanchez is 7-2, 2.59 in 18 starts, Ranger Suarez is 7-3, 1.94 in 13 starts, and you understand why people in Philadelphia are steamed.

— Sanchez has a $200,000 bonus in his contract for making the All-Star Game; the Phillies have apparently paid him $50,000 of that bonus, a solid gesture on their part.

— The ball/strike challenge system will be used at the All-Star Game Tuesday, as commissioner Rob Manfred continues to push the system to become activated for next season. It worked well during spring training, everyone seemed to approve of it.

— When the Bronx baseball team DFA’d DJ LeMahieu this week, they ate almost $22M that was left on his contract.

— Time flies: Red Sox SS Trevor Story, Mets OF Brandon Nimmo both played in their 1,000th career game this week. I remember trading for Story in our fantasy league when he was a rookie.

I was in Las Vegas and my team needed a shortstop; I was trying to trade for Story, who went on a heater that first week, hitting six home runs in his first four games. Every time he hit one I upped my offer via text and finally got him, but he was more expensive than I wanted him to be. He turned out to be really good for a few years.

— Detroit Tigers are doing really well, they’re 59-37, lead their division by 11.5 games, but a weird stat is that Detroit is only 6-12 when Jack Flaherty starts on the mound, and Flaherty is their #2 starting pitcher.

— Things have changed a lot over the years: Mets have already used 36 different pitchers this year, in 96 games; when the Mets won the World Series in 1969, they used 15 pitchers the entire regular season. 

— Earlier this week, Orioles P Brandon Young threw an immaculate inning, striking out all three batters in one inning, on nine pitches- that doesn’t happen very often.

Young is only the 5th Orioles’ pitcher ever to throw an immaculate inning.

When the inning ended, Orioles’ catcher Jacob Stallings threw the ball down to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn, who tossed it into the stands (as players often do) without realizing that it was an important baseball.

An 11-year old kid got the ball; couple innings later, an Orioles’ employee approached the kid and asked him if he would trade the baseball for one of Ryan O’Hearn’s bats; the bat was signed by O’Hearn, and the trade was made, and everyone was happy.

— Riddle me this: How is Juan Soto not an All-Star?

— Famous birthdays, July 13th:
Harrison Ford, 83
Danny Abramowicz, 80
Stu Lantz, 79
Cheech Marin, 79

David Thompson, 71
Bill Caudill, 69
Spud Webb, 62
Ken Jeong, 56

Yadier Molina, 43
DJ LeMahieu, 37
Ty France, 31
Cody Bellinger, 30

— Twins 12, Pirates 4
Byron Buxton hit for the cycle on his bobblehead day.
This was the first hit ever in the 16-year history of Target Field.
Pirates have lost eight games in a row.

— Astros 5, Rangers 4 (11)
Zack Short had the walk-off single for Houston.
Texas tied the game after trailing 3-1 in 8th inning.
Jose Altuve homered for the Astros.

— Padres 5, Phillies 4
Jackson Merill homered twice for San Diego.
Merrill hadn’t hit a home run since May 27th.
Five San Diego relievers combined to get the last 13 outs.

— A’s 4, Blue Jays 3
Brent Rooker hit a two-run homer for the A’s.
This was only the 2nd loss for Toronto in their last 13 games.
Mason Miller recorded his 18th save for the A’s.

— Brewers 6, Nationals 5
Milwaukee scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to walk it off.
Brandon Woodruff struck out 10 in 4.1 IP (81 PT), giving up two runs.
Washington is 1-4 since they fired their GM/manager.

— Red Sox 1, Rays 0
Garrett Crochet allowed only 3 hits in his 100-pitch complete game.
Red Sox have won nine games in a row.
Carlos Narvaez knocked in the game’s only run, with a 4th inning single.

— Braves 7, Cardinals 6
St Louis led 5-3 after seven innings.
Sean Murphy hit his 7th home run in his last 11 games.
Cardinals lost Erick Fedde’s last four starts, giving up 33 runs.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Red Sox, Mariners
NL: Mets, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Phillies, Padres

— NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander signed a new contract that will pay him $79M during the 2030-31 season; when a player makes $82M a year, which can’t be too far away, that means he will be earning $1M per game. A MILLION $$$$’s A GAME!!!!!

Thunder has signed its nucleus of Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren to contracts totaling $822M, which is a lot of cabbage.

By way of comparison, the Seattle SuperSonics, who were the Thunder before they moved to Oklahoma, the Sonics’ entire franchise sold for $350M in 2006.

— In case you’re wondering, the first athlete to earn $1M a year was Nolan Ryan, in 1979. 

— Phoenix Suns’ star Devin Booker signed a two-year, $145M extension thru the 2029-30 season.

If you have a young son who is athletic and might be kind of tall, get him a basketball, a hoop and send him outside to practice. A lot.

— NBA Summer League is going on for the next week in Las Vegas; guys competing very hard to become NBA players. You need to be great at one or two things to have a shot at making a roster. Shooting is marketable.

— Veteran pitcher Justin Verlander doesn’t have a win in 15 starts this year; until this year, he had never had fewer than three wins in any 15-game span in his entire career.

Three of Verlander’s starts this year have gone into extra innings.
In his other 12 starts, Giants scored a total of only 25 runs.

— Best records this year in one-run games:
Astros 18-8
Tigers 14-7
Angels 18-11
Padres 20-13
Cubs 14-8
Mariners 19-13

— Worst records this year in one-run games:
White Sox 8-21
Braves 12-23
Red Sox 11-19
Diamondbacks 11-19

— Famous birthdays, July 12th
Cheryl Ladd, 74
Mario Soto, 69
Howie Kendrick, 42
Patrick Beverley, 37

LeSean McCoy, 37
Kellen Moore, 36
Bailey Ober, 30
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 27

— Mets 8, Royals 3
Kansas City led 3-1 after the 7th inning.
Mark Vientos’ bases loaded double was a game-winner.
Lindor/Soto homered for the Mets in the ninth inning.

— Twins 2, Pirates 1
Trevor Larnach hit a two-run home run for Minnesota.
Pirates scored 2 or fewer runs in seven of Skenes’ last eight starts.
Pittsburgh has lost seven games in a row, scoring 10 runs.

— Red Sox 5, Rays 4
Ceddanne Rafaela hit a walk-off, two-run homer for Boston.
Red Sox have now won eight games in a row.
As of right now, AL East would have four teams in the playoffs.

— Rangers 7, Astros 3
Wyatt Langford had four hits, including a home run.
Astros have lost four games in a row.
Texas bullpen got 11 outs, didn’t give up any runs.

— Angels 6, Diamondbacks 5
Travis d’arnaud had a pinch-hit, walk-off single to win the game.
Game was 4-4 in the second inning.
Randal Grichuk homered twice for Arizona.

— Mariners 12, Tigers 3
Cal Raleigh homered twice; he has 38 taters this season.
Tarik Skubal lost for the first time in his last 17 starts.
Mariners scored seven runs in 9th inning to break open a close game. 

— Giants 8, Dodgers 7
Giants led 8-2 after five innings, held on for dear life.
Adames/Lee both drove in three runs for San Francisco.
Ohtani/Conforto homered for the Dodgers.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Red Sox
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Mets, SD/SF

Trends for major league teams
(thru Thursday’s games)

— Arizona (46-48)
Arizona is 3-8 in its last 11 home games.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Arizona is 8-18 in last 26 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (40-52)
Braves lost 11 of their last 14 games.
Atlanta is 24-22 at home, 16-30 on the road.
Under is 25-11 in their last 36 home games.

— Cubs (55-38)
Chicago is 6-3 in its last nine games.
Over is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
Cubs are 43-24 vs righty starters, 12-14 vs lefties.

— Reds (48-46)
Cincinnati is 6-8 in its last 14 games.
Reds are 11-5 in last sixteen series openers.
Reds are 36-29 vs righty starters, 12-17 vs lefties.
Under is 7-3 in their last ten home games.

— Rockies (21-72)
Colorado is 4-14 in its last eighteen games.
Over is 4-1 in Rockies’ last five games.
Rockies are 3-23 vs lefty starters, 18-49 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (56-38)
Dodgers lost their last six games, scoring total of ten runs.
Dodgers are 41-25 vs righty starters, 15-13 vs lefties.
Under is 10-4 in their last fourteen games.

— Marlins (42-50)                                                                       )
Marlins are 12-5 in their last 17 games.
Miami is 20-27 at home, 22-23 on the road.
Under is 17-3 in Marlins’ last 20 home games.
Over is 7-2 in Marlins’ last nine road games.

— Brewers (53-40)
Brewers won 18 of their last 24 games.
Milwaukee is 30-17 at home, 23-23 on the road.
Under is 22-11 in their last 33 home games.

— Mets (53-41)
Mets lost three of their last four games.
Mets are 33-14 at home, 20-27 on the road.
Over is 18-7 in their last 25 games.

— Phillies (54-39)
Phillies are 8-9 in their last seventeen games.
Phillies are 43-23 vs righty starters, 11-16 vs lefties.
Phillies are 11-4 in home series openers.

— Pirates (38-56)
Pirates lost their last six games, scoring nine runs.
Pittsburgh is 26-21 at home, 12-35 on the road.
Under is 8-1 in their last nine games.
Pirates are 9-5 in last 14 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (50-44)
St Louis lost six of its last nine games.
Cardinals are 11-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 28-18 at home, 22-26 on the road.

— Padres (50-43)
Padres are 13-16 in their last 29 games.
Under is 14-7 in their last 21 games.
San Diego starting pitchers have two wins/nine losses in last 26 road games.

— Giants (51-43)
Giants won six of their last eight games.
Giants are 41-27 vs righty pitchers, 10-16 vs lefties.
SF is 21-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (38-55)
Washington is 3-12 in its last fifteen home games.
Over is 15-3 in their last eighteen games.
Washington is 17-6 last 23 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Trends for the Chicago Bears
Bears’ new coach is Ben Johnson, former OC for the Lions
Chicago-Detroit play in Weeks 2 and 18.

Last three years, Bears are 15-36 SU.
Chicago was 5-12 LY, despite being +8 in turnovers.
Bears were 3-7 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Bears were 1-5 in games decided by 3 or fewer points.
Chicago gave up 68 sacks last year.

This year, Bears are #9 in $$$ spent on offense, #4 on defense.
They’re #4 in $$$ spent on offensive line this year (#31 LY)

Last three years, Bears haven’t been favored in any road games.
Last three years, Bears are 9-15 ATS as a road underdog. 

— Famous birthdays, July 11th:
Clem Haskins, 82
Bruce McGill, 75
Sela Ward, 69

Jeff Kemp, 66
Lisa Rinna, 62
Rod Strickland, 59

Andy Ashby, 58
Andre Johnson, 44
Joey Bosa, 30

— Orioles (42-50)
Baltimore is 7-3 in its last ten games.
Orioles are 13-13 vs AL East foes, 29-37 vs everyone else.
Over is 7-5 in their last 12 games.

— Red Sox (50-45)
Red Sox won nine of their last ten games.
Boston is 10-19 in one-run games.
Over is 10-3 in their last thirteen games.
Red Sox are 13-9 in 22 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (31-62)
Chicago is 9-10 in its last nineteen games.
White Sox are 20-26 at home, 11-36 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 road games.

— Cleveland (43-48)
Cleveland won its last three games, after an 0-10 skid.
Guardians are 34-29 vs righty starters, 9-19 vs lefties.
Under is 17-7 in their last 24 games.

— Detroit (59-35)
Detroit is 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 13 games.
Tigers are 8-3 in their last eleven games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Houston (55-38)
Astros lost their last three games, after an 11-2 run
Astros are 32-17 at home, 23-21 on the road.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Astros are 17-11 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (46-48)
Royals won six of their last seven games.
Kansas City is 35-41 vs righty starters, 11-7 vs lefties.
Under is 10-3 in Royals’ last 13 home games.

— Angels (45-48)
Angels are 5-8 in their last 13 games.
Halos are 7-2 in last nine road series openers.
Angels are 22-12 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (45-48)
Twins are 4-2 in their last six games.
Minnesota is 26-19 at home, 19-29 on the road.
Under is 8-2 in their last ten games.

— New York (52-41)
New York won its last three games, scoring 25 runs.
Over is 11-0 in their last eleven games.
New York is 41-32 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— A’s (39-56)
A’s are 6-5 in their last eleven games.
Under is 6-3 in their last nine home games.
Last eight series, A’s are 6-0 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (48-45)
Mariners are 2-6 in their last eight road games.
Over is 15-4 in their last nineteen road games.
Under is 12-5 in Mariners’ last seventeen home games.

— Tampa Bay (50-44)
Tampa Bay is 3-8 in its last 11 games.
Rays are 28-25 at home, 22-19 on the road.
Rays are 14-6 in last seven games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (46-48)
Rangers are 9-9 in their last 18 games.
Texas is 8-19 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 26-19 at home, 20-29 on road.
Texas scored in first inning in six of last eight games.

— Toronto (54-39)
Blue Jays won 10 of last 11 games, are 18-5 in their last 23 home games.
Over is 12-5 in their last 17 road games.
Toronto is 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Red Sox
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Brewers, Mets, Giants

Trends for NFC teams…….
Cardinals
Last three years, Arizona is 6-12 ATS in divisional games.
Last three years, Cardinals are 4-17 ATS in their last seven games.

Falcons
Last two years, Falcons are 12-22 ATS.
Atlanta is 7-2 ATS in its last nine games vs Carolina.
Last nine years, Falcons are 2-7 ATS in season openers.

Panthers
Last two years, Carolina was 4-12-1 ATS as a road underdog.
Last six years, Panthers are 1-5 ATS in season openers.

Bears
Last four years, Chicago is 13-21 ATS as a road underdog.
Bears are 2-10 ATS in last dozen games against Green Bay.

Cowboys
Last four years, Dallas is 17-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Last three years, Cowboys are 9-15 ATS as an underdog.

Lions
Last four years, Detroit is 17-6-1 ATS in divisional games.
Lions covered their last four season openers.
Detroit is 5-1-1 ATS in last seven games vs Green Bay.

Green Bay
Last four years, Packers are 6-11 ATS as a road favorite.
Last ten years, Green Bay is 9-1 ATS in its home opener.
Packers are 18-11-1 ATS in last 30 games as an underdog.

Rams
Rams are 7-1 ATS last eight games as a road favorite.
Rams are 5-8-1 ATS last 14 games as a home favorite.
Last two years, LA is 14-2 ATS in its last eight games of season.

Vikings
This year, Minnesota plays in Ireland in Week 4, then in England in Week 5
Vikings are 0-9 ATS in their last nine games vs Detroit.

Giants
Last two years, Giants are 12-18-2 ATS as an underdog.
Last eight years, Giants are 1-7 ATS in Week 1.
Last four years, Giants are 5-19-1 SU vs NFC East rivals. 

Saints
Last four years, New Orleans is 6-11 ATS as a home underdog.
Saints covered their last seven visits to Tampa Bay.

Eagles
Eagles are 1-6 ATS in their last seven visits to Dallas.
Last three years, Philly is 11-8-1 ATS vs NFC East rivals.

49ers
San Francisco is 5-2 ATS in last seven games vs Seattle.
49ers are 7-11 ATS in last 18 games as a home favorite.

Seahawks
Last four years, Seattle is 9-20-1 ATS as a favorite, 6-13 at home.
Seahawks are 18-1-1 ATS at home, if they lost their previous two games. 

Buccaneers
Bucs’ star LT Tristan Wirfs (knee) will miss first month of season.
Baker Mayfield is 17-29-2 ATS as a favorite.
Last two years, Bucs are 10-3 ATS as a road underdog.

Commanders
This year, Washington has four games vs teams coming off a bye week.
Last five years, Commanders are 1-4 ATS in their home opener.
Washington is 0-4 ATS in its last four visits to Dallas.

— Famous birthdays, July 10th:
Hal McRae, 80
Bob Bailor, 74
Andre Dawson, 71
Darryl Talley, 65

Roger Craig, 65
Sofia Vergara, 53
Jared Dudley, 40
Lawrence Butler, 25

— Angels 11, Rangers 8
Texas led this game 8-6 in 7th inning.
Mike Trout homered twice for the Halos.
Jorge Soler had the game-winning HR in 8th inning.

— Guardians 4, Astros 2
Cleveland went to Houston on 10-game losing skid, then swept this game series.
Jose Ramirez homered for the third game in a row.
Angel Martinez homered for the second game in a row.

— White Sox 2, Blue Jays 1
Loss ends Toronto’s 10-game winning streak.
Blue Jays were 1-9 with runners in scoring position.
White Sox are 20-26 at home, 11-36 on the road.

— Diamondbacks 8, Padres 2
Arizona hit four HR’s, including Geraldo Perdomo’s grand slam.
Brandon Pfaadt threw eight innings for first time in his MLB career.
San Diego is 5-7 in its last 12 games.

— Brewers 3, Dodgers 2 (10)
Milwaukee tied game with a run in the ninth inning.
Dodgers have now lost six games in a row.
Tyler Glasnow allowed an unearned run in 5 IP, in his first start since April.

— Royals 4, Pirates 3
Salvador Perez homered twice for the Royals.
Royals have won five of their last six games.
Pirates lost their last six games, outscored 25-9.

— Phillies 13, Giants 0
Bryce Harper homered, hit three doubles.
Jesus Luzardo allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Justin Verlander remains winless in 15 starts this season.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets,  Brewers, Giants

Trends for AFC teams…….
Ravens
Last two years, they’re 24-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Ravens are 11-4-1 ATS in last sixteen games as an underdog.

Bills
Road team is 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Miami.
Last five years, Bills are 35-10 ATS in their last nine games of the season.

Bengals
Bengals are 14-6 ATS in last 20 games as a road favorite.
Bengals are 14-5 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.

Browns
Cleveland is 7-12 ATS in last 19 games as a road underdog.
Last four years, Browns are 2-7 ATS as a road favorite.

Broncos
Denver covered its last eight games as a favorite.
Last four years, Broncos are 5-11 ATS in their last four games of the season.

Texans
Last five years, Houston is 6-13-1 ATS in Weeks 1-4.
Last four years, Texans are 4-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Colts
Since 2008, Colts are 2-15 ATS in Week 1
Last nine years, over is 8-1 in their Week 1 game.

Jaguars
Jaguars are 9-2 ATS in their last 11 games against the Colts.
Last four years, Jacksonville is 3-8 ATS as a home favorite.

Chiefs
Chiefs are 0-4 ATS in their last four visits to Denver.
Kansas City is 8-2 ATS in last 10 games as a road underdog.
Last eight years, Chiefs are 6-2 ATS in Week 1.

Raiders
Last four years, Las Vegas is 1-7 ATS as a road favorite.
Raiders are 6-2 ATS in their last eight games vs Denver.

Chargers
Last two years, Chargers were 9-4 ATS as road favorites.
Chargers covered four of their last five visits to Arrowhead.

Dolphins
Miami covered its last nine games against New England.
Last four years, Dolphins are 16-8-1 ATS vs AFC East rivals.

Patriots
Last two years, Patriots are 4-10-2 ATS at home.
Last three years, New England is 13-22-1 ATS as an underdog.

Jets
Last three years, Jets were 7-12-1 ATS as a favorite.
Last four years, Jets were 8-15 ATS as a road underdog.

Steelers
Pittsburgh is 13-8 ATS in its last 21 games as a favorite.
Steelers are 15-10 ATS in their last 22 divisional games.

Titans
Last three years, Titans were 4-12 ATS as a road underdog.
Last nine years, Tennessee is 2-7 ATS in its home opener.

— Famous birthdays, July 9th:
 Mike Riordan, 80
George Stone, 79
Jimmy Smits, 70
Willie Wilson, 70

Tom Hanks, 69
Jim Paxson, 68
Kelly McGillis, 68
Tom Ramsey, 64

Trent Green, 55
Damon Huard, 52
Enrique Murciano, 52
Miguel Montero, 42

— Giants 4, Phillies 3
Patrick Bailey hit a walk-off, 3-run inside-the-park home run to win the game.
Giants have won six of their last seven games.
Kyle Schwarber hit his 28th home run for the Phillies.

— Guardians 10, Astros 6
Angel Martinez hit a grand slam in the 10th inning.
Cleveland led 6-1 in the fifth inning.
Jose Altuve drove in four runs for the Astros.

— A’s 10, Braves 1
Lawrence Butler led off the bottom of the 1st with an inside-the-park homer.
Butler later homered again; Nick Kurtz hit a grand slam.
A’s led 9-0 after the second inning. 

— Padres 1, Diamondbacks 0
Luiz Arraez homered in 7th inning for the game’s only run.
Merrill, Tatis both robbed Arizona hitters of HR’s with great catches..
Nick Pivetta allowed five baserunners in 5.2 IP.

— Royals 4, Pirates 3
Nick Loftin hit a 2-run HR in 7th, walk-off single in 9th.
Royals have won five of their last six games.
Pirates lost their last five games, outscored 21-6.

— Marlins 12, Reds 2
Marlins have won their last eleven road games.
Eury Perez allowed only two baserunners in five IP.
Miami scored seven runs in the top of the third.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: NY/Phil, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: NY/Phil,  Brewers, Giants

— Washington Nationals won the World Series in 2019, but since then, 71-91 is the best season they’ve had. Sunday, the Nationals fired GM Mike Rizzo, manager Dave Martinez.

Franchise got hosed financially when the pandemic happened the year after they won the World Series; defending champs often get a big jump in attendance the year after they win a title, but fans didn’t go to games in 2020.

Maybe the Nationals’ owners should take a look in the mirror; they traded Juan Soto to San Diego during the 2022 season; they let Bryce Harper walk as a free agent after 2018. Hard to fire the general manager when you won’t pay the team’s stars.

Timing of all this is odd; the amateur draft is this Sunday, and Washington has the first pick. If they hire a new GM from outside the organization, you’d think that person would like to make this selection, but that’s not going to happen.

— Cubs’ OF Seiya Suzuki leads MLB in RBI, with 77, but as of right now, he isn’t an All-Star.

Only once has the RBI leader missed the All-Star Game; way back in 1935, Hank Greenberg idid  not make the All-Star team— he had 103 RBI at the break, and his own manager passed him by.

90 freakin’ years; I’m thinking Suzuki deserves to be an All-Star.

— Players voted for their All-Stars; neither Suzuki or Juan Soto was in their top six outfielders.

Go figure.

— I talk about this every year; the NBA Summer League starts Thursday in Las Vegas; if you like the NBA, this is a great event to go to. It is affordable, it is air conditioned, most of the league is there, they have good concessions and when the day is done, you’re in Las Vegas. 

Excellent way to spend a week of your summer.

People I’ve spoken to at the Summer League:
Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke (he owns the Rams, too)
NBA great Walt Frazier (very nice man)
Tim Grgurich (one of Jerry Tarkanian’s assistants in UNLV’s glory days)

— Win total for the Utah Jazz this coming season is 19.5, their lowest total since at least 1993

Orlando’s win total is 51.5, their highest since 2011.

— Do people really bet on hot dog eating contests?

Monday in Brooklyn, Joey Chestnut ate 70 weiners (and rolls) in 10 minutes to win the title, but his over/under was 70.5 hot dogs, so the under bettors cashed in.

It is gross to watch people eat so fast; I like hot dogs as much as anyone, but good grief, stuffing food down your throat like that makes me queasy.

— Trends for the Carolina Panthers:

Last three years, they’re 14-37 SU

This year, Carolina is #6 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #1 on offensive line
This year, Carolina is #16 in NFL in $$$ spent on defense, #4 on DL

Last year, Panthers were minus-5 in turnovers (17-22)
Last year, Panthers were 5-12, 4-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Carolina was 1-9 in games decided by more than 8 points.

Panthers are 0-5 ATS in last five games as a favorite.
Panthers are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 road games. 

— Famous birthdays, July 8th:
Anjelica Huston, 74
Alan Ashby, 74
Jack Lambert, 73
Terry Puhl, 69
Kevin Bacon, 67

Michael Weatherly, 57
Sebastian Maniscalco, 52
Hakim Warrick, 43
Josh Harrison, 38
Reid Detmers, 26

— Guardians 7, Astros 5
Cleveland snaps its 10-game losing skid.
Jose Ramirez homered, knocked in three runs.

— Brewers 9, Dodgers 1
Milwaukee scored five runs in the first off of Yamamoto.
Freddy Peralta threw six shutout innings.
Andrew Vaughn homered in his first game for the Brewers.

— Marlins 5, Reds 1
Janson Junk allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins are 11-3 in their last fourteen games.

— Royals 9, Pirates 3
Rookie Noah Cameron allowed three hits in 7 IP.
Pirates lost their last four games, outscored by total of 17-3.

— Angels 6, Rangers 5
Nolan Schanuel drew a bases-loaded walk to end the game.
First time in 15 starts that Jacob deGrom allowed more than 2 runs.

— Diamondbacks 6, Padres 3
Manny Machado homered, also got his 2,000th career hit.
Zac Gallen allowed an unearned run in his six IP.
Josh Naylor homered, scored twice for Arizona.

— Giants 3, Phillies 1
Giants scored twice in 8th inning to win this pitchers’ duel.
Cristopher Sanchez allowed one run in 7 IP (how is he not an All-Star??)
Teams were a combined 0-15 with runners in scoring position.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Giants

Trends for major league teams
(thru Sunday’s games)

— Arizona (44-46)
Arizona lost four of its last five games.
Over is 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Arizona is 8-17 in last 25 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Braves (39-50)
Braves lost nine of their last eleven games.
Atlanta is 24-22 at home, 15-28 on the road.
Under is 25-11 in their last 36 home games.

— Cubs (54-36)
Chicago is 8-3 in its last eleven games.
Over is 8-2 in its last ten home games.
Cubs are 42-22 vs righty starters, 12-14 vs lefties.

— Reds (46-44)
Cincinnati is 4-6 in its last 10 games.
Reds are 11-4 in last fifteen series openers.
Reds are 34-27 vs righty starters, 12-17 vs lefties.
Under is 9-4 in their last thirteen games.

— Rockies (21-69)
Colorado is 4-11 in its last fifteen games.
Under is 9-4 in Rockies’ last thirteen games.
Rockies are 3-23 vs lefty starters, 18-46 vs righties. 

— Dodgers (56-35)
Dodgers lost their last three games, scoring total of six runs.
Dodgers are 41-23 vs righty starters, 15-12 vs lefties.
Under is 8-3 in their last eleven games.

— Marlins (40-48)                                                                       )
Marlins are 17-10 in their last 27 games.
Miami is 20-27 at home, 20-21 on the road.
Under is 16-3 in Marlins’ last 19 home games.
Over is 5-0 in Marlins’ last five road games.

— Brewers (50-40)
Brewers won 15 of their last 21 games.
Milwaukee is 27-17 at home, 23-23 on the road.
Under is 20-10 in their last 30 home games.

— Mets (52-39)
Mets won four of their last five games.
Mets are 33-14 at home, 19-25 on the road.
Over is 16-6 in their last 22 games.

— Phillies (53-37)
Phillies are 5-2 in their last seven games.
Phillies are 42-22 vs righty starters, 11-15 vs lefties.
Phillies are 11-4 in home series openers.

— Pirates (38-53)
Pirates got shut out in losing their last three games.
Pittsburgh is 26-21 at home, 12-32 on the road.
Under is 6-0 in their last six games.
Pirates are 9-3 in last 12 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— St Louis (48-43)
St Louis lost five of its last seven games.
Cardinals are 10-4 in home series openers.
St Louis is 26-17 at home, 22-26 on the road.

— Padres (48-41)
Padres are 11-14 in their last 25 games.
Under is 12-5 in their last seventeen games.
San Diego starting pitchers have two wins/nine losses in last 26 road games.

— Giants (49-42)
Giants won four of their last five games.
Giants are 40-27 vs righty pitchers, 9-15 vs lefties.
SF is 19-9 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Washington (37-53)
Nationals fired their general manager and manager Sunday.
Washington is 3-12 in its last fifteen home games.
Over is 13-2 in their last fifteen games.
Washington is 17-6 last 23 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Notes for the Buffalo Bills:

#8 in NFL in $$$ spent on offense, #29 on defense.
#9 in $$$ spent on QB’s, #24 on WR’s.

Last year, Bills were +24 in turnovers (32-8)
Last year, Bills were +25 in sacks (39-14)

Buffalo was 13-4 LY, 5-3 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Buffalo was 3-2 LY in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 7th:

Carl Mauck, 78
Len Barker, 70
Glenn Hoffman, 67
Billy Campbell, 66
Ralph Sampson, 65

Stoney Case, 53
Michael Westbrook, 53
Chris Redman, 48
Brandon McCarthy, 42
Landen Akers, 28

— Orioles (40-49)
Baltimore is 5-2 in its last seven games.
Orioles are 13-13 vs AL East foes, 26-36 vs everyone else.
Under is 23-11 in their last 34 games.

— Red Sox (46-45)
Red Sox won five of their last six games.
Boston is 9-19 in one-run games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine games.
Red Sox are 9-9 in 18 games since trading Devers.

— White Sox (30-60)
Chicago is 8-8 in its last sixteen games.
White Sox are 19-24 at home, 11-36 on the road.
Under is 15-3 in their last 18 road games.

— Cleveland (40-48)
Cleveland lost its last ten games, scoring total of 15 runs.
Guardians are 33-29 vs righty starters, 7-19 vs lefties.
Under is 16-5 in their last 21 games.

— Detroit (57-34)
Detroit is 18-9 vs its AL Central rivals, lead division by 13.5 games.
Tigers are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 7-2 in their last nine road games.

— Houston (55-35)
Astros are 11-2 in last 13 games, lead AL West by 7 games.
Astros are 32-14 at home, 23-21 on the road.
Over is 8-4 in their last 12 road games.
Astros are 17-10 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Royals (43-48)
Royals lost 12 of their last 13 home games.
Kansas City is 34-41 vs righty starters, 9-7 vs lefties.
Under is 7-1 in Royals’ last eight home games.

— Angels (43-46)
Angels are 3-6 in their last nine games.
Halos are 7-2 in last nine road series openers.
Angels are 20-12  in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Twins (43-47)
Twins are 6-5 in their last 11 games.
Minnesota is 24-18 at home, 19-29 on the road.
Under is 5-1 in their last six road games.

— New York (49-41)
New York is 7-16 in its last 23 games.
Over is 8-0 in their last eight games.
New York is 38-32 vs righty starters, 11-9 vs lefties.

— A’s (37-55)
A’s are 5-9 in their last fourteen games.
Under is 10-5 in their last fifteen games.
Last seven series, A’s are 5-0 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on..

— Seattle (48-42)
Mariners are 6-2 in their last eight games.
Over is 12-4 in their last sixteen road games.
Under is 12-5 in Mariners’ last seventeen home games.

— Tampa Bay (49-41)
Tampa Bay lost five of its last seven games.
Rays are 28-25 at home, 21-16 on the road.
Rays are 14-8 in last 22 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

— Texas (44-46)
Rangers are 15-11 in their last 26 games.
Texas is 8-17 in games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.
Rangers are 26-19 at home, 18-27 on road.
Under is 24-11 in their last 32 road games.

— Toronto (52-38)
Blue Jays won 8 in a row, are 18-5 in their last 23 home games.
Over is 11-4 in their last 15 road games.
Toronto is 13-5 in last 18 games where winning run scored from 7th inning on.

If the baseball playoffs started today (they do not):
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres

SEC football notes:
— Alabama
Since 2020, they’re 22-9-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Last seven years, Crimson Tide is +57 in turnovers.

— Arkansas
Pittman is 19-11 ATS as an underdog.
Razorbacks are 8-14-1 ATS last 23 games as a favorite.

— Auburn
Since 2015, Tigers are 21-30-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Auburn lost its last four bowl games (favored in 3 of the 4)

— Florida
Napier is 12-18-1 ATS as a home favorite.
Napier is 23-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— Georgia
Last four years, Dawgs were 8-16-1 ATS as home favorites.
Georgia is 4-11-1 ATS in last sixteen non-conference games.

— Kentucky
Last four years, Wildcats are minus-22 in turnovers.
Since 2019, Kentucky is 17-10-1 ATS as an underdog.

— LSU
Under Kelly, LSU is 14-6 ATS at home.
Tigers won five of last six bowl games, scoring 44.5 ppg.

— Ole Miss
Last two years, Rebels were 21-5 SU (+21 turnovers)
Under Kiffin, Ole Miss is 10-5-1 as a road favorite.

— Notes on the Baltimore Ravens:
Ravens are #21 in NFL in $$ spent on offense, #17 on defense.
Ravens are #4 in NFL in $$ spent on QB’s, #2 on RB’s
Ravens are #5 in NFL in $$ spent on linebackers

Baltimore was +6 in turnovers last year, with only 11 giveaways
Ravens were +30 in sacks last year (54-24)

Baltimore was 5-5 LY in games decided by 8 or fewer points.
Baltimore was 7-0 LY in games decided by more than 8 points.

Last three years, Ravens are 17-8 ATS on the road.
Ravens are 19-10 ATS in last 29 games as a favorite.

— Famous birthdays, July 6th:
Fred Dryer, 79
Jason Thompson, 71
Willie Randolph, 71
Joe Jacoby, 66
Kelly Stouffer, 61

Pau Gasol, 45
Jae Crowder, 35
Manny Machado, 33
Andrew Benintendi, 31
Brandon Lowe, 31

— Miss State
Last two years, Bulldogs are 7-17 SU
Since 2019, MSU is 2-13-1 ATS as a home underdog.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Missouri
Last two years, Tigers were 21-8 SU (+18 turnovers)
Last three years, Mizzou is 10-4 ATS on the road.

— Oklahoma
Last four years, Sooners are 3-10-1 ATS as road favorites.
Last three years, Oklahoma is 10-15-1 ATS in conference games.

— South Carolina
Coach Beamer is 14-6 ATS as a favorite.
Underdogs are 4-1 ATS in their last five bowl games.

— Tennesssee
Since 2020, Tennessee is 4-14 ATS as an underdog.
Under Heupel, Vols are 15-8 ATS as a home favorite.

— Texas
Since 2016, Longhorns are 23-12-1 ATS in non-league games.
Coach Sarkisian is 10-18 ATS as a road underdog.

— Texas A&M
Coach Elko is 9-6 ATS as a home favorite, 2-6 as a road favorite.
Aggies are 3-10-2 ATS in their last fifteen road games.

— Vanderbilt
Since 2020, Vandy is 15-8 ATS as a road underdog.
Commodores are 11-27 ATS in their last 38 home games. 

— The best baseball announcers make you feel like you’re eavesdropping on a conversation between friends who are watching the game.

In my opinion, the best baseball play-by-play guys:
Jon Sciambi, Cubs
Dan Shulman, Blue Jays
Don Orsillo, Padres
Gary Cohen, Mets

The best analysts:
Ron Darling, Mets
Mark Gubicza, Angels
Jim Palmer, Orioles
Steve Stone, White Sox

— Before last season, no one was touting Cubs’ P Shota Imanaga, who they brought over from Japan; 1.5 years later, the Cubs are 30-9 in Imanaga’s starts. Pretty impressive.

— Cleveland Guardians were at Wrigley Field this week; OF Angel Martinez plays for the Guardians. His dad Sandy Martinez was the Cubs’ catcher in a 1998 game where Kerry Wood struck out 20 Houston Astros.

— Divisional leads in MLB
NL East:
Phillies leads the Mets by half a game. 

NL Central:
Cubs lead Milwaukee by four games, St Louis by 6.5, Cincinnati by seven games. 

NL West:
Dodgers lead San Diego by eight games, Giants by nine games.

AL East:
Blue Jays lead New York/Tampa Bay by two games.

AL Central:
Tigers have a 12.5-game lead over their nearest rival.

AL West:
Astros lead Seattle by seven games, Angels by 9.5 games.

— I have Jesus Luzardo on my fantasy team; he is an all-or-nothing pitcher:

Good starts:
April 4th- 7 IP, no runs allowed vs Dodgers
June 11th- 6 IP, one run allowed vs Cubs
June 22nd- 6.2 IP, no runs allowed vs Mets

Ugly starts:
May 31st: 3.1 IP, 12 runs vs Milwaukee
June 5th: 2.1 IP, 8 runs allowed at Toronto
July 4th: 2 IP, 6 runs allowed vs Cincinnato

Hard to predict, but very few mediocre starts.

— Notes on the Atlanta Falcons:
They’ve spent the most $$$ of any team in the NFL on their offense this year; backup QB Kirk Cousins makes a lot of that money.

Falcons are #22 in $$$ spent on defense, defensive line is #27.

Atlanta was minus-6 in turnovers last year, with only 18 takeaways; they were 8-9, 6-6 in games decided by 8 or fewer points, 2-1 in games decided by 3 or fewer points.

Last two years, Falcons are 11-23 ATS, 8-14 when favored, 3-9 as an underdog, 6-11 at home. Under is 11-6 in their last 17 home games.

— Famous birthdays, July 5th:
Gary Matthews, 75
Rich Gossage, 74
Johnny Rodgers, 74
James Lofton, 69

Edie Falco, 62
Kathryn Erbe, 60
Donnie Jones, 45
Been Udrih, 43

Ish Smith, 37
Jorge Polanco, 32
Shohei Ohtani, 31
Austin Hays, 30

— Mets 6, Bronx 5
Juan Soto went 3-4 with two runs scored, two RBI
Mets won their third game in a row; Bronx has lost five in a row.

— Cubs 11, Cardinals 3
Cubs hit eight home runs; Michael Busch hit three of them.
Colin Rea gave up one hit in 6.2 IP.

— Blue Jays 4, Angels 3 (10)
Toronto wins its sixth game in a row.
Blue Jays scored game-winning run on a throwing error.

— Twins 4, Rays 3
Tampa Bay led 3-1 in the 7th inning.
Harrison Bader homered twice, including a walk-off blast in 9th inning.

— Padres 3, Rangers 2 (10)
Jake Cronenworth got his 5th walk-off RBI for the Padres.
Texas has played in extra innings in six of its last nine games (2-4).

— Tigers 2, Guardians 1
Wenceel Perez, Zach McKinstry homered for Detroit.
Cleveland has now lost eight games in a row.

— A’s 11, Giants 2
Denzel Clarke, homered, tripled, made another great catch in centerfield.
JP Sears tossed six shutout IP for the green-and-gold.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

— Whats the best day to have a birthday? I’m thinking the 4th of July has to be pretty high on the list. People shoot off fireworks, most everyone has the day off, the weather is usually good.

Few years ago, we did the best/worst days to have a birthday (February 29 is most definitely the worst). Sometime this summer, we’ll re-visit that topic.

— Duncan Robinson has played guard for the Miami Heat for the last seven years, scoring 11.3 ppg, mostly because he has shot 39.7% on the arc- shooting is marketable.

He just signed a 3-year, $48M deal with the Detroit Pistons, $16M a year.

Robinson has earned just over $73M in his career, which is amazing for one reason; the first year he was in college, he played at Williams, which plays Division III, non-scholarship ball. This new contract will put him at around $121M for his career.

There are many very good players at the D-III level, but the odds of someone playing D-III ball, then banking $120M+ playing in the NBA have to be astronomical.

— New York Knicks are expected to hire former Cavaliers/Lakers/Kings coach Mike Brown as their next head coach. Brown has a 454-304 record in regular season games, 50-40 in playoff games. He was an assistant coach for Spurs/Warriors teams that won NBA titles- his team in Cleveland got the NBA Finals in 2007, but lost in the Finals.

Knicks just had their best season in 25 years but fired coach Tom Thibodeau anyway.

— There will be at least five more years of labor peace in the NHL; the league and players agreed to a four-year extension of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which will carry through the 2029-30 season.

— Clayton Kershaw recorded his 3,000th career strikeout this week, the 20th pitcher to do it, only the 4th left-handed pitcher.

— Atlanta Braves P Spencer Schwellenbach broke his elbow, is out for an indefinite time. This year, Schwellenbach was 7-4, 3.09 in 17 starts.

Not sure how you break your elbow pitching, but this is yet another injury for an injury-ravaged Atlanta pitching staff.

— Quick facts on the Arizona Cardinals:
Head coach and both coordinators are in their third year with Arizona.

Arizona was 7-2 ATS as an underdog last year.
Last two years, Cardinals were 11-6 ATS at home.

Last year, Arizona was +11 in sacks (41-30)
Last year, Arizona was minus-3 in turnovers (17-20)

Last year, Cardinals were 8-9, 3-5 in games decided by 8 or fewer points.

— Famous birthdays, July 4th
Emerson Boozer, 82
Horace Grant, 60
Harvey Grant, 60
Vinny Castilla, 58

Todd Marinovich, 56
Josh McCown, 46
Brock Berlin, 44
Ömer Aşık, 39

— Cubs 1, Guardians 0 (10)
Cleveland has now lost seven games in a row.
Cubs won despite having only three hits.
Cade Horton threw seven shutout IP for the Cubs.

— Marlins 4, Twins 1
Eury Perez allowed one hit in six IP.
Marlins won 10 of last 12 games, won their last four series.
Agustin Ramirez hit a two-run home run.

— Rockies 7, Astros 6
Thairo Estrada homered, knocked in four runs.
Tyler Freeman has reached base safely in his last 18 games.

— Blue Jays 8, New York 5
George Springer hit two 2-run homers.
Toronto sweeps 4-game series, now leads the AL East.
New York is 10-16 against its AL East rivals.

— Giants 7, Diamondbacks 2
Robbie Ray threw a 102-pitch complete game against his old team.
It was Ray’s first complete game since 2017.
Rafael Devers had three RBI for the Giants.

— Angels 5, Braves 1
Jose Soriano threw seven scoreless IP.
Zach Neto went 3-5, scored three runs.
Matt Olson has reached base safely in his last 33 games.

— If the playoffs started today (they don’t):
NL: Phillies, Cubs, Dodgers. Wild Cards: Mets, Brewers, Padres
AL: Blue Jays, Tigers, Astros. Wild Cards: New York, Rays, Mariners

— Pirates 5, Cardinals 0
Pittsburgh went 6-0 on this homestand.
Cardinals were outscored 13-0 in the three-game series.
Mitch Keller tossed seven IP for the Pirates.

— Brewers 7-3, Mets 2-7
Joey Ortiz hit a tie-breaking grand slam in 6th inning.
Lindor went 3-4 with 3 RBI batting 2nd in the nightcap.
Mets have lost 14 of their last 18 games.

— Blue Jays 11, New York 9
Toronto blew a 9-1 lead, scored winning run on a wild pitch.
Teams are now tied for first place in the AL East.
New York is 13-18 since May 28th.

— Braves 8, Angels 3
Jurickson Profar homered in his return from an 80-game PED suspension.
Matt Olson had three hits, including a sixth inning grand slam.

— Giants 6, Diamondbacks 5 (10)
Patrick Bailey’s sac fly scored the game-winning run.
San Francisco snaps a four-game losing skid.

— Twins 2, Marlins 1
Loss snaps Miami’s 8-game winning streak.
Minnesota had lost its previous nine one-run games.

— Dodgers 5, White Sox 4
Dodgers scored three runs in bottom of the ninth.
Clayton Kershaw got his 3,000th career strikeout. 

— Great factoid from Christopher Kamka:
Cesar Geronimo was Bob Gibson’s 3,000th strikeout.
Six years later, Geronimo was Nolan Ryan’s 3,000th strikeout.

— Famous birthdays, July 3rd
Betty Buckley, 78
Jan Smithers, 76
Frank Tanana, 72
Bruce Altman, 70

Tom Cruise, 63
Greg Vaughn, 60
Moisés Alou, 59
Neil O’Donnell, 59

Derrick Chievous, 58
Grant Wistrom, 49
Cole Tucker, 29
T.J. Hockenson, 28

— Bobby Bonilla must enjoy the first week of July every year; way back in 2000, the Mets wanted to buy out the remaining $5.9M on his contract. Instead of just giving him a check for $5.9M, they agreed to pay the former Mets’ slugger $1,193,248.20 a year for the next 35 years, which made/makes no freakin’ sense, but they did.

Back then, the Wilpon family owned the Mets; they were in business with fraudster Bernie Madoff, which makes it make a little sense, but not much. 

So every July 1st from now through 2035, Bonilla banks a very large check.

— Monday night in Boston, Red Sox OF Wilyer Abreu hit a grand slam, then later hit an inside-the-park home run. He is the first big leaguer to do that in the same game since Roger Maris, in 1958.

— Former big league pitcher/current Mets’ TV analyst Ron Darling was talking the other day about gloves that ballplayers wear. Darling said that in his 13 years in the major leagues, he only used two different gloves, which seems surprising.

— Last weekend in Anaheim, the Angels walked Washington OF James Wood intentionally four times in one game, first time that happened in the majors since Barry Bonds, in 2004.

— Was watching a replay of HBO’s Hard Knocks from last year, when they followed the Giants’ front office before/during the draft; always a good program. Liev Schrieber is the narrator for Hard Knocks; never would’ve guessed that in 100 years. Am used to hearing talk like he did in Ray Donovan, the great Showtime series.

— NBA salary cap for next season is $154.6M; Golden State’s three stars, Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green, will earn a combined $139.6M, so guess the Warriors will be going over both salary cap aprons.

— Seattle Redhawks are bolting from the WAC to the WCC; this time next year, college sports are going to look a lot different than they do now.

Seattle was 14-18 last year, after winning 20+ games the three years before that.