This week’s Top 25. Winners: Duke The Blue Devils won their third straight over a ranked opponent on Saturday. This was their most impressive, as they defeated previously unbeaten Michigan State on the road. Duke’s is ranked 90th in SOS (93rd in non-conference), which may surprise you. That’s because they have played games against
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 12/5
1. Cam Schlittler is working on an off-speed pitch Pitchers always need to evolve. 82.7% of Schlittler’s 2025 pitches were a type of fastball (4-seamer, cutter, sinker), and the Pitch Value metric on Fangraphs graded his slider and curve as negative pitches. Can you get away with a fastball-heavy arsenal? Certainly. Bryan Woo, for example, us
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 12/2
Other off-season pieces: 11/28/25 11/25/25 11/18/25 11/15/25 11/7/25 10/30/25 Japanese Free Agents Rule 5 Primer 1. Devin Williams to the Mets (3 years/$50M) Hours after securing a casino deal, Steve Cohen placed his first big bet by throwing a ton of money at a reliever coming off an uneven season. I have written many times, […]
NCAA Basketball Top 25 for 12/1
For more on the week in College Basketball, here’s my Winners & Losers post for this week. FYI: All ratings, including SOS, Offensive Efficiency, and Defensive Efficiency, are courtesy of the KenPom. Top 25: 1. Michigan (7-0) (11) – Never overreact to one week’s worth of basketball, but this is impossible to ignore. The Wolver
College Basketball Winners & Losers
This week’s Top 25. A look at the Winners and Losers during “Feast Week.” In this edition, I’ll be focusing on conferences rather than individual teams or players. Which conferences showed up? Which came up short? Winners: The Big Ten It didn’t turn out to be a slam dunk for the Big Ten, but it’s […]
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 11/28
Other off-season pieces: 11/25/25 11/18/25 11/15/25 11/7/25 10/30/25 Japanese Free Agents Rule 5 Primer 1. Yankees re-sign Michael Arias You know things are a little slow when this is my opening note. The Yankees didn’t tender Arias a contract last Friday, but decided to bring him back on a minor league deal. This isn’t uncommon. [&hel
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 11/25
1. Michael Kay brings up Fernando Tatis Jr. Suspended in 2021 due to PED usage, Tatis hasn’t been the same offensively since. During that 2021 campaign, he hit .282/.364/.611 (158 wRC+) with 42 home runs and 25 stolen bases. At 22 years old, he already had two Silver Sluggers, two top-five MVP finishes, and an […]
NCAA Basketball Top 25 for 11/25
The Top 25 could (will?) look different next week, as the schedule this week is filled with top matchups. Many of those matchups are in the Players Era Festival, where good teams can easily go winless in three guaranteed contests. That said, traditional tournaments such as the Maui Invitational, Battle for Atlantis, and ESPN Events […]
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 11/21
Other off-season pieces: 11/18/25 11/15/25 11/7/25 10/30/25 Japanese Free Agents Rule 5 Primer 1. The Yankees non-tender Mark Leiter Jr., Ian Hamilton, Scott Effross, Jake Cousins, and Michael Arias This middling reliever bloodbath frees up five slots on the 40-man roster. And the crowd goes mild. “Could they have used these slots for Rule 5
Yankees Notes and Opinions for 11/18
Other off-season pieces: 11/15/25 11/7/25 10/30/25 Japanese Free Agents Rule 5 Primer 1. The Yankees add three prospects to the 40-man roster. The three they protected (Elmer Rodriguez, Spencer Jones, Chase Hampton) were the top three on my primer list, so I consider that a win. FYI: His Baseball Reference page has been changed to reflect the [&he