MACCLESFIELD, England (AP) — Brentford will face West Ham in the fifth round of the FA Cup after dispatching Macclesfield 1-0 on Monday, an own goal ending the fairy tale run of the sixth-tier giantkiller.
The Macclesfield part-timers knocked out cup holder Crystal Palace in the last round and were hailed for pulling off one of the greatest shocks in the competition’s long history.
But they could not match Brentford, which progressed thanks to a 70th minute own goal from Sam Heathcote.
The big defender dived to cut out a cross from Aaron Hickey but instead diverted the ball past his own keeper.
It was a cruel denouement for Macclesfield, which held the Premier League club throughout an even first half before tiring in the second 45 minutes.
“I couldn’t be any prouder,” Macclesfield coach John Rooney told TNT Sports. “The lads were outstanding and the shape was really good. We train two times a week and we’ve put that performance on against a Premier League side.”
The fifth-round tie will take place at West Ham’s Olympic Stadium on the weekend of March 7-8.
Brentford has never passed the quarterfinals of the competition.
“Credit to Macclesfield,” Brentford captain Nathan Collins said. “They made it extremely hard for us. They put up a great fight.”
NBA All-Star Weekend is always a fun time of year. Players and media alike get to let their hair down; fans get the opportunity to see — and sometimes interact with — the league’s best players in one spot. It’s a time for celebration and relaxation; a time for us to soak in and share a collective love for the league, and basketball as a whole.
I was fortunate enough to be on the scene for All-Star festivities this year. L.A. traffic aside (more on that later), I had a blast. Below, you’ll find my big-picture takeaways from the weekend, as well as some less consequential thoughts I wanted to share.
There I was, standing near the door of a crowded news conference room Saturday morning. All-Star media availabilities are happening, and a star is up front, on stage, fielding questions.
During one of his answers, the door pops open. In comes Anthony Edwards with a few other members of his crew. Edwards stands to the side for a moment, soaks in part of the answer being given and drops a bar — simultaneously to no one and everyone in that room.
“Man, none of them dudes can guard me.”
Anthony Edwards was named All-Star MVP after leading Team Stars to the tournament win. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
No matter the topic, Edwards had a quick quip ready to go, and did so with a seamless flair. It was the kind of showcase, if you want to call it that, one could use as evidence for Edwards as a worthy Face of the League candidate.
“Man, them folks got [Victor] Wembanyama,” he said. “That’s what they got goin’ on. They got Wembanyama; they’ll be all right!”
There’s a lot that could be said about Edwards’ weekend, but one thing I’ll give him is that he didn’t lie.
Nobody had fun trying to stay in front of Edwards, whether that was Wembanyama when he had that assignment, or Kevin Durant — someone that Edwards looked up to and, ironically, was the guy at the podium when Edwards walked in and proclaimed nobody could guard him.
I mean …
Among the many awesome things Anthony Edwards did on Sunday, I still keep coming back to this possession in Game 2.
This dribble combo generally means Ant is setting up for a stepback 3 to his left.
Edwards got to the basket at will, dropped in a barrage of jumpers and made splash plays defensively. He even attempted (and failed) to win a jump ball against Wemby, whom he credited with setting the tone in their opening 37-35 win over Team World.
Ultimately, Edwards earned All-Star MVP honors for his performance, accumulating 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in nearly 27 minutes of action.
Victor Wembanyama set the tone
As Edwards and others pointed out, Victor Wembanyama was ready to take on whatever challenge he needed to. While it wasn’t full-blown regular-season effort — nobody hit that bar consistently — it’s certainly fair to argue Wembanyama was the closest to that bar, both in approach and in responsibility.
He was the game’s most active screener, often sprinting into position before pushing off and diving to the basket with juice. He showed no hesitation driving, whether that came via perimeter catches or grab-and-go opportunities after missed shots.
Any time a smaller player wound up on him, within the flow of action or due to transition cross-matching, you could expect to see Wembanyama’s hand in the air while working to seal that defender. He kept constant pressure on the defenses he faced — it was funny to see Team Stars experiment with some (late) doubles on some of his touches.
On top of that, Wembanyama remained a menace on the defensive end. Imagine my glee watching him direct traffic on the weak side, swapping places with whoever was in the opposite corner so he could stay lower on the floor — a hallmark of the Spurs’ defensive plan.
While it was genuinely hilarious watching Wembanyama absolutely lose it after his team gave up a game-winning 3 in overtime, that level of care was so refreshing to witness.
The new All-Star Game format was a success — even if it’s not a replacement
There was understandable angst about the format — three teams of eight (kinda), round-robin style with a 12-minute sprint to determine the winner of each game — heading into Sunday’s action. Considering the first three games were decided by a combined seven points — we’ll set the final aside for now — you have to admit the shift was successful.
Players were naturally asked about how they felt about the format after the games were over, and the response was pretty firmly positive. There were players like Kawhi Leonard who expressed a desire to go back to the classic East-versus-West style in the future, but even that came after praising the current form.
Of note: I got to ask Leonard, Jalen Johnson, Chet Holmgren about how the shorter games affected the way they warmed up and established (or maintained) a rhythm. Leonard and Holmgren acknowledged it was a different feel, but ultimately got used to it, while Johnson attributed his (and his team’s) youth to being able to get warm without much issue.
If this format returns next year, I wonder if the timing of the matchups will change at all.
The fans were put in a tough spot this weekend
If you’re reading this article, well, thank you, first of all.
Beyond that, if you’re online enough to read this, you’ve likely been online enough to see some of the unfortunate half-filled crowd shots of Intuit Dome during the weekend. That, combined with the conversation heading in — particularly how perilous the dunk contest and All-Star game felt — would make it easy to conclude that people simply didn’t care and the future of the weekend is in trouble.
Do not fall into that trap. You’re within your right to hold that opinion, of course, but at least consider a few factors.
First, the combination of weekend festivities being held on the West Coast and NBC splitting coverage duties between that and the Olympics likely played a role in everything being earlier than usual. And without boring you with the actual logistics, let’s just say driving around Los Angeles (and surrounding areas) comes with its own hassles — that’s ramped up even more with a weekend like this.
Getting to the Rising Stars event on Friday for example, starting at 6 p.m. local time, means dealing with your usual rush hour traffic on top of all of the visitors. It becomes a little easier to understand why the building wasn’t full at the start. To that end, Saturday (also Valentine’s Day) and especially Sunday featured much fuller crowds and a better atmosphere overall.
On a related note, I’d like to focus more on Saturday. I personally thought the events were well done. Damian Lillard shot the leather off the ball to capture his third 3-point contest crown; Team Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston) bombed away late to sneak past Team Cameron (Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel, Corey Maggette) in the Shooting Stars competition; Heat forward Keshad Johnson jumped and danced (and danced, and danced!) his way to a dunk contest win.
It became clear, at least in my social-media bubble, that not only were people unaware of the earlier-than-usual start time (2 p.m. local, 5 p.m. ET), they were also unaware at the order of events being shifted. The 3-point contest actually led the show on Saturday versus its usual slot sandwiched between the now-defunct (?) Skills Challenge (Shooting Stars this year) and the dunk contest.
The 3-point contest has been the premier event the last few seasons, so I’m not opposed to that going first moving forward; it just has to be communicated in a better, louder way so people don’t miss out.
Adam Silver really cares about tanking
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spent nearly an hour fielding questions ahead of Saturday’s events. Plenty of ground was covered — potential expansion or relocation (Silver said no on this front), the Clippers/Aspiration/Kawhi Leonard investigation, updates on NBA Europe and more — but tanking ruled the conversation.
“We spend a lot of time at the league office going back and forth with teams on injury reports, on coaches’ decisions. It’s not a position [we] necessarily want to be in … it’s not what the fans want, at the end of the day,” Silver said.
“Although my caveat is, this is where teams are in a difficult place. Many of you in this room have written understandably about our teams that the worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft.
“In many cases, you have fans of those teams — remember, it’s not what they want to pay for to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances.
“I think we’re coming at it in two ways. One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams. But No. 2, as I also said in that statement, the Competition Committee started earlier this year reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.”
I appreciated Silver acknowledging the tightrope non-contending teams are trying to walk. Bad teams need a way to get better, and the draft currently serves as the best opportunity to do so — especially a draft class like this one. Being a team in the middle — too good to be in the lottery, but not nearly good enough to seriously compete for a title — is an area nobody should want to be in.
(I’ve already given my rant about one team this pertains to. I’ll be kind today.)
But Silver, fresh off of fining the Utah Jazz ($500,000) and Indiana Pacers ($100,000), was also clear in his displeasure with even the optics of rotational hijinks that could increase the odds of losing — and thus, increasing a team’s odds at landing one of the top picks in this year’s draft.
I came away from his presser feeling like he’d consider pretty much anything short of abolishing the draft altogether — and maybe that isn’t as farfetched of an idea as it may have been, say, five years ago. This offseason is going to be an interesting one.
Other thoughts
Leonard’s 31-point performance in a win over Team World is one of the wildest shot-making displays we’ve ever gotten in an All-Star Game. It honestly served as an extension of what the last two-plus months have been like for him — he’s currently on track to have the best scoring season (27.9 points on 61.9 true shooting) of his career.
Scottie Barnes knocking down a game-winning 3 in overtime, while not knowing it was the game-winner, got a louder chuckle out of me than it should’ve.
I don’t know who I feel worse for: Devin Booker missing his final three shots to ultimately lose to Lillard in the 3-point contest, or Carter Bryant botching his final attempts before settling for a “safe” dunk to ultimately lose the dunk contest to Keshad Johnson.
Speaking of the dunk contest, I stand on it being pretty good this year! I understand people want bigger names, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that desire, but I think there were enough skillful dunks and showmanship (especially from Johnson) to where we can put off the “DUNK CONTEST IS DEAD” talks for another year.
Last thing, do we need to add a blue tent for this contest? Are we sure Jase Richardson didn’t hurt himself before ultimately nailing a 360? Talk about putting it all on the line.
Bobby Portis, your 3-point contest round will live on in infamy. The bar for bigs in the contest will likely skyrocket.
With all due respect to his comedic chops, I think I’ll be OK never seeing Druski on the court during an actual competition again. That brother was tasked with dishing out passes during the Shooting Stars competition (welcome back!) and somehow managed to toss a ball into Row G.
NBA All-Star Weekend is always a fun time of year. Players and media alike get to let their hair down; fans get the opportunity to see — and sometimes interact with — the league’s best players in one spot. It’s a time for celebration and relaxation; a time for us to soak in and share a collective love for the league, and basketball as a whole.
I was fortunate enough to be on the scene for All-Star festivities this year. L.A. traffic aside (more on that later), I had a blast. Below, you’ll find my big-picture takeaways from the weekend, as well as some less consequential thoughts I wanted to share.
There I was, standing near the door of a crowded news conference room Saturday morning. All-Star media availabilities are happening, and a star is up front, on stage, fielding questions.
During one of his answers, the door pops open. In comes Anthony Edwards with a few other members of his crew. Edwards stands to the side for a moment, soaks in part of the answer being given and drops a bar — simultaneously to no one and everyone in that room.
“Man, none of them dudes can guard me.”
Anthony Edwards was named All-Star MVP after leading Team Stars to the tournament win. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
No matter the topic, Edwards had a quick quip ready to go, and did so with a seamless flair. It was the kind of showcase, if you want to call it that, one could use as evidence for Edwards as a worthy Face of the League candidate.
“Man, them folks got [Victor] Wembanyama,” he said. “That’s what they got goin’ on. They got Wembanyama; they’ll be all right!”
There’s a lot that could be said about Edwards’ weekend, but one thing I’ll give him is that he didn’t lie.
Nobody had fun trying to stay in front of Edwards, whether that was Wembanyama when he had that assignment, or Kevin Durant — someone that Edwards looked up to and, ironically, was the guy at the podium when Edwards walked in and proclaimed nobody could guard him.
I mean …
Among the many awesome things Anthony Edwards did on Sunday, I still keep coming back to this possession in Game 2.
This dribble combo generally means Ant is setting up for a stepback 3 to his left.
Edwards got to the basket at will, dropped in a barrage of jumpers and made splash plays defensively. He even attempted (and failed) to win a jump ball against Wemby, whom he credited with setting the tone in their opening 37-35 win over Team World.
Ultimately, Edwards earned All-Star MVP honors for his performance, accumulating 32 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal in nearly 27 minutes of action.
Victor Wembanyama set the tone
As Edwards and others pointed out, Victor Wembanyama was ready to take on whatever challenge he needed to. While it wasn’t full-blown regular-season effort — nobody hit that bar consistently — it’s certainly fair to argue Wembanyama was the closest to that bar, both in approach and in responsibility.
He was the game’s most active screener, often sprinting into position before pushing off and diving to the basket with juice. He showed no hesitation driving, whether that came via perimeter catches or grab-and-go opportunities after missed shots.
Any time a smaller player wound up on him, within the flow of action or due to transition cross-matching, you could expect to see Wembanyama’s hand in the air while working to seal that defender. He kept constant pressure on the defenses he faced — it was funny to see Team Stars experiment with some (late) doubles on some of his touches.
On top of that, Wembanyama remained a menace on the defensive end. Imagine my glee watching him direct traffic on the weak side, swapping places with whoever was in the opposite corner so he could stay lower on the floor — a hallmark of the Spurs’ defensive plan.
While it was genuinely hilarious watching Wembanyama absolutely lose it after his team gave up a game-winning 3 in overtime, that level of care was so refreshing to witness.
The new All-Star Game format was a success — even if it’s not a replacement
There was understandable angst about the format — three teams of eight (kinda), round-robin style with a 12-minute sprint to determine the winner of each game — heading into Sunday’s action. Considering the first three games were decided by a combined seven points — we’ll set the final aside for now — you have to admit the shift was successful.
Players were naturally asked about how they felt about the format after the games were over, and the response was pretty firmly positive. There were players like Kawhi Leonard who expressed a desire to go back to the classic East-versus-West style in the future, but even that came after praising the current form.
Of note: I got to ask Leonard, Jalen Johnson, Chet Holmgren about how the shorter games affected the way they warmed up and established (or maintained) a rhythm. Leonard and Holmgren acknowledged it was a different feel, but ultimately got used to it, while Johnson attributed his (and his team’s) youth to being able to get warm without much issue.
If this format returns next year, I wonder if the timing of the matchups will change at all.
The fans were put in a tough spot this weekend
If you’re reading this article, well, thank you, first of all.
Beyond that, if you’re online enough to read this, you’ve likely been online enough to see some of the unfortunate half-filled crowd shots of Intuit Dome during the weekend. That, combined with the conversation heading in — particularly how perilous the dunk contest and All-Star game felt — would make it easy to conclude that people simply didn’t care and the future of the weekend is in trouble.
Do not fall into that trap. You’re within your right to hold that opinion, of course, but at least consider a few factors.
First, the combination of weekend festivities being held on the West Coast and NBC splitting coverage duties between that and the Olympics likely played a role in everything being earlier than usual. And without boring you with the actual logistics, let’s just say driving around Los Angeles (and surrounding areas) comes with its own hassles — that’s ramped up even more with a weekend like this.
Getting to the Rising Stars event on Friday for example, starting at 6 p.m. local time, means dealing with your usual rush hour traffic on top of all of the visitors. It becomes a little easier to understand why the building wasn’t full at the start. To that end, Saturday (also Valentine’s Day) and especially Sunday featured much fuller crowds and a better atmosphere overall.
On a related note, I’d like to focus more on Saturday. I personally thought the events were well done. Damian Lillard shot the leather off the ball to capture his third 3-point contest crown; Team Knicks (Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Allan Houston) bombed away late to sneak past Team Cameron (Jalen Johnson, Kon Knueppel, Corey Maggette) in the Shooting Stars competition; Heat forward Keshad Johnson jumped and danced (and danced, and danced!) his way to a dunk contest win.
It became clear, at least in my social-media bubble, that not only were people unaware of the earlier-than-usual start time (2 p.m. local, 5 p.m. ET), they were also unaware at the order of events being shifted. The 3-point contest actually led the show on Saturday versus its usual slot sandwiched between the now-defunct (?) Skills Challenge (Shooting Stars this year) and the dunk contest.
The 3-point contest has been the premier event the last few seasons, so I’m not opposed to that going first moving forward; it just has to be communicated in a better, louder way so people don’t miss out.
Adam Silver really cares about tanking
NBA commissioner Adam Silver spent nearly an hour fielding questions ahead of Saturday’s events. Plenty of ground was covered — potential expansion or relocation (Silver said no on this front), the Clippers/Aspiration/Kawhi Leonard investigation, updates on NBA Europe and more — but tanking ruled the conversation.
“We spend a lot of time at the league office going back and forth with teams on injury reports, on coaches’ decisions. It’s not a position [we] necessarily want to be in … it’s not what the fans want, at the end of the day,” Silver said.
“Although my caveat is, this is where teams are in a difficult place. Many of you in this room have written understandably about our teams that the worst place to be, for example, is to be a middle-of-the-road team. Either be great or be bad, because then that will help you with the draft.
“In many cases, you have fans of those teams — remember, it’s not what they want to pay for to see poor performance on the floor, but they’re actually rooting for their teams in some cases to be bad to improve their draft chances.
“I think we’re coming at it in two ways. One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams. But No. 2, as I also said in that statement, the Competition Committee started earlier this year reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.”
I appreciated Silver acknowledging the tightrope non-contending teams are trying to walk. Bad teams need a way to get better, and the draft currently serves as the best opportunity to do so — especially a draft class like this one. Being a team in the middle — too good to be in the lottery, but not nearly good enough to seriously compete for a title — is an area nobody should want to be in.
(I’ve already given my rant about one team this pertains to. I’ll be kind today.)
But Silver, fresh off of fining the Utah Jazz ($500,000) and Indiana Pacers ($100,000), was also clear in his displeasure with even the optics of rotational hijinks that could increase the odds of losing — and thus, increasing a team’s odds at landing one of the top picks in this year’s draft.
I came away from his presser feeling like he’d consider pretty much anything short of abolishing the draft altogether — and maybe that isn’t as farfetched of an idea as it may have been, say, five years ago. This offseason is going to be an interesting one.
Other thoughts
Leonard’s 31-point performance in a win over Team World is one of the wildest shot-making displays we’ve ever gotten in an All-Star Game. It honestly served as an extension of what the last two-plus months have been like for him — he’s currently on track to have the best scoring season (27.9 points on 61.9 true shooting) of his career.
Scottie Barnes knocking down a game-winning 3 in overtime, while not knowing it was the game-winner, got a louder chuckle out of me than it should’ve.
I don’t know who I feel worse for: Devin Booker missing his final three shots to ultimately lose to Lillard in the 3-point contest, or Carter Bryant botching his final attempts before settling for a “safe” dunk to ultimately lose the dunk contest to Keshad Johnson.
Speaking of the dunk contest, I stand on it being pretty good this year! I understand people want bigger names, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that desire, but I think there were enough skillful dunks and showmanship (especially from Johnson) to where we can put off the “DUNK CONTEST IS DEAD” talks for another year.
Last thing, do we need to add a blue tent for this contest? Are we sure Jase Richardson didn’t hurt himself before ultimately nailing a 360? Talk about putting it all on the line.
Bobby Portis, your 3-point contest round will live on in infamy. The bar for bigs in the contest will likely skyrocket.
With all due respect to his comedic chops, I think I’ll be OK never seeing Druski on the court during an actual competition again. That brother was tasked with dishing out passes during the Shooting Stars competition (welcome back!) and somehow managed to toss a ball into Row G.
DETROIT, MI – JANUARY 19: The sneakers worn by Jaden Ivey #23 of the Detroit Pistons during the game against the Boston Celtics on January 19, 2026 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2026 NBAE (Photo by Brian Sevald/NBAE via Getty Images) | NBAE via Getty Images
Yankees captain Aaron Judge spoke following Monday’s first full squad workout…
On this offseason…
Judge admitted it was brutal watching this offseason play out early on with the team not very active in free agency, and the uncertainty around Cody Bellinger’s future stretching in to the New Year.
“I see a lot of free agent’s out there, I see a lot of guys like the Bellinger’s, the [Trent] Grisham’s, the [Paul] Goldschmidt’s — it was like let’s sign these guys right now and then start adding some more pieces because I’m seeing other teams around the league get better with trades and signings.
“It was tough there in the beginning, but I think once we solidified Bellinger back, we solidified Trent back as our centerfielder, then you add a guy like Goldy and some of the backend bullpen pieces like we’ve been doing, I think we’re in a good spot,” he said.
“But early on, it was definitely tough to watch, it’s like we’re the New York Yankees, let’s go out there and get the right people, get the right pieces and go out there and finish this things off — it was frustrating, but I think we’re right where we need to be.”
Judge admitted that he did voice some frustration to the front office, particularly on retaining Bellinger, but is glad they were able to take care of business.
On the Yanks “running it back…”
While much has been made with this squad essentially running it back with the same roster that fell short last season, he loves the team as currently constructed.
“People might have their opinions on it, because we didn’t win it all last year and we fell short in the division series, but we get a chance to bring a lot of those guys back — they’re impact players for us.
“You bring a guy back like Bellinger who can play all over the diamond, come up a big hit when you need him. Goldschmidt who is an MVP, has played all over, just what he brings not only on the field but in the clubhouse, he elevates with the young group we have,” Judge said.
“I’m excited. You get another year for the young guys to develop, bring back some big pieces, especially Grisham our center fielder who had a breakout year, so I’m looking forward to it. Then you add G Cole down the line with some other guys, I like our chances.”
On his elbow…
Judge was slowed down by a flexor strain in his right elbow towards the end of last season, but he’s back to 100 percent at the beginning of camp.
Oct 2, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge (99) heads for the dugout between innings during game three of the Wildcard round for the 2025 MLB playoffs against the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
“It’s feeling great,” he said. “I haven’t had any issues so far, I think we’re ready to go. I’m out there throwing confidently, I’ve thrown to the bases a couple of times already, so no worries — excited to get out there and have that confidence.
“That was the toughest thing for me last year, the pitcher working his butt off and the guys working their butts off, and a ball gets hit to me and it’s kind of like I had no shot — so excited to get back out there and do my thing for the team.”
Judge is scheduled to play in “four or five” of the Yanks’ first nine spring games.
On leading USA in the WBC…
Judge is excited for the opportunity to captain USA in his first World Baseball Classic.
“The time is right,” he said. “In 2023 being a free agent I didn’t know where I was going to go, then coming back to the Yankees and being named the captain, I didn’t want to miss out on that first spring training being the captain, I wanted to be around the guys.
“The time is now to do it. USA came up a little short year, but it’s an exciting group of guys. [Mark DeRosa’s] got quite a squad he’s put together so far, so I’m looking forward to seeing what’s happened — it’s pretty cool.”
He’s looking forward to a rematch with the defending champion, Team Japan.
“Definitely hoping to see them in the Finals,” Judge said. “They’re the reigning champs and they have a great squad coming back, so I think that’s why Team USA really bulked it up this year to go out there and take care of business.
“If they’re bringing back the same crew, it’s gonna be a heavyweight fight, that’s for sure.”
Judge began throwing a little earlier than usual, but he didn’t have to change his offseason routine too much to ensure he’s ready for USA’s opening matchup.
On what he’s working on…
Judge doesn’t have too much to improve after taking home his second straight MVP, but he’s been working on taking a step forward in one area of his game in particular.
“Baserunning’s on my mind this year a lot,” he said. “I saw a lot of guys around the league with 40, 30 stolen bases that you don’t normally expect to be running that much — especially with how the game’s changed with the pickoffs and pitch clock.
“I think that’s one way we can utilize some of my skills a little bit more.
“With the lineup we have, this was probably the best offense in all of baseball last year — if I can find a way to get myself in scoring position, if they’re going to walk me or do something, then some good things are going to happen.”
Judge swiped 12 bases last season, just four shy of his career-high.
On the energy so far in camp…
Judge feels a different energy after the Yanks were knocked out by the division-rival Blue Jays in the ALDS last year.
“Any time you don’t take it all the way and win the championship you get a bad taste in your mouth,” he said. “I think guys are definitely motivated and ready to go, there’s a different energy coming in, especially when you lose to a division rival like that where you’re tied with the same record, they have the tiebreaker.
“The boys came ready to work, so I’m looking forward to changing that script and going all the way.”
It’s time to dive into the potential for the new season.
Spring training is here, and exhibition games will be on the schedule as early as the end of this week. With that in mind, it’s time to kick the mailbag back into high gear, and get back to answering your questions on a weekly basis. The Yankees are gearing up in camp, and have gotten some promising news so far with both Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón aiming to get into Grapefruit League games by the end of spring. There are a couple of minor bumps to address, namely Ben Rice sitting out a couple of days with a sore neck, but they avoided dropping any major bombs on us in the first presser of the year so all things considered that’s a great start.
The floor is wide open for questions about this team. They’ve infamously decided to run it back with the roster that took them to the ALDS last year, plus or minus some bullpen tweaking, and they’ve got a bigger role in store for both Rice and Trent Grisham compared to the start of last year. Will their gamble to bet on themselves work out? Will they get reinforcements for the rotation earlier than expected, or is that a pipedream? Can Aaron Judge really be a superhuman for another consecutive year? If you have questions like these, or anything else on your mind, send ‘em in for a chance to be featured in our Yankees mailbag.
Answers will run on Friday afternoon. All questions received by the night of February 19th will be considered. You can leave your submissions in the comment section below or by e-mail to pinstripealleyblog [at] gmail [dot] com.
MESA, Arizona — By the time I got to the Cubs Sloan Park complex this morning, much of the activity had slowed down for the day. However, I do have some photos and video to show you. First, though, since this was the first full squad workout day for the team, Cubs Executive Chairman Tom Ricketts had a few comments after meeting with players:
Tom Ricketts: “It’s about winning. All of this other stuff, it all leads to one thing and that’s winning. We just have to put the kind of teams on the field that can be in the playoffs every year and get back on top.” 🔥 pic.twitter.com/R6BTMOt2hP
It’s the usual thing he says every spring. This year, though, I think the team is in very good position to win.
After the catchers workout was done, Carson Kelly and Miguel Amaya stopped and signed autographs — for everyone waiting. There were a couple dozen kids waiting and the catchers obliged everyone.
So that’s a good thing.
Then, I went over to Field 1, where I had heard Ian Happ, Michael Busch and Alex Bregman were supposed to be hitting. But, I found out those three had been there earlier and were done for the day.
Instead, I saw some brief hitting sessions from Dansby Swanson and Kevin Alcántara, so I can share some videos of that with you.
That’s a very brief visit to Cubs camp today. There was actually a game going on at Sloan Park today. The Cubs (along with several other Spring Training parks) are hosting the Desert Invitational involving college baseball teams. Today’s Sloan Park game was Air Force vs. Kansas State — I saw quite a few fans dressed in KSU purple.
Tuesday is supposed to be a bit rainy and cool in the Valley so practices will likely be indoors. The Cubs’ first spring game will be Friday against the White Sox at Sloan Park at 2:05 p.m. CT. That game will be televised on Marquee Sports Network, with a radio broadcast on The Score.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone spoke to the media following Monday’s workouts in Tampa…
Carlos Lagrange ‘excellent’ in first live BP session
The first full-squad workout of camp began with rising prospect Carlos Lagrange on the mound for live batting practice, and he turned some heads with fans in attendance.
Facing the heart of the Yankees’ lineup, Lagrange showcased his triple-digit velocity, inducing strikeouts of Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger across a 49-pitch session.
While the appearance wasn’t flawless for the right-hander — he served up a monstrous home run to Judge on a fastball down the middle — he ultimately got revenge by fanning the Yankees’ captain on three pitches. The third-strike fastball reached 102 mph.
Lagrange also forced Giancarlo Stanton to ground out and pop out in at-bats before walking off the field with a changing-speeds punchout of Bellinger. The performance was met with cheers.
“I thought he was excellent. First one to go out there on first full-squad day,” Boone said. “The crowd’s full, he’s facing the big boys. What I liked is, he was filling up the zone with it too. The stuff obviously jumps off the page at you. Thought he held his stuff, most importantly held his strike throwing. February, but really good to see him out there.”
Lagrange, the No. 79 prospect on MLB Pipeline’s latest Top 100 rankings, logged a 3.22 ERA with 104 punchouts over 78.1 innings in Double-A Somerset last season. Boone has compared the 22-year-old to former Yankees reliever Dellin Betances, based on his 6-foot-7 frame and blistering fastball.
The next step for Lagrange is to develop the “next layer” of strike throwing, according to Boone, but his overall makeup and leadership traits have grabbed the coaching staff’s attention. Lagrange’s composure against Judge and other Yankees sluggers was lauded, too.
“That’s a big thing to walk in to, for a guy who hasn’t been over here,” Boone said. “It didn’t seem like a big thing to him. He was just out there executing… After the homer, he really came back and executed. The chanegup is special. I thought the sweeper was a good pitch for him, got a lot of outs with it. Fun to watch all that unfold.”
The Yankees will begin Grapefruit League action on Friday against the Orioles, and Boone said Lagrange has a very strong chance of starting the game in Sarasota.
Positive updates on Cam Schlittler, Anthony Volpe
Anthony Volpe took the next step forward in his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery, starting a hitting program on Monday that included some dry swings, per Boone.
With the expectation of Volpe missing at least all of April while rehabbing, utilityman Jose Caballero should see ample playing time at shortstop and create some in-season competition.
Meanwhile, Cam Schlittler is scheduled to throw off the mound on Tuesday, less than a week after revealing a minor back issue.
The right-hander was never shut down completely — he threw on flat ground over the weekend and neither Schlittler nor Boone expressed actual concern about the mild injury.
“He was built up pretty good and we didn’t shut him down at all,” Boone said. “I don’t think we thought it was a big issue, but more of one we wanted to get out in front of, just in case.”
The New York Mets have not had a team captain since David Wright retired in 2018. And that will continue as long as Steve Cohen owns the franchise, he said.
“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain,” Cohen told reporters before the Mets’ first full-squad workout on Monday. “That was my decision. My view is the locker room is unique. Let the locker room sort it out year in, year out.”
“As long as I’m owning the team, there will never be a team captain. That was my decision. My view is, the locker room is unique and let the locker room sort it out year-in, year-out.”
Sentiment had been building toward shortstop Francisco Lindor being named captain going into his sixth season with the team. The Mets even appeared to indicate that by including him in a video honoring Wright when his number was retired last season. (The team deleted the video, but it can still be found online.)
The topic was raised before last season, but Mets players such as outfielder Brandon Nimmo pointed out that several in the clubhouse — including Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Sean Manaea — filled the role as team leader at various times.
The Mets have had four official team captains in franchise history. The first was Keith Hernandez, given the honor in 1987 after the team won the World Series. Hernandez shared the designation during the 1988 and ’89 seasons with Gary Carter. The team then went without a captain for 11 seasons until John Franco received the title.
After Franco left New York as a free agent, the Mets again went without a captain for eight years until David Wright was named by the organization during the spring of 2013. No one in team history might embody a team captain more than Wright. He was given the nickname “Captain America” during the World Baseball Classic that year.
At the time, only two other MLB teams had designated captains: Paul Konerko with the Chicago White Sox and Derek Jeter with the New York Yankees.
Last season, three teams had captains: Salvador Perez with the Kansas City Royals, Marcus Semien with the Texas Rangers and Aaron Judge with the New York Yankees. Semien is now Lindor’s middle infield partner at second base after being acquired in exchange for Nimmo in November.
“My view is every year, the team’s different, and let the team kind of figure it out in the locker room rather than having a designation,” Cohen added, via MLB.com. “Having a captain in baseball doesn’t happen often. It’s actually unusual. Whatever previous ownership did, that was their way of doing things. I look at things differently.”
The importance of the team captain role for the Yankees is likely a reason Mets fans give the title some value. It could also be viewed as a reward for a longtime star, like Lindor has been for the Mets.
During his five seasons in Queens, he has batted .261/.338/.462 with 148 doubles, 141 home runs, 445 RBI and 117 stolen bases. This year, he’ll tie the number of seasons he played with the Cleveland Guardians before being traded to the Mets before the 2021 campaign.
