We or at least the JAM and Fanning the Flames guys took to the bar on Sunday to host the postgame reaction to the Suns winning Game Four and evening up the series with the Lakers at 2-2 https://www.phoenixfanstoreonline.com/Etwaun_Moore_Face_Mask-92. Us Solar Panel boys all called in to participate in the pod, including Dave popping back and forth from postgame Zoom interviews to share and discuss their comments in the pod. Here the vidIf you like to just listen right here https://www.phoenixfanstoreonline.com/Ty_shon_Alexander_Pet_Jersey-134. . . About UsFollow the Suns Solar Panel crew on Twitter SunsSolarPanel, Espo, DaveKingNBA and Saul_BookmanDave has media access to all the Suns games, practices, press conferences for Bright Side and Solar Panel, while Espo brings his insights as a former Suns employee for half decade who still has his connections. Saul covers all Arizona sports for Fox Sports Arizona as a producer and personality on digital media. Like us on Facebook at www. Facebook. com/SunsSolarPanel and subscribe via YouTube. We are LIVE every Saturday, plus special editions. If you miss the live shows, you can watch later on YouTube or listen to the podcast. Email the Show: MailbagSolarPanelPod. comSubscribe to the Suns Solar Panel Podcast on Apple Podcasts Jae Crowder Pet Jersey, Spotify, Overcast, Google Play Stitcher, or any other podcast app that pops up.

In an undated 13-second video shot by a friend https://www.brooklynfanstoreonline.com/Spencer_Dinwiddie_Flag-143, Kevin Durant is shown running, jumping, moving laterally and making mid-range jumpers. It the latest is a series of enticing looks at KD recovery and rehab that began last June with images of him on crutches at his Los Angeles home. Here the video. . . KD looking good right about now: __devonte__ on IG Julius Erving Pet Jersey, Among those working out with KD is Nets assistant coach Adam Harrington, who was Durant shooting coach in Oklahoma City and personal trainer. There is no indication that the video indicates any change in the Nets repeated assertion that the 10-time All-Star will not return this year https://www.brooklynfanstoreonline.com/Face_Masks-55, but it certain to engender new questions for Kenny Atkinson, Sean Marks and KD himself. Durant agent, business manager and partner in Thirty Five Ventures, did offer a cryptic message in a response to the video: ic Tok. he Nets have been stingy in providing details on Durant rehab, but as a Nets insider told NetsDaily, if media catches a glimpse of Durant doing something that looks like a milestone, it likely that it not the first time it happened, just the first time theye seen it.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NBA. Each week, we send out questions to the most plugged in Orlando Magic fans, and fans across the country https://www.storeorlando.com/Hoodies-29. One major reason it believed the league was so adamant on finishing this early is because of the expected 2021 Olympics this summer. However, only 44 percent of fans believe that a worthy reason for playing games at this pace. While the schedule is difficult for everyone, some teams are having more success than others. That in large part due to the success of star players around the league. This year MVP race has seen a changing group of players from start to finish. As the season nears its end, though, one player has emerged as the front runner for the award. 61 percent of fans nationally think Denver Nuggets big man Nikola Joki is the league MVP. Phoenix Suns guard Chris Paul was the next closest with 17 percent. While Joki appears to be the clear MVP, that doesn mean he considered the best player in the game right now Chasson Randle Hoodie. That title, according to fans, still goes to Lakers superstar LeBron James. Paul re-emergence with the Suns has been a game-changer. The point guard was picked as the player who has made the biggest difference on their new team https://www.storeorlando.com/Moritz_Wagner_Hoodie-51, far surpassing Brooklyn James Harden. Former Magic star Aaron Gordon took three percent of the vote. To vote in the Reacts surveys and have your voice heard each week,

Pitching philosophies are constantly changing it seems. Wee all well aware of how much the Pittsburgh Pirates loved to use the sinker during their playoff runs of the early 2010. Wee now seeing how much spin and the ability to measure it has led to teams adopting a certain thinking about how pitching should be done. Part of the previous coaching regime philosophy when it comes to pitching was that the higher the spin rate https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Tim_Mccarver_Face_Mask-470, the better. High spin rate is en vogue these days, meaning that part of what Gabe Kapler and Chris Young loved so much was to throw those four seam fastballs at, or near, the top of the zone, then follow with high spin curveballs down to either grab the bottom or cause batters to chase the pitch out of the strike zone. While that type of philosophy might be sound in its logic, there is also the idea that you need those types of pitchers in order to fully implement that thinking into the gameplanning. Zach Eflin might have something to say about that.Last year, Joe Girardi and Bryan Price came in and tried to teach to do what you do best. For someone like Eflin, that meant leaning into his best pitches more often, which explains the huge spike in sinker usage in 2020. It something so simple (use your best pitches more) that it makes one wonder why teams need to continue reinventing the game https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Mauricio_Llovera_Hoodie-152. Unfortunately, with Price departure, there may have been a fear that whoever was going to replace him would get away from that line of thinking.With Caleb Cotham coming in, the team looked like on the surface that they were leaning into the concepts of pitch design a little more since Cotham is a well known devotee to the methods and teaching of Driveline Baseball. It not as though Kapler and Young were not disciples of that group as well, but it felt that they were so devoted to one line of thinking https://www.philadelphiagearstore.com/Alec_Bohm_Flag-187, they were going to force their pitchers to adopt the igh four seam/high spin curveball thinking whether they were going to be successful or not. Where we can already see a difference in them and in Cotham is in an idea so simple, so obvious, it sometime easy to forget, yet has led to success through their first four games (yes, yes, yes small sample size).Throw strikes! Throw them early and throw them often!Weird, right?This type of thinking, the basic tenet of pitching is something that has eluded the team for these past few years, but so far in the early going looks like it is manifesting itself in the games.

The first place Mets head to Petco Park to conclude their seven-game road trip with four against the second place San Diego Padres . The last time these two clubs squared off out west, Chris Paddack and Pete Alonso were beefing, and things got unnecessarily weird and personal on social media between the Padres fanbase and Polar Bear Pete after that. During that season, the two teams split their six games, with each side winning two out of three at home. The Mets finished off a 17-9 May with a 6-2 win on Memorial Day against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Jacob deGrom made his second start off the IL and was spectacular, striking out eight and scattering two hits over six scoreless innings. Pete Alonso also returned to the lineup with a bang, launching his seventh home run of the year and driving in four of the team runs. Billy McKinney hit his second homer in as many games https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Mike_Piazza_Hoodie-81, and Francisco Lindor, Dominic Smith, and Jos Peraza each contributed two hits in the victory. The calendar turned to June, and the Mets suffered an all-too-familiar frustrating June loss. The Mets grabbed a four-run lead, thanks to a two-run homer by Smith in the fourth, a Lindor triple in the sixth, and a Smith sac fly in the same inning. Marcus Stroman was cruising through the first five innings, but the right-hander ran into trouble in the sixth and surrendered a three-run blast to Nick Pavin to bring Arizona to within a run. The game remained 4-3 until the ninth, when Josh Rojas singled with two on against Edwin Daz to tie the game. The Mets pushed a run across in the tenth, but the Diamondbacks countered with two off Trevor May to steal a victory from the Mets. New York secured a series win on Wednesday, defeating the Dacks 7-6 in a Youtube-streamed game. The Mets got off to a rousing start, with the first six batters picking up hits as they built a four-run lead against the ineffective Madison Bumgarner. David Peterson, unfortunately, was equally ineffective and couldn escape the first as the lefty was tagged for five earned runs. The Mets tied it up in the second on a James McCann single, and went ahead in the fifth thanks to a Brandon Drury run-scoring hit https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Tylor_Megill_Pillow_Cover-399. The Diamondbacks knotted it up in the sixth against Seth Lugo in his second inning of work in his first game back, and the game remained that way until the ninth. That when Alonso pushed home the game-deciding run with a single to plate Lindor. One night after blowing his first save of the year, Daz successfully closed the door. The Mets, who still seem to be weeks away from getting Jeff McNeil, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, or J. D. Davis back, were happy to see Alonso and Kevin Pillar return to the lineup. Alonso, who looked uncomfortable at the plate prior to landing on the injured list, looked significantly better as he went 5-for-13 while driving in five runs and scoring three. Pillar, who got his first start on Wednesday, contributed three hits in seven at-bats. In the meantime, the Mets have been seeing some positive signs from their stars as of late, which is absolutely critical with reinforcements still so far away. Smith broke a 138 at-bat homerless draught during the series and, in general, has seen better results lately. In his last six games, Smith is slashing . 474/. 542/. 737 with a homer, two doubles, four runs driven in, and a 242 wRC+. Lindor, meanwhile, has broken out of his seasons-long doldrums, hitting . 310/. 333/. 517 with a homer, a double, a triple, six runs scores, and a 135 wRC+ over his last seven games. No one has come around quicker than McCann, who is slashing . 357/. 400/. 786 with three homers, nine runs batted in, five runs scored, and a 221 wRC+ in his last eight games. The Padres lost their hold on first place in the National League West after getting swept by the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field. San Diego enters this series as losers of four straight, and they could be without their star, Fernando Tatis Jr. , for a little while, after he left Tuesday night loss with right oblique tightness. There is no word yet on his status for the upcoming series or beyond, but oblique injuries are tricky, and his club could look to exercise caution to make sure they have him for the long run. Prior to the injury, Tatis Jr. had been enjoying an MVP-caliber season. Despite 50 fewer plate appearances than Ronald Acua Jr. , he trails him by just one home run in the NL leaderboard https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Ron_Darling_Pillow_Cover-343. He currently leads the Padres with his 16 homers, a 179 wRC+, a . 400 ISO, and a 2. 1 fWAR, while hitting . 279/. 376/. 693. The Mets may also miss Trent Grisham, who is eligible to return on Friday but might require a short rehab stint before being activated. The center fielder is slashing . 301/. 383/. 515 with six homers Brandon Drury Flag, a . 213 ISO, a 149 wRC+, and a 1. 8 fWAR in 36 games. Second baseman Jake Cronenworth has had a great offensive season for San Diego, as he put up a . 282/. 350/. 418 slash line five home runs, a 115 wRC+, and a 1. 5 fWAR in a team-high 56 games. Manny Machado, who finished third in NL MVP voting in 2020, is hitting . 239/. 330/. 402 with six home runs, a 105 wRC+, and a 1. 0 fWAR in 50 games. Thursday, June 3: Taijuan Walker vs. Yu Darvish, 10:10 p. m. on SNYWalker : 66. 2 IP, 79 K, 16 BB, 6 HR, 2. 16 ERA, 2. 92 FIP, 0. 93 WHIP, 1. 5 bWARDarvish has stepped in and taken up the mantle as ace of the Padres rotation since arriving from Chicago. After finishing second in the Cy Young voting for the Chicago Cubs last season, he ranks sixth among qualified NL starters in ERA, sixth in WAR https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Franklyn_Kilome_Face_Mask-208, Musgrove has been everything the Padres could have hoped for when they acquired him from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a three-team dealhe same trade that netted New York Lucchesiver the offseason. Musgrove https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Tylor_Megill_Hoodie-138, who grew up rooting for the Padres, threw the first no-hitter in San Diego 53-season history in his second start for the club on April 9 against the Texas Rangers. Two starts after that incredible feat, he punched out a season-high 13 in a seven-inning effort against the Milwaukee Brewers, one he would go on to lose after giving up two earned runs. He currently has a 17-inning scoreless streak, having shut out his opponents in his last three outings, which includes five innings out of the bullpen on May 30 in his last outing https://www.newprostoreonline.com/Carlos_Carrasco_Hoodie-110. Stroman was cruising in his last start, until he wasn. He gave up exactly one hit in each of his first four innings, but only allowed one runner into scoring position, and then he pitched a perfect fifth. Leading into the sixth, all looked normal, as his team held a three-run lead, but things turned quickly in the sixth. He gave up two hard hit singles and, after briefly recovering to strike out David Peralta, he surrendered a no-doubt-about it homer to Pavin. He escaped the inning and his outing did register as a quality start, as he was charged with three earned runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. It was his second start this year without issuing a walk, and his first since April 13. In total, he threw 74% of his 90 pitches for strikes. Over his last three starts, he allowed five earned runs in 18 innings pitched. TBDThe Padres have not yet named a starting pitcher for Sunday afternoon series finale against the Mets. Prediction: The Mets and Padres will split their four games at Petco Park. Poll How will the Mets fare in their four game series against the Padres

Today the Boston Red Sox come to town, and as we have done for all our opponents thus far, we talked to our sister site, in this case Over the Monster. Matt Collins, the site manager at OtM was a good sport and answered my questions, and as always, we thank him for doing so. 1. How did the offseason go for the Red Sox Are there any big acquisitions you are really excited about Are there any you find a huge disappointmentThe Red Sox had so much work to do this winter it was almost impossible for it not to feel a little underwhelming https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Kenta_Maeda_Pillow_Cover-277. And I think that was the general feeling coming into spring training. It wasn that they were inactive or even that people were actively mad about this winter, but rather that the offseason was very much a quantity over quality approach and after losing Mookie Betts (and others) recently, not getting any star power back was a big of a disappointment. That said, I think there were some moves that people excited. Probably tops among them were Enrique Hernndez and Garrett Richards, neither of whom are expected to be stars, but rather solid contributors https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Torii_Hunter_T_shirt-18. I not sure there was any that was seen as a massive disappointment since it was more about the lack of big moves. But if I had to pick one it probably be Hunter Renfroe, less because of anything specifically with him and more due to the fact that they didn really do a ton in the outfield and he was one of the few underwhelming moves there https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Gary_Gaetti_Pet_Jersey-208. 2. Looking back at that Mookie Betts trade, Brusdar Graterol was a relatively small portion, but having seen his success in LA, do you wish the original deal had gone through, or are you happier with the way it worked out in the endI mean, this is one of those things where it really hard for me not to just say I wish neither had happened. There was no scenario in which I wanted Betts traded. But to choose one, I rather go with what they have. That not really anything to do with Graterol, to be clear. He obviously incredibly talented. My issue is more that I didn want the top prospect coming back in the trade to be a pitcher because the Red Sox are historically not great at getting the most out of pitching prospects. The organization needed to get value they could worth with back in that trade, and I much more confident in them getting the most out of someone like Jeter Downs than someone like Graterol, even if it reasonable to want the latter in a vacuum. 3. Are the Sox rebuilding Its sort of hard to tellhey don seem to be trying to compete this year, but also, they still spent some money. What is their timeline to be competitive again Is this one of those Yankee reloads where they have a own year or two and then suddenly are amazing, or is this a real rebuild Do you believe that the Chaim Bloom front office is the right team be successfulThis one is a little complicated because I think everyone has a different definition of rebuilding. If you are asking in the sense of an Orioles-like rebuild where you strip everything down to the studs, then absolutely not. That will never happen with this ownership, who are far too aware of their standing in the Boston sports scene to allow themselves to fall into obscurity in the city landscape. That said, theye certainly not built like a team that expects to win a World Series. I think that could be the focus as soon as next season again depending on how hard theye willing to go after pitcher over the offseason, so in that sense I guess it is similar to the Yankees. I just think it important to acknowledge that it very hard to do that well. I think Chaim Bloom has been very good at getting a little extra value in these small-to-medium kind of deals, but to really be able to take the next step theyl need to be able to hit the home run in the front office as well. I have no reason to think Bloom explicitly can be successful in those types of scenarios, but we haven gotten a chance to see it yet. 4. Give us a quick rundown on the pitchers we are scheduled to face this week So things start with Martn Prez, who you guys are of course pretty familiar with. Prez is still utilizing the same soft contact-oriented approach he started to use in Minnesota, and as is typically the case with that kind of pitcher the results have been varied. He a big fan favorite in Boston though, partially due to him just being a great guy and partially due to him being the only thing resembling a reliable pitcher in 2020. The hope is always going to be more for him to keep the team in the game rather than looking for a dominant performance. After that Nathan Eovaldi takes the mound, and for my money he the most underrated player on this Red Sox team, and that both by Red Sox fans and nationally. The injury history always takes center stage, and while that certainly not unfair his talent when he pitching is real. He added more to his repertoire this year as well, with his big 99 mph fastball now being the third or fourth offering in his toolbelt. As long as he throwing strikes, I always confident he can put together a solid outing, though obviously the Twins lineup is one to put that theory to the test. Eduardo Rodriguez gets the third game in this series in what will be his second start of the season. As I sure most people reading this know, he had to sit out all of 2020 after getting COVID and then subsequently being diagnosed with myocarditis. His return last week was really great https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Byung_ho_Park_Face_Mask-170, to see just getting him back on the mound. But the reality is the Red Sox need him to be the staff ace. He has the stuff to lead this rotation and be a top-20 to 30 pitcher in the game, but it just a matter of him trusting that stuff enough to attack rather than nibble. He was solid in his first start, though there was some rust to be shaken off as well. And finally, Garrett Richards pitches in the series finale. It been a total rollercoaster for him early in this season. He got rocked in his first start, and then looked like he was getting rocked again last time out before righting the ship as the start went on. He had some trouble with command as well as adding in a reliable third pitch since the spring, so this would seem to be Minnesota best chance to put up a crooked number in this series. 5. Who are one or two players we have probably never heard of that will have an impact on this series Nick Gordon Hoodie, or on the season overallWee got to go with Garrett Whitlock here, who was a Rule 5 pick this past winter. That he was taken from the Yankees makes it all the sweeter that he looks to be an absolute steal of an addition to the organization. Wee obviously still dealing with small sample sizes, but even going back to the spring his stuff just looks nasty. He added two or three ticks to his fastball to get it up consistently around 95, and he basically learned an entirely new changeup from Matt Andriese. For now, Whitlock is pitching in middle relief, but he already being moved into higher leverage spots and long-term the hope is that he can settle in as a back-end starter https://www.minnesotagearshop.com/Alex_Colome_Pillow_Cover-134. 6. Anything else you want Twins fans to knowThe only other thing Il add is that if any Red Sox fan complains about Matt Barnes, don listen to them. He rules.

The Milwaukee Brewers didn hit for average in 2020 (. 223, 26th in MLB). The lineup collectively struggled to put the ball in play (26. 6% K rate, 3rd) and get on base consistently (. 313, 21st). They also had difficulties as a defensive unit, costing the pitching staff according to both Defensive Runs Saved (-9, 22nd) and Ultimate Zone Runs (-6. 4, t-22nd). Often times during the pandemic-shortened campaign, they were a tough team to watch. This offseason, the front office saw fit to target and acquire one of the few available players who should help shore up all of the weaknesses in one single package https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Josh_Hader_Pillow_Cover-237. After his team option was somewhat surprisingly declined by the St. Louis Cardinals, Kolten Wong signed a two-year deal with the Brewers in February that includes a 2023 team option and some significant deferred money to help ease the 2021 payroll burden. Wong arrival displaced incumbent second baseman and former top prospect Keston Hiura, who shifted down the defensive spectrum to the cold corner in order to accommodate his new teammate at the keystone. The move should pay immediate and significant dividends for the Cream City Nine defensive alignment, though; Wong is a two-time Gold Glove award winner at second base and is considered to be one of the finest defenders at the position in all of baseball https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Corey_Ray_Pet_Jersey-176. He was graded at +5 DRS in 2020, whereas Hiura was a -8 DRS player last summer, the worst among qualified second baseman by 5 runs. He has never been well-regarded defensively as a prospect and big leaguer and has been dogged by questions about whether or not he can stick at the position. Wong arrival will not only shore up the middle of the diamond, but his offensive skillset should serve the lineup in many ways that theye been lacking. True, the diminutive Wong has and will never be expected to be much of a power threat; he slugged above . 400 only twice in his parts of 8 MLB seasons and has thrice hit 10+ home runs. But Wong is among the best in the game at putting the bat on the baseball, owning only a 15. 2% career strikeout rate. Last year, he was in the 90th percentile in K rate and 94th percentile in whiff rate among MLB players. He a career . 261 hitter who has walked in 9% of his plate appearances over the past five seasons while posting a . 350 on-base percentage. He also a valuable base runner twice swiped 20+ bags in a season and has rated positively on the basepaths in every year of his career, generating 23. 8 runs of value. The Brewers have plenty of thump from other sources in their lineup, but too often in recent years they have struggled to make contact when the situation calls for it. Wong should provide a welcome change in direction on that front https://www.milwaukeefanstoreonline.com/Travis_Shaw_Face_Mask-330. He has done plenty of leading off for the Craig Counsell so far this spring and could continue in that role into the regular season, at least against right-handed pitchers; Wong, like many left-handed batters, does carry a somewhat significant split during his career, with a 79 wRC+ against same-handed hurlers versus a 101 wRC+ when holding the platoon advantage. Wong has had high praise for the Brewers and their ewer way of doing things since arriving in camp, but that ew way could also mean plenty of playing matchups for Counsell when he puts together his lineups this season. Fans could see any of several other men manning the keystone at various times this season, including Hiura, Luis Urias, Daniel Robertson, and, when healthy, Tim Lopes and Mark Mathias Dylan File Pillow Cover. If he doesn win the starting shortstop job, Orlando Arcia could be moving around the diamond this year, and non-roster invite Pablo Reyes has made a strong impression during camp. Jace Peterson is back on a minors deal for depth, too. In the MinorsThe Brewers have some strong middle infield prospect depth throughout the lower levels of their system, but a lot of those guys are still over at shortstop right now. Brice Turang is someone to watch along those lines, he one of the top prospects in the org. Freddy Zamora, Hayden Cantrelle, David Hamilton, and Gabe Holt are talents added in recent draft classes, and Jamie Westbrook is an intriguing minor league signee who should provide depth with upside in Double-A or Triple-A. Statistics courtesy of Fangraphs, Baseball-Reference, and Baseball Savant