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⚾ Five things to know Thursday
- The Guardians took over first place in the AL Central as the Tigers continue to implode. Cleveland defeated Detroit, 5-1, to take sole possession of first place in the division for the first time since April 22. The Tigers held a 10-game lead earlier this month, but an abysmal 5-15 record in September has them in jeopardy of missing the playoffs entirely.
- Will the United States team be able to handle the pressure during the Ryder Cup? That’s the big question as the teams get set to tee off on Friday morning. The Americans face heavy pressure to win on their home soil at Bethpage Black, especially with the teams so evenly matched. Here are a few keys to a U.S. victory — not the least of which is leaning on the home crowd for extra juice.
- Nationals hire Red Sox AGM Paul Toboni to lead their front office. There’s a new regime in Washington. The Nats have reportedly hired Toboni to be their top baseball operations executive, and he will be tasked with turning a promising young core into wins and championships. The good news is there is really only one way to go. Since the Nationals won the World Series in 2019, only the lowly Rockies have lost more games.
- Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy looks likely to return Sunday. The Chiefs’ offense has yet to hit its stride in this season, but it seems like one key piece will return this weekend. Worthy, a second-year receiver, was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice and appears to be primed for a return after dislocating his shoulder in Week 1. The timing couldn’t be better for Kansas City, which is looking to avoid a 1-3 start in a showdown against Baltimore.
- Trinidad Chambliss is expected to get the start for No. 13 Ole Miss vs. No. 4 LSU. The Ferris State transfer has taken the scenic route to the SEC spotlight, but all eyes will be on him as he leads the Rebels on Saturday afternoon. Since taking over for the injured Austin Simmons, Chambliss has asserted himself as the team’s No. 1 option with 660 yards passing, 174 yards rushing and five total touchdowns. The level of difficult ramps up as the Tigers roll into The Grove this weekend.
💪💪 Do not miss this: Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge smash pair of historic home runs
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They say chicks did the the long ball, but I think we can all agree that everyone digs the long ball after last night. Multi-homer performances from Cal Raleigh and Aaron Judge propelled both players deeper into the record books.
In the midst of a magical season, Raleigh clobbered his 59th and 60th dingers of the season against the Rockies to put himself in rare air. The Mariners catcher is just the fourth player in AL history to hit 60 homer runs in a single season, and he’s the first who wasn’t a member of the Yankees at the time.
Now the question is whether Raleigh can hit three more home runs in Seattle’s final four games to break Judge’s AL record of 62 home runs. It’s a tall task, but I wouldn’t bet against Raleigh after all he’s accomplished this year — especially since the Mariners just clinched the AL West crown.
Not to be outdone, Judge joined Babe Ruth last night when he belted his 50th and 51st home runs of the season against the White Sox. Judge is now the first Yankee with back-to-back 50-homer seasons since the Sultan of Swat did it in 1927-28.
Oh, is that not impressive enough for you? Well, R.J. Anderson explains how Judge placed himself among (and, in one way, above) some of the greatest sluggers baseball has ever seen.
- Anderson: “Judge now has four career 50-plus homer seasons, tying him with Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire, and Babe Ruth for the most in Major League Baseball history. Judge is the only member of that bunch to record all four seasons over the span of his first 10 years in the majors.”
It’s only fitting that these two went back and forth as the AL MVP race comes down to the wire. Just a few days ago, Matt Snyder wrote about what Raleigh needs to do in order to beat out Judge. Getting to 60 homers was one of the biggest keys, and Raleigh has done that now.
📈 Jared Goff, Daniel Jones climb in NFL QB Power Rankings
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Another week of NFL football in the books means more data with which to argue about quarterbacks online. Fortunately for all of us, Cody Benjamin has all the info you need in his latest edition of the QB Power Rankings.
It’s funny how our impressions of players can change so quickly. After Week 1, Jared Goff was cooked without Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator. Now, he’s in the top five of these very rankings after back-to-back impressive performances. And coming into the season, Daniel Jones was a cast-off and the best of two bad options in Indy. Now, he’s in the top-10 after an incendiary start.
- Benjamin: “The Colts are looking like a real threat to win the AFC South, and Jones is reason No. 1 alongside an MVP-esque Jonathan Taylor. He’s airing it out with career-best accuracy and poise.”
With Jones playing so well, he is earning a boatload of cash in a contract year. It’s even gotten to the point that our own Joel Corry has pondered whether Jones could be the next $30 million quarterback.
Perhaps the biggest faller in these QB Power Rankings to this point in the season has been C.J. Stroud. He’s following up a concerning sophomore season with a disastrous third year in the NFL. Mike Renner handed out grades for each quarterback still on his rookie contract, and Stroud may need summer school.
🎓 Grading first-year CFB coaches
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Last offseason’s coaching carousel wasn’t the most chaotic, but some big names landed new gigs. Bill Belichick made the jump to the college ranks, Rich Rodriguez reunited with West Virginia and Scott Frost did the same at UCF.
So, after the first month quarter, how are those new coaches grading out? Shehan Jeyarajah went into professor mode and graded each first-year coach’s start — at the Power Four and Group of Six ranks alike. To this point, Belichick has flunked every test he’s faced, and it may not get better anytime soon.
- Jeyarajah: “Four games in, it looks like one of the most disastrous hires in recent memory. The Tar Heels are 2-2, but have been outscored 82-23 against Power Four competition. Going on the road and losing 34-9 against a UCF team projected among one of the worst in the Big 12 was a historically awful moment for the program. There’s a realistic chance that the Tar Heels lose out, which would mark the worst season in Chapel Hill since 2003.”
It may not be pretty for Belichick, but not everyone had to act like the dog ate their report card. Take the Mountain West, for instance. Three of the four first-year coaches out there earned at least an A-, and the only on that didn’t, Dan Mullen, received a B+.
👍👎 The best (and not-so-best) of the rest
📺 What we’re watching Thursday
⚽ Catch all the UEFA Europa League action on Paramount+.
⚾ Pirates at Reds, 12:40 p.m. on MLB Network
⚾ Dodgers at Diamondbacks, 3:40 p.m. on MLB Network
🏈 Army at East Carolina, 7:30 p.m. on ESPN
⚾ Mets at Cubs, 7:40 p.m. on MLB Network
🏈 Seahawks at Cardinals, 8:15 p.m. on Prime Video