TNF Picks || MLB Team by Team Review of the Season and What They Need to do in the Offseason. || College Football Sign Stealing Scandal.

Edition #16

Intro

We’re in for the long haul today, people.

There were no NBA, NFL, or MLB games the WHOLE DAY. I turned to look at what was happening in hockey with the Sharks, my favorite team, but of course, when I looked at the stats, I saw that they had a -41 POINT DIFFERENTIAL! Now in football, it’s crazy but not that crazy. In hockey? Where every team scores 1 or 2 goals a game?

By the way, I’m having a very special opportunity for the public to ask me questions and every single question will be on the podcast, so please go ahead and either respond to this email or create a new one to either sportssquare@substack.com or thebest616161@gmail.com.

Let’s get this started, fellas. (Another btw, I’m not going in order today…)

Real Quick Headlines

Cricket

In the ODI Cricket World Cup yesterday, Australia WON against Afghanistan in a BIG comeback win. Glenn Maxwell hit a double centurion as they were down badly. Glenn Maxwell came in after 5 outs and also saw Marcus Stoinis and Mitchell Starc get out, but he really took off in the partnership with Pat Cummins, which lasted the whole game. Maxwell hit 201 runs while Cummins had only 12 and Glenn actually started limping at about 155 which is when he started hitting big. Maxwell would have probably never even hit a 100 if Afghanistan didn’t drop the catches.

Baseball

Gold Glove Winners:

American League

First base: Nathaniel Lowe, Rangers

Second base: Andrés Giménez, Guardians

Third base: Matt Chapman, Blue Jays

Shortstop: Anthony Volpe, Yankees

Catcher: Jonah Heim, Rangers

Pitcher: José Berríos, Blue Jays

Left field: Steven Kwan, Guardians

Center field: Kevin Kiermaier, Blue Jays

Right field: Adolis García, Rangers

Utility: Mauricio Dubón, Astros

National League

First base: Christian Walker, D-backs

Second base: Nico Hoerner, Cubs

Third base: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Pirates

Shortstop: Dansby Swanson, Cubs

Catcher: Gabriel Moreno, D-backs

Pitcher: Zack Wheeler, Phillies

Left field: Ian Happ, Cubs

Center field: Brenton Doyle, Rockies

Right field: Fernando Tatis Jr., Padres

Utility: Ha-Seong Kim, Padres

College Football Sign Scandal

This news is…. old…

But we have a lot more updates on this and they’re all interesting. (At least, to me…)

Michigan has submitted evidence to the Big Ten alleging that Ohio State, Rutgers, and Purdue shared information about the Wolverines' signals ahead of the Big Ten Championship Game in 2022, ESPN reports. The information comes as the Wolverines make their case to avoid punishment in an alleged wide-ranging sign-stealing ring. 

According to the allegation, Ohio State shared offensive signals and Rutgers shared defensive signals ahead of Michigan's 45-23 victory over Purdue to win its second consecutive Big Ten championship. Documents were revealed earlier on Tuesday in Sports Illustrated that appeared to reveal sheets that identified Michigan signals with corresponding plays. 

Also, some updates that came earlier are that…

Documents show other Big Ten teams decoded Michigan's signs

Michigan is planning to present evidence to Big Ten officials that shows other Big Ten programs decoded the Wolverines signals and distributed them to future opponents. The documents showed how Michigan opponents decoded signals and matched them with run or pass plays the team was planning on running. This news comes one day after the AP reported that a former Big Ten employee stole signs and helped compile a spreadsheet of those signs to use against the Wolverines.

Jim Harbaugh is in big trouble. Everyone knows it. He was supposed to land a big job in the NFL but decided to stay. A suspension is near, and when it does, Harbaugh is definitely going to regret his choice. At least for me, I say that he should’ve gone.

Team by Team Preview For Reviewing the Last Season and What They Need to Do in the Offseason?

So, we’re going to start this series, which is basically reviewing each MLB team. We’re going to start from the top record teams to the bottom record team, so sorry Athletics fans, but you’re last.

Team #1: Braves

Last season for this team was… CRAZY!

I mean, a 40/70 season from Ronald Acuña Jr., then Matt Olson blasting 54 HRs? Brian Snitker is doing an AMAZING job. But, he fell into the Dave Roberts curse, winning the most games but losing in the NLDS. It was close, but after having one of the most historical seasons, falling short almost felt like a crime to the baseball world. The Phillies, the team the Braves lost to in the postseason, are just better in the postseason. They always sneak their way in and make long runs, just like the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Braves are definitely favorites next year, but it also heavily depends on what they do in free agency, which they already made a few moves.

They picked up Charlie Morton’s $20 million dollar offer, but many people are talking about Juan Soto and Lourdes Guriel Jr. coming over. In fact, even Ronald Acuña, the Braves star player, voiced out a message for Juan Soto to come over and join his team. They also declined Eddie Rosario’s option, which is why everyone’s talking about Lourdes Guriel Jr. If Juan Soto joins, this team, which is obviously making the playoffs, will make the World Series unless the Dodgers do something HUGE in the offseason. Lourdes Guriel Jr. will also make a massive impact on this team. I mean, look at his stats.

He had 18 hits, with 3 doubles and 3 home runs. He also had a .273 average, and all of this in 17 games.

His regular season stats included 144 hits, 35 doubles, 2 triples, and 24 home runs. He had a batting average of .261. He also stole 19 bases. Compare that to Eddie Rosario who only had 122 hits, 21 home runs, 24 doubles, and an average of .255. The only category in which he leads is triples, where he leads only by ONE. He did this in 142 games, while Guriel did it in 145 games. Not such a big difference.

So, Braves fans, I don’t need to tell you to have hope for the next season. With these two key additions, the Braves can really take a step further in the offense. What I didn’t talk about is pitching.

The Braves had pretty good pitching last year, but in lots of key moments, it failed them. Getting someone strong like Aaron Nola or Shohei Ohtani could work, but the salary cap situation doesn’t look super good for the Braves. Henceforth, the Braves have to try to get someone underrated and for a super cheap price so that they can improve their pitching, or else I mean, Max Fried, Spencer Strider, and Charlie Morton is still a very strong rotation (plus the other two guys).

TNF Picks

The Bears.

The Panthers made a pretty big mistake, drafting Bryce Young. Hey, at least he beat the #2 overall QB in the draft, C.J. Stroud.

The Bears haven’t lived up to the expectations this season, and they're probably not making the playoffs, but they added Montez Sweat at the trade deadline and Justin Fields’s weapon D.J. Moore is still sticking around. Although, Justin Field may not play.

Tyson Bagent is pretty good and if he starts this game, it’ll still be the Bears that win because of all the weapons, but it will be a close one. Whereas, if Justin Fields started, since he’s a little more experienced, he will certainly do better than Tyson Bagent.

Conclusion

Well, that’s it for this one. Remember to email me or comment with your questions for the “Ask Smayan” Edition. This will be next Friday and could be pushed back if we don’t have enough questions. If you have any feedback on this newsletter, don’t hesitate to email me at thebest616161@gmail.com or reply to this email.