MLB 2026 BEST BETS- NEWS THRU THE WORLD SERIES !

[Cnotes53]

Monday’s 6-pack
Last six Super Bowl champs (QB):
2025— Seahawks (Darnold)
2024— Eagles (Hurts)
2023— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2022— Chiefs (Mahomes)
2021— Rams (Stafford)
2020— Buccaneers (Brady)

Quote of the Day
“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
Benito Ocasio

Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Who was Minnesota’s QB in 2023?

Sunday’s quiz
Matt Hasselbeck was QB for the Seahawks, the first time they played in a Super Bowl.

Saturday’s quiz
Sam Cunningham is the New England Patriots’ all-time leader in rushing yards.

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Monday’s Den: Wrapping up Super Bowl Sunday……​

— Seahawks 29, Patriots 13
Seattle wins their second Lombardi Trophy.
Kenneth Walker carried ball 27 times for 135 yards.
Jason Myers kicked five FG’s, outscored New England by himself.
Seahawks were +3 in turnovers, scored a defensive TD.

Patriots’ first nine drives: 38 plays, 79 yards, zero points.
Seattle’s first six drives: 42 plays, 183 yards, three FG’s.
Seahawks sacked Drake Maye six times, for 43 yards.
NE was first team since 1974 not to score in first 3 quarters of a Super Bowl

— Weird stat: last ten times New England was in the Super Bowl, they were outscored 27-3 in the first quarter of those games.

— Prop bet update: national anthem was done in 1:57, the under hits.

— I’m oblivious about certain things, and I had never watched the halftime show of any Super Bowl before. Before this week, I’d never heard of Bad Bunny, so I looked him up.
Real name: Benito Ocasio; he is 32 years old
For a while couple years ago, he was a pro wrestler.
He has helped make rap music more popular, world-wide.
During the halftime show, they had a couple on stage getting married, looked like it was part of the act, but apparently, that was an actual marriage ceremony that happened during halftime.

— Thursday night in Week 1 this coming September, Seahawks will be the home team.

— Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator for the Browns this year; he interviewed for the head coach’s job in Cleveland when it opened, and when he didn’t get it, he bolted, even though he has two years left on his contract.

— Former Browns coach Kevin Stefanski was quickly hired by the Atlanta Falcons, who were 5-3 with Kirk Cousins starting this year, 3-6 when he didn’t start, but rumor has it that the Falcons are going to cut him this spring. If he gets cut, he won’t be on the market very long.

— Famous birthdays, February 9th:
Joe Pesci, 83
Jim Nash, 81
Vince Papale, 80
Judith Light, 77
Danny White, 74
Mookie Wilson, 70
John Kruk, 65
Todd Lyght, 57
Vladimir Guerrero Sr, 51
Michael B Jordan, 39
Saquon Barkley, 29
Cobie Durant, 28

— Joe Pompliano posted the following info:
The average TV ad for the Super Bowl was $8M
5-10 ads sold for as much as $10M
For 40% of advertisers, this was their first Super Bowl ads.
NBC requires brands to match the $$$ they spend on Super Bowl on other events too
All in all, NBC was expected to rake in $800M in advertising revenue.

— USC 77, Penn State 75
Freshman G Arenas scored the game-winning hoop with 0:00.7 left.
Penn State shot 60% inside arc, led by 12 early in second half.
Trojans have won three in row, prove to 18-6, 7-6 in conference.
USC. Penn State. Why the bleep are these teams in the same league?!?!?!

— Coastal Carolina 94, UMass 91, 3OT’s
UMass led by 14 with 14:39 left in regulation.
Chanticleers shot 16-34 on the arc, only 8-16 on foul line.
K’Jei Parker scored 31 points in 34:00 for UMass; he didn’t start.

— Texas Tech 70, West Virginia 63
Red Raiders never trailed, shot 13-24 on the arc.
Tech only used two subs, who played 12-3 minutes.
West Virginia shot 66.7% inside arc, 2-22 outside arc.
Tech improves to 17-6, 7-3 in Big X

— South Florida basketball coach Bryan Hodgson used to be an assistant coach at Fredonia State in western New York. I was the student manager of our basketball team in college; we played at Fredonia once, it is a long freakin’ way from Albany, about an hour west of Buffalo.
Very cold there; the young lady who sang the national anthem was very good, that’s all I can remember from that night, 45 or so years ago. Other than thinking, why would anyone want to live here for four years? It was like ten miles past the middle of nowhere.
But coach Hodgson became an assistant to Nate Oats at Buffalo, and moved up the ladder from there. He was 45-28 in two years at Arkansas State and this year his USF Bulls are 16-8, 8-3 in the AAC, so Hodgson is apparently a very good coach.

— North Dakota State is moving up to I-A football and will play in the Mountain West, starting this fall; the move is going to cost the school $17M. Bison have been D-I in basketball for couple decades, but this is a big jump for them.

— NBC is going back to broadcasting baseball this year; Clayton Kershaw, Joey Votto, Anthony Rizzo are going to be their studio analysts.

— Pitchers and catchers report on Tuesday; let’s play ball!!!!

 

[Cnotes53]

Wednesday’s 6-pack
Teams with best eFG% defense in country:
42.7%— Saint Louis (23-1)
43.1%— Michigan (22-1)
44.3%— Marist (16-8)
44.4%— Hawai’i (17-5)
44.4%— UConn (22-2)
44.6%— Arizona (23-1)

Quote of the Day
“Be curious, not judgmental.”
Walt Whitman

Wednesday’s quiz
Before he became coach at Kansas, where did Bill Self coach?

Tuesday’s quiz
Derek Carr is the Raiders’ all-time leader in passing yards.

Monday’s quiz
JJ McCarthy was the Vikings’ QB this year; Sam Darnold was their QB last year. Kirk Cousins was Minnesota’s QB in 2023.

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Wednesday’s Den: Mid-week musings…….​

— Nevada sports books made a profit of $9.89M on the Super Bowl; last year, they made a $22.1M profit, when the Eagles beat Kansas City.

— It takes a little bit of luck to win a championship; you have to be really good, but you need a few things to go your way, too.

Last year, Minnesota Vikings went 14-3, their best record since 1998; they lost in the playoffs and they moved on from Sam Darnold as QB, deciding to play JJ McCarthy instead.
Darnold went to Seattle and made history last week; the Vikings fired their GM last month. If Minnesota had held onto Darnold, this season would’ve had a different ending.
Kind of like two years ago, when the Giants let RB Saquon Barkley walk, and he moved on to help their divisional rival Eagles win the Super Bowl. If the Giants had paid their star player, who knows what would’ve happened?

— Pitchers/catchers reported to spring training this week; thinking about baseball makes it seem warmer, in what has been a dismal winter here in upstate New York.

— Milwaukee Brewers traded IF Caleb Durbin to the Red Sox in a six-player deal; Milwaukee gets P Kyle Harrison, and some minor leaguers also changed hands.

— Kind of a busy baseball day Tuesday, seeing how it was February 10th:
Detroit Tigers signed Justin Verlander for one year, $13M
Mets’ SS Francisco Lindor has a left wrist injury, may need surgery; if he has hamate surgery, he is expected to be out for six weeks.
Mets’ OF Juan Soto is moving from right field to left field.
Braves signed C Jonah Heim.
Pirates signed DH/OF Marcell Ozuna
A’s signed P’s Aaron Civale, Scott Barlow.
Rockies signed P Tomoyuki Sugano
Braves put P Spencer Schwellenbach on the 60-day DL (elbow)

— Right now, Minnesota Twins’ payroll is $60M less than it was three years ago, when the Twins went 87-75 and made the playoffs.

— Arizona P Brandon Pfaadt had some interesting home/road splits last year:
Home: 9-3, 3.24 in 17 home starts, with a 1.17 WHIP
Road: 4-6, 7.71 in 16 road starts, with a 1.53 WHIP

— Famous birthdays, February 11th
Tina Louise, 92
James Silas, 77
Carey Lowell, 65
Todd Benzinger, 63
Jennifer Aniston, 57
Damian Lewis, 55
Jacque Vaughn, 51
Dansby Swanson, 32
Graham Ashcroft, 28
The great actor Leslie Nielsen was born 100 years ago today.

— In the NBA, Chicago Bulls are 6-17 ATS as a favorite this season.

— If you have Prime Video, there is a series starting this week on the history of the old ABA, a basketball league that existed from 1967-76. The ABA used a red-white-blue basketball; it is where the 3-point shot became popular. Teams generally played at a much faster tempo.
In 1976, the league folded, but the NBA took in four of their teams: Nuggets, Pacers, Nets and the Spurs. Lot of great players played in the ABA: Rick Barry, Julius Erving, Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel, George Gervin. The show should be fun to watch.

— Purdue 80, Nebraska 77, OT
Purdue led by 22 early in the second half.
Boilermakers out-rebounded Nebraska, 54-37
Nebraska lost three of last four games, after a 20-0 start.

— Wisconsin 92, Illinois 90, OT
Illinois led by 12 with 8:10 left in the game.
Badgers shot 16-36 on arc, were +9 (13-4) in turnovers.
Illinois played six guys 30+ minutes, a 7th guy played 1:00.
20-5 Illinois lost their 2nd game in row, both in overtime.

— TCU 62, Iowa State 55
Cyclones led 28-19 with 3:23 left in first half.
Horned Frogs were 15-23 on foul line, Iowa State 2-8.
Loss snapped Iowa State’s five-game win streak.

— Miami 75, North Carolina 66
Tar Heels follow up their win over Duke by laying an egg on the road.
Miami won four of last five games, improves to 19-5, 8-3 in ACC.
Hurricanes never trailed, shot 53.1% inside the arc.

— Villanova 77, Marquette 74
Marquette led by nine with 6:13 left in the game.
Villanova has won four in a row, improved to 10-3 in Big East.
Marquette is 0-9 in true road games this season.

— Virginia 61, Florida State 58
Seminoles led by 9 with 8:22 left in the game.
Florida State was 16-22 on foul line, Virginia 5-8
Virginia is 21-3; none of their starters scored in double figures.

— My phone says the high temperature in Albany Wednesday will be 35 degrees; if so, it’ll be the first time in 19 days the temperature has been above freezing in my hometown. Spring cannot get here soon enough.

 

[Cnotes53]

Jackson Holliday injury: Orioles second baseman to miss Opening Day after breaking hamate bone​

Mets star Francisco Lindor and Diamondbacks' Corbin Carroll have also suffered hamate injuries this spring​

[IMG alt=" R.J. Anderson
"]https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2017/07/07/7ccc5316-db89-4357-8b13-1ed9506251d1/thumbnail/80x80/9a48915f2351dbd22e7205e11d767a88/rj-anderson-700.png[/IMG]

By R.J. Anderson

11 hrs ago•1 min read
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Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday will miss the start of the regular season after suffering a broken hamate bone in his right hand, president of baseball operations Mike Elias announced Wednesday. Holliday, who suffered the injury during batting practice last week, will undergo surgery on Thursday. The Orioles have not stated an official timeline for Holliday's recovery, but Elias said it'll be "measured in weeks" after Opening Day.

Holliday is one of several notable players to suffer hamate injuries recently. New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor is expected to miss about six weeks following his own hamate surgery. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll will miss at least the World Baseball Classic after also undergoing surgery on Wednesday. His Opening Day status is unclear.

For whatever it's worth, Baseball Prospectus' database estimates players who have undergone hamate surgery in the past have missed about seven weeks on average. Every injury and recovery are unique in their own ways, but Opening Day 2026 is roughly six weeks off. If Holliday's recovery follows that precedent and proceeds without setback, he should be able to return relatively early in the year.
Holliday, 22, is a former top prospect and the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Draft. Last season, his first full campaign in the majors, he hit .242/.314/.375 (95 OPS+) with 17 home runs and 17 stolen bases (albeit on 28 attempts). His contributions were worth an estimated 1 Win Above Replacement, per the calculations housed at Baseball Reference.

During Holliday's absence, the Orioles could slot recent acquisition Blaze Alexander in at the keystone. It should be noted that Alexander was added before Holliday suffered his injury, making that move look more prescient. Alexander, 26, hit .230/.323/.383 (95 OPS+) with seven home runs and four stolen bases in 74 games. His contributions were worth an estimated 1.7 Wins Above Replacement, per Baseball Reference.

 

[Cnotes53]

Anthony Santander to miss 5-6 months after shoulder surgery in brutal Blue Jays injury news​

The Jays will need several other players to step up, notably since Bo Bichette departed in free agency​

[IMG alt=" Matt Snyder
"]https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2016/05/04/69487861-f5f8-469b-b55a-c617fbddaec1/thumbnail/80x80/1b1ddc73b97be54af942b3b04212a975/mattsnyder.png[/IMG]

By Matt Snyder

Feb 10, 2026 at 5:28 pm ET•1 min read
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The Toronto Blue Jays enter the 2026 season as the defending AL East and American League champions. The goal this time around would be to erase the sting of losing Games 6 and 7 of the World Series at home, especially after going to the ninth inning with a lead in Game 7. They lost Bo Bichette in free agency, but otherwise return a strong team for this season

And then bad news struck right at the start of spring training. Oufielder/designated hitter Anthony Santander needs left labral (shoulder) surgery and will miss five to six months, Blue Jays manager John Schneider announced Tuesday.

Santander, 31, signed a five-year, $92.5 million deal with the Jays last offseason and didn't provide much in his first year. He hit .175/.271/.294 (57 OPS+) with -1.0 WAR in 54 games. He missed significant time, requiring two different stints on the injured list with left shoulder inflammation.
Just because the Jays didn't get anything from Santander last season doesn't mean they weren't counting on him this time around, though. The offense lost one of its top contributors in Bichette to free agency. In looking to pick up that slack, Santander was one of the most obvious places. Now that is off the table until past the halfway point of the season.

Third baseman Kazuma Okamoto was signed out of Japan and that's one place where the Blue Jays will look to alleviate some of the Bichette loss. Nathan Lukas and Davis Schneider are also options to see increased playing time. Santander is a switch-hitting outfielder while Lukas (left) and Schneider (right) could platoon in that now-open lineup spot. Also remember that injuries held center fielder Daulton Varsho to just 71 regular-season games last year.

This is to say that while Santander was being counted on to beef up the offense, the Blue Jays have options to replace him and areas where they can still pick up the lost production from Bichette's signing with the Mets and Santander's surgery.

The Blue Jays won the AL East over the Yankees last season via tiebreaker, as both finished 94-68, tied for the best American League record. Baseball Prospectus released its PECOTA projections on Tuesday and essentially have the two teams in a dead heat atop the AL East again.

 

[Cnotes53]

Kris Bryant to open MLB season on 60-day injured list as degenerative back disease continues to derail career​

Bryant once looked like a possible Hall of Famer and now he can barely get on the field​

[IMG alt=" Matt Snyder
"]https://sportshub.cbsistatic.com/i/r/2016/05/04/69487861-f5f8-469b-b55a-c617fbddaec1/thumbnail/80x80/1b1ddc73b97be54af942b3b04212a975/mattsnyder.png[/IMG]

By Matt Snyder

Feb 10, 2026 at 4:46 pm ET•2 min read
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Spring training opens across baseball this week as pitchers and catchers begin reporting to camp. For the Colorado Rockies, they're due on Thursday. Still, there was a transaction on Tuesday that served as a reminder of where things, sadly, stand with a certain big-name player.
Kris Bryant was placed on the 60-day injured list, due to a degenerative lumbar disc disease (lower back).
Bryant signed a seven-year, $182 million deal with the Rockies before the 2022 season. He played in 42 games in 2022, 80 in 2023, 37 in 2024 and just 11 last season. For those counting at home, that's 170 games out of a possible 648. He hit well when he played in 2022, but he's basically been a non-presence since then.
Still only 34, Bryant has said he's in pain basically every day. From last November, via the Denver Post:

"I wish I had better things to tell you," Bryant said from his home in Las Vegas. "It's not in the best shape, and that's pretty disheartening for me. It's exhausting for me waking up and hoping to feel (better). I can't tell you the last time I woke up feeling I'm in a good spot."
---
"If you asked me two or three months ago, I would say (my back pain) was not affecting my everyday life," he said. "But now it is, which is really annoying to me because usually when you kind of just rest, it's supposed to get better. So maybe I'm at a point where I should just do a bunch of stuff to see if that helps me."

Three years and $81 million remain on Bryant's contract with the Rockies, who were an MLB-worst 43-119 last season. In his four years with the Rockies thus far, Bryant has hit .244/.324/.370 (84 OPS+) with -1.6 WAR.

Continue watchingGrading every NFL team's 2025 rookie class after Year 1: Patriots, Seahawks ride strong classes to Super Bowlafter the ad

Bryant is a four-time All-Star who won the 2016 National League MVP, when he was the best player on the World Series champion Cubs. He posted 5.4, 7.3 and 5.7 WAR, respectively, through his first three MLB seasons. Just as a point of comparison, the most statistically similar player to Bryant through age 25 in MLB history was Jim Thome, according to Baseball Reference. Chipper Jones was also in the top five most comparable. The most similar players now are Kevin Youkilis, Preston Wilson and Corey Hart.
The short way to say this is that a litany of injuries -- most specifically his back issues -- derailed what once looked like the start of a Hall of Fame career for Bryant.
At age 34 with a chronic back problem, it doesn't seem like there's much likelihood for Bryant to ever be a productive major leaguer again, though that obviously remains the goal.

For now, Bryant sits on the 60-day IL for the worst team in baseball. It's been quite the relatively depressing turn for the man who once ruled Wrigleyville.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/...s-pirates-marcell-ozuna-astros-isaac-paredes/

 

[Cnotes53]

2026 World Baseball Classic rosters: Javy Báez suspended, USA and D.R. load up, more takeaways​

The full rosters are set for the 2026 WBC, which kicks off next month​

[IMG alt=" Mike Axisa
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By Mike Axisa

Feb 6, 2026 at 2:52 pm ET•6 min read
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The 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic is a month away and, Thursday night, rosters for all 20 teams were announced. Team USA is loaded and the early favorite to win the tournament, though they are hardly a lock. Japan is the defending WBC champion, and the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Venezuela are also sporting stacked rosters.
All 20 rosters can be viewed here. The Mets lead the way with 17 players participating in the WBC, though 11 of the 30 MLB teams are sending at least 12 players to the tournament, and 18 MLB teams are sending at least 10. The Astros and Nationals are the laggers with three WBC players apiece. Every other team is sending at least five players to the WBC.
Here now are six takeaways from the WBC roster announcements.

1. This is the best USA roster ever​

Both on paper and according to the gory math. Baseball America ran the numbers and found that, based on the previous year's WAR, this is the best roster USA has ever sent to the WBC. Here are the totals via Baseball America:

• 2006: 109.5 WAR in 2005
• 2009: 101.6 WAR in 2008
• 2013: 78.2 WAR in 2012
• 2017: 86.9 WAR in 2016
• 2023: 100.0 WAR in 2022
• 2026: 118.1 WAR in 2025

A reminder how little this matters: USA went 3-3 and was eliminated in the second round in 2006, and the 2017 team went 6-2 and won the WBC. Ultimately, the WBC is small sample sizes on top of small sample sizes, and anything can happen once you get out of pool play and into a single-elimination format. It's baseball. Randomness reigns supreme.

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On paper, this is the best roster USA has ever taken into the WBC, especially pitching-wise. The Americans will start their rotation with reigning Cy Young winners Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, and have Joe Ryan and Logan Webb backing them up. It's the best USA rotation and roster in WBC history. Now it just has to work.

2. The Dominican Republic has the pitching to match its lineup​

The Dominican Republic's lineup reads like an All-Star Game lineup: Junior Caminero, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, Ketel Marte, Jeremy Peña, Geraldo Perdomo, Julio Rodríguez, Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and more. It is a deeper and more powerful offense than even what USA will run out there, plus the defense could be excellent depending who plays where.

Of course, that is more or less the same lineup the Dominican Republic had in the 2023 WBC, when they went 2-2 and rather embarrassingly failed to advance out of the first round. The 2026 team will have much better support on the mound though, with Brayan Bello, Cristopher Sánchez, and Luis Severino joining erstwhile ace Sandy Alcantara. The 2023 rotation included Roansy Contreras and late career Johnny Cueto, and just wasn't very imposing behind Alcantara and Cristian Javier.

Similar to USA, this is the most talented roster the Dominican Republic has ever taken in the WBC, at least on paper. I suspect this group has a pretty big chip on its collective shoulder too after that disappointingly quick exit in 2023. The Dominican Republic won the 2013 WBC and, regardless of what happened in 2023, is on the short list of top contenders in 2026.

3. Insurance issues really hurt Puerto Rico​

No team lost more important players to insurance trouble than Puerto Rico. They'll be without stalwarts José Berríos, Victor Caratini, Carlos Correa, and Francisco Lindor because they were denied insurance, and also Javier Báez because he tested positive for marijuana during the 2023 WBC. Báez is serving a two-year period of ineligibility (April 26, 2024, to April 26, 2026) from World Baseball Softball Confederation events. (MLB has permitted marijuana use since 2020, though it is still banned by the WBSC.)

With no Báez, Correa, and Lindor, Puerto Rico's infield will feature eight-time All-Star Nolan Arenado and several players not yet proven at the MLB level: Edwin Arroyo (Reds), Darell Hernaiz (Athletics), and Luis Vázquez (Orioles). The rotation without Berríos will lean on Yankees' top pitching prospect Elmer Rodríguez. Martín Maldonado, who announced his MLB retirement in October, and Christian Vázquez, and unsigned free agent, will handle catching duties in Caratini's absence.

Losing important players is bad enough. To make it worse, Puerto Rico will host Pool A in San Juan, so the team will be without so many of its biggest stars while playing games on home soil. To be sure, Puerto Rico has legitimate MLB players on its roster (Arenado, Seth Lugo, Heliot Ramos, etc.), but the team is not nearly as strong as it could be, largely because their key players were not cleared by the insurance company used by MLB and the MLBPA. What a shame.

4. Italy is a sleeper​

A common theme this WBC is teams having their best ever roster. That is true for Italy, who will start their rotation with Aaron Nola and Michael Lorenzen. They're the two best starters Italy has ever had in the WBC (sorry, 2023 Matt Harvey). They'll build a more than respectable lineup around Jac Caglianone, Dominic Canzone, Jakob Marsee, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Kyle Teel. Brewers' 2025 first-round pick Andrew Fischer is on the roster as well. He'll provided even more lefty might.

Italy advanced to the second round in 2023 and the separator for the team this year could be a bullpen that includes several legit MLB-caliber arms: Gordon Graceffo, Matt Festa, Alek Jacob, Ron Marinaccio, Kyle Nicolas, Adam Ottavino, and Greg Weissert. Pitchers are on hard pitch limits in the WBC and they're especially restrictive in the early rounds. A good bullpen can make all the difference and Italy will have its best WBC bullpen ever. The paisans are firmly on sleeper watch going into the WBC.

5. Several free agents are playing​

The WBC is a chance for players to represent their countries, first and foremost. For some players, it's a chance to show big league teams that hey, I can still do this, and you should sign me. Several unsigned free agents will play in the WBC, most notably former MVP Paul Goldschmidt. He is on USA's roster and will back up Bryce Harper at first base, and possibly pinch-hit against tough lefties in the late innings. Goldschmidt was part of
USA's WBC-winning team in 2017.

Other unsigned free agents on WBC rosters include Jon Berti (Italy), Tommy Kahnle (Israel), Germán Márquez (Venezuela), Jose Quintana (Colombia), Tomoyuki Sugano (Japan), Ramón Urías (Mexico), and Christian Vázquez (Puerto Rico). Some will sign in the weeks leading up to the WBC and some could very well sign after the WBC. For these unsigned free agents, the WBC is a chance to prepare for the season and showcase themselves as much as it is a chance to represent their countries.

6. Remembering some guys​

The WBC has a knack for bringing players out of retirement. The best example is Eric Gagne suiting up for Canada in 2017, nearly a decade following his last MLB appearance. This year's WBC will feature former White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez. Now 44, Ramirez is on Cuba's roster despite not playing in the big leagues since 2016, and not playing anywhere since 2018. Ramirez will be the oldest player ever to play in the WBC.

Other players returning to the field in the WBC after being out of baseball for some time include Erisbel Arruebarrena (Cuba), Phillippe Aumont (Canada), Lucius Fox (Great Britain), James Paxton (Canada), and Vance Worley (Great Britain). Aumont and Worley have not pitched professionally since playing in the last WBC.
The WBC is really great, really entertaining baseball featuring players passionately representing their countries. It's also a great time to remember some guys, and the 2026 WBC certainly delivers on that front.

 

[Cnotes53]

Friday’s 6-pack
Hitters who swung/missed the most times last year:
462— Cal Raleigh
456— Rafael Devers
440— Riley Greene
438— Eugenio Suarez
431— Shohei Ohtani
423— Kyle Schwarber

Quote of the Day
“After being taken out of a close ball game in front of my friends and family, I brought a Presidente into the dugout. I then sat right next to Rob (Thomson) and let him know that too much slack in some areas and too tight of restrictions in others was not conducive to us winning.”
Nick Castellanos, who was cut by the Phillies Thursday

Friday’s quiz
Where did Patrick Mahomes play his college football?
Thursday’s quiz
Over the last five years, Toronto Blue Jays have the best batting average.

Wednesday’s quiz
Before he became coach at Kansas, Bill Self was the coach at Illinois.

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Friday’s Den: Random stuff with the weekend here…….​

— Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss was granted a temporary injunction that will allow him to play for the Rebels in 2026; he missed the 2022 season because of complications from tonsillitis and chronic fatigue, but had already red-shirted in 2021.
Chambliss played D2 ball at Ferris State, then transferred to Ole Miss and won the starting QB job last fall, leading the Rebels to the national semifinals.

— Caleb Wilson, North Carolina’s best basketball player, is out with a broken left hand; it is not known how long he’ll be out for. He is scoring 19.8 ppg, grabbing 9.4 rebounds/game for the 19-5 Tar Heels.

— Los Angeles Dodgers gave 3B Max Muncy a $7M contract extension for 2027 that includes a $10 team option for 2028. Muncy played in only 173 games the last two years; he hit 19 HR’s last year, with an .846 OPS.
Dodgers also signed utility guy Kike Hernandez for $4.5M this season.

— Philadelphia Phillies released OF Nick Castellanos, then said he was benched last year after bringing beer into the dugout during a game. Phillies still have to pay Castellanos for 2026; he hit .250 with 17 homers and 72 RBI last year- he’ll be 34 next month.

— Cal Poly 79, Cal-Irvine 73
Anteaters led by 15 late in the first half.
Cal Poly outscored Irvine 50-31 in second half.
Irvine’s loss lets Hawaii slip into first place in the Big West

— Louisiana Tech 79, Missouri State 78, 2OT
Missouri State led by 12 midway thru first half.
Teams combined to shoot 13-51 on the arc.
Tech won six of their last nine games.

— Cal-Fullerton 86, Long Beach State 82
Fullerton won five of last six games, after a 5-1 start.
Titans outscored Long Beach 45-34 in second half.
Long Beach has lost six in a row, four of them by 7 or less points.

— Famous birthdays, February 13th
Bo Svenson, 85
Stockard Channing, 82
Mike Krzyzewski, 79
Peter Gabriel, 76
Mats Sundin, 55
Randy Moss, 49
Aqib Talib, 40
Nathan Eovaldi, 36

— Nebraska-Omaha 98, St Thomas 94
St Thomas led by 5 with 5:10 left in the game.
Omaha shot 25-28 on foul line, St Thomas 6-14
St Thomas shot 74.2% inside arc, scored 1.27 ppp and still lost.

— North Texas 76, Memphis 69
North Texas outscored Tigers 14-2 over the last 4:57 of this game.
Mean Green was 31-41 on foul line, Memphis 13-15
Memphis is turning ball over 20% of time in AAC games.

— Cal-San Diego 68, Cal-Davis 51
Hard to describe how badly Cal-Davis played in this game.
Aggies were 6-20 on arc, 1-7 on foul line, forced 21 turnovers, still lost by 17
Tritons shot 60.6% inside the arc.

— Utah Tech 81, Utah Valley 77
Tech led 42-25 at halftime, hung on for dear life.
Utah Valley shot 70.3% inside arc, 5-22 outside arc.
Teams are tied for second place in the WAC, behind Cal Baptist.

— NC-Wilmington 65, Elon 54
Seahawks shot 11-25 on the arc, led 33-24 at halftime.
UNCW is 10-2 in CAA, leads Charleston by two games.
LY, UNCW won CAA tourney as #2-seed, was 14-seed in NCAAs.

— Belmont 91, Northern Iowa 86
Belmont has won 10 of its last 11 games, leads MVC by tw0 games.
Bruins shot 14-30 on arc, scored 1.28 ppp.
Belmont’s Tyler Lundblade is 92-231 on arc, 32-55 inside arc. Lot of 3’s.

— Ohio Valley Conference will have a great conference tournament; these are the first six teams in their standings:
11-4 Tenn-Martin
11-4 Tennessee State
10-5 SIU-Edwardsville
10-5 Lindenwood
10-5 SE Missouri State
10-5 Morehead State