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10/10/2023

Diamondbacks bite Dodgers' best again to take 2-0 series lead: 'Job's not finished'

LOS ANGELES — Zac Gallen pumped both his fists and let out a guttural roar. A third straight curveball caught Freddie Freeman off guard as it looped down the middle for strike three, helping the Diamondbacks ace escape the fifth-inning threat, navigate through the two MVP candidates atop the Dodgers' vaunted lineup and move the quick-strike, upstart wild-card team one win away from the National League Championship Series.

Again, the Dodgers' starting pitchers put them in an early hole.

Again, a Dodgers offense expected to mask its rotation's deficiencies came up mostly empty, misfiring with multiple opportunities to tie or take the lead.

Again, the second-place team in the NL West is on the brink of stunning the division champions in the NLDS.

"We hear the talk," Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. "We hear that we're maybe like the little brother that everybody can beat up on. We take that personally. We embrace it."

With two upset wins in Los Angeles against a Dodgers team that finished 16 games up in the division, it certainly looks that way.

After plating six runs in the first inning of Game 1, the Diamondbacks took it easier to start Game 2: They only scored three.

On Saturday, the early Arizona barrage against Clayton Kershaw was powerful and overwhelming. On Monday, a second sudden D-backs fusillade was more calculated and patient.
The Dodgers' rotation came into the series depleted, but it hoped to count on Kershaw and Miller, who was making his playoff debut. Miller made strides this year controlling both his emotions and the strike zone, not letting the game speed on him, but the D-backs put that to the test immediately.

They chipped away at the rookie with a medley of productive plate appearances, starting the night with a walk from Corbin Carroll, a bunt single from Ketel Marte, singles from Tommy Pham and Lourdes Gurriel Jr., a sacrifice fly from Christian Walker and an RBI groundout from Gabriel Moreno, which might have been an inning-ending double play if not for Pham stealing second base.

The result was another early hole for a Dodgers team unable to answer, now suddenly on the verge of another early playoff exit after Monday's 4-2 defeat.

"There's certainly fight," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "There always has been. But it comes down to results, too."

In each game, the Dodgers played from a significant disadvantage before their first at-bats. The Dodgers' two starting pitchers allowed nine runs, walked three, struck out one and needed 87 pitches to record six outs. Unlike Game 1, however, the Dodgers were always within striking distance Monday night.

The bullpen kept them in it; the offense never came through.

With Game 2 sandwiched between off days, the Dodgers could utilize a plethora of relievers without worrying much about workload. Roberts didn't wait long. Miller was removed after 52 pitches in 1.2 innings, departing with two runners on in the second inning. Brusdar Graterol took it from there.

Graterol recorded as many outs in a 23-pitch relief outing as the Dodgers' two starting pitchers in the series combined. The Dodgers' bullpen bought time for the offense to muster something to cheer about for the 51,449 fans in attendance. As Graterol departed the mound with two outs in the fourth inning, he clapped his glove on the way to the dugout, imploring the fans to stay into it despite an offense that to that point had yet to break through.

"It's just to keep those positive vibes, that positive energy," Graterol said through a translator.

It seemed to make an impact.

In the bottom of the inning, J.D. Martinez provided life with a solo homer, cutting the deficit to two. It would never get closer than that, despite the Dodgers' chances against Gallen and the Diamondbacks' bullpen.

In the fifth, the Dodgers put two runners on with one out as the lineup turned over to Mookie Betts and Freeman. Betts grounded into a force out. Gallen got ahead of Freeman before dropping two curveballs below the zone. Freeman didn't bite, but he wasn't expecting a third, which dropped down the middle as Freeman's bat remained glued to his shoulders. Gallen understood the significance, pumping his fists multiple times before gliding back to the dugout.

The catalysts of the Dodgers' lineup, Betts and Freeman, are 1-for-13 with three walks in the series.

"It's not what we need to do," Freeman said.

Still, the Dodgers would get another chance an inning later, prompting a gutsy call for Lovullo.

Again, Gallen put two of the first three Dodgers batters on base. Lovullo pulled his ace at 84 pitches, turning to rookie left-hander Andrew Saalfrank to force L.A.'s line change. Chris Taylor replaced Jason Heyward and walked to load the bases. Kiké Hernández replaced David Peralta and came through with an infield RBI single. The bases remained loaded. Again, the Dodgers trailed by two. Again, they would be stuck there.

"Obviously, I don't like coming out, especially in the middle of an inning, especially in the sixth when I felt I was throwing fine," Gallen said. "But Torey had laid it out for me, just kind of before the inning and after the inning, and I get it. It's October. If that's what he felt like was going to put us in the best position to win, I'm fine with it. And I think it worked out."

Saalfrank fell behind James Outman 3-1 with nowhere to put him but came back to strike out the Dodgers rookie with two sinkers at the bottom of the zone. Ryan Thompson entered and induced a groundout from Kolten Wong. The Dodgers' bench was emptied, save for backup catcher Austin Barnes. Their last best threat was extinguished.

"The fifth and sixth innings, I think a lot of us aren't gonna be able to sleep tonight," Freeman said. "A couple pitches I missed will make me not sleep."

The Dodgers' offense scored 11 runs in two regular-season starts against Gallen this season. October was not the same, which is an all-too-common refrain for this franchise.

Last postseason, the Dodgers offense went 5-for-34 with runners in scoring position as the Padres sent them packing in the NLDS. This year, the Dodgers are 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Another 100-win season is threatening to end after one series.

Now, they'll need to win three straight to prevent another NLDS letdown against a D-backs team heading home feeling confident it belongs.

"The job's not finished," Gallen said, his team leading 2-0. "The quote Kobe was talking about — what's there to be happy about, really?"

10/10/2023

Falcons fantasy stud and dud from Week 5 vs. Texans

It was just what the doctor ordered for the Falcons this week to get their season back on track following a difficult two game stretch on the road. A big win at home against the Texans has the vibes in good shape once again and has the Birds back above .500.

After scoring a combined 13 points over the course of the past two games, the Falcons’ offense came to life with a more reasonable 21-point outing, which could and should have been more had it not been for some untimely mistakes from multiple players on offense.

With the offense back on track, you likely feel better about the prospects of some of Atlanta’s fantasy relevant players in your lineups as well. They did much better than what we’ve seen lately, hopefully helping lead your team to victory.

There is a lot of great content available here at The Falcoholic, and I encourage you to check it out if you want some in-depth analysis. This article will look at things strictly from a fantasy football perspective (that means looking at nothing other than pure statistics). Here is Atlanta’s fantasy stud and fantasy dud from Week 5’s victory against the Houston Texans.

Fantasy Stud/Dud 2023 History:
Past Studs: Bijan Robinson (2), Tyler Allgeier (1), Kyle Pitts (1)

Past Duds: Drake London (2), Kyle Pitts (2)

Fantasy Stud - Desmond Ridder
Stat Line: 28/37, 329 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown, 0 interceptions, 4 carries, 10 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown: 26.16 standard/PPR points

Desmond Ridder played the best game of his professional career up to this point and it’s not particularly close, shattering his previous career high in passing yards, accounting for two touchdowns and playing mistake free football.

Ridder looked incredibly poised and confident throughout the afternoon and the Texans’ strategy of trying to sell out in shutting down the run game to force Atlanta’s young QB to beat them — one which was utilized successfully by the Lions and Jaguars the previous two weeks — completely backfired. The former Cincinnati Bearcat deserves all of the praise this week.

As of the conclusion of Sunday’s games, Ridder is the overall QB6 for Week 5, which marks his second QB1 performance of the season (defined as being one of the 12-highest scorers at the position). This is a game which will build confidence from the coaching staff and one which Ridder will hopefully be able to build on moving forward.

I would not advise picking Ridder up in a single QB league, but he definitely needs to be rostered in all 2QB and Superflex leagues. His next matchup comes against a Commanders defense which was absolutely eviscerated by the Bears on Thursday Night Football.

Dud
Tyler Allgeier: 17 carries, 40 rushing yards: 4.0 standard league points; 4.0 PPR points

Despite how highly touted Bijan Robinson was coming into the league, and how much of a draft investment the Falcons made in securing his services, Tyler Allgeier is still getting his in regard to opportunity due to the nature of Atlanta’s run heavy offense, especially in neutral game scripts.

The issue is that he’s been incredibly inefficient both this weekend and throughout the season. Allgeier actually out touched Robinson in this one (17-16), but he plodded his way to only 40 total yards while continuing to be a non-factor in the receiving game. He’s begun ceding goal line work to the rookie as well.

Overall, Allgeier averages just 3.1 yards per carry on the season, and has just six total catches. He’s one of the most valuable handcuffs in the league and the volume is there to make him an okay flex play if you’re in a pinch, but Allgeier is best left on your bench for the time being.

10/10/2023

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. drops his Democratic primary bid, will run as an independent

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will run for president as an independent and drop his Democratic primary bid, adding a wrinkle to a 2024 race heading toward a likely rematch between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

Kennedy, a member of one of the most famous Democratic families in politics, was running a long-shot primary bid and has better favorability ratings among Republicans than Democrats. It’s unclear whether GOP support would translate to a general election when Kennedy would also be running against Trump. Allies of both Biden and Trump have at times questioned whether Kennedy would be a spoiler against their candidate.

Biden’s allies so far have dismissed Kennedy’s primary campaign as unserious. Asked for comment on his potential independent run, a Democratic National Committee spokesman responded with an eye roll emoji.

Awaiting Kennedy’s remarks Monday, hundreds of supporters gathered at Philadelphia’s Independence Mall, an apt location for the launch. Campaign signs teased a potential new slogan: “Declare your independence.”

Among Kennedy’s fans in the crowd were several voters who said they don’t identify as Democratic or Republican and view Kennedy as a truth teller and a breath of fresh air.

“He tells it how it is,” said Julia Hill, a 23-year-old student from New Jersey. “He doesn’t sound like a politician.”

Other supporters, such as Brent Snyder, a disabled veteran from south Philadelphia, said they had voted for Trump in the past but were looking for a change.

“The last couple years I’ve been noticing the Republican Party’s been going a way I didn’t like,” Snyder said. “Not that I agree with everything that’s happening to Trump, but I think right now he has more baggage than his country needs. The division right now is just terrible. We need someone to bring both sides together to make us work.”

Monday’s announcement comes less than a week after the progressive activist Cornel West abandoned his Green Party bid in favor of an independent White House run. Meanwhile, the centrist group No Labels is actively securing ballot access for a yet-to-be-named candidate.

Kennedy has spent weeks accusing the DNC of “rigging” the party’s primary against him and threatening that he might need to consider alternatives.

In campaign emails and videos, he blasted the DNC’s decision not to host debates between Biden and other candidates and railed against the committee’s plan to give South Carolina rather than Iowa or New Hampshire the leadoff spot on the primary calendar this election cycle.

“If they jam me, I’m going to look at every option,” he said in September at a New Hampshire barbecue held by Republican former Sen. Scott Brown.

Far-right and anti-vaccine influencers close to Kennedy also have sent strong signals on social media suggesting he should or will leave the Democratic Party. Last month, Joseph Mercola, an influential anti-vaccine doctor who is allied with Kennedy, ran a poll on X, formerly known as Twitter, asking if Kennedy should quit the party.

While Kennedy has long identified as a Democrat and frequently invokes his late father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, and his uncle President John F. Kennedy on the campaign trail, he has built close relationships with far-right figures in recent years. He appeared on a channel run by the Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones and headlined a stop on the ReAwaken America Tour, the Christian nationalist road show put together by Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

Polls show far more Republicans than Democrats have a favorable opinion of Kennedy. He also has gained support from some far-right conservatives for his fringe views, including his vocal distrust of COVID-19 vaccines, which studies have shown are safe and effective against severe disease and death.

Kennedy’s anti-vaccine organization, Children’s Health Defense, currently has a lawsuit pending against a number of news organizations, among them The Associated Press, accusing them of violating antitrust laws by taking action to identify misinformation, including about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines. Kennedy took leave from the group when he announced his run for president but is listed as one of its attorneys in the lawsuit.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Longtime environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Monday he will run for president as an independent and...