Is Mason Miller the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived?
NBA Playoffs heat up, NHL Playoffs probably do something, WNBA preseason action, Wave & SDFC prepare for home games this weekend, Mason Miller earns a legendary title, and more!
Now that I am….checks gray hairs…officially old, I spend a lot of time telling other people to relax.
It’s okay if you don’t know everything about everything. It’s okay if you don’t go out and attend every event. It’s fine if you don’t know what those people are talking about.
The world has a bazillion things to offer us and we have access to all of them through the magic of the internet. The goal is to find what works for you. Find what sparks your joy, whatever that may be, and ignore everything else. People having different interests and doing different things is part of what makes life life.
Another thing that I believe is that I shouldn’t speak authoritatively about things that I know almost nothing about. These two points combine to make the following statement:
I know that this newsletter has been covering the NBA Playoffs and not the NHL Playoffs. It’s because I don’t follow the NHL and don’t want to pretend that I know more about the league than actual hockey fans. And that’s okay! You’re smart, you can find NHL coverage elsewhere on the internet. I won’t mind.
Now, onto the links…
San Diego Padres
Is Padres closer Mason Miller the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived? - The Athletic
I’ve talked to two of the greatest closers of modern times, Trevor Hoffman and Billy Wagner.
I’ve dug deep into every number that could shape this argument.
It has all pointed me right back to the same place: The Padres’ closer is the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived. Fortunately, I had no trouble finding two Hall of Fame closers who were right there with me.
Padres considering all options as new, returning arms inch closer to starting rotation - San Diego Union-Tribune
Márquez and Buehler are holding their own as back-end starters, knuckleballer Matt Waldron showed signs of turning a corner in Wednesday’s five-inning start and Canning might make just one more rehab start before he’s added to a rotation that has hardly been the Achilles heel so many expected.
Only six teams have fewer than the Padres’ seven quality starts so far this season. But a starting rotation with so many questions and variables begins the weekend as a middle-of-the-pack unit in ERA (4.30, 18th), WHIP (1.30, 17th), opponent batting average (.244, 18th) and WAR (2.2, 17th).
Perhaps most telling, for all the hiccups and moving pieces, the 11 wins tallied by Padres starting pitchers so far are tied for fifth-most in the majors.
Padres get devastating injury news on one of their top prospects - Friars On Base
The Padres’ number nine prospect via MLB Pipeline will undergo season-ending surgery for a left shoulder subluxation, the team confirmed this week. Fountain signed for $1.7 million out of Norris High in Nebraska as a fifth-round pick in 2024, but has had injury issues from the start after needing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow before ever taking a big league at bat. Now, he’s sustained a shoulder subluxation while making a catch at the wall last week. He was placed on the injured list and will now have season-ending surgery to repair the labrum.
It is the second major surgery of Fountain’s young career. He returned from Tommy John to make his pro debut in 2025, splitting time between the Arizona Complex League and Lake Elsinore, and was finally getting a clean look at full-season ball this year when the wall got in the way.
NBA Playoffs
Celtics star Jayson Tatum has left calf discomfort after 76ers force Game 7 with 106-93 win over Boston - Yahoo Sports
The Philadelphia 76ers forced a Game 7 in their first-round NBA playoff series versus the Boston Celtics with a 106-93 win Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. That decisive game will be played Saturday night in Boston, but the Celtics may have an issue with star Jayson Tatum.
The Celtics played the fourth quarter without Tatum, who left the game with left calf discomfort. He came back to the Boston bench, but with an ice pack on that calf. (Tatum tore his right Achilles tendon in last year’s Eastern Conference finals.)
Knicks administer generational beatdown of Hawks to advance to Eastern Conference semis - Yahoo Sports
The box score will tell you that Game 6 of the Hawks-Knicks playoff series ended after 48 minutes of game play. The box score lies. This game was over in four minutes and 10 seconds, the exact length of time the Hawks could run with the Knicks.
What followed those scant competitive minutes was pure, uncut, not-safe-for-work-or-children carnage. New York started with a virtually flawless 40-15 first quarter and a playoff-record 83-36 halftime lead — no, there’s no typo there — to stomp the Hawks into paste and set up a fourth straight trip to the Eastern Conference semis.
Did the Nuggets’ Title Window Just Slam Shut? - The Ringer
Championship windows close at various speeds. Some slam shut in the blink of an eye. Others slowly descend, allowing for the slight possibility of a return to the top—an exceedingly rare best-case scenario that was last pulled off by the 2022 Golden State Warriors.
Time will tell where the Denver Nuggets fall on that scale. But right now, one day after they were eliminated in humiliating fashion by the injury-riddled Minnesota Timberwolves, it would be perfectly fair to wonder whether Thursday night was the end of an era. How could you not?
Odds & Ends
San Diego Wave, SDFC play at home this weekend. But the Wave is soaring, while SDFC struggles - Times of San Diego
It’s still early for both San Diego Wave FC and San Diego FC, but there is no denying that they have had diametrically opposed starts to their seasons.
Despite Wednesday night’s 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns – the setback ended a five-game win streak – the Wave is currently second in the NWSL standings after seven games. SDFC, however, is in a five-game skid and sits in 11th place in the 15-team MLS Western Conference.
This weekend they both play at home, with SDFC (3-5-2) hosting rivals LAFC on Saturday, and the Wave (5-2-0) welcoming Bay FC on Sunday.
Local Sports Report: Seals still alive in NLL playoffs; league comments on Mojo’s announcement - San Diego Union-Tribune
The San Diego Seals overcame a rough regular-season run to make the National Lacrosse League playoffs.
And they’re still alive.
The Seals pulled out a thrilling 13-12 overtime victory at Colorado last week to advance to the NLL postseason’s second round, where they’ll face the Toronto Rock at 4:30 p.m. Friday in Canada.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Sunday at Pechanga Arena.
MLB owners, MLBPA reportedly set to begin labor negotiations soon, with salary cap at center of talks - Yahoo Sports
With the 2026 MLB season only a month old, both the players and owners are already looking to the future. The league’s collective-bargaining agreement (CBA) expires at the end of the season, and both sides are expected to engage in multiple contentious rounds of negotiation.
In an effort to get ahead of that, the owners and MLBPA will reportedly start meeting in the coming weeks, per The Athletic. At the center of those talks is a salary cap, which the owners are eager to implement.
Fever vs. Wings takeaways: Caitlin Clark’s early exit, Azzi Fudd’s pro debut - The Athletic
It had been 291 days since Caitlin Clark played in a home game for the Indiana Fever. The 2024 No. 1 pick was limited to 13 games, including eight home games, last year amid an injury-riddled campaign. On Thursday night, however, Clark received a long-awaited applause from the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd during pregame warmups as the Fever prepared to host the Dallas Wings in their second preseason game.
The home fans got even louder when Clark scored the Fever’s first bucket on a driving layup and followed that with a long 3-pointer. But her night was cut short after she was fouled on a 3-pointer and banged her knee “really hard” on the court. Clark finished with 21 points in 16 minutes as the Wings pulled away for a 95-80 victory.
News Is Fleeting. Conspiracy Brain Is Forever. - The Ringer
What an assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner revealed about how our internet-poisoned minds make sense of the world
Thousands in US to join ‘no school, no work, no shopping’ May Day protest in economic blackout - The Guardian
Thousands are set to join an economic blackout for International Workers’ Day on Friday, as part of 3,500 “May Day Strong” events across the country. Organizers are calling for “no school, no work, no shopping” with walkouts, marches, block parties and other gatherings planned into the evening.