World Baseball Classic knockout round begins!
Team USA gets another chance at WBC glory tonight, Joe Musgrove's recovery hits a snag, SDSU find themselves in MW tourney, reliving a great SDFC win, and a bunch more in today's Front Row Seat!
Team USA came as close as possible to missing out on the knockout round of the World Baseball Classic. Italy bought them another opportunity, and they’ll have a chance to redeem themselves against Canada tonight.
The Dominican Republic team, which boasts Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado in its lineup, will take on Korea before that on Fox Sports 2. The winner of both of these games move on to the final rounds of the WBC.
A potential USA-DR matchup on Sunday night would be must-see TV, not just for fans of the San Diego Padres but just fans of baseball in general. I can’t wait!
Now, onto the links…
Baseball!
With Musgrove in ‘holding pattern,’ Márquez eyes fresh start in San Diego - MLB.com
Manager Craig Stammen said before Thursday night’s 10-1 loss to the Royals at Peoria Sports Complex that Musgrove, who is nearing his return from Tommy John surgery, is in “a bit of a holding pattern” at the moment.
“We’re waiting to try and get over that hump, feel a little better before we start doing anything out on the field,” Stammen said of Musgrove, who last pitched in an exhibition game against Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic squad on March 4.
Triston McKenzie’s velo is up remarkably, but that alone won’t get him in Padres’ rotation - San Diego Union-Tribune
Of his 72 fastballs this spring, 58 have been 95 mph or faster. His average fastball velocity this spring is 95.7 mph, up from 93.7 mph last season, which was the highest of his career.
The radar guns in Arizona this spring are not “juiced” to give pitchers a few extra ticks, though teammates have teased McKenzie about that.
The best explanation by scouts, coaches and McKenzie is that velocity gains show up at different times and that it does not hurt that he is motivated by the desire to earn a spot in the starting rotation.
Can Fernando Tatis Jr.’s World Baseball Classic stardom help launch him and the Padres? - The Athletic
Notably, Tatis has returned to a squarer batting stance. Last season, he experimented with the most open setup of his career. It seemed to work at first; Tatis belted eight home runs with a 1.011 OPS before May.
Then, for most of the summer, he struggled amid constant tinkering. He lamented an inability to consistently put the ball in the air. His barrel rate sank to a career low.
“He just felt like he was trying to search for different things at times,” Souza said. “I think on top of that, last year was, like, his ability to just compete in the game and figure out a way to be productive when he wasn’t feeling good. So, in the offseason, (the focus) was just staying inside the ball, direction to center field.
Jack Hughes hypes up Team USA ahead of WBC matchup vs. Canada - ESPN
In a must-win World Baseball Classic game against Canada, who better to hype up Team USA than Olympic hockey hero Jack Hughes?
Manager Mark DeRosa on Thursday said the New Jersey Devils star “sent the boys a nice little fire-up message” ahead of their WBC quarterfinal against Canada on Friday night in Houston’s Daikin Park.
DeRosa said he shared the message in the players’ group chat.
WBC Quarterfinals explainer: Can underdog Korea outlast Dominican Republic’s mighty lineup? - The Athletic
The Dominican Republic bullied its way through Pool D, pummeling Teams Israel, Nicaragua and Netherlands before winning a highly-anticipated matchup against Venezuela. During pool play, they led all teams in nearly every meaningful offensive category, including runs, home runs and OPS. A lineup of major-league stars gives the DR a real shot at winning its second WBC title.
Team Korea, meanwhile, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009 and advanced via a tiebreaker as the runner-up in Pool C. Korea went just 2-2 in pool play but hung in there against undefeated Team Japan, outhitting Japan but ultimately losing by 2 runs.
Italy brought espresso to the dugout. Is it providing more than a caffeine buzz? - The Athletic
For athletes to see a clear performance benefit, however, research suggests that they need to consume a lot — anywhere from three to six milligrams of caffeine per kilogram of body weight, usually about an hour before performance. (Lowery argues that the benefit probably starts on the lower end of the recommendation.)
In other words, for a first baseman such as Pasquantino, who is listed at 245 pounds, he would need to consume about five shots of espresso about an hour before performance.
Basketball!
Aztecs beat Colorado State, advance in Mountain West Tournament - San Diego Union-Tribune
The formula was nothing new, just new over the last few games: defense and rebounding.
The No. 2-seeded Aztecs (21-10) held Colorado State to 33.3% shooting and 21 fewer points than they did 2½ weeks ago in an 83-74 loss at Moby Arena. And they had a 43-31 edge on the boards nine days after Boise State crushed them 37-15.
If you do that, you can shoot 1 of 11 behind the 3-point arc and, yes, miss 20 free throws … and still win with relative ease.
UCSD men lose to Cal State Northridge in Big West Tournament - San Diego Union-Tribune
After defeating the Tritons twice during the regular season, the Matadors pulled away down the stretch Thursday night to eliminate defending champion UCSD 80-70 in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament in Henderson, Nev.
Guards Larry Hughes II, Josiah Davis and Joshua O’Garro combined for 37 points in the second half as fourth-seeded CSUN outscored the Tritons 48-34 after trailing by four (36-32) at intermission.
Hughes led all scorers with a career-high 34 points.
Big 12 abandons conference tournament’s glass LED court after Texas Tech star’s injury, goes back to hardwood - Yahoo Sports
The semifinals and finals the Big 12 men’s basketball tournament will be played on hardwood, because glass does not appear to be working out.
The conference announced Thursday it will be abandoning its much-ballyhooed glass LED court for the remaining three games of its conference tournament, the same day Texas Tech star Christian Anderson left his team’s quarterfinal game with an injury from slipping on it.
Gilgeous-Alexander eclipses Wilt for NBA’s longest 20-point streak - ESPN
The legendary Wilt Chamberlain owns one less NBA record thanks to Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander, the reigning MVP, broke a record held by Chamberlain for more than six decades by scoring at least 20 points in 127 consecutive regular-season games.
Gilgeous-Alexander reached the milestone in Thursday’s home game against the Boston Celtics, surpassing 20 points with a 20-foot jumper with 7:04 remaining in the third quarter, eliciting a roar from the Paycom Center crowd. He received a standing ovation and MVP chants during the next timeout when the historic moment was recognized on the videoboard.
Bam Adebayo baffled by criticism of 83-point game: ‘If you are mad, I don’t care’ - The Athletic
“Some people going crazy, because they’re like, ’83 is 83, no matter how you get it,’” Adebayo said. “And some people are gonna say, ‘It wasn’t the way Kobe did it.’ And you start throwing that around, and I’m like, ‘Listen, I’m a Kobe fan.’
“I got close to his record. What do you think I’m gonna do? Try to break it. I’m pretty sure if I had 81 and Kobe was on his way (to breaking it), he would not be like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna check myself out with nine minutes left when I got 70.’ Be serious.”
WNBA, union continued CBA negotiations Wednesday after missing latest deadline: ‘We’re feeling movement’ - Yahoo Sports
According to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou, the league most recently proposed a $6.2 million salary cap at the start of the deal. Average player salaries would start at $570,000 in the first year and rise to $2 million in Year 6. The WNBA also reportedly proposed that players would get over 70% of net revenue.
Soccer!
San Diego FC: A Nine-Man Masterclass in the CONCACAF Champions Cup - Chromatic FC
Wednesday night marked a pivotal chapter in San Diego FC’s inaugural continental journey as they hosted Toluca FC, the back-to-back Liga MX champions, in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. Facing a high-flying offense with a deep roster and a reputation for physical play, SDFC entered the match as underdogs. What followed was an incredible display of grit that saw the home side overcome two red cards to secure a hard-fought victory.
David Vazquez, Luca Bombino headline San Diego FC’s gritty showing against Toluca - The Sporting Tribune
San Diego will be without both Duah and Ingvartsen for the second leg after their red cards. They will have to adapt without two key players and play at high altitude.
“The ball moves differently, and obviously it can affect your running, but it’s just a mental challenge that we need to be ready for,” Varas said about playing in that environment.
Last month, San Diego traveled to Mexico City to face the Pumas. Goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega made nine saves in that match as SDFC advanced with a 4–2 aggregate victory. Having that recent experience will benefit SDFC.
Before returning to Champions Cup play, San Diego travels to face FC Dallas on Saturday, March 14. Dallas enters the match with one win, one loss, and one draw through three MLS games, while San Diego remains unbeaten in league play. We will see how Chrome and Azul perform on the short turnaround.
Wave FC added Ludmila and shook up the roster. There might be another big name to come - Times of San Diego
ESPN reported in mid-February that Brazilian-American midfielder/forward Catarina Macario could move to the Wave from her current team, English Women’s Super League club Chelsea, once her contract is up when Chelsea’s season ends this summer.
Macario, who was born in Brazil and moved to San Diego with her family in 2011 when she was 12, is one of the best women soccer players in the world.