Sports
Miguel Rojas is shining at shortstop. Will Dodgers keep him there when Mookie Betts returns?
It has been only two weeks since Miguel Rojas replaced the injured Mookie Betts as the Dodgers’ starting shortstop, more than enough time for the 35-year-old veteran to alter the makeup of the team’s infield come playoff time.
The slick-fielding Rojas has reminded the Dodgers just how important it is to have a reliable defender at shortstop in October, one who won’t make the team’s front office, manager, coaches, players and fans squirm when the ball is hit to him.
Rojas, who has not committed an error in 215⅔ innings at shortstop this season, is clearly that guy. He has excellent range to his left and right, soft, sure hands, a strong and accurate throwing arm, and he’s adept at starting and turning double plays.
Rojas is athletic enough to make plays from a variety of body positions and arm angles. His internal clock, which helps infielders know how much time they have to make a throw based on a runner’s speed, is as finely tuned as a Swiss watch.
“For me,” Dodgers third-base coach Dino Ebel said, “he’s one of the top five defensive shortstops in baseball.”
Betts, for all his athleticism and his willingness and ability to move from right field to second base last winter and from second base to shortstop — a position he hadn’t played regularly since high school — this spring, is not.
He could be eventually, but the dynamic leadoff man is expected to be out six to eight weeks after suffering a left-hand fracture when he was hit by a 98-mph fastball on June 16, a lengthy absence that will stunt his growth at his new position.
And Betts, a six-time Gold Glove Award-winner in right field, wasn’t in Gold Glove contention when he got hurt — he had nine errors in 531 ⅓ innings at shortstop this season, eight of them throwing and one fielding.
All of which raises the question: If Rojas keeps hitting the way he has this season, one of his best with the bat in 11 years in the big leagues, would Dodgers manager Dave Roberts consider leaving him at shortstop when Betts returns and moving Betts to second base, where Gavin Lux hasn’t exactly been tearing it up offensively?
“I would, I would,” Roberts said. “I don’t think anyone can debate the level of shortstop play from Miguel Rojas. Some of it is contingent on the timeline for Mookie’s return and where Miggy is physically and how things are going. But to your question, would I consider it? Absolutely.”
Miguel Rojas celebrates after hitting a double against the Cincinnati Reds on May 18.
(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“He’s having a heck of a year offensively and defensively, and I love the edge, the energy, he brings every night.”
— Dave Roberts, Dodgers manager, on Miguel Rojas
For Rojas to remain the starting shortstop all summer and into the fall, he has to stay healthy, which is why he’s spending more time with his legs wrapped in a blood flow restriction (BFR) machine and less time taking ground balls, part of a modified pregame and postgame training regimen designed to keep him on the field.
Rojas began the season as a utility man, starting just 30 of the team’s first 73 games through June 16, the day Betts was hit by that pitch from Kansas City Royals right-hander Dan Altavilla.
Rojas started 10 of the first 11 games at shortstop after Betts got hurt, a pace made possible by three off days in the past nine days but one that is not sustainable for a player who has battled leg injuries for several years.
“He’s having a heck of a year offensively and defensively, and I love the edge, the energy, he brings every night,” Roberts said. “The thing I have to be mindful of is managing his playing time because he’s just such a value to our ballclub.
“He will argue like most players that he can play every day, and that should be his mindset. But he’s still an older player who’s had some soft-tissue things, so I will find time to give him days off, because I think it’s best for him and for us long term.”
Rojas, who enters Tuesday night’s game against Arizona with a .287 average, .778 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, three homers, 13 doubles and 15 RBIs in 52 games, finally got a day off Sunday in San Francisco. There were no complaints.
“I think it’s a smart move, because I’m going to have the off-day Monday, too,” Rojas said after he had three RBI singles and a sacrifice fly in Saturday night’s grueling 14-7, 11-inning win over the Giants. “My role on this team changed a little bit when Mookie got hurt, and now I have to play shortstop every day.
“I need to recharge my batteries because I’m a guy that plays all-out, every single day, and I feel like I empty the tank. I need to refuel and be ready for Tuesday.”
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1. Miguel Rojas rounds second base during a win over the Angels on June 22. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) 2. Miguel Rojas throws to first base during a win over the Kansas City Royals on June 14. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)
“I’m taking this really seriously, because I don’t want them to feel like they need to go out there and find someone. I think I can do it.”
— Miguel Rojas, on having an everyday role with the Dodgers
Rojas, the team’s everyday shortstop last season, prides himself on his stellar defense and the passion he plays with.
“I want to inject some energy into the lineup, I want to be in the middle of the field trying to be another manager out there, helping the guys with positioning,” Rojas said. “I play hard every day, whether it’s running the bases or diving for balls. I don’t hold anything for later. I’m not trying to save myself for September.”
But to make it to September and October, Rojas knows he needs to take even better care of his body, which is why he started doing yoga and pilates this spring, stopped wearing the high-top spikes that seemed to affect his Achilles tendons, hamstrings and hips and spends at 30 minutes in the training room before and after every game receiving treatment, including the BFR machine.
Also known as an occlusion training device, the BFR machine restricts blood flow to a muscle, a group of muscles and joints such as elbows and knees in order to beef up the lactic acid produced during exercise, a key component in building muscle. It also aids in recovery and healing.
“I’ve had some fluke injuries, like when I hurt my wrist [on a 2022 slide with Miami],” said Rojas, who had to be pulled from an early June game at Pittsburgh because of a groin injury. “But my legs have been bothering me for the last couple of years.
“So I’ve used the BFR machine on both legs for the last couple of weeks. I follow that with some treatment and more stretching, and I feel good. My body feels much better than it did last year, when I was playing a lot.”
Rojas has cut way back on his pregame routine, which, for the first 2½ months of the season, consisted of extensive work taking ground balls and helping Betts transition to shortstop. In addition to stretching more to increase his flexibility, Rojas is eating better and staying hydrated. He’s getting to sleep earlier.
“I’m taking this really seriously, because I don’t want them to feel like they need to go out there and find someone,” Rojas said. “I think I can do it.”
The moment that fastball hit Betts’ hand, there was speculation that the Dodgers would pursue a trade for a shortstop. Toronto’s Bo Bichette and the Chicago White Sox’s Paul DeJong have been mentioned as candidates, but Bichette is having a career-worst season, and DeJong wouldn’t be much of an upgrade over Rojas.
“That’s the chip on his shoulder — he wants to prove that he’s that guy,” Ebel said of Rojas. “I give him credit for even thinking that.”
Rojas will never be as dangerous in the batter’s box as Betts, but the Dodgers would be hard-pressed to find a better defensive alternative at shortstop.
“It’s a game-changer,” Roberts said of Rojas’ defense. “Mookie was doing the best he could given the circumstances, but Miggy is an 80-grade defender. He grew up as a shortstop. The repetitions that he’s taken over the years, over his life … he’s a lock-down guy.”
Dodgers shortstop Miguel Rojas, left and Andy Pages talk in the dugout before a game against the Washington Nationals on April 16.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
The challenge for Roberts will be finding that balance between playing Rojas as much as possible and resting him enough to keep him healthy over the next four months.
“For me, it’s talking to the training staff, it’s using my eyes and seeing how his body’s moving, picking out a day game after a night game, things like that,” Roberts said. “There is no exact science. I can’t just say it’s two on, one off, three on, one off, play six in a row.
“But he’s so valuable for us going forward that to make sure we keep him fresh is what’s most important, and that’s what my mindset will be. … I can’t say enough about Miggy Ro. I’m pushing him a little bit as far as playing time, but he’s coming up big.”
Sports
Indy 500: Counting Down The 10 Best Finishes In Race History
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The best Indianapolis 500 finish could be subjective, depending on which driver a fan was rooting for to win.
It certainly is in the eye of the beholder.
So take this list for what it’s worth. One view of the 10 best finishes in Indianapolis 500 history. Of course, it skews to more recent decades when the runs have come a little faster and the finishes have had a tendency to be a little closer.
We’ll add one each day to this list of fantastic finishes ahead of the 110th running of the Indy 500 on May 24 (12:30 p.m. ET on FOX).
10. Ericsson outduels O’Ward (2022)
After a red flag, Marcus Ericsson held off Pato O’Ward in a two-lap shootout. The shootout didn’t last two laps, though, as there was a crash on the final lap behind them. Ericsson had a comfortable lead when the red flag came out for a crash with four laps to go, a situation where in past Indianapolis 500 races, they likely would have ended the race under caution with Ericsson as the winner.
9. Foyt survives chaos (1967)
How does a driver who wins by two laps end up on this list? It’s because the win nearly didn’t happen on the last lap. A big crash with cars and debris littering the frontstretch just ahead of Foyt as he came to the checkered flag forced him to navigate through the wreckage for the win.
8. Sato can’t catch Franchitti (2012)
This was one of those finishes where the leader holds on for the win, but boy did the leader have to hold on. Takuma Sato tried to pass Dario Franchitti early on the final lap but to no avail and Franchitti sped off for the victory. This was one of those Indy 500s that made you hold your breath all the way to the checkered flag.
Sports
UCLA softball pummels South Carolina to advance to NCAA super regional
No. 8 UCLA stuck with right-hander Taylor Tinsley throughout the Los Angeles Regional and that faith in the senior paid off.
During the Bruins’ NCAA tournament opener at Easton Stadium, Tinsley gave up 10 runs before her teammates rallied for a walk-off win. She returned less than 24 hours to pitch against South Carolina, giving up two earned runs in a victory. Tinsley was back in the circle Sunday afternoon, yielding one run in UCLA’s 15-1 victory over the Gamecocks to advance to the super regionals.
“I am proud of Taylor’s resiliency, the ability to do whatever she can to help this team,” UCLA coach Kelly Inouye-Perez said. “She got stronger through the weekend. I am proud of that.”
Tinsley and her teammates will host Central Florida in a super regional that begins Friday.
“I feel good,” Tinsley said after pitching three key games in three days. “I could have gone more innings if needed.”
South Carolina right-hander Jori Heard gave up only one hit through two innings, keeping UCLA’s potent bats relatively quiet. The Gamecocks had runners on first and second with two outs in the second, but Tinsley escaped the inning with a pop-up to left field.
The Bruins got on the board first with a two-run home run from left fielder Rylee Slimp in the third inning. The Bruins followed it up by loading the bases with no outs in the fifth for right fielder Megan Grant.
Grant cooked up a grand slam to make it 6-0. She has 40 home runs, extending her hold on the NCAA single-season home run record. Oklahoma freshman Kendall Wells trails Grant with 37 homers.
“Its just incredible because I am blessed to be able to say the number 40,” Grant said.
South Carolina broke through on an RBI single from left fielder Quincee Lilio to cut UCLA’s lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning after being held to just one hit since the first inning. The Gamecocks couldn’t cash in the rest of the way.
The Bruins resumed scoring in the sixth inning, with the bases loaded and Grant at bat again. Fans at Easton Stadium anticipated another grand slam, holding up their cellphones hoping to catch some magic. Grant served up a two-run RBI single to expand the lead 8-1.
Jordan Woolery added to the scoring with a two-run RBI double down the left-field line, and Kaniya Bragg hit a home run to left-center field. Soo-jin Berry put a bow on the win with one more home run.
Sports
Pro wrestling star learns what ‘land of opportunity’ means in US as he details journey from Italy to America
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Cristiano Argento has been tearing up opponents in the ring for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) as he worked his way up the ladder to get a few shots at some gold.
But the path to get to one of the most prestigious pro wrestling companies in the U.S. was long and a path that not many wrestlers have taken.
Argento was born and raised in Osimo, Italy – a town of about 35,000 people located on the east side of the country closer to the Adriatic Sea. He told Fox News Digital he started training in a ring at a boxing gym before he got started on the independent scene in Italy. He wrestled in Germany, Sweden, France and Denmark before he came to the realization that, to become a professional wrestler, he needed to make his way to the United States.
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Cristiano Argento performs in the National Wrestling Alliance (Instagram)
He first worked his way to Canada to get trained by pro wrestling legend Lance Storm. He moved to Canada, leaving most of his friends and family behind and without a firm grasp on the English language.
“At the time, my English was horrible. I didn’t speak any English at all,” he said. “But I was with my friend, Stefano, he came with me and he translated everything for me. I probably missed 50% of the knowledge that Lance Storm was giving to us because I was unable to understand. I was only given a recap and everything I was able to see. I’m sure if I was doing it now with a proper knowledge of English, it would have been a different scenario.
“Eventually, I moved back to Italy after the training and I said, OK, now, I want to go to the U.S. So, I studied English more properly, and eventually I got my first work visa that was in Texas. I was in Houston for a short period of time. I trained with Booker T at Reality of Wrestling. I got on his show, which was my debut in the U.S. That was awesome. I eventually got a new work visa in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where I currently live since 2017. Since then, my wrestling career, thankfully, kept growing, growing, growing and growing until now wrestling for the NWA. One of the bigger promotions in the U.S.”
Argento said that his family thought he was “nuts” for chasing his pro wrestling dream.
He said they were more concerned about his well-being given that he was half-way around the world without anyone he knew by his side in case something went sideways.
“My family, friends, everybody was like why do you want to move to the opposite side of the world not knowing the language, not knowing anybody, by yourself, to try to become a professional wrestler? And I was like, well, we have one life, I love, and that’s what I’m gonna do,” he told Fox News Digital. “Eventually, my family was really supportive. But when I first said, ‘Hey, mom and dad, I want to do that.’ They looked at me like, ‘Are you nuts? Are you drunk or something? What are you talking about?’ And I said, no that’s what I want to do. And they knew I loved this sport because in Italy I was traveling around Europe, spending time in Canada training, so they started to understand slowly that’s what I want to do with my life. They were proud of me.
Cristiano Argento works out in the gym. (Instagram)
“They’re still proud of me. I think more like the fact that you’re gonna try that, that it’s hard than more like you’re gonna leave us. The fact like, oh, my son is gonna go on the opposite side of the world for a six-hour time difference and we’re gonna see him maybe, when, like, I don’t know. Not often. I think it was more that. And for me too, it was really hard. It was heartbreaking not being able to see my family every day or every month. Like once a year if I’m lucky. I think that was the biggest part for them because of concern or that I was here by myself and if I have any issue or any problem, I didn’t have nobody. So they were scared. Like, you get sick, if you have a problem, anything, and they’re not being able to be here next to me. But they were really supportive since day one.”
Argento is living out his dream in the U.S. He suggested that the moniker of the U.S. being the “land of opportunity” wasn’t far from what is preached in movies and literature – it was the real thing.
“I was inspired by people who came to the U.S. and made it big,” Argento told Fox News Digital. “The U.S. was always like the land of opportunity. That’s how they sell it to us and this is what it is. I feel like, in myself, that was true because anything I tried to do so far I was able to reach a lot more than if I wasn’t here. I’m not yet where I’d like to be but I see like there’s so many opportunities in this country. Not just in wrestling but like in any business to reach the goal. I’m really happy of the choices I did here.
National Wrestling Alliance star Cristiano Argento poses in Times Square in New York. (Instagram)
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“But my big inspirations were big-time actors who moved to the country, who didn’t know English, with no money, no support system. I had one dream, I have to go right there to make it happen and I’m gonna go and do it and I’m gonna make it happen. So those people were always the biggest inspiration even if it wasn’t in wrestling, just how they handled their passion, how they pursued their dream without being scared of anything, how far you are, how alone by yourself … You don’t know the language, you’re like, let’s go, let’s do it.”
Outside of the NWA, Argento has performed for the International Wrestling Cartel, Enjoy Wrestling and Exodus Pro Wrestling this year.
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