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Cardinals Star Budda Baker Addresses Trade Rumors

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Cardinals Star Budda Baker Addresses Trade Rumors


Arizona Cardinals safety Budda Baker isn’t worried about trade speculation as he plays into the final year of his contract with the team.

“I don’t really see any of that type of stuff,” Baker told reporters this week.

“You know me. I’m just focused on San Francisco, just focused on the game ahead and if that happens Monti (Ossenfort) will hopefully let me know, but I don’t think it’s gonna happen.

“For me personally, I don’t really base my information on social media and stuff like that. What people say, even PFF, I don’t base anything off of that and I kind of just live in the present. Be where your feet are.

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“I’m here. Had a great Thursday practice. Excited to go in there and get my lift in. Watch the film on what we could have done better today and ultimately get ready for tomorrow.”

Baker publicly demanded a trade in the 2023 offseason after the Cardinals refused to make him one of the highest paid players at his position.

Rather, right at the start of training camp, Ossenfort re-worked Baker’s deal to supplement more guaranteed money but ultimately didn’t extend the star safety’s contract in terms of years.

Now, Baker could depart via free agency at the end of the season.

That’s where the trade speculation picks up, at least online. Would the 1-3 Cardinals want to get something in exchange for Baker rather than risk losing him for nothing? Does Baker himself get tired of losing and want to play for a contender?

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Baker’s been the face of the franchise for many years, so seeing him depart would be bittersweet, though he’ll be 29 years old next offseason and he’s likely looking to cash out on one final contract.

The NFL’s trade deadline is Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Make sure to bookmark Cardinals On SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #42: 5/13 @ Rangers

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Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #42: 5/13 @ Rangers


Last night was the seventh consecutive game where the Diamondbacks were held to six hits or fewer. That ties a franchise record, last done in April 2022, and previously in August 2011. The team’s .477 OPS over that time is actually lower than either streak, though due to the efforts of the pitching staff, Arizona are actually 3-4 during the current run. They went 2-5 in 2022, and 1-6 in 2011. There hasn’t been a longer streak in the majors since the Angels went nine in April last year. In the National League, the Pirates went eight in June 2023. And in case you are wondering, the last team to reach a double-digit streak of games with 6 or fewer hits each time? The 1968 Astros reached 11, the year before the mound was lowered.

Let’s hope the D-backs render that moot and the offense comes to life a bit. The three runs added in garbage time last night, because one of the Rangers’ relievers couldn’t find the strike-zone, certainly padded Arizona’s resume. But they were more because of walks than hits. I’ve no doubt the team will hit better. They have batted .152 over the past week. It’s the second lowest in franchise history for a seven-game span. The only worse was April 7-15, 2022 when Arizona hit a remarkable .135, going 28-for-208 in that span. They actually scored three more runs than the current streak, mostly because they had twice as many home-runs (6-3).



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Arizona Democrats debate for state’s top education job

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Arizona Democrats debate for state’s top education job


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Democrats Brett Newby and Teresa Leyba Ruiz are set to make the argument to voters that they’re the best candidates to serve as Arizona’s top education official for the next four years.

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The Arizona Republic will be streaming the Democratic debate for the Superintendent of Public Instruction race in partnership with the Arizona Media Association. The debate starts at 6 p.m. on May 13.

The office is currently held by Tom Horne, who will on May 14 face off in an Arizona Media Association debate against fellow Republican candidate Kimberly Yee, who currently serves as state treasurer.

Newby has worked as a behavioral analyst and professor, according to his campaign. He received a master’s degree in special education. His campaign has hinged on issues like downsizing the state’s controversial Empowerment Scholarship Program, retaining teachers and hiring more school counselors.

Ruiz attended Roosevelt Elementary School District and Phoenix Union High School District as a child before earning her Ph.D. from Arizona State University. She worked as a teacher at the middle and high school level before becoming president of Glendale Community College.

Like Newby, her campaign has also focused on the ESA program. She has also focused on advocating for more funding for public schools and supporting both rural and urban school districts. Ruiz has also spoken publicly about the teacher retention crisis as part of her campaign.

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Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #41: 5/12 @ Rangers

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Arizona Diamondbacks Gameday Thread, #41: 5/12 @ Rangers


The last trip through the rotation for the Diamondbacks has been really good:

By that 5-game rolling average game score, it’s the best we’ve seen since a run around the All Star Break in 2022:

If we restrict to 5-game stretches with 5 different starters, it’s the best since September 2019:

So yeah, it’s been a while since we’ve had it this good. But this is still a far cry from the best in Diamondbacks history — the current stretch is only tied for 58th all-time. Here’s the best ever:

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The good news is that there’s still quite a lot of room for Zac Gallen to improve on his last start, which had a Game Score of only 47. Doing so would give us an even better 5-game average. A score of better than 60 would surpass the 2022 streak; 69 or better would surpass 2018. Although it would take a career-best-tying 89 (reached against the Cubs on September 8, 2023) for him to pull the overall average into a tie for the franchise record. But any improvement on his last start would bring the rolling average up in the franchise rankings.

All records queried here are courtesy of Retrosheet.



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