Washington

Nats pitchers are warming to PitchCom, baseball’s new on-field device

Published

3 years ago

May 2, 2022

Nats pitchers are warming to PitchCom, baseball’s new on-field device

On Friday night time at Oracle Park in San Francisco, proper after Aaron Sanchez’s wild pitch moved a runner to second base, Keibert Ruiz jogged to the Washington Nationals’ dugout in the midst of an at-bat. It was an odd sight, the catcher abandoning his submit for a beat. However the purpose was even perhaps odder.

Ruiz had forgotten the armband that may permit him to faucet some buttons and ship a pitch name by a speaker affixed to Sanchez’s hat, 60 toes 6 inches away on the mound. The short-passing complication was brought on by PitchCom.

The Nationals have had a number of of these whereas phasing within the know-how. Main League Baseball launched it this season, beginning with spring coaching trials, to curb sign-stealing and incrementally enhance the tempo of play. By urgent buttons as a substitute of utilizing their fingers, catchers can conceal indicators and generally supply a pitch kind and site whereas pitchers are nonetheless strolling again to the rubber. And with out conventional indicators, catchers don’t must undergo a number of units with a runner on second, dashing up play in these conditions.

At first, Washington’s pitchers had been resistant. They’ve peered in for indicators their complete lives. There’s a rhythm to it, and there was for greater than a century. However after seeing the New York Mets use PitchCom through the season’s opening weekend, the Nationals got here round to making an attempt it with runners on second base solely. That made the previous two weeks a little bit of a trial-and-error interval.

Earlier than Ruiz forgot the armband, which he’s required to take away whereas hitting, reliever Austin Voth misplaced the speaker on his hat — formally known as a “receiver” — and couldn’t hear the indicators throughout an look Tuesday. Earlier than that, on April 20, starter Erick Fedde needed to make a pickoff throw to second and there was no button for it, leaving him and Ruiz stumped.

Nationals discover good vibes by the Bay, rating an 11-5 win over the Giants

However the pitchers have largely simply loved the peace of thoughts that has include hidden indicators. Their shifts in perspective present how essential that’s.

Fedde: “Once they introduced it up down in Florida, loads of guys within the clubhouse had been like: ‘Nah, nah, nah. That’s not us.’ You already know, we didn’t need to change. However it’s good to know they will’t get your indicators at second, which some groups are actually good at. It’s comforting.”

Voth: “I’m undoubtedly getting used to the thought of there being no means they will see them, since as a pitcher you’ve type of been coping with that your entire profession, going again to highschool. It’s totally different.”

Starter Patrick Corbin: “After I was with the Diamondbacks, they had been actually good at selecting up different groups’ indicators at second. I’d kind of sit within the dugout, like, ‘Man, I hope groups aren’t doing that to me.’ Guess it may very well be a lot more durable now.”

In February, when Josh Rogers noticed a video of Vanderbilt pitchers getting indicators from the dugout on an digital wristband, the Nationals’ lefty tweeted: “Love the Vanderbilt program. Absolute firstclass in all the things they do. That’s simply not baseball.” Two months later, Rogers grew to become the primary Nationals pitcher to make use of PitchCom for a full inning, not simply when a runner reached second base.

He grinned at his preliminary response — “I’ll personal it, I’ll personal it,” he stated — and favored how the voice in his ear helped calm what he known as a “scattered mind.” Rogers additionally reported no hiccups with the brand new tech. Thus far, the Nationals’ issues have had easy options. Fedde and Ruiz thought of utilizing the “Knuckleball” or “Cancel” button for pickoffs till a sign was programmed in. Voth, laughing about his mishap a day later, defined that he mistakenly put the receiver on the again of his hat as a substitute of by his ear.

To get the calls from Ruiz, Voth eliminated his hat between pitches and pressed the receiver to the facet of his head. His expertise sparked a constructive dialogue within the clubhouse.

As Nats’ bats flail, prospect Luis Garcia mashes in minors. However there’s a catch.

All PitchCom units are distributed and carefully monitored by MLB. As of this previous weekend, the Nationals had been given 10 receivers, 5 of which may very well be used at a time. That features the pitcher, catcher and infielders who really feel they might profit by figuring out the pitch calls. However after seeing relievers should clip on their receivers whereas on the mound, Corbin steered that each pitcher on the roster ought to have one and be permitted to connect it within the dugout or bullpen. A handful of his teammates agreed.

A part of why Voth misplaced his was as a result of he was dashing to heat up for a two-on, two-out jam. It’s one thing for MLB officers to contemplate as they collect suggestions from groups.

“You’re coming to the mound, you’re making an attempt to get your bearings, and on the identical time the catcher is supplying you with this machine,” Voth recalled. “And on prime of that, you’re making an attempt to deal with the batter you might have and be aggressive within the main leagues, you understand? So it was irritating in that second however turned out all proper. There’s at all times going to be a number of kinks with one thing like this.”

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Washington

Confirmed: Cardinal McElroy to be appointed Washington archbishop

Published

31 minutes ago

January 6, 2025

Press Room

Confirmed: Cardinal McElroy to be appointed Washington archbishop

Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego will be announced as the new archbishop of Washington, D.C., The Pillar has confirmed.

Cardinal Robert Walter McElroy

After reporting January 4 that multiple U.S. bishops had said that the appointment was imminent, The Pillar has separately confirmed that Pope Francis has selected McElroy to succeed Cardinal Wilton Gregory in the capital see.

The announcement is expected Monday, according to sources close to the process.

McElroy’s appointment follows a lengthy and contentious process to find a successor for the Washington archdiocese, which involved a protracted standoff between some American cardinals and the apostolic nunciature.

The Pillar has previously reported that following a meeting in October in which McElroy joined Cardinals Blase Cupich of Chicago and Joseph Tobin of Newark to meet with Pope Francis during the synod on synodality in October, Francis was said to have decided against appointing McElroy.

Instead, Francis tasked former Washington archbishop Cardinal Donald Wuerl to identify a suitable candidate.

Wuerl, sources close to the process have confirmed to The Pillar, suggested Bishop Sean McKnight of Jefferson City, with Cardinal Gregory also signing off on the recommendation. However, in the weeks following the presidential election result, which saw Donald Trump reelected to the White House, Francis agreed to revisit McElroy’s candidacy.

As Bishop of San Diego and as a cardinal, McElroy has been outspoken on various subjects touching the political area, most especially immigration.

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In addition to the political sensitivities of the role, McElroy will also assume leadership of more than half a million Catholics in the DC area and southern Maryland, becoming their third archbishop since 2018.

McElroy turns 71 in February and succeeds Cardinal Gregory, 77, who was appointed to succeed Cardinal Donald Wuerl in 2019, whose resignation was accepted by Pope Francis following the scandal surrounding Wuerl’s own predecessor, Theodore McCarrick, the previous year.

Despite promises of transparency by Gregory at the time of his appointment, the archdiocese has so far declined to answer repeated questions about McCarrick’s tenure, especially money raised and spent via his personal “archbishop’s fund” during his time in Washington.

McElroy has himself faced questions about McCarrick in the past, with some expressing concerns about how he responded to a 2016 warning about the now-laicized former cardinal.

In addition to lingering questions about McCarrick, McElroy will also have to reckon with a process of financial restructuring in the Washington archdiocese.

In December last year, several local priests told The Pillar that chancery officials had painted a bleak picture of archdiocesan finances, announcing sweeping reforms of its parish assessment system to bridge a multi-million dollar deficit.

As Bishop of San Diego, McElroy has at times raised eyebrows on the national stage, calling for the synod on synodality to debate issues like the sacramental ordination of women, despite Pope Francis repeatedly saying such issues were not up for discussion.

The cardinal has previously made calls for “comprehensive inclusion” in Eucharistic reception.

Following the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s 2023 instruction Fiducia supplicans on the blessing of persons on same-sex relationships, which Rome agreed to allow the bishops of Africa to not implement in their own dioceses, McElroy hailed the “diverging pastoral paths” taken by the Church in different countries as a model of healthy decentralization, rather than a sign of contradiction within the Church.

Last year, McElroy issued a controversial homeschooling policy in the San Diego diocese, barring local Catholic home schooling groups from using parish facilities.

Cardinal Robert McElroy presides at a liturgy during the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. Credit: RECongress/YouTube.

Cardinal McElroy was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1980, serving as secretary to Archbishop John Quinn. After several years in parish ministry, Quinn named him vicar general of the archdiocese in 1995.

McElroy was named auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 2010, and made Bishop of San Diego in 2015. Pope Francis created him a cardinal in 2022.

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Washington

Buccaneers Claim 3 Seed in NFC Playoff Field, Face Commanders in Wild Card Round

Published

8 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Buccaneers Claim 3 Seed in NFC Playoff Field, Face Commanders in Wild Card Round

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers not only captured a fourth straight NFC South title on Sunday, but they also improved their overall position in the playoff standings and kept alive the possibility of two home games in the postseason.

While the Buccaneers secured their own playoff spot with a Week 18 win over the New Orleans Saints, the Los Angeles Rams had already clinched the NFC West title the Week before. That put the Rams into the third overall seed in the NFC playoff field coming into the final weekend, but a loss to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday allowed Tampa Bay to leap them for that spot. Both the Buccaneers and Rams finished with 10-7 records but Tampa Bay won the tiebreaker for positioning based on a better record against conference opponents (8-4 to 6-6).

As the #3 seed, the Buccaneers will host a playoff game in the Wild Card round against the team that claimed the #6 seed. That proved to be Washington after the Commanders beat the Cowboys on Sunday to improve to 11-6. The NFL will announce the date and time of the game later on Sunday evening.

The Buccaneers will be taking part in the playoffs for a fifth straight season, the longest such run in franchise history, but this is the first time in that span that they will start out as the #3 seed. They earned the top Wild Card spot in 2020 and, coincidentally, started their playoffs at Washington after the Commanders won the NFC East with a 7-9 record. The Bucs won the NFC South each year from 2021 to 2023 and in those seasons was seeded second, fourth and fourth.

Tampa Bay could still be at home for two playoff games. If they win next weekend and the second-seeded Philadelphia Eagles lose to Green Bay, the Buccaneers would go into the Divisional Round as the second-highest remaining seed behind the winner of the Detroit-Minnesota game on Sunday night. That team would enjoy a bye in the first round and then play at home against the lowest of the remaining seeds. The Buccaneers would get the next seeded team up from the bottom, which would be either Minnesota/Detroit or Los Angeles.

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Washington

Washington Post cartoonist quits over rejected Trump sketch

Published

16 hours ago

January 5, 2025

Press Room

Washington Post cartoonist quits over rejected Trump sketch

What’s New

Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Washington Post after the editorial team rejected one of her cartoons criticizing The Post‘s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.

Writing on her Substack blog on Friday, Telnaes said it was the first time her work was censored due to its point of view, prompting her decision to leave

Newsweek has contacted The Washington Post via email for comment.

The Washington Post building in Washington D.C., February 21, 2019. Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes resigned from The Post after the editorial team rejected one of her cartoons criticizing The Post’s billionaire owner Jeff Bezos.

Pablo Martinez Monsivais/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Why It Matters

Telnaes’ resignation highlights concerns over press freedom and the influence of billionaire owners on editorial decisions in major news outlets, including at the LA Times and The Washington Post.

Critics argue that billionaire owners could censor critical commentary, undermining journalism’s role in holding power accountable.

What To Know

The cartoon in question depicted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, LA Times owner Patrick Soon-Shiong, and The Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos, all billionaires, and Micky Mouse, representing Disney, kneeling before a statue of Donald Trump, offering sacks of cash.

Telnaes posted a rough of the cartoon in the blog post:

Why I'm Quitting the Washington Post - Cartoon Illustration by Ann Telnaes

Telnaes described the decision to reject the cartoon as a “game changer” for her relationship with the paper.

But Post Opinions editor David Shipley, in a statement to Politico, said the cartoon was rejected to avoid repetition, because a column and a satirical piece on the same subject had already been published.

In her blog post, Telnaes outlined her career as an advocate for press freedom in various roles, having served on advisory boards for organizations supporting editorial cartoonists.

She emphasized the importance of holding power accountable and warned against efforts to “curry favor with an autocrat-in-waiting.”

What People Are Saying

Elizabeth Warren, Senator, on X: “@AnnTelnaes resigned after The Washington Post editorial page killed her cartoon. It’s worth a share. Big Tech executives are bending the knee to Donald Trump and it’s no surprise why: Billionaires like Jeff Bezos like paying a lower tax rate than a public school teacher.”

David Shipley, Washington Post Opinions Editor, in a statement to Politico: “My decision was guided by the fact that we had just published a column on the same topic as the cartoon and had already scheduled another column — this one a satire — for publication. The only bias was against repetition.”

Ann Telnaes, Cartoonist, on Substack: “For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job. So I have decided to leave the Post.”

What Happens Next

With Donald Trump set to assume the presidency, The Post faces increased scrutiny over its ability to maintain editorial independence under Bezos’s ownership. Telnaes’ departure raises questions about how the paper will approach coverage of Trump’s administration, particularly regarding its willingness to challenge powerful figures.

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