Yankees’ Alex Verdugo has some extra World Series motivation: ‘I was upset’
NY Post
LOS ANGELES — Alex Verdugo grew nostalgic as he thought back to his days as a Dodger.
From breaking into the major leagues with them in 2017 to helping them win 106 games in 2019 in one of the most complete seasons of his career up to this point, Verdugo loved playing in Los Angeles.
Which is why it bothered him so much when he was sent to the Red Sox in the Mookie Betts deal following that season.
“I was upset. I was pretty clear I didn’t want to go anywhere,” Verdugo said Thursday on the eve of the World Series. “I understood it from a business aspect and all that, but I was pretty hurt by it.”
At this stage, all the motivation needed is winning a World Series championship, but beating his old team would provide something extra for Verdugo.
“You want to win and you want to kind of show them, ‘Hey, you guys got rid of me and maybe it wasn’t the right decision,’ ” he said.
PHOENIX — Wednesday brought some cautiously optimistic updates for the Knicks frontcourt.
The Greatest Escape in franchise history was perpetrated by Glen Sather, when the general manager extricated himself and the Rangers from the final five years of Scott Gomez’s contract by moving the $7,357,143-per-year center to Montreal on June 30, 2009 after two years in New York.
The Yankees publicly are on the same page: Hal Steinbrenner, like Brian Cashman and Aaron Boone before him, said that issues with the club’s fundamentals did not hover over the team all season.
The first day of the rest of Daniel Jones’ dwindling time with the Giants arrived Wednesday, with Jones in the building, in the meetings, on the practice field (although not doing very much) and not at all part of the game plan for the next game, relegated to a non-participant role for the remainder of the season.
There will be a little extra magic for Knicks-Spurs on Christmas Day.
The quickest way for the Giants to climb out of quarterback hell is also the quickest way to extend their stay there for at least three more years.
The Lakers’ decision to keep Bronny James away from G League road games has sparked some debate about the level of preferential treatment the franchise is giving to LeBron’s son.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Rangers continue to flex their strength on the road this season.
One of Tom Thibodeau’s stated points of emphasis for the Knicks this season — to increase their volume of 3-point attempts to take advantage of their proficiency from the outside — is starting to come to fruition.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — It’s the best-case scenario for Filip Chytil and the Rangers.