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Orioles observations on Félix Bautista’s first outing, Jackson Holliday’s reassignment and more

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

It was at last Mountain time in Florida.Orioles closer Félix Bautista made his first appearance of the spring as Baltimore’s starter in Tuesday’s exhibition against the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching a perfect opening frame with two strikeouts as his fastball reached 99 mph.Bautista had a slower build-up to games after his outstanding rookie season ended with him suffering a sprained left knee. Having also experienced arm fatigue late in the year, he was put on a shoulder-strengthening program in the offseason, as well.Despite his late debut, Bautista said he believes Tuesday’s appearance puts him on track to be available for the Orioles’ March 30 opening day matchup with the Boston Red Sox.“The possibility is definitely there,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones.Bautista threw 15 pitches, the first three resulting in a strikeout of Oneil Cruz with two whiffs on his splitter. He froze Ji-Man Choi with a full-count fastball ...

Yankees’ Isiah Kiner-Falefa beginning to work in center field as shortstop battle comes down to wire

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

We may have a concession in the Yankees’ shortstop competition. Isiah Kiner-Falefa has begun working out in the outfield and will play in center field during Grapefruit League games this week, manager Aaron Boone told reporters on Tuesday.Kiner-Falefa has never registered a major league inning in the outfield, however, he has displayed versatility in his career as he’s played shortstop, second base, third base and catcher during his five-year career.With the writing on the wall that one of the Yankees’ prized young prospects — Anthony Volpe or Oswald Peraza — is set to take over shortstop duties, Kiner-Falefa is looking for a peaceful transition of power so he can remain in pinstripes by making himself available at different positions.The 27-year-old has been solid in spring games going 5-for-19 (.263) with a homer and a double.Kiner-Falefa played 138 games at shortstop for the Bombers last season recording 15 errors and struggling on routine plays thro...

Jose Quintana shut down until at least July after opting for bone graft surgery on rib

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

There is no such thing as too much pitching, or so the saying goes in baseball. For the Mets, this is once again proving to be true.Left-hander Jose Quintana underwent more testing for his injured rib this week and was diagnosed with a tumor on his rib, general manager Billy Eppler announced Tuesday. A biopsy came back benign, but Quintana opted to have a bone graft, which means he’ll be shut down until at least July.The important thing is Quintana’s health. Eppler said Quintana, his family and his agent, Adam Katz, talked through the options with team doctors and orthopedic tumor specialists. He made the decision to undergo surgery Tuesday and the operation is scheduled for Friday in New York.Quintana left his second spring training start on March 5 with what was described as tightness in his left side. The following day, imaging revealed a stress fracture of his fifth right rib and the team orthopedist found something concerning in the scan. Quintana was sent back to N...

You can’t spell heart attack without H-e-a-t, as season of close calls persists

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

It has become a cut-and-paste season for the Miami Heat.Close games now, then and seemingly forever.Of the 70 games played by the Heat going into Wednesday night’s matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies at Miami-Dade Arena, 50 have fallen into the NBA’s definition of clutch – a game within five points at any point in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter.In other words, only 20 Heat games all season have not carried the designation.The Heat are 28-22 in those games.Further, by holding off the visiting Utah Jazz 119-115 Tuesday night, the Heat improved to 24-15 in games decided by five or fewer points.That victory total ties the league all-time record for wins by five or fewer, set by the 1999-2000 Philadelphia 76ers, with the 39 overall five-point games two off the record of the 41 such games by the Denver Nuggets in 1977-78.As a matter of reference, those 1999-2000 76ers finished the regular season in fifth place in the Eastern Conference and lost in the Eas...

Chicago Bears safety Eddie Jackson is ‘ahead of schedule’ and excited about the defensive additions in free agency

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

Safety Eddie Jackson has been like many Chicago Bears fans this week, tracking the team’s free-agency activity on social media. On Monday evening, Jackson offered up a 29-character Twitter review of general manager Ryan Poles.“That’s what I’m talking about,” he tweeted.That reaction came in the middle of a 10-hour surge in which Poles and the Bears agreed to terms on contracts with four veterans, including three defenders. Tremaine Edmunds was the headliner, a two-time Pro Bowl selection coming to play weakside linebacker for coach Matt Eberflus. It was that signing that prompted Jackson’s excited reaction.Edmunds will be flanked by fellow newcomer T.J. Edwards, a Lake Villa native and lifelong Bears fan who was a starter on the Philadelphia Eagles’ NFC championship team last season. The Bears also added pass rush help late Monday with DeMarcus Walker.Jackson approved.“It’s always fun to add those type of players,” he said ...

Missing girl, 3, found safe

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

VISTA, Calif. -- A missing 3-year-old girl who authorities were looking for Tuesday afternoon in Vista has been found safe, according to the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

What’s known – and not – about US-Russia military air crash

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — When a Russian fighter jet collided with a large U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea on Tuesday, it was a rare but serious incident that triggered a U.S. diplomatic protest and raised concerns about the possibility Russia could recover sensitive technology.U.S. and Russian officials had conflicting accounts of the collision between the MQ-9 Reaper drone and the Russian Su-27 fighter jet — each blaming the other. But a Pentagon spokesman raised the possibility that the Defense Department could eventually declassify and release video it has of the collision.Defense officials said the drone has not been recovered. But the Pentagon declined to say whether any effort was underway to gather debris or pieces of the Reaper.Here’s what’s known — and uncertain — about the crash.WHAT THE US SAYS HAPPENEDThe Pentagon and U.S. European Command said that two Russian Su-27 aircraft dumped fuel on the MQ-9, which was conducting a routine surveillance mission ove...

Biden on gun control: ‘Do something, do something big’

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. (AP) — The grief is still suffocating, the anger still visceral, President Joe Biden said Tuesday, in this suburban Los Angeles community where a gunman stormed a dance hall and killed 11 in January. He announced fresh federal measures to curb gun violence but emotionally declared there must be more.“Do something. Do something big,” he implored.“I’m determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines,” Biden told the families of some of the victims who were in the audience for his remarks, along with the 26-year-old who wrestled the semiautomatic pistol away from the gunman.Biden’s rhetoric has grown ever stronger about guns — he routinely calls for banning assault weapons — in pushing a gun-control platform even tougher than during the Obama administration when he was vice president. He has been emboldened by the midterm elections when his regular talk of gun control didn’t result in massive Democratic losses, and he’s expected to continu...

Poilievre says he would sue Big Pharma, won’t comment on supervised consumption sites

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

OTTAWA — Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said Tuesdaythat if he became prime minister, he would sue pharmaceutical companies as a way to fund drug treatment ⁠ — but he wouldn’t say what he would do about sites where users can consume drugs under supervision. Poilievre made the pledge during a stop in Metro Vancouver, a region of the country he has routinely criticized for its approach to the opioid crisis. He once called Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside neighbourhood “hell on earth.” The Tory leader has said that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the NDP-led provincialgovernment are both contributing to the problem in British Columbia by offering a safe supply of drugs to some users and decriminalizing small amounts of certain illicit substances. He has panned such measures as being part of a “failed experiment.”During a video on the topic of harm reduction filmed in front of a tent encampment in Vancouver last November, Poilievre posed a questi...

Alberta RCMP investigating after N.W.T. man injured during interaction with police

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 16:11:25 GMT

FORT GOOD HOPE, N.W.T. — Alberta RCMP are investigating after a man was injured during an interaction with police in the Northwest Territories.RCMP in the territory say they responded Monday morning to a report of an alleged assault on a woman in Fort Good Hope.The woman was taken to the local health centre to be treated for injuries. Police say they found the male suspect on the Mackenzie Valley Winter Road armed with what appeared to be an edged weapon. RCMP say the man sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transferred to Yellowknife for further medical attention.No officers were injured.RCMP say they take any possible injuries in custody very seriously and the investigation is ongoing. The man, whom police have not named, is facing criminal charges.This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2023.The Canadian Press