Cool Hand Lucroy

Spain the deserved winner today. Argentina was justifiably passive after the red card, but I thought they played a bit too defensive overall, especially given how dangerous Messi made them look in the last 10 minutes. Kind of had a feeling Nico Williams would make a difference in this one, but it's stunning how Spain managed to do this after both he and Yamal (the two main reasons Spain was won the '24 Euros) had just so-so tournaments. That's a really complete side. When you factor in their Olympic gold medal and their Women's World Cup trophy, you'd have to say they have the most successful program in the world right now and up there with one of the best runs ever. As a La Liga partisan, I think how good that league is gets lost in the focus on the Prem. There are a whole bunch of really, really good teams. It's that Barca and RM are on another level. Athletic Club might be one of the most underrated sides in Europe, and they do it all with only Basque players. Real Sociedad is quite good, so are Betis and Villareal. Rayo punches above its weight. Definitely the second best league in Europe for my money, and it's paying off at the international level. When you consider this side didn't even have any Madrid players (I know Cucurella is headed there), that tells you how good the system is. EDIT: No problem with the second yellow on Enzo. I thought the disallowed goal after the foul was soft, but probably a foul. Some close calls, but all in all I thought a pretty well officiated match, especially given Argentina's overall approach.

Honestly, I think part of the IGT negativity is that it's always been that way, but another part is that people actually expect to win every game now? I remember negativity as a kind of jokey, coping mechanism for all the bad baseball we had to watch, but now it feels angrier because there's actually stakes.

Was looking into AQI issues, since I know this has been a thing for a few consecutive years now. No such thing as a magic number, but a lot of the previous PPDs and one relocation have happened with AQIs above 200, some closer to 400. AI says MLB is "likely to scrutinize anything over 200," but that seems like just pulling a number out of the aether. Sadly, this might have to be something put into a league-wide policy. You could make different rules for indoor/outdoor stadiums, but if it's going to impact half a dozen series every year, you probably want to tie yourself to some clear metrics (AQI above 200 outdoors, above 250 in or whatever) rather than wait and have to make the call each time, facing all kinds of scheduling pressure and incentives to play.

This would be my guess too. It's one thing to keep getting injured ligaments or tendons. It's another to come up with dead arm multiple times. Love to see Big Woo and Jim Henderson helping the pitchers out, at least. Good luck to Woodruff, and thanks for the many great moments.

Having Hall back would be a big, big help. A guy who you can give you a few innings at a stretch. Let's hope we can weather a couple of tough weeks, buy some time for the pitching staff, and go into October as healthy as possible.

Your indoor air is as good as your outdoor air, plus whatever filtration mechanisms you can employ. During COVID, there was a push for institutions (schools, hospitals, corporate offices, colleges, etc.) to invest recovery money into better filtration systems, but a lot of that infrastructure work never got done (mainly because of political gridlock and general COVID skepticism). I'm not sure what the ventilation at AmFam is like, but if you're clocking AQI in the 300s, it's going to get overwhelmed pretty quickly. If it's 170 or so, that's still bad, but your ventilation can probably help out. A lot of this is also about fan safety and community health. It's generally not a good idea to be holding large public events when the AQI is this unhealthy, especially in urban areas where AQI tends to be worse, and traffic volume can be a contributor. Things appear to be improving, so it's very possible the game occurs. Take care of yourself if you're going. I know there's a stupid and weird social stigma around masking, but it's very helpful for all kinds of reasons in this environment!

100. You can shell up for 10-15 minutes, but 30-40 is a whole different animal, especially with maybe the most creative player in history on the other side. That kind of thinking has hurt a lot of teams this tournament. I think Spain handled their lead against France best of all. I'll be rooting for them on Sunday (I root for Betis and probably follow La Liga most closely), but it's been a fascinating tournament.

I agree with most of this. It's a great post. I think you're right that soccer probably requires more specialization than other sports because of the technical aspect. As a guy who's played in 30 and 40+ leagues and been among the fittest participants, I can vouch for getting my butt kicked on a weekly basis simply because I lack the foot skills of guys who were mediocre in high school. It reminds a little bit of getting drilled in racquetball by a 70-year-old. If you can execute the right movements, fitness and athleticism matter a lot less. That's certainly harder to see when you're watching elite games on TV. The technical skill is so good it becomes the water the game is played in, and what you can see more easily are things like speed and endurance. Where I'd differ slightly is whether that level of technical expertise needs to be taught through an academy system beginning at 6 or 7 or 8. Japan doesn't do that. They've probably only been about as successful as the US (and never made a WC QF), but with a much smaller population and in a tougher qualifying region. They've also, I would argue, more consistently produced contributing players in top-5 leagues. The median age at World Cup 2022, in terms of starting at a pro academy, was 13 years old. I think we tend to overrate specialization, especially pre-puberty. An easy place to agree to disagree. I will say that I think your broader point is right on. Caring about the results in individual games tends to be intoxicating in the US, and skill development suffers because of that. That's a pretty deep cultural problem, and I think changing that will, as you say, probably go the longest way to fixing the issue. I think the easiest peer country to consider is Australia. A sports-mad country. Lots of success in certain sports (swimming, rugby, etc.) but always having to scrap in soccer. The difference there is probably expectations. Maybe the answer is to assume the US is too much divided in its attention to really care about soccer, to recognize we'll never match the passion of Argentina or England, and that that has pros and cons. Maybe it means caring less about talent development and more about cohesion and tactics and group attitude. I don't know. Either way, good thoughts.

A great first half for this team, then a bad series to cap off an okay week. Definitely a good time for the ASB. Hard to complain too much being 5 games up at minimum. They'll have to play well in the second half, but I think this team has outperformed expectations and battled through some tough injuries. Hopefully we can get some hurlers back to health and take advantage of a pretty soft schedule.

Yelich has been bad for a while now. 30 games of really bad numbers. The 30 before that, though, are pretty good. I have to think at least some of this is injury-related, but it's a tough spot for a guy that certainly looks like he's in the twilight of his career. I don't think I'd run him out there at leadoff. He needs to go bottom-of-the-order and sit more, especially since we have other options. He can still be a valuable contributor as a veteran, and maybe he just goes back to being something like the guy he was early in his career--a contact hitter who put together good ABs.

Good discussion. Lots of great ideas here. I think @OldSchoolSnapperis right on about scoring and US culture. A lot of our system is also geared to games. Games, games, games. This is a huge problem in youth sports in general. You don't need kids under 12 (maybe even 14) playing games. They need reps. 3v3. Triangles. Maybe 7v7 in tight spaces. That's what the European countries do, by and large, and it's what creates elite skill development. We spend so much time traveling to tournaments, and it's truly a nightmare. Why? IMO it's mostly so grown-ups can brag and get in arguments. I'd rather have skills training or skills competitions, and I think the same is true about basketball. You can see the Euro system making gains in that sport too.

Slonina needs to make a move somewhere he can play. Maybe the Championship. I have hopes for him if he can get actual minutes. The talent is there. Chris Brady is also really young, and MLS isn't a bad spot, so maybe there's some opportunities there. I think it's time to move on from the Matts. What happens there and with Ream aging out will probably steer the ship. I think Balogun will be a huge weapon, so if they can be solid at the back, that's a great start.

Good thoughts here and across this thread. The Balogun controversy certainly impacted the vibes, but I think the biggest thing it did was make Belgium's plan quite easy. They just decided to not let Flo do anything, and the US was, somehow, not prepared to work in alternative ways. Had Flo remained suspended, I wonder if the team would have committed to a different approach, an approach I think might have been more successful. That's all hindsight obviously. I think Balogun in the starting XI ended up hurting them, but we'll never really know how things would have worked with Pepi. I fully expect US Soccer to extend Poch and claim victory. And for 2030 to look similar, but you never know since so much can change during these four year cycles. In any case, I hope @OldSchoolSnapperat least got to enjoy Seattle, despite the massive letdown on the pitch.

Belgium were tactically much stronger, I thought. They took Balo away and just dared anyone else to do something. Nobody did. When Gio (who can't crack a mediocre Bundesliga side) is subbed for Dest at halftime, you know you've reached the throwing stuff at the wall phase. Big picture, we have seen too many World Cups like this. Feeling good about producing some moments like Donovan's goal, Tim Howard's valiant effort, or the blowout of Paraguay or draw against England. Then, you come up against a decent European side in the R16 and lose by multiple goals, never looking like a threat. I have deep worries about US soccer as a federation. I watch Leeds every week. Aaronson is super important for them. He does a lot of things even in a league where he is undersized. He also brings an attacking element that would fit right in. He didn't play well against Turkiye, but he's also just not valued by the big club. It's weird. Weah, same thing. He was awful vs. Turkiye, but a lot of it was just not being able to time up his runs and avoid getting caught offside. Easily explained by rust. Again, I know those guys weren't going to save us, but this team seems to want a kind of "flash" that's just not that important to winning games in the latter stages of the tournament. This game needed an Aaronson (I would've subbed him in for Pulisic) or Weah to create space, and they weren't even given the last-ditch, good-guy sub reserved for Wright and Arfsten. I'm just not sure the federation understands development or roster construction. It's like they're playing to not get criticized. Anyway, this is a great final 8 no matter what happens tomorrow. And the tournament has been excellent. Sad to watch the hosts play the worst game so far, but lots of good football left to enjoy.

Easy, 5-run win. Just what the Uecker ordered given the current stretch of games and state of the bullpen.

Efficient, low-stress saves are the best saves. Good work from the bullpen tonight, too. Nice comeback win.

My favorite part about that was how everyone, from Ortiz to Levering to the center fielder had no idea that was out until it hit the batter's eye. And it wasn't a wall-scraper. Nobody expected it! Baseball!

Seems pretty clear to me this is one of those offensive slumps every team goes through at various points of the year. And in the midst of it, they've still managed to win a lot of games. They'll have to correct it, but this team won five in a row three days ago. Deep breaths.

You meant Frosty Boys, right?

3 in a row!

Mis, Harrison, Gasser, Drohan in the rotation right now. Sproat about to go on the shelf. Crow and Henderson looking reasonably close to coming back. Woody was okay yesterday, I guess. It's getting a little bit dicey, but they may only have to hold on for a couple of weeks. I'm not as up on the prospects as some here. I know Hardin is probably the highest pedigree choice, especially with Letson struggling at AA. Could Pannone take a spot start? Or Stallings (the K numbers look pretty good, at least)? Throwing one of those guys in Cincy doesn't seem like the worst idea. I know that place is a bandbox, but that lineup has also been pretty bad all year. Sometimes, you just need to eat innings.

I feel like I have seen more banger goals from outside the box than I ever have. Austria just absolutely blasted one. "Goal of the tournament" is going to be very competitive.

Definitely agree with all the folks mentioning Rengifo to IL. As soon as he got that little knock (the World Cup has me talking in soccer terms), a whole lot of people were thinking the same thing I was. "This lets us call up a top prospect without DFAing him." Seems like the org is smart enough to have that thought too.

I remember a lot of talk after the draw about "Turkey is a bad draw for anyone, should they win the playoff." They might well be. But Australia looked solid in defense, aside from a late lapse or two, and incredibly clinical and athletic on the counter. They also looked completely unafraid. Should be fun. Totally agree about Pulisic as well. I don't really buy the "he has to be great" narrative. Chris Richards and Balogun seem to fit that bill more for me. Front and back. The middle, though thin, has been the cornerstone of this national team for a long time.

Balogun and Gio both delivered absolutely choice goals. Completely lethal. The way this groups of midfielders can dominate the center of the park, having competent finishers is such a big deal. Balogun was my one big reason for optimism. When you have questions at the back and lack a clear striker, it's really hard to get points for all your possession. But even with a 38-year-old as part of your central pairing and a largely unproved keeper, you're still alright if you put away chances. That will have to keep up, but you're absolutely right. That was a US team playing with all the tough togetherness of past editions AND with talent and athleticism all over the space. "What if our best athletes played soccer?" It would look something like that.