David Ortiz is 40 years old and somehow leads major league baseball with a 1.101 OPS and ranks second in RBI with 33. He’s the No. 8 ranked fantasy hitter and fell a single short of the cycle Saturday, marking the first time in his career (2,291 games played) he had a double, triple and homer in a game (and became the oldest player ever to do so). There’s little to suggest Big Papi’s hot start is a fluke, as his 46.5 Hard% is the second highest in baseball, and his 19.2 HR/FB% is right in line with his career mark (18.7). Fenway Park actually suppresses home runs for left-handed batters more than any in the American League (it’s decreased them by 30 percent over the past three seasons), but it’s a big help in batting average, and it sure is beneficial hitting in the middle of this Red Sox lineup that’s scored the most runs in baseball.
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Ortiz’s 193 wRC+ is a career high and to give that perspective, the highest wRC+ by a player during an age 40 season was Willie Mays (157) in 1971. This torrid stretch dates back to last year, when Big Papi posted a .325/.401/.701 line after the All-Star break. In fact, he has 32 homers with 98 RBI over 362 at bats since then. Despite the gaudy numbers, fantasy owners (including myself) seemingly aren’t treating him as the truly elite hitter he is, as Ortiz lasted until the middle of the sixth round in our recent midseason mock draft (full results to be released this week). In trade talks, Ortiz should really be treated like a top-15 fantasy player right now and moving forward.
This footage of a large ship losing its anchor is extreme.
This Charlie Chaplin optic illusion is pretty crazy.
This magician is pretty legit.
Quick Hits: For someone who hits a ton of groundballs, it’s pretty crazy Christian Yelich leads MLB in “average true distance” during his five home runs this season (432.2 feet). Conversely, Dustin Pedroia ranks last in the category (358.2 feet)...Over his past 76.0 innings, Scott Kazmir has allowed 19 home runs, which is especially remarkable considering that’s come while pitching for the A’s and the Dodgers...Michael Pineda, meanwhile, has upped the ante, as he’s served up nine long balls over 27.2 innings at home this season. Since the start of last year, he’s given up a whopping 25 homers over 117.1 innings at Yankee Stadium. Pineda has also yet to induce a single pop up this season...Teammate Luis Severino has the third highest average fastball velocity (95.4 mph), yet his SwStr% (7.5) is bottom-15 in MLB...This right cross delivered by Rougned Odor is no joke...Tyler Duffey has quietly produced a 23:5 K:BB ratio over 24.1 innings through four starts, with a 1.85 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Wins may be tough to come by pitching for the Twins, but he’s intriguing and is owned in just 11% of Yahoo leagues.
Headlines of the Week: Woman Falls Over At Home And Regains Sight After 20 Years Of Blindness...Baby Born With 31 Fingers And Toes In China...Man Shoots Self But Doesn’t Realize It Until 3 Days Later...This Burger King Has A Full-Service Sauna Inside...Woman Follows GPS; Ends Up In Ontario Lake.
Quick Hits Part Deux: Freddie Freeman has a healthy .277/.377/.462 line yet is on pace to score just 68 runs and record 45 RBI with 27 homers thanks to an unfathomably bad offense around him. In fact, the Braves have hit nine homers this season, a mere 46 fewer than the Orioles. The next lowest team is the Phillies with 29 bombs...While Baltimore leads MLB in long balls, they are 5-of-10 on stolen base attempts this year...Noah Syndergaard, meanwhile, has allowed base runners to go 14-of-16 on SB attempts...Here’s my latest MLB Stock Watch column in case you missed it...Here’s Johnny Cueto swinging like Happy Gilmore...Erasmo Ramirez is owned in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues despite being the No. 8 ranked player so far, as fantasy owners rightfully see the fluky nature of relief wins. He’s on pace to record 28 wins this year in 139.2 innings...Drew Smyly owns the second-best K-BB% (25.4) among all starters in baseball.
Police Blotter: Man Kills Brother In Argument Over Cheeseburger, Police Say...Naked Oklahoma Man Explained That He Went Cuckoo Due To “Coco Puffs”...World’s Dumbest Vandal Arrested For Spray Painting “CHEETER” On Ex-Girlfriend’s Car...Guy Busted With DUI In Stolen Ambulance...Man Pulls Two Bags Of Pot From Underwear In Front Of Courtroom (the transcript here is gold).

Longread of the Week: Should Prostitution Be A Crime?
Bonus Longread of the Week: The Braves Play Taxpayers Better Than They Play Baseball
Quick Hits Part Tres: A.J. Ramos is having a weird year, as he somehow has a 1.13 ERA and is a perfect 11-for-11 in save opportunities despite walking 11 batters in 16.0 innings...This was a neat base running trick...This Ender Inciarte fake out resulted in a double play...Jered Weaver became the first pitcher this season to get through the first nine hitters in the Cardinals lineup in order Thursday. He proceeded to give up eight earned runs before getting knocked out of the game over the next three innings...Rubby De La Rosa owns a 45:15 K:BB ratio over 43.1 innings to go along with a 1.06 WHIP and a 1.83 GB/FB ratio. He has an average fastball velocity of 94.6 mph. This breakout sure looks real...Tony Cingrani and Sam Dyson are seemingly now closing and might very well be available in your league...Jeremy Hellickson’s 24.9 K% ranks top-25 and his 12.3 SwStr% ranks top-15 among starters in MLB, yet he’s owned in just 13% of Yahoo leagues. Go pick him up.
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