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Morry Gash/Associated Press
Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell gave his assessment of an interference call that went against his team in the first inning of its 6-2 home loss to the Miami Marlins on Wednesday. It was a terrible call, Counsell said (h/t ESPN s Jesse Rogers) of umpire Marty Foster. I have no idea what Marty was trying to make up there (or) what he saw. It s even worse looking at the replay than I thought he might have seen. Bad call.
The play in question happened in the second inning.
Marlins second baseman Isan Diaz hit a slow roller down the first base line that Brewers pitcher Zach Godley fielded before tossing the ball to first baseman Dan Vogelbach for the apparent out.
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Identifying underrated NFL draft prospects is harder than ever in 2021.
The 24/7, 365 coverage of the draft as an event with mass appeal to all 32 fanbases, surge in film availability and rise of advanced metrics combine to leave no stone unturned.
Still, superb depth at certain positions (e.g., wideout), the level-of-competition factor, injuries and COVID-19-related drawbacks (e.g., opt-outs, no scouting combine) mean it s still possible to find prospects that are underrated enough to classify as sleepers.
Based on The Draft Network s big board and a mock draft here and there, the following players sit in underrated territory and the franchise that selects them can expect better production than the slot projects.
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Much has been made about the Green Bay Packers wide receiver depth behind Davante Adams.
The Packers tried to acquire Will Fuller V at the 2020 trade deadline and did not make a significant upgrade in free agency.
Unless there is internal belief that Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Allen Lazard will increase their production, the Packers should target the position at some juncture of the 2021 NFL draft.
While there is a need behind Adams, the Packers may wait until Friday or Saturday to bring in competition, since there is a need to improve at cornerback.
The gap between the top corners and those chosen in the second and third rounds could be steeper than the difference between the best wideouts in the draft class.
The Cubs Have Very Real Problems
After the coronavirus pandemic delayed the start of the 2020 season until late July, the Cubs started last year hot with 13 wins in 16 games. It looked then like they might be capable of returning to the World Series after winning it and thereby snapping a 108-year curse in 2016.
What actually happened was that the Cubs went 21-23 over their last 44 games, in large part because their offense flatlined with a .678 OPS and 4.1 runs per game. Those offensive struggles continued in the NL Wild Card Series, as the Cubs scored just one run in a two-game sweep at the hands of the Miami Marlins.