Cardinals fire Shildt over ‘philosophical differences’
The Cardinals fired former National League manager of the year Mike Shildt over organizational differences Thursday, just one week after St. Louis lost to the Dodgers on a walk-off homer in the wild-card game.
Cardinals president John Mozeliak said the firing was “something that popped up recently,” but he refused to expand on what he called “philosophical differences” between Shildt, the coaching staff and the front office.
“All I can say is where we felt the team was going, we were struggling to get on the same page,” Mozeliak said. “With him having one year remaining on his contract, we could have gone into 2022 having that over him and we just decided that internally it would be best to separate now and take a fresh look as we head into a new season.”
Mozeliak declined to discuss possible replacements, but he did say there were plenty of internal candidates. He said the coaches who remain under contract were expected to return next season.
Motion denied in Angels case
A federal judge denied a motion by federal prosecutors to compel the Angels to comply with a subpoena seeking information about members of the organization possibly distributing drugs.
The decision was revealed in a filing by the Angels in U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, asking Judge Terry Means to unseal his order.
“In its Motion, the government baselessly accused Angels Baseball of acting in bad faith with regards to the subpoena and the government's investigation as a whole,” the motion signed by team attorney Ariel Neuman said. “These very public accusations by the United States Department of Justice unfairly and inappropriately maligned Angels Baseball’s reputation and brand, and attracted significant media attention.”
The motion comes three weeks before the trial of former Angels communications director Eric Kay in connection with the overdose death of pitcher Tyler Skaggs is scheduled to start in Fort Worth.
— Nathan Fenno
Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey did not practice Thursday, a sign that he could miss his third straight game while trying to rehab from a hamstring injury . ... The Chicago Bears put running back Damien Williams on the reserve/COVID-19 list, making his status for Sunday’s against the Green Bay Packers uncertain.
New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson was expected to miss at least the first week of the regular season because his recovery from surgery to repair a right foot fracture was taking longer than anticipated.
Seattle Storm forward Breanna Stewart underwent surgery for a minor repair and reinforcement of the Achilles tendon in her left leg, the team announced.
Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog was suspended for two games without pay by the NHL for boarding Chicago Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach . ... Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators agreed to a seven-year, $57.5million contract.
The NCAA women’s basketball tournament was close to expanding its field to 68 teams — equaling the men’s bracket. The proposal will advance for consideration by governance committees. A final determination is expected by the middle of next month.
U.S. Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez will not
be part of Canada’s team for the Billie Jean King Cup finals next month.
Olympians Allyson Felix and Jordan Larson were honored as sportswomen of the year by the Women’s Sports Foundation.
The National Women’s Soccer League is moving its Nov. 20 championship game from Portland, Ore., to Louisville, Ky., at the request of players, who objected to a 9 a.m. start time.
Former Kansas football coach David Beaty is no longer part of an NCAA infractions case against the school, according to the independent agency investigating the case.
Tony Stewart will add two NHRA entries to his racing team — Top Fuel for his fiancee Leah Pruett and Funny Car for Matt Hagan.