Clayton Kershaw nabbed the first stolen base of his career

By Aaron GleemanJul 21, 2014, 11:51 AM EDT
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Tired of simply being the best pitcher in the world, Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw decided to start stealing bases last night.

After reaching first base on a fielder’s choice in the fourth inning, Kershaw took off for second base on Carlos Martinez’s third pitch to Dee Gordon … and made it standing up, without a throw, when the pitch bounced away from the catcher.

It was the first stolen base of Kershaw’s career. Obviously.

Martinez gave zero effort to hold on Kershaw, so the big left-hander got a nice walking lead and just took off.

Also: There are 70 different position players with at least 150 plate appearances this season and zero steals.

Pirates release Francisco Cervelli

Francisco Cervelli
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By Craig CalcaterraAug 22, 2019, 2:19 PM EDT
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The Pittsburgh Pirates just announced that they have released catcher Francisco Cervelli. No waivers, no DFA. Just his unconditional release.

Cervelli had been on a rehab assignment in the minors in his efforts to come back from a concussion. He had been sidelined since May, and there had been no timeline for his return, but he played in a minor league game as recently as Monday.

Over the summer, however, Cervelli voiced doubts about his ability to continue catching in light of the six concussions he’s weathered over the last decade. At one point he said he could not catch again but then walked it back. Whether his release was requested and whether Cervelli plans to end his big league career is not yet known.

I’m sure we’ll hear more about this soon.

UPDATE: Um, OK. Based on this I guess it’s more of a matter of the Pirates simply not wanting him anymore: