Le Journal

If there’s one thing the Lakers don’t need more of, it’s injuries. They are already without Gabe Vincent, who will be out for at least a week due to lower back tightness. There was optimism that Deandre Ayton who missed the team’s previous game with left elbow soreness and Austin Reaves who has been out a week with a left calf strain, could return for the team’s contest against the Clippers. However, both have been officially ruled out of the game. Now, Rui Hachimura’s availability is also in doubt. The starting forward is now listed as questionable to play against the other Los Angeles team. Rui Hachimura is listed as questionable for Lakers-Clippers tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/iaVLvPTKNP— Edwin Garcia (@ECreates88) December 20, 2025 It’s been impressive that the Lakers have found ways to win even when they are shorthanded. But missing three starters and a rotation player in Vincent would definitely make things harder for the Lakers on Saturday. If Hachimura is hurt, there is nothing that can be done, but it’d certainly be a bummer. Hachimura is having a strong season, averaging 13.3 points and shooting a career-best 45.6% from 3-point range. He has started in all 25 games he’s played this season, so he is clearly an important part of head coach JJ Redick’s gameplan. Hachimura has only missed one game this year. In that instance, he missed due to left calf soreness. The Lakers still won that game against the Bucks despite Rui being unavailable. If there were a team the Lakers could afford to be a few players short against, it’d be the Clippers. They are having a horrendous year and are 6-21 on the season. So, even with so many players out and Hachimura’s availability in question, the Lakers should still win this game on the road. Still, the Clippers should have a bit more fight against the Lakers, considering they are rivals, so having more players out, if Hachimura misses, is still not ideal. Hopefully, Hachimura plays. If he is out, we’ll see how long he will be out for and what updates the Lakers provide on Hachimura’s injury. You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.

With almost a quarter of all Veterans in the United States residing in rural communities, ensuring they receive quality health care close to home is more important than ever. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) actively works to meet these Veterans in their own communities and promote opportunities to live happy and healthy lives. Let’s take another look at the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center (VAMC) located in rural Dublin, Ga., a small town with a big heart, and see if a career serving Veterans is right for you. Carl Vinson VAMC Like at all VA facilities, staff at the Carl Vinson VAMC in Dublin are committed to making a difference, one Veteran at a time. Originally a Navy hospital during World War II, the medical center is named after Georgia native Carl Vinson, an American politician who was known as the “Father of the Two-Ocean Navy.” Today, the Carl Vinson VAMC offers a wide range of health and support services including, but not limited to: Primary care. Physical therapy and rehabilitation. Mental health care. Prescriptions. As of February 2025, 96% of Veterans report being able to usually or always get a primary care appointment when needed at the Carl Vinson VAMC. The Emerald City Visitors to Dublin will be greeted with southern charm and a community full of life. Named in honor of its first Irish settlers, citizens of Dublin, also known as the Emerald City, paint the town green for a month-long St. Patrick’s Day Festival in February and March each year. History buffs can learn more about the historic downtown by taking a Dublin Walking Tour, a self-guided tour showcasing more than 70 landmarks. Spend time in the great outdoors at Stubbs Park or take a few swings at the local golf course. Located in the heart of Georgia, Dublin is situated at the junction of three major highways, making travel to other Georgia cities a snap. While rich with history, Dublin readily invests in education, infrastructure and culture initiatives that continue to move it forward. Work at VA Ready to take the next step towards a rewarding career at a rural VA like the Carl Vinson VAMC? Visit VA Careers today to apply.

The Cubs bullpen was a strength for the Cubs in 2025 but with Andrew Kittredge returning to the Baltimore Orioles, Drew Pomeranz signing with the Los Angeles Angels and Brad Keller inking a two-year deal with the Phillies, the late innings of Cubs games will look a lot different in 2026. The Cubs have been busy adding potential high-leverage arms, including Phil Maton, you can read more about his signing here. Today I wanted to take a closer look at the bullpen after the Cubs added lefty Hoby Milner and re-signing lefty Caleb Thielbar. It shouldn’t surprise Cubs fans that the team has basically sat out the highest end of the reliever market this free agent season. We can have a healthy debate about whether the Cubs should be in on top free agents like Edwin Díaz or Devin Williams, but nothing in the Jed Hoyer era indicates the Cubs will consider that market in their best interests. This year’s offseason has been a pretty typical Hoyer-Hawkins production with the Cubs reuniting with a guy who was both solid for them and cost-effective for another one-year deal in the 38-year-old Thielbar, plus adding a couple of guys from the Rangers who are both cost-effective and intriguing in Milner and Maton. You may remember Hoby Milner from his Brewers days. I’m sure Craig Counsell does, and it is notable that he joins a crew of guys who are cycling through a second run with Counsell in Chicago. Ben Clemens at FanGraphs sums up his offerings and limitations nicely below: Why, then, is his deal with the Chicago Cubs for just one year and $3.75 million? It’s because he’s an extreme lefty specialist, and that skill set generally comes with a limited market. Milner isn’t a traditional late-inning reliever, a matchup-proof flamethrower. He has enormous platoon splits, triple the league average for lefty pitchers over a fairly substantial sample. It’s for exactly the reason you’d expect: Milner throws sidearm and with little velocity, relying on a sweeper that he throws nearly half the time against lefties to tie them into knots. Against righties, he has no plus options, so he mixes his bread-and-butter sinker/sweeper with a so-so four-seamer/changeup combination to at least give them a few things to think about. That plan does not work particularly well. Righties slugged .445 against him in 2025, and that’s actually lower than his career mark. That means that he resorts to walking them quite frequently rather than giving in. In his career, he has sported a 4.7% walk rate against lefties, verifiably elite, and an 8% mark against righties. He walked more than 10% of the righties he faced in 2025, in fact. I expect the Cubs to deploy Milner in circumstances where there are a couple of dangerous lefties stacked in an inning, either to encourage the other team to slot in a less-impactful righty for a momentary platoon advantage or to take advantage of his splits. While Thielbar does have platoon splits, they aren’t quite of the same magnitude as Milner. For example, Milner’s wOBA against was .224 for left-handed batters and .353 for right-handed ones, while Thielbar produced a much more manageable .213 v. lefties and .253 v. righties. As I wrote when Maton was signed, the Cubs likely think they can build on his strikeout breakout with the Rangers, although a friend from Pitcher List is less optimistic than I am about that possibility: Went back to 2023 pitch usage, plus added 2 MPH to his fastball (cutter). The pitch also had better shape and better zone rate. Curveball also had better locations. Increased sinker usage worked last year, not sure if it’s effective long term. The sweeper usage could improve.— Rick Graham (@iamrickgraham.pitcherlist.com) 2025-12-04T18:33:59.900Z According to the crew at FanGraphs Roster Resource, that sets up the Cubs bullpen to have Daniel Palencia close again with Maton in an eighth inning role, Thielbar in a seventh inning role and the following pitchers slotted in behind them: Milner, Porter Hodge, Ethan Roberts,…

Last month, I wrote about Chris Denorfia’s walk-off home run, a blast that still stands as the only one in MLB history to win a scoreless game in extra innings. Before he did that, though, the versatile Denorfia became another Cubs position player to take the mound. It happened Aug. 19, 2015 at Wrigley Field against the Detroit Tigers. This game began on a down note. The boxscore says it was only 68 degrees at game time, very cool for mid-August, and the previous night’s game had been delayed an hour by a thunderstorm that provoked a severe thunderstorm warning to be issued for the area around Wrigley Field. The Cubs lost that game 10-8 and with more than two hours’ delay, the game didn’t end until almost 1 a.m. After a nine-game winning streak, it was the Cubs’ second straight loss and no one was in a good mood. Jon Lester started this game and got hit hard, allowing seven runs in fewer than three innings, including three home runs. One of those home runs was by Tigers pitcher Daniel Norris, who became not only the first AL pitcher to homer at Wrigley Field, but the first to homer off the new right-field video board. The Cubs closed to within 7-3 in the bottom of the third on homers by Kris Bryant and Dexter Fowler, but Detroit kept pounding Cubs pitching and by the time James Russell had been hammered for five runs in less than two innings, the Tigers led 15-7 with two out in the ninth. That’s when Joe Maddon brought in Denorfia to finish things off. As you will see, it was one of the games the Cubs were wearing throwback uniforms: The Cubs got a consolation run in the bottom of the ninth and lost 15-8, their third loss in a row. Denorfia did get to bat as a pitcher in that ninth inning. Unlike David Ross, who had homered as a pitcher a month earlier, Denorfia struck out to end the game. The Cubs followed that loss with a six-game winning streak, and, as you know, won 97 games and a Wild Card spot. Denorfia, meanwhile, has now appeared twice in offseason series articles on this site, and is someone who should be remembered in Cubs lore.