Rise and Phight: 11/17/2023

Did you see Rob Thomson ring the bell at the 76ers game the other night? The question becomes: did he whiff on purpose as a joke about his team, or does he need a session with Charlie Lau?

After hearing so much about the driest of dry humor that Thomson possesses, my guess is it was on purpose.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• This is a third source that puts the Phillies near the top of the Yamamoto sweepstakes, adding more fire.
• Hey guess what! Aaron Nola declining the qualifying offer is actually good news for the club!
• Also hey guess what! Rob Thomson blew the playoffs for the Phillies...again!

MLB news:

• The relocation of the Athletics from Oakland to Las Vegas has been approved. So ends a said saga.
• Atlanta gets the All-Star Game in 2025, a few years after losing it to Colorado over their voting rights law.
• Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna were named the MVPs last night.
• That pesky pitch clock with runners on is likely going to get a lot shorter. Maybe Nola doesn’t make sense after all...