DAVIE, Fla. -- The Miami Dolphins are making another quarterback change. Coach Brian Flores announced that Ryan Fitzpatrick will start Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.

The move sends Josh Rosen, who started Miami's last three games, to the bench.

"Kind of came to that conclusion over the last couple of days. We felt like that was the best thing for this team," Flores said Wednesday. "[Fitzpatrick provides] the best opportunity for this team to go into a tough environment and try to pull out a win."

Fitzpatrick, who started Miami's first two games, nearly led the Dolphins to a 14-point fourth-quarter comeback last Sunday against Washington after Flores benched Rosen. But Miami (0-5) failed on what would have been the winning two-point conversion and lost 17-16.

Dolphins players said after the game that they had a different energy and level of play when Fitzpatrick entered the game.

"We need to be more productive on offense," Flores said. "It's a team game, so players respond to each other and the group. The quarterback has the ball in his hands on every snap. ... Players on every team have to respond to the quarterback."

Flores said following Sunday's loss that Rosen would remain the starter because he provided continuity, but he kept the door open for a switch. That move officially came Wednesday after the Dolphins began their practice week.

Flores' decision to demote Rosen seems to be an indication of how Miami feels about the second-year quarterback. Flores said last week that Rosen was "settled" as the quarterback, but he noted Wednesday that Rosen's lack of production and poor play made him change his mind after three quarters Sunday and again on Wednesday.

Rosen ranks last among starting quarterbacks in completion percentage, quarterback rating, QBR and yards per attempt. He recorded a total QBR of 2.1, the second-worst QBR game of the season (behind former New York Jets quarterback Luke Falk in Week 5.) His air yards to the sticks was minus-8.9 (meaning he averaged throwing 8.9 yards behind the sticks), per NFL Next Gen Stats. That's the lowest AYTS game for any QB this season with a minimum of 14 attempts.

"We have a lot of confidence in Josh," Flores said. For him, it's got to be a day-to-day improvement, getting better and continuing his development. That's the conversation I had with him. He's still a young, talented player. There's still a lot of room for development for him. We'll continue to develop him in practice. But at the end of the day, we're looking for production at all positions. We felt like playing Fitz would be in the best interest of the team."

Rosen, a 2018 first-round pick, was traded to Miami from the Arizona Cardinals in April once his former team selected Kyler Murray as its quarterback of the future. Rosen hoped to prove to Miami that he could be the long-term answer at quarterback, but it hasn't gone well.

The Dolphins are strong contenders to be in the market for a quarterback in the 2020 draft, where they have three first-round picks, including the projected first overall selection.

Fitzpatrick, 36, said he had a lot of fun in Sunday's game and noted the team's confidence on the last drive.

"That's why I still like to be out there playing the game," Fitzpatrick said Sunday.

Now he gets another start against one of his former teams. He played in Buffalo from 2009 to 2012.

"[We're] getting ready for Ryan Fitzpatrick and what he brings to the table -- good quarterback, experienced, brings good energy, can make every throw, gets the ball out," Bills coach Sean McDermott said after hearing that the Dolphins were making the switch. "We have a lot of respect for Ryan."

Oakland Raiders offensive tackle Trent Brown has been accused of multiple acts of domestic violence against his girlfriend as part of a lawsuit filed earlier this week.

In the lawsuit, filed in Alameda County (California) Superior Court, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN, Diorra Marzette-Sanders accuses Brown of slapping, punching and choking her on multiple occasions beginning in 2018. She said she has been "bruised, bloodied and battered" from the attacks and lived in fear of Brown.

The lawsuit says a police report was filed after a June 2019 incident in which Brown allegedly bruised the woman's arm and slapped her.

According to the lawsuit, the two began dating in March 2017 and had a child together in January 2019. According to the woman, the couple had a "non-marital partnership agreement."

After threatening to leave Brown with their child, Brown allegedly told the woman that "I'll shoot yo ass in the f---ing head before you walk out that door with my son." According to the lawsuit, he kicked her out of the house in June.

The lawsuit is requesting a jury trial and is seeking unspecified compensation, including punitive damages.

Marzette-Sanders' lawyer, Waukeen McCoy, told ESPN's Josina Anderson that they attempted to reach a settlement prior to filing the lawsuit.

"We reached out to Trent Brown last month to see if we can sit down and talk and resolve issues," McCoy told Anderson. "... We never got a positive response. That is what led to this filing."

McCoy said Brown will have 30 days to respond once he receives a civil complaint.

The Raiders had no comment as of early Wednesday morning.

Brown, 26, signed a four-year, $66 million contract with the Raiders during the offseason. He has started in all five of Oakland's games this season.

Based on the allegations, Brown could be subject to NFL discipline under the personal conduct policy.

Sacramento Kings guard Bogdan Bogdanovic is weighing a maximum contract extension from Sacramento or entering free agency after the season.

Bogdanovic told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday that he has received a four-year, $51.4 million extension offer but has not decided whether he will sign it.

"They did, but we will wait to see," Bogdanovic told the newspaper of the offer. "Maybe we will sign tomorrow. Maybe we sign in a month. Who knows? We will see."

Bogdanovic, who averaged 14.1 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game for the Kings last season, will play 2019-20 on the final season of a three-year, $27 million contract.

The 27-year-old told the Bee that he wants to stay in Sacramento but would not rush into signing a deal.

Bogdanovic would be a restricted free agent in the 2020 offseason.

HE IS PREPARING to launch his 20,361st field goal attempt, but he has no idea it might well be his last. It's Nov. 8, 2018, and with 8:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, his Houston Rockets down 86-64 to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Carmelo Anthony had secured an offensive rebound. Two seconds later, he eyes a rim that sits 23 feet away, from a most ironic spot for him.

The corner.

For a volume midrange shooter -- a man considered the antithesis of the analytics movement that has revolutionized the NBA -- Anthony is about to take what that very movement has roundly declared to be basketball's most efficient and valuable shot: a corner 3-pointer.

Up to this point in the game, all 10 of Anthony's attempts have failed to reach the bottom of the net; his last resulted in a basket only because of a favorable goaltending call. Five of those shots were from beyond the arc. Also present in Oklahoma City, where his team now trails by 22 points, is Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who in some 24 hours will meet with Anthony in a hotel room in San Antonio. Morey will tell Anthony -- who was expecting to play the next day against the Spurs -- that the Rockets, after just 10 games, no longer need his services.

After that, Anthony will spend the rest of the season on the sidelines as NBA players profess their love for him on social media and in interviews, all but demanding that Anthony, who turned 35 in May, belongs among the 450 players in the league. This cycle will continue into the summer, a chorus growing louder as the future Hall of Famer -- a 10-time All-Star -- remains untethered to any team. Other reclamation projects -- including enigmatic center Dwight Howard and 38-year-old wing Joe Johnson -- are expected to make NBA rosters. Anthony will even go on national television -- on ESPN -- and campaign for a different ending.

"I feel like I still can play," Anthony tells Stephen A. Smith. "I know I still can play."

In this moment, though, that is all in Carmelo Anthony's future. On this day, he is still 34, still in the league, still in a game, with the ball in his hands. As he's done 20,360 times before, he lets it fly. He has taken many shots that now measure as poor, because he came up playing a style that his heroes did before him, but this shot is quantifiably defensible. Ironic, then, that this one caroms off the back of the rim, giving him two points on 1-of-11 shooting while a national television audience looks on. A timeout is called two seconds later. He checks out of the game. He does not come back in.

After a 98-80 loss drops Houston to 4-6 on the season, Anthony boards the Rockets' charter plane. It lifts into the chilly Oklahoma City sky toward south Texas as a waxing crescent moon hangs above. Several staffers aboard have no idea that they just witnessed Anthony's last game. He has no idea he's just played in it. There is tomorrow, another game. Anthony doesn't know that it's over.

AFTER THE TIMEOUT is called but before he checks out of the game, Anthony lingers on the court at Chesapeake Energy Arena, giving a long look to the Thunder's bench. One season earlier, on the late-September 2017 day that the Thunder had introduced Anthony, he had been asked about coming off that very bench after starting every game in his career. Sitting in his introductory news conference, he'd worn a hoodie, his arms crossed. He'd leaned forward into the microphone, a smile breaking across his face.

"Who, me?"

That sound bite would be amplified when, in his exit interviews after a disappointing season in Oklahoma City, Anthony was asked a similar question. "Yeah, I'm not sacrificing no bench role, so you can -- that's out of the question." And so the narrative went: an aging star who couldn't let go of the stature he had enjoyed, undone by his unwillingness to let go of what was ultimately holding him back.

Anthony declined to participate for this story, and his representatives directed comment to previous interviews. But many people close to him and inside and around the organizations where he has played were willing to discuss his swift demise. "His name is a blessing and a curse," says one source close to Anthony.

"And it's more of a curse right now."

Anthony's headlong dive into basketball exile is partly the story of the game's dramatic evolution that placed him on the wrong side of history. But it's also partly the story about the pratfalls of greatness -- and how stars often decline as steeply as they rise to dominance.

"When you're one of the top 10 players in our league for 10 years, you think it's going to be there forever," says one of Anthony's former NBA coaches.

"They're always the last ones to know."

THE WARNING SIGNS first arrive in southwest Louisiana, where the Rockets have gathered for training camp at a complex in Lake Charles. It's late September of 2018, and after years of fawning over Carmelo Anthony, the Rockets finally have him. Team officials believe that his offensive punch will compensate for the loss of long-range shooter Ryan Anderson, whom they traded the month before. They believe that Anthony, with a fresh start, can bounce back from a poor season in Oklahoma City.

Which is not to say there aren't concerns. There's concern among some coaching staff members and others in the organization about the dynamic between Anthony and Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni; the two had had a fractured history during their time together with the Knicks a few years earlier. There's concern that Anthony, a midrange jump-shooter, will struggle within the Rockets' analytically driven offense, one predicated on 3-pointers, free throws and shots around the rim.

But the Rockets are ultimately confident in D'Antoni's system. They believe that it can accentuate the positives and minimize the negatives from a player's skill set -- not just Anthony's but any player's. The approach is risky. But under Morey, the Rockets are nothing if not aggressive. They're trying to hit a home run.

As one team source says: "We needed scoring."

In talks with Anthony, team sources say, his role was explained: He would be coming off the bench. Those sources also say Anthony embraced this role, was nothing if not professional and understood his fit on a roster that featured reigning MVP James Harden and Chris Paul and had ambitions of a deep playoff run after winning 65 games the season before and falling one win shy of the NBA Finals.

During training camp in Louisiana, though, another issue arises, one that some Rockets officials say they hadn't fully grasped until they saw Melo on the court: The 34-year-old is struggling in the team's defensive scheme, one that requires players to switch often on pick-and-roll action. (According to Second Spectrum data, the Rockets switched on 44% of screens last season, by far the highest in the NBA. The Warriors were second at 33%. No other team was above 25%.)

That Anthony was a subpar defender wasn't breaking news to anyone, but then the NBA's style of play changed -- in a big way.

When Anthony first entered the league in 2003-04, a total of 35,492 3-pointers were attempted leaguewide. By 2018-19, that number had jumped to 78,742, a 121% increase.

As teams, in response, began stocking up on long-range shooters, defending the perimeter became a top priority, especially with respect to switching pick-and-roll actions to deny those shooters open looks. According to Second Spectrum data, defenses switched on pick-and-rolls 7.2% of the time in 2013-14; that rate was 16.5% last season.

One rival front-office executive notes that the league's 3-point revolution makes it harder than ever to hide players who aren't strong defenders. He's talking about Carmelo Anthony -- someone, he says, "who can't defend, can't close out, his feet are slow and he gets blown by." More than ever, offensive teams will repeatedly target weak defenders in pick-and-roll actions, the executive adds.

And that very thing had played out in real time for Anthony during his Oklahoma City stint -- most notably during the Thunder's 2018 first-round playoff series against the Utah Jazz.

In that series, which the Thunder lost in six games, Anthony was the screen defender 157 times, per Second Spectrum; he was being targeted by a Jazz offense looking for switches. That figure was the second highest for a Thunder player in that series; only Steven Adams (186) had more. Then, in Game 5 of that series, Anthony was subbed out of the game in the third quarter with the Thunder trailing 71-52. With him on the bench, the Thunder roared back and took an 88-87 lead, further evidence of a trend that continued: The Thunder were minus-9.7 in that postseason with him on the court and plus-5.3 with him on the bench.

Although the Rockets knew of Anthony's defensive weaknesses before he joined, team sources say they didn't anticipate just how limited he would be in their aggressive switch-centric defense, which tasked him with running quicker players off the 3-point line. One team source speculates that, had they known he'd struggle so much in their defense, Anthony wouldn't have been brought aboard. "He really, really struggled with it," the source says.

But in the early going of the 2018-19 season, other factors would contribute to his ouster as well. For one: After losing their first game to New Orleans, the Rockets beat the Lakers in their second game -- Chris Paul is suspended two games for scuffling with Lakers guard Rajon Rondo. With Paul out, the Rockets drop their next four games; in that stretch, Harden strains his left hamstring. Anthony delivers games of 22 and 24 points during that losing streak, but at 1-5, the Rockets are already feeling desperation in the ultracompetitive Western Conference. "It was the perfect storm in those first 10 games," one Rockets source says.

Anthony turns in another vintage performance in their next game, tallying 28 points on 9-of-12 shooting in a Nov. 2 win in Brooklyn to help snap the losing streak. But the issue of Anthony's defense continues to fester. In the Rockets' first five losses, opponents shoot a whopping 54% when Anthony is the closest defender. "We just couldn't put him on the floor defensively," one team source says.

After starting every game of his career until this season, Anthony cooperates in his role, coming off the bench in eight of the 10 games in Houston. Still, the Rockets know they can't just take him out of the rotation; doing so would cause a media firestorm. "Because his name was Carmelo, we treated it differently," one team source says. And when getting two more wins brings the team to 4-5 with a game in Oklahoma City looming -- a reunion for Anthony against his former team -- it appears that things might be looking up for the Rockets.

But when Anthony struggles offensively in that 18-point loss to the Thunder, the central theme of internal conversations within the Rockets organization solidifies: The team is struggling, changes need to be made, there is no time to wait. The Rockets hope that parting ways with Anthony quickly might allow him to join another team. Morey delivers the news to Anthony in San Antonio the day before the Rockets are to play the Spurs -- though publicly, the team would say only that Anthony was out for the next three games because of an "illness."

In the days and weeks to come, rumors surface of Anthony potentially joining other franchises, and one source close to Anthony says he believes Melo will be joining the Lakers midseason. Multiple sources close to the situation note that the Miami Heat had also been interested in acquiring Anthony before he'd chosen Houston, but in the end, no option materializes.

IN HINDSIGHT, a question lingers: If the Rockets are such an analytically rigorous team and knew beforehand that an aging Anthony was a notoriously poor defender who might not fit in their switch-heavy scheme, why bring him aboard in the first place?

In 2018-19, Anthony had an offensive rating of 102.3 and a net rating of minus-9.9 -- both the worst of his career. "He just can't play NBA defense anymore," one Rockets source says, but the offensive woes ultimately calcified the Rockets' thought that they had gambled and lost. Still, there remains a measure of guilt among some in and near the organization and within Anthony's circle.

"I feel awful that it ended the way it did," says another Rockets source. "He would have been better off either going to Miami or just not playing. But those 10 games ... basically ruined him."

Three months after he last suited up, Anthony heads to Charlotte for a star-studded dinner at the All-Star Game to honor Heat star Dwyane Wade in the midst of a farewell tour in his 16th and final season. At the gathering, many NBA stars of past and present toast Wade, who sits in a throne-like chair. When it's his turn, Anthony references how they've known each other since college, how they're like family.

"One of the realest conversations that I had with you in 16 years was when you told me you were about to retire," Anthony says. "I said, 'Hell no.' I said, 'You can't go out like that.' Now look at you."

In this moment, Anthony is 34; Wade is 37. A league source present at the gathering said Anthony's words seemed genuine in showing love to a dear friend and in no way envious of the farewell tour that Wade is enjoying. Because, the source says, as everyone honored the 2006 Finals MVP, Anthony didn't yet believe his NBA career was over. He thought he'd still be picked up by a team -- soon.

"IT'S ABOUT THE right fit," Wade says. "The toughest part -- for GMs, presidents, owners and players -- is how to handle an aging superstar in this game. It has to all work perfectly. Everyone has to make the right sacrifices, has to be the right group and coach. It has to work perfectly when it's an aging star in this game."

It's a few weeks before last season's All-Star Game, and Wade is speaking to reporters in New York before the Heat play the Knicks. Sitting courtside is Anthony, who by now has been let go by the Rockets. A few months from now, Wade will play his final NBA game, this one in Brooklyn, and again Anthony, who remains unsigned, will be in attendance. At one point midway through the fourth quarter, the ball will bounce toward Anthony, sitting courtside in street clothes. He'll grab it and pretend as if he'll shoot it, but he doesn't. The crowd roars. The clip goes viral. After the game, Wade presents his jersey to Anthony, and the two longtime friends and members of the 2003 NBA draft class share a long embrace.

The end -- and the reckoning that comes with it -- is often brutal, all the more so because it plays out on a public stage. And so on many recent summer days in New York City, onlookers line up outside the tall glass windows peering down into a full-length basketball court near the corner of 11th Avenue and 42nd Street in Hell's Kitchen. They've told the front desk at the luxury apartment complex that they're considering a membership to the Lifetime Athletic Sky gym and just want to look around, but staffers know better. They know that the curious are really just there to watch the pickup games they've seen go viral on Instagram, featuring a who's-who of NBA superstars: Harden, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, C.J. McCollum.

And it's here that these onlookers see Carmelo Anthony play.

They don't see the Carmelo Anthony they likely remember best, for that version could last be found a mile away and six years ago, during the 2012-13 season. Back then, Anthony was 28, a seven-time All-Star in his second full season with the Knicks. And that year, something unusual happened for the Knicks: They caught fire. But the reason they did so would speak to Anthony's impending struggle to fit into a changing league that would ultimately leave him behind.

Anthony, several members of those Knicks say now, had always envisioned himself as a small forward; he'd stubbornly preferred to play that position, even though members of the coaching staff and front office say they had long viewed him as a stretch power forward who could space the court with his shooting. But Knicks insiders say that ownership -- namely Jim Dolan -- wanted Anthony to play the small forward position while A'mare Stoudemire played power forward. This frustrated some members of the coaching staff, who viewed it as driven only by Dolan's desire to have star power on the court, according to sources on those Knicks teams. But in 2012-13, Stoudemire was sidelined for most of the season with knee trouble. To accommodate, Anthony agreed to change positions. "The injury that year forced everyone's hands -- Jim's and Carmelo's," one Knicks source says.

With Anthony in a power forward role and with the offensive scheme in place, the often-hapless Knicks thrived. In something of a preview of the 3-point revolution that would find its fullest form three years later with the Warriors, those Knicks attempted a league-high 2,371 3-pointers. They averaged 110.5 points per 100 possessions that season and had a net rating of plus-6.2 with Anthony on the court.

Anthony led the NBA in scoring that season -- 28.7 points per game. He made 37.9% of his 3-pointers, the second-best mark of his career, while attempting 6.2 per game, his most attempts per game in a full season.

The Knicks would go on to win 54 regular-season games, finish with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference, win their first Atlantic Division title in almost two decades -- and win a playoff series for the first time in 13 years.

Says one Knicks source: "The only thing he had to worry about was scoring, so it was perfect."

But as quickly, or accidentally, as it came together, it fell apart. The reason? Staffers wanted to keep several of the veteran players, but Dolan, they say, didn't. "Every time we brought up veteran names, he's like, 'I don't want any of those guys back,'" one Knicks source says. And GM Glen Grunwald was fired just days before training camp began. "That threw everything for a loop," the Knicks source says. "That, I think, started the beginning of the end."

Stoudemire returned from injury, Anthony returned to the small forward position and the Knicks fell back to earth, posting a 37-45 record. They haven't returned to the playoffs since.

"It was a perfect fit for [Anthony]," one front-office executive said of the 2012-13 Knicks. "And they abandoned it."

SIX YEARS LATER, Anthony now largely plays before an audience of Instagram followers and onlookers gathering outside windows that peer into a gym in Hell's Kitchen. Those close to him have referred to the gym as a sanctuary for Anthony, a place where he can disappear into the game he loves and escape the growing doubts that he'll never play it again professionally.

Those in Anthony's innermost circle are deeply wary of any information or narratives that might affect his ability to play in the league again.

And while Anthony believes -- or so he said on ESPN -- that he'd be "at peace" if he never plays in the league again, he knows that this ending will haunt him, a former teammate over multiple seasons says: "He doesn't want to go out like this." Wade and Kobe Bryant received a farewell tour, both of them Anthony's close friends. LeBron James, another longtime friend, will likely receive one too. "[Anthony] wants to go out like that," his former teammate says.

The gym where Anthony so often plays isn't far from Madison Square Garden, which he helped electrify six years ago; it's only a few avenues to the east, maybe a 20-minute walk. But the distance from where he was then to where he is now is nothing shy of an eternity.

NEW YORK -- Astros manager AJ Hinch has heard the chatter -- that Rays starter Tyler Glasnow was offering a sneak peek on his off-speed deliveries, that Houston had a poker-worthy tell on Yankees hard throwers James Paxton and Luis Severino.

All that pitch-tipping paranoia?

"I think it's kind of funny,'' Hinch said.

A year after suspicions about sign stealing made headlines when a man associated with the Astros was caught pointing a cellphone into opposing dugouts, Houston is giving pitchers pause again, perhaps with nothing more than the naked eye.

There's no rule against noticing a tipped pitch, and Hinch stated plainly during this American League Championship Series who is at fault if Houston knows what's coming.

"If they don't want to tip their pitches,'' Hinch said, "then they should take consideration into doing the same thing over and over again.''

Batter's box espionage can take two forms -- pitch tipping or sign stealing. The first is totally legal, just a matter of good scouting. Hitters might get an idea from the angle of the pitcher's glove or the wiggle of his wrist.

On sign stealing, legality can get blurrier. A runner on second base has a clear view of the catcher's signs, and there's no rule against taking a peek and discreetly relaying that info to the batter -- although the opposing battery might still take issue. That's a practice as old as Cracker Jack.

Smart devices and other fresh tech have opened another frontier for potential pilferers. Even before alarms were sounded in Cleveland and Boston last fall about the Astros' man with a phone, paranoia about cameras, Apple Watches and other devices had made intricate signaling a full-time practice.

Major League Baseball has instituted rules to crack down on digital spying. MLB said "a number of clubs'' called commissioner Rob Manfred to express concerns about video equipment being used to steal signs last season.

Although teams surely remain suspicious about the Astros and sign stealing, Houston's ability to recognize discrepancies in a pitcher's delivery has caused concern this month.

After getting tagged by Houston in the decisive fifth game of the AL Division Series last week, Glasnow noticed on video that he was broadcasting his breaking pitches.

"It was pretty obvious as far as the tips go,'' he said.

More suspicions were raised in Game 2 of the ALCS, when the Astros jumped on Paxton. Television cameras caught Alex Bregman saying "glove'' to Houston's dugout after drawing a walk, a moment many interpreted as Bregman sharing a tell on Paxton's delivery.

Bregman has denied using such info this postseason and expressed annoyance Tuesday at social media sleuths searching for hints of it. But Yankees fans have good reason to be suspicious. Paxton was informed by team adviser and former New York player Carlos Beltran after a start in April that Houston almost certainly knew what was coming.

Another former Yankee is sure Severino was tipping in Game 3, when he threw 36 pitches in a rocky first inning of a 4-1 defeat.

"If you look at Astros hitters' body language, this screams tipping,'' tweeted Alex Rodriguez, who is now a broadcaster with ESPN and Fox.

To recap Severino's first inning:

36 pitches
18 fastballs
18 secondary pitches
11 swings on fastballs
5 swings on off-speed pitches, no misses
No chases on off-speed pitches.

If you look at Astros' hitters body language, this screams tipping.

#postseason

— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) October 15, 2019

It may be that Houston is noticing a wayward glove waggle in the moment, but cameras can also help -- and legally, too.

The Yankees are cautious even about what TV cameras might see in the dugout -- after homering off Astros ace Justin Verlander in Game 2, Aaron Judge walked up and down the bench area whispering to teammates, using his batting helmet as a face shield. Whatever he knew, he didn't want Houston -- or the public -- finding out.

Judge's covert message didn't hinder Verlander, who pitched two-run ball for 6 2/3 innings.

Hinch wouldn't find Judge to be out of line if it did. He believes hunting for pitch tells is basic recon work in today's game. Does a guy turn his glove grabbing at a changeup? Tend to throw fastballs in 2-0 counts?

All of it, fair game.

"It shouldn't overshadow the quality of play or the players or what's going on on the field,'' Hinch said. "The paranoia is real, though. And it's real across 30 teams.''

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Game 4 of the American League Championship Series between the Houston Astros and New York Yankees has been postponed due to expected inclement weather in New York on Wednesday night.

First pitch for Game 4 will be 8:08 p.m. ET Thursday. Game 5 has been rescheduled for 7:08 p.m. ET Friday, which originally had been tabbed as a travel day, if necessary.

The Astros have a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The winner will face the Washington Nationals in the World Series.

The move could affect pitching plans for both teams. The Astros could bring back Zack Greinke for Game 4 on regular rest, and the Yankees -- who were planning a bullpen day for Game 4 -- could instead go back to Masahiro Tanaka on regular rest.

Tanaka blanked the Astros over six innings in Game 1 on Saturday while throwing just 68 pitches to get through the Houston lineup twice.

Games 6 and 7, if necessary, are not affected by Wednesday's postponement and will be held in Houston on Saturday and Sunday.

Wednesday's matchup is the first postseason game to be postponed since Game 4 of the National League Division Series between the Nationals and the Chicago Cubs in 2017, and the first LCS game to be called off since Game 3 of the Baltimore Orioles-Kansas City Royals series in 2014.

The Los Angeles Angels have reached an agreement with Joe Maddon to make him their next manager, the team announced Wednesday.

Maddon is expected to receive a three-year contract in the $12 million to $15 million range, a source told ESPN. He will be formally introduced by the team at a news conference next week.

"We are thrilled that Joe is coming back home and bringing an exciting brand of baseball to our fans," general manager Billy Eppler said. "Every stop he has made throughout his managerial career, he has built a culture that is focused on winning while also allowing his players to thrive. We believe Joe will be a great asset for our club and look forward to him leading the team to another World Series championship."

OFFICIAL: The Los Angeles Angels have agreed to terms with manager Joe Maddon. pic.twitter.com/PKZHBaljl8

— Los Angeles Angels (@Angels) October 16, 2019

Maddon, 65, is returning to the Angels organization -- with whom he spent the first three decades of his career -- after managing the Chicago Cubs for five seasons and leading the franchise to its first World Series title in 108 years in 2016.

The three-time Manager of the Year had been linked to the Angels job ever since the team fired Brad Ausmus on Sept. 30, a day after Maddon and the Cubs announced they were parting ways.

The Angels finished 72-90 during Ausmus' only season as manager, and the franchise has made the playoffs just once in the last 10 seasons -- getting swept by the Kansas City Royals in the 2014 ALDS.

Maddon signed with the Angels as an undrafted catcher in 1975, and he spent the next 31 years working at almost every level of the organization as a player, coach and manager. He served as a big league assistant coach under five managers, and he had two stints as the Angels' interim manager.

His last six seasons with the team was as Mike Scioscia's bench coach from 2000 to 2005, and he was the Angels' bench coach during their championship season in 2002. Maddon left to manage the Tampa Bay Rays in 2006 for nine mostly successful seasons, including the team's only World Series appearance in 2008.

Maddon signed a five-year, $25 million deal with the Cubs prior to the 2015 season, and the team finished above .500 in each of his five seasons. His .582 winning percentage ranks second all time in franchise history, behind only Frank Chance (768-389, .664, from 1905 to '12).

In 2016, Maddon guided Chicago to 103 regular-season wins and then a long-awaited World Series title that postseason. He was credited with changing the culture and creating a loose atmosphere for his players during a pressure-filled time when they were picked by many to win it all.

Only Bill McKechnie (Reds, Pirates and Cardinals) and Dick Williams (Red Sox, Athletics and Padres) have led three different franchises to World Series appearances.

Maddon inherits a franchise in turmoil following an Outside the Lines report that team employees allegedly were aware of Tyler Skaggs' opioid use prior to his July 1 death and didn't inform the commissioner's office. The Angels could face significant sanctions from Major League Baseball if it finds the allegations were true.

ESPN's Jeff Passan and Jesse Rogers and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

With the Washington Nationals' stunning sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Championship Series complete, the ALCS is the only game in town -- and even that isn't a sure thing Wednesday, thanks to Mother Nature.

What's on tap

Wednesday's schedule

8:08 p.m. ET: Astros at Yankees, ALCS Game 4

The most important thing of the day: The weather forecast for New York. With heavy rain likely and the Nationals finishing off the Cardinals on Tuesday, we might have an unexpected postseason day off.

The view from inside the ballpark

NEW YORK -- Will there be a Game 4 tonight? Not if you believe local meteorologist Joe "Joestradamus" Cioffi, who told ESPN.com, "My guess is yes they will cancel. Rain develops by 5 p.m. then heavy rain [Wednesday] night." Who are we to argue with Joestradamus? -- Matt Marrone

A stat to impress your friends: On May 31, the Tigers and Nationals both had 33 losses. The Tigers finished the season 47-114; the Nationals are going to the World Series.

Predictions

Astros-Yankees

For this exercise, let's argue with Joestradamus. If Game 4 isn't postponed -- which, just to be clear, it almost certainly will be -- it's a bullpen day for the Yankees. They really need this one, so we'll give them the edge. Yankees 6, Astros 5 -- Marrone

If the game is played, both sides are planning for a bullpen game, which should give the Yankees the edge. After being embarrassed Tuesday night, the Yankees' offense is bound to wake up against the Astros' bullpen, which despite its recent success, gave up 11 hits and 10 earned runs over 16 innings (5.63 ERA) against Tampa Bay in the division series. Yankees 8, Astros 5 -- Marly Rivera

About last night

Stud of the night: How about studs? You've got to hand it to the Nationals for going from a 19-31 start to an NLCS sweep and the first World Series appearance for a franchise that goes back to the days of the Montreal Expos. Bon travail, Nats!

Dud of the night: Dakota Hudson had a fine season for the Cardinals, but the 25-year-old right-hander was overwhelmed Tuesday, recording only one out as the Nationals scored seven first-inning runs en route to their sweep-capping win.

Highlight of the night:

Off the diamond

Social media says:

Juan Soto cumple sus 21 años el próximo 25 de octubre, así que celebró con JUGO DE UVA. ?? pic.twitter.com/JKSiveL5vt

— LasMayores (@LasMayores) October 16, 2019

Quote of note: "I don't know if it was the ball or if it was the wind. It was a little chilly tonight. I'm not quite sure exactly how this park plays; I've only pitched here one other time. But it's baseball. Did Jeter's ball really go out or did the guy reach over and pull it out?" -- Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole on the warning-track fly balls in Game 3 and whether the balls in the postseason aren't sailing the way they did in the regular season

Best of the playoffs so far ...

Our running postseason MVP: How good is Gerrit Cole right now? Everyone agrees he was a little off in Game 3 of the ALCS, yet he nonetheless shut out the Yankees over seven innings for a huge Astros win. For the postseason, Cole is 3-0 with a 0.40 ERA and 32 strikeouts, giving up one run, 10 hits and eight walks in 22⅔ innings. Needless to say, he's on track for one of the best postseasons ever for a starting pitcher.

The play of this October: We're going to cheat and make this plays: the back-to-back home runs by the Nationals' Anthony Rendon and Juan Soto off the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw in the eighth inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series. Kershaw in the wake of Soto's tying bomb could end up as the lasting image of these playoffs.

Game of the postseason so far: Nationals-Dodgers, Game 5 of the NLDS. The Dodgers ambushing Stephen Strasburg, Strasburg settling down and keeping the Nats in it, Walker Buehler's mastery, Kershaw's big strikeout before his eighth-inning implosion, Howie Kendrick's 10th-inning grand slam, questions for Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. There's a lot to unpack here, and this was a true postseason classic.

NEW YORK -- Game 3 of the ALCS began under a clear, azure, late-afternoon sky on Tuesday in the Bronx. It ended under a clear, darkened sky on a crisp evening with a mostly full moon shining high above Yankee Stadium.

But the weatherman had bad news, and Wednesday's Game 4 was postponed to Thursday. So, who benefits more: the Houston Astros and their power-trio rotation, or the New York Yankees and their deep but heavily used bullpen?

Neither side offered much on Tuesday in terms of concrete plans should Game 4 get bagged.

"I think that would be possible," Yankees manager Aaron Boone said when asked if he thought MLB would make an early decision.

Boone also hinted at the only other concrete part of the scenario, saying, "Tanaka would be in play."

Boone's Game 1 starter, Masahiro Tanaka, blanked the Astros over six innings Saturday while throwing just 68 pitches to get through the Houston lineup exactly two times. With Wednesday's game postponed, Tanaka could take the mound Thursday working on a normal four days' rest.

"Good chance of that," Boone said. "That's something we'll talk through also. But a good chance of that, yes."

Boone's counterpart, Houston manager AJ Hinch, was more circumspect when asked about weather scenarios, saying that his focus was on Game 3. He was not quizzed on the topic again after the 4-1 win that put Houston up 2-1 in the series Tuesday.

Both managers on Monday announced plans to go with bullpen days for Game 4 in lieu of a reliable No. 4 starter for either club. That bullpen day might no longer be necessary.

"I don't know," Boone said before Game 3. "It potentially moves our starters up a little bit. But we'll have to evaluate it after the fact."

As for the players, hey, sometimes it rains, and the life of the ballplayer is to show up for work and play when they tell you to.

"I don't know how it's going to work, but we're going to show up ready to play tomorrow," Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said, likely speaking for all 50 players on both ALCS rosters. "If we're rained out, we'll get ready for the next day."

Even though every weather app seems to agree that it's going to rain all afternoon Wednesday and into Thursday morning, no one can take anything for granted -- at least not until the right person in the MLB office says, "Bag it."

When and if that happens, Game 4 will move to Thursday, and Game 5 will be played Friday at Yankee Stadium. Unless Houston wins both of those games, the series will return to Minute Maid Park for Game 6 on Saturday. Then, if a Game 7 is necessary, the Astros will host that series-decider on Sunday.

That means that although the weather might provide a temporary reprieve for the pitchers on Wednesday, the consequences later in the series might impact both teams as they try to traverse a possible four-games-in-four-days-in-two-cities scenario to decide the American League champion.

Are there other possible consequences from a rainout? Barring a player going berserk with his night off and ending up in the slammer, it would seem that it's all about the pitching staffs. Having an unplanned day off could benefit the Yankees by giving outfielder Giancarlo Stanton an extra day to rest his ailing quad.

But, really, it's the pitching designs that would most be impacted by Mother Nature. Given that the teams aren't saying much, they leave it to us to game this thing out.

The easy part seems to be that if Wednesday is washed out, both managers will come back with their Game 1 starters on Thursday, Tanaka for New York and Zack Greinke for Houston. Both would be going on normal rest, and both teams would enter the game with rested bullpens. Only New York's Luis Cessa, who threw 35 pitches in relief in Game 3, would likely be affected by his usage Tuesday. But Cessa is the second-lowest-leveraged reliever in Boone's 10-man ALCS bullpen, based on regular-season numbers.

In a Game 5 on Friday, things could get somewhat more interesting. Both managers would almost certainly bring back their Game 2 starters, Justin Verlander for Houston and James Paxton for New York. Both would be on normal rest. Without the rainout, Greinke and Tanaka would likely have been slotted for Game 5, with Verlander and Paxton going in Game 6.

This is also a fairly simple scenario except that with the previously scheduled travel day lost, the managers might have to monitor their bullpens a little more carefully. But the mantra in the playoffs is always "win today," so reliever fatigue is a consequence both managers might have to live with. Obviously, given New York's greater reliance on its bullpen, that would favor the Astros.

The ideal scenario for Houston in the wake of a rainout is this: Greinke beats Tanaka in the rescheduled Game 4, and Verlander beats Paxton on Friday. The Astros would then return to Houston -- but not to face the Yankees. They'd be getting ready for the Washington Nationals and the start of the World Series.

Beyond finishing the series quickly and lining up his rotation for a rested Nationals pitching staff, Hinch would also be sidestepping a difficult decision for a potential Game 6: Whether to bring Cole back on short rest (three days between Tuesday and Saturday) to either save Houston's season or clinch the pennant, depending on how the next two games go. Without a rainout, the Astros would have Verlander lined up for Game 6, as mentioned, and a fully rested Cole to go in Game 7. Cole has never started a game on short rest in his big league career.

If Hinch wants to avoid using Cole on three days' rest, he will be back to where he would've been Wednesday if not for the rain: a bullpen day. Whether he'd be willing to go that route with Houston trailing 3-2 is hard to say, but most likely, he'd take his chances with Cole. You can't leave him on the shelf for a tomorrow that might never come with the season on the line.

But what if Houston is up 3-2? Does Hinch go for the kill and roll the dice with a possibly-fatigued Cole, who threw 112 pitches on Tuesday? Or does he view Cole as a fail-safe option for Game 7, knowing that if he has to win one game at home to go to the World Series, there is no one anyone in baseball would rather see take the mound for their team?

One final option for Hinch: Stick with his plan to make Game 4 a bullpen day despite the day off. Then have Greinke, Verlander and Cole lined up for the last three games. That might work in theory, but in practice you don't want to assume a Game 7 and risk not getting a second outing from Cole.

As for New York, the starter scenarios seem less urgent. Boone has pieced together a successful campaign all season by leveraging one of the game's best bullpens and getting what he can from the starters. The big questions here are whether he can keep his high-leverage relievers sharp for four games in four days and what kind of effect might come from Houston's hitters seeing the relievers multiple times in a short span.

This is all good stuff! Rain stinks when it comes to playoff baseball, but it also adds intrigue. If Mother Nature has her say on Wednesday, it will be a quiet day before a stormy few days between New York and Houston. And that storm will have nothing to do with the weather.