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Post by chiyankee on Jul 4, 2024 9:42:59 GMT -5
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Post by chiyankee on Jul 4, 2024 9:44:00 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July!
Rice is your new leadoff hitter, Volpe dropped to 6th.
Need Gleyber and Verdugo to start hitting.
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Post by JEGnj on Jul 4, 2024 10:26:06 GMT -5
Happy July 4th everyone.
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Post by kaybli on Jul 4, 2024 10:47:50 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July!
That’s interesting they went with Rice to lead off. I thought it would be Soto. 🤷♂️
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Post by 1955nyyfan on Jul 4, 2024 11:01:01 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July! That’s interesting they went with Rice to lead off. I thought it would be Soto. 🤷♂️ Rice is an interesting choice, he has shown good patience but Boone normally doesn't like to have back to back lefties near the top of the lineup. |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:21:03 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July! That’s interesting they went with Rice to lead off. I thought it would be Soto. 🤷♂️ Rice is an interesting choice, he has shown good patience but Boone normally doesn't like to have back to back lefties near the top of the lineup. Without seeing the lineup today beforehand, I just posted my reply to yours from last night, and I speculated that Rice might be the best choice, but teams would quickly work on him to find weaknesses. Interesting they're trying this right away. They'll have to put Volpe back there against lefties, unless they want to start playing Rice every day, or nearly every day. |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:21:34 GMT -5
The Reds send ex-Yankee Frankie Montas out to try to finish off a 3-game sweep in the Bronx. Montas was signed as a 16-year-old out of the Dominican Republic by the Red Sox in December, 2009. He pitched just 34 innings over the next 2 years for the Red Sox sponsored team in the Dominican Summer League, and not very well. They brought him to the U.S. as a 19-year-old in 2012, and he pitched 44 reasonably good innings between rookie ball and summer-A. The Sox advanced him to low-A the next year, and he pitched poorly there, but the White Sox had enough interest in him that when they traded Jake Peavy to Boston at the trade deadline as part of a 3-team deal with the Tigers, Montas was one of the three prospects the Red Sox sent back to Chicago. He made his last 5 starts still in low-A and pitch a bit better there.
In 2014, he was injured to start the season, and the White Sox sent him to high-A, where he pitched well enough be named to appear in the Futures Game. But he tore his maniscus in late June and missed six weeks, making 6 starts back in rookie ball for rehab purposes, before making his last start in AA, and it was a pretty good one. He was on prospect radars, and made the MLB Pipeline top 100 that offseason. The White Sox put him at AA in 2015, and he pitched well the whole season, earning a call-up to the majors in early September. He was so-so in 2 starts and 5 relief games in the majors, and after the season, he again was top 100 at MLB Pipeline. But the White Sox didn't keep him, he was dealt to the Dodgers in another 3-way trade with two other prospects, and Chicago got Todd Frazier from the Reds, to whom the Dodgers sent 3 different propects.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:22:56 GMT -5
(Hmmmm...I wonder if any other MLB player has ever been involved in more than one trade between more than two teams...and a very cursory search reveals that one of the players traded by the Dodgers to the Reds in the 2nd Montas trade, infielder Jose Peraza, was involved in the 3-team deal that moved Mat Latos from the Marlins to the Dodgers just 5 mnths before. So that answers that question. I wonder how many other players like that there are...Dick Littlefield and Willie Montanez are the most traded players in MLB history, 8 trades and neither was involved in a 3-team trade, but Willie was part of a 4-team deal. Jesse Chavez, Chuck McElroy and ex-Yankee slag-arm Ron Villone were traded 7 times each, but none in a trade with more than two teams. Edwin Jackson was traded 6 times, one of which was a 3-team deal. Yunel Escobar, also traded 6 times, was never in a trade of more than two teams, although he is the one and only Yunel in MLB history...Hey! This isn't the Name Game portion of the game preview, CUT THAT OUT!! This is where my 3-team or more trade research ends.)
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:23:50 GMT -5
Montas was not with the Dodgers for long. He took 4 months to recover from rib resection surgery (sounds painful), starting his season in mid-May. After making 7 rehab appearances at AA and AAA, he reinjured the rib cage and was done for the season. The Dodgers traded him at the deadline with two other prospects to the A's to bring back pitcher Rich Hill and outfielder Josh Reddick. Despite the injury and yet another trade, he made the Baseball Prospectus top 100 list that offseason. The A's kept him in the majors, but in the bullpen to start 2017. He pitched poorly in 23 games, so they sent him back to AAA to try to strectch out to go back to the rotation. After 7 so-so starts, they called him up and put him back in the pen for two games, after which they sent him back to AAA to finish the season with two more poor starts. In 2018, he made 15 so-so starts in the hitter-friendly PCL, and the A's called him and he made 13 decent starts for them down the stretch. In 2019, he broke through with 15 outstanding starts...and was then suspended for 80 games for PED use. In the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he made starts and was 3-5 with a 5.90 ERA, In 2021, he finally broke through with a solid, complete season, going 13-9 with a 3.37 ERA in 32 starts and 187 innings. He was 4-9 with a 3.18 ERA in 19 starts for the A's, but had suffered from some shoulder inflammation in July. Naturally, Brian Cashman traded four pitching prospects for the "2nd best starter on the trade market". Every Yankee fans knows what happened with Montas afte the trade. It wasn't pretty.
The Reds decided to gamble on Montas, signing him to a one-year deal with a mutual option for 2025. So far, it's paid off. Somewhat. I guess. He missed a couple of weeks in April and May, but this one wasn't his fault; Taylor Ward of the Angels smashed a pitch off his forearm in a game on April 21st. He came back on time. He's pitched OK for the Reds, considering Cincinnati is the 2nd best hitter's park in the NL. In 15 starts, he's 3-6 with a 4.23 ERA. In 72 1/3 innings, he's allowed 65 hits, 38 runs, 34 earned, just 8 HR, and 30 BB with 58 K's. His WHIP so far is a sub-par 1.313. He pitched well in his last two starts vs. the Cards and Red Sox, before that he got hit pretty hard by the Brewers and Cubs.
Montas has pitched in 3 games against the Yanks before, two of them starts and his record in that small sample is good: 1-1 with a 1.29 ERA. In 14 innings, he's allowed just 6 hits, 2 runs, both earned, 1 HR, walked 5 and struck out 14. His WHIP against the Yanks is 0.786 and their team quadruple slash line against him is accordingly bad: .133/.220/.244/.464. He last started against the Yanks in a game at the Stadium in late June, 2022, and was the hard luck loser in a 2-1 Yankee win. Montas gave up just 4 hits, 2 walks and 2 runs including a solo HR by Marwin Gonzalez (!), and struck out 7, while J.P. Sears and 4 relievers held the A's to just one unearned run.
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Post by bumper on Jul 4, 2024 11:26:17 GMT -5
good to see boone shake things up. clearly volpe's been struggling and not holding up his end as a lead-off hitter. when we were going good he was setting the table. hopefully this change allows him to get back on track. rice is not a lead-off hitter so don't see this as a long term thing but good in the short term.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:26:19 GMT -5
Repertoire: Montas is a heavy-set 5-pitch righty, throwing a FB, splitter, cutter, sinker and slider. None of his five pitches gets remarkable movment, for or against, the most extreme is that his rarely used slider gets much less drop than average, but considerably better break to the arm side than average. By run values, the 4-seamer is a fairly hefty minus, the sinker is a fairly hefty plus, and the other pitches more or less cancel each other out. When he came to the majors, the FB had elite velocity and spin, now both are just somewhat above average. His extension has always been well below average, making his otherwise excellent stuff play a bit down. His average exit velocity, hard hit rate and barrell rates are all near MLB average. His ground ball, fly ball and line drive rates are right around average, too, but he does get about 40% more popups than the average MLB pticher.
Playing the name game...Montas' official first name is Francellis, as you might imagine, he's the only Francellis in MLB history. As for Frankie, there have been 15 of those in MLB history. Former Yankee shortstop Frankie Crosetti holds the all-time record for World Series rings won with 17, 9 as a player and 8 more as a 3rd base coach. But the greatest Frankie in MLB history was player-manager Frankie Frisch, who won 4 rings himself, two with the John McGraw Giants in the early 1920's, then two more with the Gas House Gorilla Cards in the early 1930's. He was also the notorious force behind getting several good, and not great, players from those Giants and Cardinal teams into the Hall of Fame through his input and influence on the Veterans Committee in the early 1970s. Frankie is also the only Montas in MLB history.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:27:52 GMT -5
Marcus Stroman pitches for the Yanks to try to salvage the 3rd game against the Reds. His stuff is diminshed from his prime years, and he has to stay out of the zone to survive, but he's slick enough, smart enough and tough enough to battle it out with what he has left, and in most of his starts this season, he's given the Yanks a chance to win, though his performance has been up and down lately. On the season, Stroman is 7-3 with a 3.29 ERA. In 17 starts, he's pitched 95 2/3 innings, he's allowed 80 hits, 39 runs, 35 earned, 12 HR, 43 BB (4th most in the AL) and just 70 K's. His K/BB ratio of 1.63 is 2nd worst in the league among 37 qualified starters.
Stroman is making his 8th career start against the Reds, and he's done OK against them: 4-2 with a 3.76 ERA. In 38 1/3 innings, he's allowed 32 hits, 16 runs, all earned, 3 HR, and 11 BB, with 35 K's. His WHIP against Cincy is an excellent 1.122, and their team quadruple slash line against Stroman is .225/.287/.345/.632. His record vs. the Reds was much better before his last start against them. In late July last year, after he suffered his arm injury, he went just 3 innings against the Reds in a game in Wrigley Field, allowing 6 hits, 6 runs, all earned while walking 2 and striking out 2, taking the loss, 6-5. It was the last start Stroman made before he went on the IL for 6 1/2 weeks.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:29:52 GMT -5
Yankees lineup vs Montas: Only five Yankees have ever faced Frankie...
Judge is 2-7 with 1 double and 4 K
Verdugo is 4-8 with 1 double, 1 RBI and 1 BB
Grisham is 1-2 with 1 double, 1 RBI and 1 K.
On the bench: Trevino is 3-5 with a three-run HR and 1 more RBI, and LeMahieu is 0-4 with 2 BB and 1 K.
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Reds' lineup vs. Stroman:
India is 2-7 with 1 double, 1 BB, 3 K and 1 HBP
De La Cruz is 0-2 with 1 K
Candelario is 4-14 with a solo HR, 1 BB and 4 K
Steer is 0-1 with 1 BB
Fraley is 2-4 with 1 RBI and 1 BB
Marte has never faced Stroman
Martini is 0-2 with 1 RBI (sac fly) and 2 K
Maile is is 1-3 with 1 double and 2 RBI
Benson is 1-2 with 1 double and 1 RBI
On the bench: Stephenson is 1-6 with 2 RBI (1 sac fly), Fairchild is 1-3 with 1 K, and Espinal is 0-2.
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Post by qwik3457bb on Jul 4, 2024 11:30:34 GMT -5
Yesterday, Carlos Rodon wasn't good, but he was tolerable. Though he allowed 2 HR and 3 runs in 5 1/3 innings, at least he didn't bury the Yanks in this one. No, Reds' starter Andrew Abbott buried them, shutting them down for 3 hits and no runs in 6 1/3 innings, walking 4 and striking out 2, but he left a runner on base and when set up man Fernando Cruz gave up a two run double to Anthony Volpe the Yanks had cut the lead to 3-2, that run was charged to Abbott. But Aaron Judge grounded into his 14th double play, killing an 8th inning rally against Lucas Sims, and Volpe grounded into his 7th DP, killing an attempt to rally against closer Alexis Diaz in the 9th. The loss was the Yanks' 2nd straight and 12th in their last 16 games, dropping them back to just 20 games over .500 for the first time since late May.
In other AL East action, Brayan Bello halted his bad run of starts with 6 2/3 inning of 1-run ball, and Ceddanne Rafaela knocked in 3 runs with a double and a triple and the Sox beat the Marlins for the 2nd straight game, 7-2. The was the Sox' 3rd straight; the loss, the Marlins' 3rd straight. The Astros broke open a 2-2 tie in the 7th with a 4-run rally and added 3 more in the 8th to cruise to a 9-2 win over the Jays in Toronto. Yordan Alvarez and Yanier Diaz each knocked in 3 for the Astros, who've now won 12 of their last 14 games. The Rays tried to rally from 3 runs down in the 8th and 2 down in the 9th, getting the tying runs on base both innings, but fell short, losing to the Royals in KC, 4-2. Michael Wacha pitched six strong innings of 2-hit, 1-run ball, striking out 8 for the win. James McArthur went the last 1 2/3 innings to nail down his 15th save. The win was the Royals 5th in their last 7 games, the loss was just the 4th for the Rays in their last 13. In his first start off the IL since the triceps strain, the Orioles Dean Kremer threw 5 innings of shutout ball, allowing just 2 hits, striking out 8, and the O's got a big 2-run double in the 3th from Ryan O'Hearn off of Logan Gilbert in a 3-run 4th inning. O'Hearn got a solo HR off Gilbert in the 5th as well. The win was the O's 6th in the last 7 games, the loss was Seattle's 4th in a row, and allowed the Astros to move up to just 2 games behind in the West. You didn't bury them deep enough, Mariners.
The Yanks failure to complete their rally again last night caused them to lose a game to the O's and Red Sox, but not the Rays or Jays. They're now 2 full games behind Baltimore, just 6 1/2 up on the Sox and remain 10 ahead of the Rays and 14 ahead of the Jays.
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Post by qimqam on Jul 4, 2024 11:30:48 GMT -5
Happy 4th of July! Rice is your new leadoff hitter, Volpe dropped to 6th. Need Gleyber and Verdugo to start hitting. I like this ... Rice has so far been a pretty disciplined hitter Like to see them bring Vivas up for the same reason ... He has leadoff potential |
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