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Post by kaybli on Aug 20, 2024 1:22:58 GMT -5
Baltimore really could have run away with the division if they played decent. Or we could have run away with it if we played decent.  Yanks-O's this year... View Attachment  |
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Post by desousa on Aug 20, 2024 8:22:34 GMT -5
Our old friend Gio signs with the Braves. The deal did go through.
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Post by inger on Aug 20, 2024 12:34:17 GMT -5
Our old friend Gio signs with the Braves. The deal did go through. Little Gio’s still a friend of mine We got some money And we drank that cheap-a-wine Sat on the corner and had that holiday We hid the bottle when the cop went by Talked about women and-a lied, lied, lied… |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 20, 2024 15:22:36 GMT -5
The Cubs DFAed their former closer Hector Neris today. How is this relevant to the Yankees? Two ways: 1) The blown save by Neris on Friday was his 5th of the season against 17 saves. His save percentage for the Cubs dropped below 80% after that blown save. With his 10th blown save of the season Sunday night, Clay Holmes now has 26 saves against 10 blown saves. His save percentage is not merely under 85%, ore even 80%; it's now under 75%. What was the Yankkees (Boone's) reaction? He's still the closer. As I mentioned in the game thread Sunday night, if your closer has a save percentage below 85%, they start looking around for someone to replace him. If it drops below 80%, he's usually removed from the closer role. Not usually DFAed, not right away; usually the reliever is moved to a lesser role with the team hoping he can regain past form in lower-leverage roles. With the Yanks, a closer with a save percentage of 72% is...just another Tuesday. 2) Who will be the next Cubs closer, now, while their still desperately fighting to stay in the fight for a Wild Card in the NL? There are 3 immediate candidates...Julian Merryweather, the former Jays' set-up. He has very good stuff, but his command is suspect, and he gets hurt a lot. He came off the IL after 3 1/2 months and has struggled, allowing 7 BB over 8 1/3 innings in his first 9 games back. So it almost certainly won't be Merryweather...the 2nd candidate is Porter Hodge, a fairly hard-throwing 3 pitch righty that the Cubs called up from AAA a couple of times this year. Hodge finally stuck in the majors mid-June, as has pitched well in a set-up role, with 1 save (2 blown) and 9 holds, and an ERA of 2.15 in 29 1/3 innings. The 3rd candidate is the guy who got the Cubs most recent save, Jorge Lopez. If that name sounds famililar it's because he's the ex-Met that the team DFA'ed after he untucked his shirt, flung his mitt into the stands and told the Mets that either he or the Mets team was the "(bleep)iest in baseball". Lopez was a decent closer for the O's in 2022 (before he was dislodged by the superb Felix Bautista, out for the season with TJ surgery and other elbow procedures) and a decent closer for the Twins (before he was displaced again by the excellent Jhoan Duran). I read somewhere that Cubs have changed his pitch mix, and he's throwing a lot more sliders and less sinkers, so maybe he's found something he can work with. He's pitched well for the Cubs since joining them: ERA of 0.83 and WHIP of 1.10 in 19 games and 21 2/3 innings. How does that relate to the Yanks? Well, they could've picked up Lopez and let Blake try to work on him, but they didn't. The Cubs did and found an appearently valuable reliever...on the scrap heap...for free. Instead of trading prospects for Enyel De Los Santos, who was so bad, they had to DFA him after just two weeks and 5 terrible games. But that's not all...wait for it...wait for it... The Yanks also traded two prospects for Mark "Swing and Miss" Leiter, Jr., who's been as bad as a reliever can be since joining them: 15 hits, 4 BB, 2 HR, an ERA of 6.48 and a horrific WHIP of 2.40 with 11 K's in 10 games and 8 1/3 innings. By sheer luck, his terrible performance Sunday night was just Leiter's 1st blown save and 1st loss. One of the prospects the Yanks traded for Leiter was utility infielder Ben Cowles, who must be injured because he hasn't played a game since July 25th. But that's not all...wait for it...wait for it... The other prospect the Yanks traded to the Cubs for Leiter was reliever Jack Neely, not highly rated by Longerhagen at Fangraphs, but who had been pitching well at Somerset in AA and Scranton in AAA: ERA of 2.81 with 63 K's, 16 BB, just 33 hits and 3 HR allowed in 41 2/3 innings. Neely, who the Yanks chose not to call up from AAA to see if he could help their weak bullpen. I remember nw telling me that trading Neely was a mistake because he thought Neely had the goods, but as I hadn't seen him, I didn't know what to think. But that's not all...wait for it...wait for it... The Cubs made Neely their closer at AAA Iowa, and in 6 games there, he pitched in 6 games, throwing 6 2/3 innings, 4 hits, 1 unearned run, with 13 K's and just 1 BB, earning 3 saves. Apparently, the Cubs minor league pitching guys made some sort of adjustment, because he's striking out everyone in sight all of a sudden, and his BB rate is way down (albeit in a very small number of innings) and...finally, here's the punchline: Guess who the Cubs called up to replace Neris on the roster? That's right: you guessed it!! Jack Neely, who probably won't be their closer right away, but will probably work into a set-up role this season, and might (might!) be the closer as early as next year, if whatever adjustments the Cubs made (if they made any) stick. Or by the end of the season, possibly. At a minimum salary. That's the punchline. Everyone laughing now?  |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 20, 2024 15:24:17 GMT -5
Oh, almost forgot. The next punchline might be the Yanks picking up Neris to see if they can "fix" him. Won't that be a gas?
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Post by azbob643 on Aug 20, 2024 15:38:37 GMT -5
The Cubs DFAed their former closer Hector Neris today. 1) The blown save by Neris on Friday was his 5th of the season against 17 saves. His save percentage for the Cubs dropped below 80% after that blown save. With his 10th blown save of the season Sunday night, Clay Holmes now has 26 saves against 10 blown saves. His save percentage is not merely under 85%, ore even 80%; it's now under 75%. What was the Yankkees (Boone's) reaction? He's still the closer. As I mentioned in the game thread Sunday night, if your closer has a save percentage below 85%, they start looking around for someone to replace him. If it drops below 80%, he's usually removed from the closer role. Not usually DFAed, not right away; usually the reliever is moved to a lesser role with the team hoping he can regain past form in lower-leverage roles. Another consideration, maybe the primary one, for Cubs... A player option of $9M for '25 would've kicked in had Neris appeared in another 14 games for Cubs. |
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Post by chiyankee on Aug 20, 2024 16:04:18 GMT -5
Oh, almost forgot. The next punchline might be the Yanks picking up Neris to see if they can "fix" him. Won't that be a gas? The Yanks should just call up Marinaccio and spare themselves and the fanbase the high wire act that is Hector Neris. I know Yankee fans don't like Holmes and they certainly will feel the same way about Neris, and actually having both of them on the roster would be too much. |
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Post by qwik3457bb on Aug 20, 2024 16:58:43 GMT -5
The Cubs DFAed their former closer Hector Neris today. 1) The blown save by Neris on Friday was his 5th of the season against 17 saves. His save percentage for the Cubs dropped below 80% after that blown save. With his 10th blown save of the season Sunday night, Clay Holmes now has 26 saves against 10 blown saves. His save percentage is not merely under 85%, ore even 80%; it's now under 75%. What was the Yankkees (Boone's) reaction? He's still the closer. As I mentioned in the game thread Sunday night, if your closer has a save percentage below 85%, they start looking around for someone to replace him. If it drops below 80%, he's usually removed from the closer role. Not usually DFAed, not right away; usually the reliever is moved to a lesser role with the team hoping he can regain past form in lower-leverage roles. Another consideration, maybe the primary one, for Cubs... A player option of $9M for '25 would've kicked in had Neris appeared in another 14 games for Cubs. Good catch. I wasn't aware of that. Thanks. |
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Post by chiyankee on Aug 21, 2024 18:59:15 GMT -5
Joey Votto hangs them up.
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Post by pippsheadache on Aug 21, 2024 19:54:25 GMT -5
Joey Votto hangs them up. He retires with an OPS+ of 144 -- one point below Albert Pujols, even with Albert Belle, Lance Berkman and Hack Wilson, and one point ahead of Bryce Harper, Eddie Mathews and Harmon Killebrew. Pretty fast company. |
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Post by chiyankee on Aug 21, 2024 21:48:39 GMT -5
Jack Neely's MLB debut with the Cubs didn't go well.
1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 HR.
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Post by donniebaseball23 on Aug 21, 2024 22:59:50 GMT -5
Jack Neely's MLB debut with the Cubs didn't go well. 1 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 1 HR. Leiter stinks, only fair he does, too. |
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Post by fwclipper51 on Aug 22, 2024 14:44:30 GMT -5
From MLB Rumors
Astros To Sign Héctor Neris
By Darragh McDonald | August 22, 2024 at 10:55am CDT
The Astros are signing right-hander Héctor Neris, reports Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 on X. The righty was released by the Cubs earlier this week. Assuming it’s a major league deal, the Astros will need to make corresponding moves to get the righty onto their active and 40-man rosters once the deal is made official.
Neris, 35, returns to an organization that he has had success with. After many successful years with the Phillies, Neris joined the Astros going into 2022. He signed a two-year, $17MM deal with a club option for 2024, though he could vest that into a player option based on the number of appearances he made for the club during the life of the contract.
Over those two years in Houston, Neris got into 141 regular season contests, allowing 2.69 earned runs per nine. He struck out 29.1% of batters faced and gave out walks at a 9% clip. He earned five saves and 56 holds in that time. He also made 15 postseason appearances over those two years, including eight in 2022 with a 1.50 ERA, helping Houston win its second World Series title.
By July of 2023, he had made his 110th regular-season appearance with the club, thus converting the club option into a player option. He eventually decided to turn that down, taking the $1MM buyout and returning to free agency, rather than agreeing to the $8.5MM salary.
He eventually signed with the Cubs for the 2024 season, a one-year, $9MM guarantee. Again, there was a club/player option provision, this time with a $9MM salary on the table for 2025. It would begin as a club option that could become a player option with 60 appearances or 45 games finished in 2024.
His time as a Cub was mixed. He made 46 appearances for them this year with a 3.89 ERA that doesn’t look too bad at first blush. However, his 23.5% strikeout rate and 13.3% walk rate were both significant drop-offs from his previous work. He managed to dance around those free passes a bit with a 76.9% strand rate that’s on the lucky side, perhaps why his 4.09 FIP and 4.36 SIERA were a bit worse than his ERA.
The Cubs decided to set him loose, releasing him earlier this week. That was likely a reflection of his diminished performance but also the Cubs not wanting him to unlock that player option. Since Neris was released and no club grabbed him off waivers, that option is now dead and won’t carry over to any new deal he signs.
Though he hasn’t been as crisp this year, it’s a sensible pickup for the Astros. For one thing, there’s no real financial cost. Because they released him, the Cubs are on the hook for the majority of his 2024 salary that is still to be paid out. The Astros only have to pay him the prorated version of the $740K league minimum salary for any time Neris spends on the roster, with that amount subtracted from what the Cubs pay.
The Astros have also taken a few hits in their bullpen. Kendall Graveman, Penn Murfee, Oliver Ortega and Bennett Sousa are all currently on the 60-day injured list, with each of them undergoing a significant surgery earlier this year. Righty Ryan Pressly also landed on the 15-day IL a few days ago due to a low back strain. There’s nothing to suggest Pressly is slated for a lengthy absence, but it’s another gap in the relief corps until he comes back.
Perhaps a return to a familiar environment can get Neris back on track after some wobbles this year. Even if that doesn’t quite come to pass, it’s a low-cost signing that lengthens the club’s depth for the stretch run and postseason.
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Post by pippsheadache on Aug 23, 2024 8:11:44 GMT -5
In firing Scott Servais, the Mariners have gone from a 10-game lead in the AL West on June 19 to being five games out of a Wild Card spot today.
The Mariners pitching staff has the lowest ERA in the major leagues. However their team BA of .216 if it holds would be the third-lowest of the liveball era, behind only the 2020 Reds at .212 and the 1968 Yankees (!) at .214. It is equal to the 2022 Athletics.
Six of the ten lowest team BAs of the liveball era have come since 2020. The other four are clustered in the pitcher-dominant period of the mid-60s to the early 70s.
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Post by kaybli on Aug 24, 2024 13:51:55 GMT -5
D-Backs' Montgomery: Boras 'butchered' my free agency
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