The Weekly Rundown: 5/7/23 - 5/13/23
RIP Vida Blue, Willson Contreras the scapegoat, and more.
Good morning and Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there. I don’t think any of you actually read this (prove me wrong in the comments if you do!) but you are appreciated anyway.
It wouldn’t be a true baseball newsletter on Mother’s Day without a mention of one of Bill Hall’s famous walk-off homer in 2006. His mother drove 10 hours from Nettleton, Miss. to Milwaukee to see her son play against the New York Mets.
It was the first year players used pink bats on Mother’s Day and Hall engraved his mom’s name on it. In the bottom of the 10th inning with two outs and nobody on, he gave her the perfect gift:
There are many more great MLB Mother’s Day moments where that came from. Joey Votto’s three-homer day, which included a walk-off grand slam — stands out. But to me, Hall’s homer is the first one that comes to mind at this time of the year.
Anyway, we’ve got a lot to get to in this week’s rundown. But before we jump in, it would mean a lot if you subscribed to the newsletter below. If you aren’t a baseball fan, that’s fine, but you can also gift a subscription o that baseball fan of your life for FREE at the bottom of the page. Hey, maybe that’s how I can get more moms to read this thing.
Now grab that Sunday morning coffee and let’s jump in.
RIP Vida Blue
The Oakland A’s announced last Sunday that the legendary Vida Blue passed away Saturday at the age of 73.
A six-time All-Star and a three-time World Series champion with Oakland, Blue is remembered as the hardest-throwing southpaw of his era. He racked up a number of accolades during his illustrious career, including the AL MVP and Cy Young awards in 1971. He tossed a no-hitter the previous season.
While I’m familiar with Blue’s accomplishments, I can’t honor Blue’s career the way it should be honored as I wasn’t alive when he played. So if you’re interested in learning more about his legacy, MLB Network put together a fantastic tribute that you can watch below.
Blue ended his 17-year MLB career with a 209-161 record, a 3.27 ERA, and 2,175 strikeouts.
Contreras the Scapegoat
It’s still way too early, but the St. Louis Cardinals’ offseason signing of All-Star catcher Willson Contreras isn’t looking so great in hindsight.
Contreras inked a five-year deal worth $87.5M to add thump in the Cardinals lineup behind superstars Nolan Arenado and Paul Goldschmidt. The problem is he’s a bat-first catcher replacing a guy named Yadier Molina who provided St. Louis with sensational defense and game-calling behind the plate for 19 years.
Last weekend, Cards manager Oliver Marmol announced the club was moving away from Contreras at the catcher position indefinitely.
"There's so many different layers and elements to what we're talking about," Marmol said, per ESPN. "We are making sure he understands the full process of how we think through a game plan."
Marmol was asked to elaborate on that statement.
"That's the part I unfortunately won't disclose and that's the part that won't make sense to the rest of the world," he said. "It just won't. I'll wear it until then. That's the part that will stay in-house, and at the end of the day, it won't make sense to anyone else, but we do feel confident in the end product."
Alrighty then.
Contreras probably won’t win any Gold Glove awards, but the Cardinals knew that when they paid him. To single him out like this was a strange decision by Marmol and one that doesn’t really make sense when there are so many other contributors to their horrific start (14-25, last in NL Central) to the season. Nolan Arenado’s early struggles and the woeful starting rotation, to name a couple.
On Saturday, Marmol told reporters Contreras would resume his catching duties after spending six games at DH. So what was the point of all that drama? Only Oli Marmol knows the answer to that question.
Anyway, one more thing on Contreras: he made his return to Wrigley Field on Monday for the first time as a Cardinal. He tallied two hits and two RBIs, including a go-ahead double, to lead St. Louis to a 3-1 win.
“It was a great experience. It was what I expected,” Contreras said. “I got love. I got fans booing. It was fun to be back at Wrigley Field and play, and I enjoyed every second.”
Mookie’s Afraid Of Ghosts
My favorite story of the week was Mookie Betts avoiding the “haunted” Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee.
According to the Orange County Register’s Bill Plunkett, Betts said isn’t afraid of ghosts but rented an Airbnb “just in case” the ghost stories are true.
“You can tell me what happened after,” he said, per Plunkett. “I just don’t want to find out myself.”
Sounds like a man who is afraid of ghosts.
Betts is far from the first player to avoid the infamous Pfister Hotel. A 2013 ESPN story covered several players who recalled freaky moments while staying there. It’s one of two “haunted” hotels used in MLB with the other one in St. Petersburg, Fla.
Cedric Gets the Cycle
First, let me just say I am NOT a huge fan of the cycle. At least, not as some historic feat that deserves to be discussed ad nauseam.
That isn’t to say it’s not an impressive accomplishment. Of course it is. Four hits in a game? Three of them for extra bases including a homer? Obviously, that’s a big-time performance. But wouldn’t you rather have two homers and two doubles? Two homers, a triple, and two singles? Three homers and a single? Four homers?!? You get the point.
Anyway, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins hit for the cycle on Friday. He becomes the seventh player in franchise history to accomplish the feat.
The IL
Ryan Yarbrough, SP, Kansas City Royals
Yarbrough was placed on the 15-day injured list with head fractures after taking a 106.2-mph comebacker off his face.
Antonio Senzatela, SP, Colorado Rockies
Senzatela was placed on the 15-day IL with an elbow injury and is expected to miss at least a couple of months.
Nico Hoerner, 2B, Chicago Cubs
The Cubs placed Hoerner on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
Austin Slater, OF, San Francisco Giants
Slater was placed on the 10-day IL with a left hamstring strain.
Max Fried, SP, Atlanta Braves
Fried is back on the IL after a brief return due to a left forearm strain. The Braves ace is expected to miss at least two months.
Mason Miller, SP, Oakland A’s
The A’s rookie was placed on the 15-day IL with forearm tightness.
Jose Alvarado, RP, Philadelphia Phillies
Alvarado landed on the 15-day IL with elbow inflammation.
Tyler Mahle, SP, Minnesota Twins
Mahle, already on the 60-day IL, will undergo Tommy John surgery.
Spencer Turnbull, SP, Detroit Tigers
Turnbull was placed on the 15-day IL with neck discomfort.
Drew Rasmussen, SP, Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays placed Rasmussen on the 60-day IL with a flexor strain in his right arm. He’ll hope to avoid Tommy John surgery.
Dominant on the Bump
Cal Quantrill, Cleveland Guardians
7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 SO, 3 BB vs. Minnesota Twins
Mitch Keller, Pittsburgh Pirates
9.0 IP (CG), 4 H, 0 ER, 8 SO, 1 BB vs. Colorado Rockies
Framber Valdez, Houston Astros
8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 12 SO, 0 BB vs. Los Angeles Angels
George Kirby, Seattle Mariners
7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 9 SO, 0 BB vs. Texas Rangers
Eduardo Rodriguez, Detroit Tigers
7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 8 SO, 2 BB vs. Cleveland Guardians
Nathan Eovaldi, Texas Rangers
8.2 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 12 K, 1 BB vs. Oakland A’s
Drew Rasmussen, Tampa Bay Rays
7.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 7 SO, 0 BB vs. New York Yankees
Chris Bassitt, Toronto Blue Jays
9.0 IP (CG), 2 H, 0 ER, 8 SO, 2 BB vs. Atlanta Braves
Big Bombs
Yankees rookie shortstop Anthony Volpe notched his first career grand slam.
A’s No. 4 prospect Jordan Diaz belted three homers at Yankee Stadium.
A’s outfielder Brent Rooker hit his first career walk-off homer vs. Texas.
Reigning NL MVP Paul Goldschmidt clubbed three homers for the Cardinals vs. the Tigers.
Welcome To The Show
Rockies prospect Brenton Doyle blasted his first career home run.
Marlins top pitching prospect Eury Perez made his MLB debut Friday vs. the Reds. The 20-year-old allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out seven hitters.
Giants rookie Casey Schmitt homered in the second at-bat of his MLB debut.
And that’s not all. On Thursday, Schmitt went 4-for-4 at the plate vs. the D’Backs with a double and his second homer.
Web Gem of the Week
Javier Baez makes it look so easy.
Quick Takeaways
The Padres so far are not who we thought they were. They’re currently 19-20 despite their stacked lineup, and manager Bob Melvin isn’t pleased.
"We have guys that can perform better," he told reporters on Thursday. "We're going to, but it's time to quit just talking about it. It's time to go out there and do it. Another frustrating game for us. Underperforming."
I wouldn’t expect this subpar stretch to last much longer. There’s too much talent on the roster to be so mediocre. But with the Dodgers looking like the mighty Dodgers that have dominated the division over the last few years, we may have overhyped San Diego’s NL West chances heading into the campaign.
Another disappointing team through the 40 games or so is the Seattle Mariners, who some even had making it to the World Series after snapping their postseason drought last year. Seattle is 20-19 and currently tied for third the AL West standings. A big reason why is their offseason additions, namely Teoscar Hernandez and Kolten Wong, haven’t lived up to expectations. Plus, former Cy Young award winner Robbie Ray recently underwent season-ending surgery. The good news is only four games separate the Mariners from the division-leading Rangers as Seattle has won nine of its last 12.
So much for that miraculous Pittsburgh Pirates start. They’re finally starting to show their true colors as they’re 1-9 over their last 10 games. They’re still second in the NL Central, but I’d expect this regression to continue.
Maybe the Giants and Mets did dodge a bullet after all. Carlos Correa has been arguably the most disappointing player of the 2023 season thus far. The Twins shortstop is slashing just .200/.276/.400 with six homers and 21 RBI through 36 games. The fans in Minnesota have responded with boos, and rightfully so.
Just how stacked is the American League East? Well, put it this way: every team in the division would be in first place if they played in the American League Central.
Rapid Fire
The Mets signed Gary Sanchez to a minor league contract after the veteran catcher opted out of his Giants deal.
Justin Verlander beat the Reds to become the 21st pitcher in league history to defeat all 30 MLB teams. Just another accomplishment to add to the future Hall of Famer’s ridiculous résumé.
Kenley Jansen became the seventh player in MLB history to reach the 400-save mark. The Red Sox honored his impressive feat by gifting him a customized bass guitar (Jansen is an avid bass player, apparently) and putting together a special tribute video.
Kris Bryant recorded his 1,000th career hit on Monday vs. Pittsburgh.
James Paxton had made only six starts since the end of the 2019 season due to injuries before making his Red Sox debut on Friday vs. the Cardinals. For now, he looks like a rock-solid addition to the staff. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out nine.
Mariners rookie Bryce Miller is the real deal. The 24-year-old pitched a gem against the Tigers on Saturday to improve his ERA to 0.47 through three starts. His eight total baserunners allowed in his first three career outings is the fewest since at least 1901 (minimum 15 innings pitched), according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
The Rumor Mill
The rumor mill isn’t all that active this time of year, but one little nugget is the reported trade interest across the league in Royals closer Aroldis Chapman. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports teams have inquired about the veteran flamethrower, who is off to a strong start with 21 strikeouts and only four earned runs through 14 appearances (13.2 IP).
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Have a great week.