Here is the latest out of the National League Central:
- Reds right-hander Sonny Gray will make his 2021 debut Friday or Saturday, manager David Bell told C. Trent Rosecrans of The Athletic and other reporters. The Reds have gone without Gray because of a back injury, depriving them of one of their best starters. Their Gray-less rotation has received quality work across a combined six starts from Wade Miley, Jeff Hoffman and Tyler Mahle. On the other hand, ace Luis Castillo has been surprisingly inconsistent.
- Cubs righty Kyle Hendricks wasn’t feeling well heading into Tuesday’s start, so the Cubs made him a late scratch against Milwaukee and gave the ball to Alec Mills instead. The team said it scratched Hendricks “out of an abundance of caution,” which is understandable when considering the Cubs’ current health situation. They’ve sent four players to the COVID list this week, and coaches Craig Driver and Chris Young have tested positive for the virus in recent days. [UPDATE: Manager told Gordon Wittenmyer of NBC Sports Chicago and other reporters that Hendricks tested negative. An IL placement is a possibility, though.]
- Lefty Kwang Hyun Kim will join the Cardinals’ rotation on Saturday in his first appearance of 2021, while righty Daniel Ponce de Leon will move to their bullpen, per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Kim, who began dealing with back problems last month, was an eminently valuable part of the Cardinals’ pitching staff as a rookie in 2020. Across eight appearances (seven starts) and 39 innings, Kim notched a miserly 1.62 ERA. Some of his other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive (examples: 7.8 K-BB percentage, 5.00 SIERA), but he helped his cause by tamping down hard contact and keeping the ball on the ground at a 50 percent clip.
- Brewers center fielder Lorenzo Cain exited their game versus Chicago with “left quad discomfort,” Adam McCalvy of MLB.com tweets. The Brewers shifted Jackie Bradley Jr. to center and brought in Billy McKinney to handle left when Cain departed. Cain also dealt with a quad issue (on his right side) in spring training, but that didn’t prevent him from debuting on time this season. It remains to be seen whether this will cost him any time.
The phrase “shifted JBJ to center” sounds so strange, he’s certainly the best CF who has ever worn a Red Sox uniform.
Yeah why sign JBJ and not play him in center
Ever hear of a guy named Fred Lynn?
Yup watched him play with the Bristol Red Sox and met him a few times, most recently at the All-Star Game in Miami. Nice guy and very good CF but JBJ’s superior arm strength and range is what gives him the edge over Fragile Freddie. I never saw The Gray Eagle play, but from what I know he was better than Freddie too.
*Defensive* CFer.
It’s an odd alignment. I assume they don’t want to hurt Cain’s feelings or something. I like JBJ as much as anyone, and would have liked to have him back (at a cheaper price). But if you are playing his bat as a corner OF, you overpaid.
Watch some Fred Lynn highlights in Youtube. And Fred could hit consistently.
Jimmy Piersall was the greatest Red Sox CF ever.
Willie Mays said Piersall was the best CF that he ever saw.
Matt Cain comeback time
Getting pretty tired of hearing the phrase “out of an abundance of caution”.
Would you prefer “so we don’t get sued later”?
I always see it as “Al Bundy Dance of Caution” so I’m cool with the phrase being overused.
7.8 percent K-BB ratio??
Take away the percent and it’s a great ratio. So who knows what the writer meant.
@ahh I agree that the phrase you cited is misleading, As I understand it, the term “ratio” should be be dropped to more accurately reflect what is being represented. I am pretty sure 7.8% K/BB is simply a percentage and NOT a ratio.
AS a former healthcare worker who prepared for a few state surveys, I had a similar gripe. There was verbiage about disinfecting surfaces with a 1:10 Cl-water ratio as well as a 10% Cl solution. I would be the math geek and complain, “You do know that 1:10 ratio is not the same as 10%. right? A 1:-10 ratio is really 1/11. and not equal to a 10% solution.”
Pardon my digression, but it reminded me of a similar misuse of a ratio and representing it as a percentage or a fraction. But writers typically aren’t “math types.” yet can still be capable writers.
It means his K% minus his BB% is 7.8%.
Let me tell you something, when Ponce looked in that mirror and saw that he hadn’t changed, and that tear started to roll down his cheek, I lost it.
He’s still no Sandy Leon on the field.
With Cain hurt, I don’t understand why the Brewers don’t send Vogelbach out to patrol center. At least it would be fun to watch…
Funny. The only time Vogelbach should be near CF is running poles.
Couldn’t hurt. Not like anyone on the Crew can seem to hit the damn ball anyway!
Are hits down across the league? The Reds seem to be scoring, but I’m wondering if that new deadened ball is showing any early affects statistically yet? Never seen so many pitchers duels in this short a span…
Vogelbach in center? You might as well
Pick one of the sausage racers.
still cant believe the Cubs started a guy who threw a no hitter last year in the pen.
There usually aren’t any hitters when a guy throws in the pen.
I hope Kim comes back strong. That starting rotation needs some serious help.
Cain now on 10 day IL
Neither of Castillo’s starts were above 40 degrees at game time. Warmer temps and you’ll see the heat from Luis.