Adam Wainwright’s 200th career win (from seven innings of shutout ball against the Brewers on September 18) has been confirmed as the last pitching appearance of the right-hander’s outstanding career, but Wainwright stepped up to the plate one final time in yesterday’s 19-2 Cardinals loss to the Reds. With the game already out of hand by the sixth inning, Wainwright pinch-hit for DH Luken Baker, and grounded out to second to conclude the 847th plate appearance of his career.
There was a loose plan in place to give Wainwright at least one PA during the final series of his career, though with the Reds still alive in the playoff race, the Cardinals weren’t going to do anything to do impact the integrity of the game just for the sake of a ceremonial at-bat. However, the lopsided score Friday provided an opportunity for Wainwright to hit for what will likely be the final time, barring another blowout result in the next two games or if the Reds are officially eliminated from contention. Wainwright has a .194/.221/.293 slash line and 10 homers during his career.
More from the NL Central…
- The Cubs activated Adbert Alzolay from the 15-day injured list yesterday, as the closer was able to return a little less than three weeks after suffering a right forearm strain. Alzolay threw a scoreless inning of relief in Friday’s 4-3 extra-innings loss to the Brewers, which dropped Chicago 1.5 games behind the Marlins for the final NL wild card berth. The Cubs are now 6-14 in their last 20 games, and with several bullpen meltdowns contributing to that poor record, it isn’t a stretch to say that the loss of Alzolay (as well as a few other reliever injuries) might end up costing Chicago a playoff berth. The injury news got worse for the Cubs yesterday when second baseman Nico Hoerner had to make an early exit due to a bruised knee, after fouling a ball off the inside of his knee during a sixth-inning plate appearances. X-rays were negative on Hoerner, though it remains to be seen if he’ll be ready to play during a must-win game for the Cubs today.
- The Reds placed right-hander Daniel Duarte on the 15-day injured list yesterday (retroactive to September 28) due to tightness in his throwing shoulder. Righty Carson Spiers was called up from Triple-A in the corresponding move. The injury will conclude Duarte’s rookie season with 31 2/3 innings and a 3.69 ERA working out of the Reds’ bullpen, though Duarte was perhaps fortunate to post such a respectable ERA given that his walks (20) almost matched his strikeout total (23). Duarte made his MLB debut with three games for Cincinnati in 2022 but spent most of the season on the injured list with elbow problems. He made it back for a full and relatively healthy season in advance of his new shoulder issue, and Duarte’s 31 2/3 frames came in between several options up and down from Triple-A.
MLB should get rid of the rule that allows a pitcher to get a save if he enters the game and throws for the last 3+ innings if the lead is huge. Carson Spiers “saved” the game for the Reds last night, entering when it was 14-2. Final score: 19-2
That 3 inning rule was always bogus in my opinion. Now three runs or less, that’s a different conversation.
Irrelevant
Spiers didn’t actually save the game last night, but he did save the bullpen. That means more to the Reds right now.
MLB should get rid of the rule that allows a pitcher to get a win if he enters the game before the 5th inning and throws an inning if the lead is huge?
Where does it end?
3 innings or more at the end of the game IS a save. Heck, for EITHER team. My gosh, the Yankees use the same five guys over and over until they blow their arms out. So when Po Piddley tosses three innings, he’s extending someone’s career.
Criminy jickets.
Where does it end? It ends where you say it does? Nobody makes you watch or notice these things? But you sure do have alot of negative things to say about your observations?
True, Hemlock, but the guy you put in to “save” a huge lead isn’t likely to bank any big awards or salary based on that save so it probably doesn’t matter.
Now… someone somewhere should test this? Throw the same long guy in for 3 innings every blow out and see if those 5 saves a year earn him a few extra million in arbitration or free agency? Scott Boras can you smell the coffee brewing?
Getting nine outs is three times as much work getting 3 outs. So there’s that. What if a guy pitches 4 innings at the end of the game? Is that a save? How about blowing a 9-0 lead? It happened this year. So is protecting a nine run lead for the last three innings worth getting a save? Where do we make this stat not bother someone who’s afraid they’re going to lose their fantasy league? OMG, the decisions we have to make about baseball. Can we turn the clocks every day so we can have 25 hours to do all these things that need to get done?
Once again, criminy jickets.
Duarte is proof that ERA means squat for relievers. Inherited runners scoring is more accurate. They usually end up on someone else’s ledger. Walks given up should be looked at as well. Strikeouts only mean something when they mean something, like getting out of jams.
Does anyone thing that David Ross gets fired If the Chicago Cubs miss the playoff. Most Cubs here In Chicago think David Is Jed Hoyer lap dog and only way Ross goes. Is that Jed gets canned.
Any Thoughts
Ross is probably going to be a scapegoat even though he managed a bad team to a winning record and nearly making the playoffs. It’s clear that, except for Suzuki, the entire team ran out of gas the past few weeks. It’s just baseball.
Ross won’t get fired even though he should, they just extended him last off-season and despite missing the playoffs (almost guaranteed with the loss last night) will talk about all the improvements the team made this year.
Fact is, this team has nothing to be proud of this year, they rolled over the last month of the season, Ross and Hoyer are going to blame it on “Ill-timed” injuries but the fact is Ross managed us out of the post season.
Jed made his mistakes this year, keeping Brown and Little down too long instead of solidifying the pen earlier, but Ross ultimately screwed the pooch with his in game management and personnel usage
Ross was an emotional hire.
“Let’s hire the dude who helped us win a championship. The old man with a great 2016 WS. The guy who is a hero in the city”
Rarely works. He really can’t manage and the last 2 months have shown it.
He pulls Hendricks after giving up the 2 run triple to santana last night. He should have been pulled when he lost the plate. Even the brewers announcers said so
“He pulls Hendricks after giving up the 2 run triple to santana last night. He should have been pulled when he lost the plate. Even the brewers announcers said so.”
That’s sad that the announcers are better managers than the manager.
I think most Reds fans here would go Ross for Bell conracts and all. We’d even give ya Martini back.But no DJ- he stays.
Ross being an ex-Red, maybe. I think it’s pretty much up in the air though, and I usually prefer ex-catchers for obvious reasons.
Ross should be fired, he seemed to not even have a clue on what to do, when things started to unravel in early September.
Also though, some people need to lighten up on Hoyer. So many people seem to forget or not realize that Jed hired a GM – Hawkins. And I say that, while admitting that none of us can be sure exactly who made the decisions like not calling up Mervis, nor giving Mervis another opportunity – later in the season as many of the regulars in the lineup, failed to produce. However I do believe that Ross was the culprit for making out the same lineup without ever giving any young position players a chance at helping out – or to give the worn out players, a breather.
I’m not going to advocate for Mervis but Ross let Canario and PCA rot on the bench.
I think Hoyer has done a good job, the farm is solid, we are producing ml players, pitchers particularly, the team was actually really solid as well. I hated Mancini and Smyly from the jump, liked Hosmer, Barnhart I think should have been kept in the system. I probably wouldn’t have DFAd him if I knew he wouldn’t accept a minor league deal with the team.
There both “cup bumping” in the office? 2016 world series parody music playing in the background
I hope he does get fired. He’s not been a good manager, though a likable guy. They need someone with more experience.
Just thinking… is Gary Sheffield a potential Hall of Famer? 500 homers… 2,500 hits… he’s in right?
Unless voters choose to vote PED users into the HOF, Sheffield will remain out. He admitted to using PEDs.
David Ortiz was a user in anybody’s eyes but the writers’. It is said that he even admitted to testing positive. His head growth from large to XXX large is another indication. But he got in unanimously.
Barry Bonds is the best hitter in history whether former users in Veteran Commitee votes him or not.
That damned RINGWORM again!
There should be a hall of 100 WAR players before steroid use? In which case Barry Bonds would be a first ballot unanimous elect, but you know I should stick to the drugs or what ever else I’m smoking?
he admitted to rubbing cream on but he didn’t know the special sauce in the cream was steroids
mlb.mlb.com/content/printer_friendly/mlb/y2004/m10….
I believe Gary could well have been that naive.
They always blame the manager. If the players do their job he’s manager of the year with little expectations from the cubs
Fans of last place teams should log off.
Poop.
Wtf, no then you’d be calling me Fairweather (not to be confused with Mayweather) or bandwagon while I’m calling you a true outcome…
Lousy and useless… but all name calling and stone casting aside I got ACUNA for NL MVP SEAGAR for AL Snell for NL cy young, Gerrit Cole for AL, I don’t like rookies and Craig Counsell for NL manager of the year?
#Banallrookiesfromplaying
Most importantly Spencer Strider
You can shovel dirt on the Cubs and I have to blame Ricketts for not wanting to cross the luxury tax threshold and Jed Hoyer for not spending enough of what he had to improve that bullpen and starting rotation. That said, even the good players are at fault. Even guys like Swanson have choked down the stretch.
I agree that most of the starting lineup has faltered at the wrong time and the pitching has shockingly got them this far but I’m not sure about the lack of spending that contributed. There weren’t a ton of bullpen options out there in the offseason and I can’t think of any that broke the bank so not sure spending was the issue. The one I thought they should get was Chafin.
Honestly, I never expected them to do much this year. I thought it was going to be a two team race between MIL and STL.
“I have to blame Ricketts for not wanting to cross the luxury tax threshold”…If you look at the teams that make the playoffs year in and year out(Astros, Rays, Braves, Dodgers and possibly Brewers)it’s not because they spent over the tax threshold, it’s because they draft, trade and develop well every year. Several teams that overspent(Yankees, Mets and Padres)are going to miss the playoffs entirely, just like the Cubs.
You’re exactly right mlb fan. Spending wasn’t the problem with the Cubs collapse. I am a Ricketts critic, but I cannot complain about his budget allowances this year. Alzolay and Fulmer going down definitely hurt but there weren’t a lot of relievers available. I agree with drascoo that Little (for sure) and probably Brown should have been called up earlier. But would Ross have used them. He hasn’t shown much faith In Little, so far.
It’s crazy that Ross didn’t use Little more when the pen was burnt so badly.
I felt Brown should have been called up in June/July time frame when the Cubs were making the buyer/seller push. Instead, Hoyer gave a vote of no confidence in the club by sending Wesneski down to get “stretched out” in anticipation of a sell off.
The other was Thompson. While I know he hasn’t been the best this year, Ross never pitched him the entire time Alzolay was out. Even if a game or two that was pretty much out of reach, he opted for Smyly or Wesneski, contributing to their workload.
Agreed. We wasted all our expanded roster spots. I’m really hoping LA gets tired of Dave Roberts and the Cubs can swoop in and grab him. The way he’s been able to keep the club focused after Urias and Bauer has been incredible!
Who would’ve thought Wainwright would end his career making it all about himself. From team guy to me guy.
The team has had little to play for over the last months, so giving Wainwright a shot at 200 wins didn’t hurt anything.
He wasn’t going to pinch hit in a game that could affect the playoffs and only did so Friday because the game was a blowout.
I’m not sure how this is “making it all about himself.”
He should have walked last year with Yadie but he made about himself. A developmental pitcher could have gotten his starts and been more ready for next season.
Selfish move even if you wanted 200.
Every single player who plays prevents someone else from playing. Aren’t they all me guys then?
He’s was still pretty good last year and even in the World Baseball Classic as recently as March. It was completely unexpected (like many of the Cardinals’ pitching woes this season) that he would fall apart so completely this year.
I was worried after the WBC. Wainwright was getting by solely on low speed junk.
“He wasn’t going to pinch hit in a game that could affect the playoffs and only did so Friday because the game was a blowout.”
STL hasn’t played a game that affected the playoffs all month. Aside from that, when there was still a chance, Wainwright would go out, give up a bunch of runs and lose the game early on. He pushed to get that 200 wins all season when it was clear he was just putting STL in a hole each time. He did regain a bit of his form the last two starts but the ten before that were awful.
Sadly, there was no one better than Wainwright to take his place in the rotation.
It wasn’t about the Cardinals at all, it was about who they were playing. They didn’t want anyone accusing them of not trying to beat the Reds.
After 159 games of embarrassment, losing 19-2 barely raises the pulse.
I’ll share an all-too-familiar and still-somewhat-painful phrase with ya, Donnie O… “there’s always next year.”
Cheers buddy!
Please note per a number of MLB Including Ken R and John H and a few local newspaper Insider. Dave Ross contact Is 3 teams club options.
All of his guaranteed years were early In his deal.
So If Cubs show him the door and Chicago Cubs have not pick up his 2024 option he gets zero dollars from Tommy safe a dollar Rickets.
Huh?
March 11, 2022: The Chicago Cubs announced an agreement with manager David Ross on a three-year contract extension through 2024 that includes a club option for 2025.
Murph, that’s what I saw also regarding Ross deal. But if all it costs Ricketts is $2.5M to get a guy who knows how to manage young players better than Ross, then it’s money well spent.
Thank you for clarifying.