Joe Mantiply has gone from minor league free agent to All Star.
Diamondbacks News
Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Joe Mantiply named All-Star reserve (AZ Central)
“You always dream that obviously this is something that you can do, it’s hard to look forward and predict that for yourself. Through surgery and all that, I just wanted to get back on the field and get back to the big leagues. I felt like I always had something to prove at the big league level. I thought I could pitch well and be a very good player. To see all of that unfold and come to fruition has been rewarding,” Mantiply said.
“It means the world” – Joe Mantiply on being selected to the All Star Game, as quoted on arizonasports.com
After long journey, Mantiply a 1st-time All-Star (dbacks.com)
“Torey gave a very nice intro and kind of some background on my career,” Mantiply said. “So a little bit into it, I kind of started to figure out who he was talking about, so it started to hit home there.”
3 unearned runs allowed in seventh dooms Diamondbacks in loss to Rockies (AZ Central)
“You can see what happens at this level. You give a team an extra out or two, they’re going to make you pay for it a lot of times,” Lovullo said. “There’s an identifiable situation. I know ‘Ro’ (Rojas) has been doing a great job at third base, been busting his butt. But when you don’t fundamentally pick up the baseball and do it the way you’re supposed to do, it could lead to the exact situation that happened.”
D-backs blow lead to Rockies despite not allowing an earned run in loss (Arizona Sports)
“Gilbert today was fantastic for 5.2 (innings). We had him around that 80-pitch limit,” manager Torey Lovullo said postgame. “I was tempted to let him face the next batter, but it was time to turn it over to the bullpen. We were a little short down there, we were staying away from Noe (Ramirez) today. But we felt like we had the right matchups, the right situation and we just couldn’t get out of that one inning when we made one big defensive miscue.”
D-backs fall after strong start: ‘That one hurts’ (dbacks.com)
“It was hit to my backhand, I knew Daza had good speed and I just tried to rush it,” Rojas said of the errant throw. “Looking back on video, I think we’re only getting one no matter what. So if I could do it all over again, I would just shuffle my feet, make a good throw and get one [out] at second. But just trying to catch it and throw in one motion, didn’t move my feet and left it short. It cost us three runs. That one hurts.”
Diamondbacks recall RHP Edwin Uceta from Triple-A, option Sean Poppen (Arizona Sports)
The Arizona Diamondbacks recalled reliever Edwin Uceta from Triple-A Reno and optioned right-handed pitcher Sean Poppen after Saturday’s win against the Colorado Rockies, the team announced.
Injuries & Moves: Kennedy throwing bullpens (dbacks.com)
Per D-backs manager Torey Lovullo, Kennedy should not have to miss a lot of time because he’s been able to keep throwing while waiting for the clot (in his right calf, [DBE]) to dissolve.
Yankees Interested In Andrew Benintendi, David Peralta (MLBTR.com)
The Yankees have also been scouting Diamondbacks outfielder David Peralta, USA Today’s Bob Nightengale writes, with Nightengale describing Peralta as a “fallback option” if Benintendi isn’t acquired.
Around The MLB
Yanks lead way in 2022 ASG team-by-team breakdown (MLB.com)
The MLB-best Yankees headline this year’s class with six representatives, and the defending World Series champion Braves have the most All-Stars of any NL team with five. But all 30 teams are represented.
2022 MLB All-Star Game snubs: Freddie Freeman, Ty France, Carlos Rodón left off rosters
Lots of players with strong numbers didn’t make the ASG.
Who has been your most influential teammate? (Fangraphs.com)
“Paul has been the most influential, because I trust his assessment of the pitcher and his approach far more than anything I would create on my own.”
“Paul Goldschmidt.” – Harrison Bader (Cardinals) on who has influenced him the most in his game.
Braves acquire Robinson Canó from Padres in exchange for cash (CBS Sports)
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Across The Atlantic
“We can train in bomb shelters.” With the U-12 coach Yevgenii Tkachenko about baseball in Ukraine
“It was very difficult (to get to the tournament, DBE). We have players from the city of Mykolaiv which is occupied and bombarded by Russians right now. On the way to Vienna, we got stuck at the Polish borders in a queue of buses full of people who wanted to emigrate from Ukraine to Europe. We were waiting for about 10 hours there as the borders were closed.”
“Kids were very happy and brave because despite all the current conditions in Ukraine with sirens, bombarding and all those noises around, they still wanted to come together and practice because they wanted to play the tournament.” – U12 Ukraine baseball coach Tkachenko on the preparation for the European tournament
As The World Turns
2023 World Baseball Classic Groups Announced
Group A (Taichung) will contain host Taiwan, Cuba, Italy, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and one of the four qualifiers. Group B (Tokyo) will contain Australia, China, host Japan, Korea, and one of the four qualifiers. Group C (Phoenix) will contain Canada, Columbia, Mexico, host USA, and one of the four qualifiers. And finally Group D. Not that the other groups are a walk in the park, but Group D contains extremely strong countries in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. Next to these three powerhouses, Israel and one of the four qualifiers will be in this group.
Across The Pacific
Beijing wins China National Baseball Champions Cup
Beijing defeated Jangsu, 4-1, in the final of the China Baseball National Champions Cup. Sichuan finished in third place.