Tag: Anthony Rizzo

MLB fans ripped the Yankees for letting Anthony Rizzo play 2 months with ‘likely’ undiagnosed concussion

How is this even possible and who’s responsible?

The New York Yankees suddenly have something a lot more pressing to answer for than their disappointing 2023 season.

After announcing that Anthony Rizzo would be going to the IL with a concussion on Thursday, manager Aaron Boone made an important clarification about the injury. He said that Rizzo’s concussion likely dated back to a collision with Fernando Tatis Jr. during a series against the San Diego Padres. Oh, alright. Well, it’s good to know they know when it happened, I suppose.

Except the said collision with Tatis Jr. happened in late May. Either the Yankees failed to diagnose Rizzo properly, or they just ignored any signs altogether, but this situation doesn’t have the best optics already.

Rizzo has continued to be an everyday player for the Yankees since that Padres series. He cleared initial concussion protocols, but evidently, those weren’t extensive enough. This is two months of Rizzo needing help with severe brain trauma and not getting it. I don’t know who screwed up or how, but that is unacceptable.

Plus, if that isn’t enough, Rizzo reportedly told the Yankees he was experiencing brain “fogginess” — a classic symptom of a concussion — and they still played him in two recent games against the Tampa Bay Rays.

I mean, come on.

Whatever happened with Rizzo here, it’s inexcusable, and I’d love to hear a logically sound explanation from the Yankees about it.

Anthony Rizzo had a hilarious reasoning for changing his walk-up song to Taylor Swift

This isn’t the first time Anthony Rizzo has used a Taylor Swift track as a walk-up song!

This isn’t the first time Anthony Rizzo has used a Taylor Swift track as his walk-up song and given his performance, it probably won’t be the last!

On Sunday, the New York Yankees bested the Kansas City Royals 8-5. The win was a much-needed one, capping off a sweep of the Royals and getting the Yankees right back in the wild card hunt. A big part of the Yankees’ Sunday success was thanks to the bat of Rizzo, who went 4-for-4 on the day with a solo home run in the third inning.

Yankees beat reporters and fans, however, noticed Rizzo’s new walk-up song — “…Ready For It?” by Taylor Swift — that debuted earlier in the day. After his monster game, Rizzo had quite the hilarious explanation as to why he went with a song from Swift’s illustrious catalogue of music.

“Taylor Swift, it’s her summer, really. She’s helping the economy in every city she goes.”

Considering Swift is absolutely dominating the summer, I can’t argue with that reasoning! Plus, Rizzo snapped the longest home run drought of his career — his first long ball since May 20 — after the change, so I expect he’ll keep the song for a little while longer.

Anthony Rizzo and MLB fans were furious after an umpire ruled that he didn’t avoid a pitch that hit him

The Yankees first baseman was absolutely irate after this call.

It’s safe to say that Anthony Rizzo was not a fan of this ruling from the home plate umpire.

On Monday, the New York Yankees were hosting the Tampa Bay Rays, with the score tied 0-0 in the bottom of the third. During Rizzo’s at bat, the first baseman was plunked in the thigh with an inside slider. As Rizzo was making his way towards first, home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn emphatically called him back to the plate, signaling that the Yankees first baseman didn’t make enough effort to get out of the way of the ball.

It’s a ruling that’s rarely called in baseball, but one that Rizzo seemingly violated on this pitch. And boy, was he furious!

After some heated discussion, Rizzo went back into the batter’s box, with the official ruling calling it a ball that he failed to make an attempt to get away from.

Instead of trotting along to first on a hit by pitch, Rizzo eventually struck out during that at bat, causing his frustrations to boil over into the dugout after he returned.

With three wins in their last 13 games, it’s no wonder tensions are starting to boil over for the Yankees as their massive lead at the top of the AL East slowly starts to slip away. Here’s how MLB fans reacted to the ruling and Rizzo’s meltdown.

An MLB fan turned $20K into $85K off an incredible 6-player home run parlay

A night of countless, profitable dingers.

This season, it’s been hard not to speculate whether the MLB has done something to its baseballs.

For a while, home runs were down — way down — and of course, that meant scoring was down, too. Pitchers couldn’t get a good grip on the ball with a crackdown on substances that help with such an issue. Hitters couldn’t mash the ball the way they wanted to.

If you were a betting person, it probably would’ve been a bit silly to bet on a home run or scoring burst. But hey: Sometimes you have to be bold for glory. One lucky fan, who apparently thought there might be a wave of home runs on Friday, hit the absolute jackpot.

Between 15 different games and all 30 teams, players hit 57 home runs on Friday. You read that right. A big 5-7, tied for the fourth-most on any single day in MLB history:

And because the bettor thought Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Joc Pederson, and Joey Votto would all hit dingers on the same day: That very fortunate fan turned $20,000 into a near-whopping $85,000.

Wow. Talk about striking the exact right chord with a bet. Baseball has a home run day for the ages, and a fan cashes in on incredible dinger after dinger. There are definitely worse ways to spend a Friday.

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Anthony Rizzo managed to pull off the least powerful 3-HR game thanks to Yankee Stadium

He’s loving the Little League field.

Home runs are down across all of baseball, but I don’t think we’re going to hear MLB home run leader Anthony Rizzo complain about that anytime soon. He seems to be enjoying the short porch to right field at Yankee Stadium just fine.

Rizzo hit three home runs in Tuesday’s 12-8 win over the Baltimore Orioles. And while a three-homer game is always noteworthy, Rizzo found a way to make some history in the process.

No player in the Statcast era has pulled off a three-homer game with a shorter average home run distance than what Rizzo had on Tuesday (350 feet). His first home run of the game was measured at 345 feet, and it would only have been a home run at … Yankee Stadium.

Conveniently for Rizzo, he *was* playing at Yankee Stadium.

His third home run of the game was especially hilarious as it barely creeped in beside the foul pole at 327 feet.

The Orioles broadcast practically had a meltdown over it. But hey, history is history — he’ll take it.

MLB fans had plenty of thoughts about Yankee Stadium — one of our worst-ranked ballparks — following the “historic” night for Rizzo .

Anthony Rizzo’s beautiful long bunt against the shift had MLB fans rightfully in awe

Now this his how you beat the shift!

There’s something really enjoyable about watching a professional baseball player laying down a perfect bunt and getting to first base before anyone can throw him out.

Usually, though, that bunt is one that doesn’t travel far but finds the right sweet spot where nobody can get you out.

That wasn’t the case last night in New York when Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo laid down one of the longest bunts (maybe it was the longest in history, who knows!?) against the Blue Jays.

Oh, and this looks like this is the perfect way to beat the shift. Every hitter should work on perfecting this because they’d get on base every time.

Watch this thing of beauty:

So good, right?

MLB fans loved it:

Fans loved how Joc Pederson used Anthony Rizzo’s bat to hit a huge 3-run HR for the Braves

Hey, it worked!

Joc Pederson was the first midseason move the Braves made to bolster their outfield amid Ronald Acuña Jr.’s season-ending injury, and he’s continued to make a major impact in the postseason (it’s Joctober, after all).

But he may have to send some thanks to former Cubs teammate Anthony Rizzo.

During the fifth inning of Monday’s National League Division Series Game 3 in Atlanta, Pederson came to the plate as a pinch hitter for Ian Anderson with two runners on. Pederson, who was already 2 for 2 in the series with a home run, launched a massive three-run home run to the right field Chop House.

Cubs’ Anthony Rizzo struck out Freddie Freeman with a filthy 61 MPH pitch

Baseball is fun.

Position players pitching will never get old, especially when they’re doing stuff like throwing 46 MPH tosses for strikes.

Anthony Rizzo, the Chicago Cubs first baseman who was on the mound in the seventh inning because the Atlanta Braves were up 10-0, threw a pitch that was slightly faster … but the result was striking out reigning National League MVP Freddie Freeman.

Both parties involved — and everyone else — loved it.

The pitch itself actually had a little movement, enough to get Freeman to whiff and smile, and you’ve got to love the crowd at Truist Park going nuts for that moment too. Baseball is fun.

Freeman, obviously, was fine with that:

Almost as good as that time Rizzo screamed “FREDERICK!” when he caught Freeman in a rundown earlier this season.

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A mic’d up Anthony Rizzo hilariously screamed at Freddie Freeman in the middle of a rundown

FREDERICK!

Anthony Rizzo generally looks like he’s having fun playing baseball, whether he’s offering hand sanitizer at first base last year or joking around while mic’d up.

This time, with a mic on him during Sunday night’s Atlanta Braves 13-4 blowout of the Chicago Cubs, Rizzo had Freddie Freeman in a rundown and he started shouting “FREDERICK! FREDERICK!” at him as he chased down the first baseman on the basepath.

For the record, Rizzo is correct: Freeman’s full first name is indeed Frederick, and even if it wasn’t, this is just fantastic and delightful. Nice to get a glimpse at pro athletes having fun like they were kids:

From now on, he’s FREDERICK. Those are the rules.

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Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Tuesday’s Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds sports betting odds and lines, with MLB betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Chicago Cubs (3-1) play the Cincinnati Reds (1-3) in the second game of a four-game series Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. ET at Great American Ball Park. We analyze the Cubs-Reds betting odds and lines, with MLB picks and best bets.

Cubs at Reds: Projected starting pitchers

RHP Alec Mills vs. RHP Tyler Mahle

Mills got into the rotation due to SP José Quintana slicing his thumb on broken glass while washing dishes.

He is 1-1 with a 3.77 ERA through six career starts and 19 total appearances. He has struck out 69 hitters over 57 1/3 innings pitched.

Mahle (2019): 3-12 with a 5.14 ERA over 25 starts and 129 2/3 innings

  • 2019 vs. Cubs: 0-0 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts (eight strikeouts in 11 IP).
  • Career vs. Cubs: 2-1 with a 3.64 ERA over five starts (25 strikeouts in 29 2/3 IP).

Get some action on this game or any other matchup with an MLB bet at BetMGM in NJ, IN, CO and WV. Bet now!

Cubs at Reds: Key injuries

Visit sportsdata.usatoday.com to track all MLB injuries leading up to game time.

Reds

  • 2B Mike Moustakas (illness) out
  • C Tucker Barnhart (personal) out
  • 1B Matt Davidson (COVID-19) out
  • OF Nick Senzel (illness) questionable

Cubs at Reds, lines, picks and betting tips

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 11 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Cubs 8, Reds 4

Moneyline (ML)

Despite their current 1-3 record, the Reds (-115) had three straight quality starts (six or more innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs) out of their first three starters. Monday, the Cubs (+105) got to SP Wade Miley early, chasing him after 1 2/3 innings pitched and five earned runs surrendered, in an 8-7 win.

Tuesday’s Reds’ starter, Mahle, fills in for regular No. 5 starter Anthony DeSclafani, who’s recovering from a shoulder injury. There’s a reason Mahle isn’t a regular starter; he has an 11-23 career record with a 4.88 ERA. Look for Cubs SS Javier Baez and LF Kyle Schwarber to find their stride—both of which have four hits in 10 at-bats against Mahle.

Also, the absence of Moustakas in the Reds lineup will make it easier for Mills, an inexperienced major league starter, to navigate. Cincinnati is ranked 22nd in batting average and has the second-most runners left on base.

BET CUBS (+105). New to sports betting? A $100 bet on the Cubs (+105) earns a profit of $105 if Chicago beats Cincinnati.

Run line/Against the spread (ATS)

The Reds (+1.5, -176) have lost three games by a combined four runs. Seven of the Cubs’ (-1.5, +145) eight wins over the Reds last year were by two-plus runs.

Since we are betting Chicago on the moneyline I lean to them here, however, I’ll PASS on the run line because of the suboptimal value.

Over/Under (O/U)

I LIKE OVER 10 (-110) in Cubs-Reds. The Over has cashed in the last four Cubs road games and in the last five starts for Mahle at home.

Cincinnati is due for some runs because of all those runners left on base and their 27th ranking in BABIP (batting average on balls in play).

New to sports betting? A $55 wager on Over 10 (-110) pulls a $50 profit if the two teams combine for at least 11 runs.

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