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Riverbrian

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Everything posted by Riverbrian

  1. Riverbrian
    Stewart, Thorpe, Smeltzer, and don't forget Dobnak. I have always been in full support of giving any of these guys a shot. However... It's September 7th. It's probably too late. So, who do you choose? Do they have a sufficient sample of MLB performance data to aid the front office in the selection? Are you going to get enough data before the month is up to hand one of them a playoff roster spot? How many starts does Smeltzer get to prove he is the one? How many starts does Dobnak or Thorpe get... if Smeltzer uses some starts up and fails to prove he is the one? I can certainly understand the anger and disappointment directed toward Pineda. I have that same disappointment but Pineda isn't where my eyeballs are focused.
  2. Riverbrian
    We didn’t play well defensively in the fateful inning. I’m not blaming anyone but if that double play ball gets turned instead of Arraez bailing out Cron to get a single out. The commentary afterwards is different. I’m not going to single out Cron either. It’s baseball these things happen. The pitching did their job. Baldelli did his job.
  3. Riverbrian
    We all saw the match-up of Perez vs. Eovaldi and assumed it would be a pitchers duel. That's why I love baseball, it can't be played on paper. I love that Perez stepped up big, I love that Cave made a big catch, I love Astudillo pinch hitting and unexpectedly took 4 pitches before coming up big and I love the nice play he made at 2B. And of course "The Throw" coming from a guy who has made his share of throwing gaffes this year. This is baseball... Strap it on and do something between the lines. Tomorrow is a new day. However, I do want to look back at something and I hate being this guy after a fantastic win. It is not my intention for this to spin off a side topic in this thread because it was good news last night but it is relevant from a compare and contrast moment. Keep in mind... I have forgiven Tony Diaz for August 12th against the Indians but I do want to illustrate that Rosario was fielding a ball off the LF wall, quite a distance from home plate. When Rosario threw the ball, Devers was touching 3B. He made a perfect professional throw with two outs and got him by plenty. On the play August 12th... Adrianza was in similar position to where Devers was, either about to touch 3B or just touching third when LIndor was receiving the ball as the cut, not far from the infield. Much much shorter distance and a much easier throw for a professional... and of course there was 1 out. I think the Boston 3B coach made a sensible send with two outs. Rosario just got it done. I'm not doing this to bash Diaz one more time. I just think it was a compare and contrast moment. I've made mistakes in my life. I've forgiven Tony Diaz. On to Cleveland.
  4. Riverbrian
    Be careful what you wish for because it may happen. When the baseball gods wish to punish us... they answer our prayers.
  5. Riverbrian
    After assessment of the sampling. I'd say the Yankees are within the margin of error.
  6. Riverbrian
    Maybe sometime we will set the MLB singles record. But Today... This is what we get and nobody has done it before.
  7. Riverbrian
    Sabir, You have my attention. I'll be looking for more of your articles.
  8. Riverbrian
    It would have sucked for Stashak personally but... Cody could have been a little 10 day playoff gift to the Blue Wahoos.
  9. Riverbrian
    Service time is accrued when he is wearing a major league uniform. It stops ticking when he sent back to Rochester. The only concern that you would have is a possible need to take him off the 40 man roster. This would expose him to other teams. That's why adding a guy to the 40 man early is something that must be done carefully and why teams are not in a big rush with young players.
  10. Riverbrian
    I agree... I'm scratching my head over this. I'm sure they can maneuver if necessary but as you say... why maneuver? We had an extra 40 man spot to begin with plus Poppen to the 60 day. It seems intentional but for the life of me... I don't know why this was intended.
  11. Riverbrian
    Mildly interesting side note? Never happened before in the history of baseball. Juiced ball... break out the asterisk if you must. It wasn't that interesting of a loss... it was our 52nd loss... there will be more of them in September.
  12. Riverbrian
    I realize the MLB HR record has been a foregone conclusion for awhile, it was only a matter of time. I also realize that we just lost to Detroit. I also realize that Martin Perez is not setting any minds at ease. And I realize that we have a prolific contingent of posters who would rather discuss failure than discuss accomplishments. However... This team just broke the Home Run record and they did it before the Calendar turned September!!! You read this thread and you can only assume that the 52nd loss of the season obviously trumps the greatest home run hitting team ever assembled. Personally... I'm saying WOW!!! Thank You for giving me such a fantastic summer. I've witnessed history and I won't forget this.
  13. Riverbrian
    I agree with you Cody on what you seem to be suggesting. When you look at the total numbers, the bullpen has performed decently as a collective unit. The numbers certainly suggest that torches and pitchforks are not necessary. However... I've made this point and similar points for a long time. The bullpen is in inch deep. The starting rotation is in inch deep. The starters have carried the bulk of the water, you illustrate this with your post of total relief Innings pitched. The Yankees and Rays have rotation question marks and a deep bullpen so they are using the pen more than we do. Our starters have masked possible bullpen issues by staying healthy and pitching deep into games. . If anything changes in that equation (Injuries or bad performance from the starters). The bullpen will have to show that it can handle the additional responsibility like the Yankees and Rays currently do. If the bullpen were to suffer an injury to one of the key 5... who will rise up to fill the role.... will it become the key 4 by default... What happens if it becomes the key 4. I agree that the bullpen has performed decently for what we have asked for them... what happens when we ask more of them?
  14. Riverbrian
    You must also be hard on your stock broker.
  15. Riverbrian
    In my eyes. That’s a fundamental problem. Not Smeltzer specifically. This is how health can hurt you. All the other teams have 6th and 7th choices with a decent amount of innings. The 6th choice has had the chance to show they are better than the 5th choice or the chance to show that they are not better. We will roll with the 5th choice and say it’s the best we can do. We have created no options or escape valves for ourselves.
  16. Riverbrian
    And the answer to that question is yes. Not saying Graterol will but a rookie having an impact has happened before. Hand him the ball and Let us see.
  17. Riverbrian
    Why does it have to be "Graterol-led miracle". Do we have to have our expectations so high that we automatically hate life afterwards. Wouldn't it make sense to just see if he can simply improve a roster spot. Make us a little bit better... If he makes a lot better... Bonus!!!
  18. Riverbrian
    It'll take a lot of research to answer your question and I don't have time for that. However... You can start with the Rookie of the year candidates in both the American League and National League each year and put them on the list. If you don't want to compare him to Price that's understandable but right now... It's a low bar... Can Graterol out perform Stashak? If the answer is yes... you put him on the roster and you don't think twice about it.
  19. Riverbrian
    If he is the best they have down on the farm. They have no choice but to kick that clock into gear. Call him up and hand him the ball. He will not help us if he is not allowed to help. Now if you are convinced that the roster spots currently occupied by Stashak and Thorpe are the best we can do. Well then... there is no point messing around with Graterol. If you are convinced that Rogers, Romo, Dyson, May and Duffey and a couple of guys who will get the ball when it's 10-0 is enough... Well then... there is no point messing around with Graterol. If you are convinced that Rogers, Romo, Dyson, May and Duffey are enough to work with and that they are all guaranteed to be healthy for the playoffs. Well then... there is no point messing around with Graterol. If you are convinced that a rookie could never show up and get people out... Well then... there is no point messing around with Graterol. I am convinced of none of the above things. Call him up and hand him the ball... if he isn't ready... he isn't ready but there is really nothing to lose here and everything to gain. We have holes... we can either try to fill the holes or sit and complain that we have no one to fill the holes and not try. The choice between those two options is incredibly easy for me to make.
  20. Riverbrian
    I have no idea what happened... but tell me if you could imagine this following scenario to be at least possible. Twins are talking with the Blue Jays about Stroman. The Jays are asking for Kiriloff but haven't said no to what the Twins are asking the Jays to consider which is Duran plus Enlow. At the same time... Twins are also talking with the Mets about Syndergaard. The Mets are asking for Buxton. The Twins are offering Kiriloff and Duran and the Mets like those players but want Graterol added to the deal and The Twins ask if that would get the deal done. The Mets reply with that sounds good but I'm still talking with the Padres so give Buxton some more thought because that will get the deal done. The Padres really want Syndergaard and they think they are offering a fair package, that is similar to what the Twins are offering... let say Renfroe and Gore. The Mets are asking for Tatis and hoping either the Padres or Twins cave. Meanwhile the Blue Jays are sticking with asking for Kiriloff but the Twins can't trade Kiriloff yet because Kiriloff is part of a package that the Mets are considering for Syndergaard and the Twins would rather have Syndergaard so trading for Stroman would kill the Syndergaard deal and they don't really want to give up Kiriloff if they don't have to. The Twins also can't commit to Duran to the Jays since he is part of the Sydergaard deal. So they tell the Blue Jays... do me a favor... give me a call back if you are close to making a deal... maybe we can sweeten this thing and they wait for a call from the Mets. Meanwhile... A scout in the Blue Jays system really likes a couple pitchers in the Mets system and convinces the Jays GM that it would be a good exchange for Stroman. The Jays run their reports and they feel that it's an equal value to the Twins Duran/Enlow offer. The Jays call the Twins again and ask for Kiriloff and the Twins need to hear back from the Mets. So the Blue Jays call the Mets and ask if they would trade Kay and Woods-Richardson for Stroman. The Mets think about it and agree. It was the Blue Jays offer so the agreement is in place. The Mets after receiving Stroman decide that the rotation is looking promising for 2020 and pull Syndergaard off the table. The Twins finally get a chance to talk with the Blue Jays after it's all over and say... I told you I could sweeten the deal if you called back. I'm sure it happened differently but is a scenario like that possible?
  21. Riverbrian
    Of course, I have no idea what it's like in the room but it doesn't take a lot of imagination to assume fairly safely that it has be somewhat chaotic. I agree with Brock because of free will, takes two to tango. No matter who the Twins are calling, they are most likely holding out for more, while taking phone calls from others and holding out for more while knowing that they have the clock for leverage. The front office obviously had to know that the team needed a boost on the mound. Hopefully they had to know the need was a significant boost. To suggest that they low-balled, actually suggests a certain ineptness or failure to recognize the need they had. There are no signs of them being passive in their small sample size of acquisitions, like Terry Ryan was (in my opinion). So, if they know the need was somewhat acute (they had to... right?) and we can assume that there were probably more buyers than sellers. and in hindsight, like Brock suggests, there were a lot of players simply not traded when a lot of teams were shopping. I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume the prices must have been way too high. However, Chief... I'll throw you a bone with a suspicion, that throws a little water on what I just typed. The players they did acquire... Romo and Dyson. Both have personal histories with the decision makers. Romo with Baldelli (Rays) and Dyson with Lavine (Rangers). It probably means nothing but it does a present a whiff of... I don't know... Cautiousness? Diaz and Davis were pretty good hitting prospects that they gave up. It's enough for me to wonder, if they were willing to pay the price with a little familiarity in the product. I hope not.
  22. Riverbrian
    Defensive stats are half-baked. As long as defensive stats are included in WAR... War is probably three quarters-baked. Grossman on top of any stat will tell you that. He's standing in the right spot often enough and that's all it takes. Grossman could be last next year because he wasn't standing in the right spot often enough.
  23. Riverbrian
    It's hard to say what the prices were. If the prices were indeed too high... then OK. They have been somewhat aggressive since they walked in the door so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. Back in June when we had a huge lead and we were all looking at the trade deadline for playoff enhancement. The majority of our TD posters were focused on the bullpen and that is understandable. We did need bullpen arms there was no question about it. However, I believed then and I believe now that a quality starter was a much bigger priority. Back when we were rolling... Our starters were taking care of the majority of the innings and our offense was driving up huge run differentials. These two things really masked the bullpen situation that eventually came to a conclusion in June with the release of 4 of them. I believed then... based on how the team was getting the job done. If we lost a starter or two to injury or if a starter or two develop a case of the struggles (See Perez... See Berrios). It would reveal a hole in both the rotation and the pen because the pen would have to pick up the slack. There are times when I hate being right all the time. Since I'm not seeing Smeltzer or Dobnak making any starts and it is late August and I'm seeing Thorpe being held silent unless the game is not in doubt. I fully believe it is the plan of the front office to hold and simply fight through these issues with Berrios and Perez. This is incredibly risky. It might work out fine... but this is incredibly risky in my opinion. If the health in the rotation holds (History suggests it won't)... this means that the starting rotation will absorb a lot of innings. If the health doesn't hold... they will have to turn to someone that they don't have near enough MLB data on... basically bet red and hope the roulette wheel turns up red. If the health does hold... they will be running low on gas... Right about the time we really really need them... In the playoffs. Being primarily healthy in the rotation is not lucky. It really isn't. That said... we can still do this thing. I'll be watching faithfully.
  24. Riverbrian
    I think it's possible that your memory of the teams in the 2000's has adjusted over time. We all died a little with every loss back then just like we are this year. We had holes on those teams that we wished would plug. It's the same thing as this year. This is how it goes in a pennant race and I'm willing to bet that the Cleveland fans feel the same. Yankees Fans Astros Fans A's Fans Rays Fans Braves Fans Nats Fans Mets Fans Philies Fans Cards Fans Cubs Fans Brewers Fans Dodgers Fans (OK Maybe not this group)
  25. Riverbrian
    I agree with you about Buxton. He is special player and we are a better team with him in the lineup. Although, the Winning percentage probably isn't as simple as "Buck In - Buck Out" because of the 24 other factors to consider with special emphasis on the decline of the pitching staff during that time. Could Buxton's defense be a factor as you point out... sometimes yes... but overall, this team has players in reserve who can perform. Besides... I think if you look around the league... Nearly every team is missing a key piece and finding ways around it... just like we are with Buck. Pitching is where my worried head spends its time.
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