Riverbrian

His potential to start... or at least throw more innings... is something that needs to be considered in how you utilize him this year and beyond. There are posters who want to hand him the closer role based on the impressiveness of his stuff and I understand that thinking. He looks great. However, if he has been throwing multiple innings per appearance in the minors. I don't think you should restrict his innings just to have a designated closer. A dedicated closer throws about 60 innings a year. We would be better served if he doubled that. Myself, I'd utilize him for multiple innings and utilize him at any point in the game.

First Wave hitting the shores and it looks like a 2nd wave is not far off. Roster Management going forward is hopefully difficult for our front office as they decide how many roster spots are committed and to who. This is how we get better. This is how the 5 plus ERA inning eater becomes obsolete. This is how budget space is cleared to sign weapons. This is how the club can produce significant trade value that can produce weapons. The importance of these young arms can't be overstated. Give the youngsters the space to develop, clear any obstacles in their way.

He doesn't need to be benched completely. He just hasn't earned the right to play every day. He has earned the right for others to earn more playing time. It doesn't have to be an either or proposition like there is nothing in-between. Play him but play him less. The ratio can change once he starts hitting like we hope he can.

I've never heard of a losing team that had great chemistry. The designation is never applied unless winning takes place. The definition of Chemistry is muddy while the definition of winning is not. Therefore Winning creates Chemistry

When superstar players are given the rare day off... managers frequently plan that day off before an off day for a little extra rest. Monday was an off-day... it's not a surprise that day was chosen. Could Correa have pinch hit for Godoy... as mere mortals... do we know for sure that Jeffers (Who was scratched from the lineup) was good to get behind the plate? Also, we do know that Garlick and Celestino were already used as substitutes so Correa pinch hitting for Godoy and Jeffers putting on the catching gear would have completely depleted the bench. And here's the other thing... and I stress this all the time and I understand that some people just ain't going to buy what I'm selling but here goes anyway. I don't care what anybody thinks about the bench, Garlick, Gordon, Celestino, Godoy. They need to play to stay sharp just like everyone else. All the arguments about players needing work to stay sharp and rest to stay sharp applies to everyone! It isn't something that only the chosen 9 need (whoever they may be). If you want to start the same 9 every day and let the other 4 rot on the bench. When the injury to one or four of that starting 9 occurs and it will occur... now you have to insert the replacement after rotting on the bench. How sharp will they be when you are forced to ask for immediate sharpness? Playing time can be easily managed for a functional 26 man roster. And the other question... Who are our best players? Buxton for sure that's easy but is Correa our 2nd best hitter right now? Correa appears to be struggling a bit so is he our best on April 24, 2022? Is Kepler clearly better than Garlick? How about Sano? 26 guys who can play and do play is absolutely necessary. IF they don't play, they are not necessary. If there is a player on the roster who the manager can't play because he doesn't trust them to contribute... it's real simple... get them off the roster they are taking up valuable real estate doing nothing. Those roster spots are gold. Carry on Rocco... you are doing fine.

Which Robbie Grossman was this? The 2018 Robbie Grossman that I remember playing for the Twins or the 2019 Robbie Grossman SABR defensive index fueled gold glove finalist for the Oakland A's.

Godoy is our #3 catcher at the moment and after one game in the lineup he is still our #3 catcher. He had a nice game so at this time and contributed to a victory so there is no need to drop him to #4 on the depth chart at this moment. I can't recall a single year that a single team was able to go the entire year with just two catchers doing every single squat behind the plate.

La Russa did state that Arraez on deck and the possibility of a Buxton K was his thinking. How bout that... Arraez protecting Buxton in the lineup. ? Myself... I walk Buxton for the DP possibility and force at every base but Tony has a few more World Series titles than I do. What a cool home run it was! Loving Buxton right now.

1. Buxton was incredible when healthy last year. He has been incredible again so far this year. It's possible that Buxton is indeed incredible when healthy. MVP discussion incredible. 2. Buxton has been so good that I don't think the April small sample size argument applies to him. He's been locked in long enough. 3. Thank You to that old school closer mentality. There was no reason to pitch to Buxton. His run didn't matter. Walking Buxton sets up a force at every base and sets up the possible inning (game) ending double play. Instead, the White Sox opted to bring the infield in and pitch to our best hitter... maybe best in baseball. Thank You to that old school --never give out an intentional pass -- closer mentality. Thank You 4. I hope Byron gets every single penny of that bonus. I drink to his health.

Forget about Mike Trout... I'm not asking for Mike Trout. But the "quite honestly dumb" thrown my way felt real good considering that I never mentioned Mike Trout. I understand the platoon advantage. Historically it's about .100 OPS difference utilizing the platoon advantage across baseball over those 150 years. A lot of hitters and a lot of pitchers played a lot of of baseball to create that a large demonstrable historical platoon advantage. I'm aware of it. But, it isn't one size fits all Keeping it simple -- Who hits Right Handers Better? Player A (Left Handed Hitter) .750 OPS vs right handed pitchers .650 OPS Vs left handed pitchers Player B (Right Handed Hitter) .775 OPS vs right handed pitchers .800 OPS vs left handed pitchers Or do we just platoon them anyway because Player A clearly shouldn't be playing against left handers. As for ignoring Kyle Garlicks 1800 minor league trips to the plate. I haven't! I've said multiple times that there is nothing in Kyle Garlick's minor league stats that suggest he should be platooned. He did hit lefties a little better in the minors but he didn't suck hitting right handers either. The difference was not enormous. His numbers didn't suggest he should be protected from the RH pitcher. It's about development. If you want to reduce future value of players, if want to create platoon specialists. This is how you do it. Just keep the opposite hand away from him. Make sure that the opposite hand stays foreign to him and dispose of him when a player comes along that you decide doesn't have to do that. Just call up Celestino and just let him hit against left handers on a short side platoon and then toss him to the side when the next Max Kepler comes along.

I don't know what Garlick is. 111 Sporadic AB's against LH over the course of 4 years. 83 even more sporadic AB's against RH over the course of 4 years. His sample size isn't even close to large enough to make any determinations on either side of the plate. An average of 28 AB's a year against LH and 21 AB's a year against RH. With the overwhelming majority of pitchers in baseball being right handed... it clearly indicates pretty strict platoon usage and awfully scarce playing time to boot. Nothing in his minor league stats suggest that platooning was necessary in the first place. Even if he could have hit right handers back in 2019... after 3 years of this type of utilization, the right handed pitching part of his game has atrophied and surgically removed by now. Garlick is in his 30's now. The damage is done. He basically worthless to me at this point. There is no chance of increasing his value. Turning attention to Gordon and Celestino who are younger and could develop into something of value. Platooning will kill that but here it is. Meanwhile, Kepler gets to walk past the lineup card without checking if his name is on it. I guess.. you could say that I'm not a fan of platooning and Gordon is getting sucked into that role. Put an egg timer on him. He will be done soon.

Oddly enough he did look at that stuff but I was young and in the end, there wasn't enough data on me to suggest that I was indeed one dimensional. At that stage, I could have been anything if allowed. He made me one-dimensional but also disposable. Eventually someone who could fill multiple rolls replaced me due to the limitations of the size of the crew and there really wasn't anything I could do about it. All that work and dedication to the profession and the crew was wasted. All that exploding colored dye that I had to wash out of my hair time and time again. All for nothing. Now I'm working some civilian job that doesn't pay quite as well.

I read that. I was just using the "all he can do is mash lefties" opportunity to express the ramifications of platooning. It's pretty clear that they are setting up the platoons when it comes to utilization.

Back when I was robbing banks. My job was to go into the vault and stuff the money into the bag, that's what I did every time. I was never allowed to be the guy who disabled the security cameras or made sure the bank personnel/customers stayed on the floor. I just kept stuffing money into the bag because it was the only assignment I was given. Other people in our crew would fill multiple jobs as needed but I was limited to the same job. One day I was the only option for crowd control and had to do it. I struggled a little because my experience with this sort of thing was being held back. So, I was letting people get up for bathroom breaks, use their cell phones to call others outside the bank. I posed for selfies with a few of them. Afterwards... our crew leader said that all I could do was stuff the money in the bag. Well... he created that Monster... by limiting me to bag stuffing. There is nothing in Kyle's minor league stats that suggest he can't keep people on the floor.

My Doctor asked me the other day if I had been laying off the pasta like she recommended. I looked up at her and said "I'm trying Doc". It has been awhile since my last appointment so it was a little surprising to run into her at the Olive Garden like that.

Good thing they don't ask pitchers to specifically do that.

Great post Rewarding bad performance with every day jobs is how clubs draft early in the 1st round. Allowing competition for playing time based on performance... is simple enough... yet not done. I will echo the "It's early" chorus but it isn't too early for some. Kepler's performance last year and Kepler's performance so far this year still scream out "I am not an every day player". Yet, he plays every day. I hope he turns it around but he needs to be fighting for playing time and there is seemingly no battle. Somebody should be allowed to compete with Kepler.

Sometimes I'm not. ?

I agree... they should manage his innings while ramping them upward due to 16 innings pitched... the last two years. Relievers do not have to be limited to one inning. Relievers can transition to starter. Give him the ball... and may he hang zeroes whenever they use him. I'm also not a fan of limiting one of your best arms to 60 innings of 9th inning work only.

Buxton doesn't have to directly tie his comment to Donaldson, when others who haven't met Donaldson are absolutely willing to do it for him. Social Media just doing what it does... Making sure every person is labelled.

Amen

He's the Rug The Rug that ties the room together. I'm going to keep saying that until it sticks.

In my opinion... unless he is actually hurt and needs a DL stint... it's way too early to make a hard decision on Kirilloff based on his performance over 3 games. If he is hurt and requires a DL stint... then it could get interesting. Miranda, Lewis and Larnach are the only 40 man options. I assume Lewis needs to get some AAA swings based on his lack of action for two years. Larnach was sent down to get some AAA swings so I'd think he could use some more. Miranda... No Idea but he was giving me the impression of readiness last year so he'd be the 40 man choice IMO. Now Miranda isn't an OF'er per se but this is why I'm a fan of flexibility. The best bat gets called up when needed. Not the 5th best bat that happens to be a position match. Miranda plugs into LF directly or 3B where he is more comfortable and Gordon, Celestino, Urshela or Arraez get LF time. Otherwise... It's someone that has to be added to the 40 man roster and a player jettisoned to accommodate. Upton, Cave, Garlick, Fisher or whoever else is available to be plucked off the wire because their team didn't have 40 man space. Those options will cost us a Jax, Vallimont or that Jhon guy that pitched yesterday. Some may feel that neither of those arms are a loss and at some point the organization will have to make a hard decision on them. I don't know how I feel about any of them or how the front office feels about them but I consider those roster spots to be gold so if they get a roster spot... they better be worth it... because they are hurdles to someone getting the spot that is actually worth it. With all that said... I've heard no indication that Kirilloff is hurt and 3 games is way too soon to make a determination.

Fantastic Thank You Love it All respect to you Rosterman!