Doctor Gast

Nats have their own losing streak going.

Paddack has come through for us. He has been very efficient, therefore giving us much-needed innings. My main concern is him overdoing it & getting burnt out early or injured.

I disliked the trade not because of Rooker, I actually liked that aspect of the trade because there was a huge glut of big bat/no-glove types that this FO targeted. But it was because of letting Rogers go (I'd prefer signing Rogers to an extension). We had a shaky BP even with Rogers & w/o him having Pagan & Duffy as designated closers would be disastrous. Paddack was damaged goods (if they had their hearts on Paddack all they needed was to wait a short time when he'd blow out his arm & have SD pay us for taking him) but because they didn't wait we got almost 2 wasted years from Paddack & a nightmare year from Pagan. I also question this FO quirk of signing damaged goods. Trading Rooker made total sense for both the team & Rooker. He wouldn't have gotten the time needed to prove himself if he stayed here. OAK had the luxury of being more patient with him & I'm glad they did.

It doesn't hurt to fine tune. But basically he's just started his season. Don't you think that maybe he can still increase his FB velo?

Except for Ober's blimp, the rotation has been good. It's great Buxton is back, Castro sure needed a break. Not that it would help that much offensively, but Keirsey could have been brought up for a short stint. It's about time to bring up & keep up (basically) Varland & Alcala in the BP. It seems like whatever the hitters changed during that winning streak they reverted back to their old ways. But what the team lacks most is heart, they aren't getting it done against teams that we need to win. After CWS losing 7 out of 7 to MN they turned around & beat CLE 3 out of 4 & then we got swept by CLE. Lewis has been the heart & soul of the team & Polanco had been. Nats hasn't been that bad now with our old buddy Rosario & we had problems with them last year. But they have been on a losing streak. We need to shake ourselves off & clean up on them & TX. Hopefully, Lewis will be here before we know it.

Hats off to Paddack for pitching a great game & pitching into the 8th. He was pretty efficient,

I watch everything but I agree we need to get rid umps calling strikes. Most of the time they get it right but when they don't it really affects the game. We don't need that.

Smart pitching

At least Paddack doesn't get the loss

one more

We'll take it

WOW Buxton!

Buxton PH? That's how he hurts himself.

Now we have our work cut out for us

yes

Paddack indeed deserves to win this game

crap

Here we go!

Let's go Twins!

Cleveland has a young team, Last year they made a few more mistakes than this year. A team that focuses more on pitching, defense & playing small ball. This year CLE's salary is 28th at $93,333,629. MN is 20th at $124,077,590. CLE normally trades off their veterans (except Jose Ramirez) & not sign big-name FAs, MN extended Buxton & Lopez & signed Donaldson & last year Corea & Vazquez. Because of CLE's limited budget & confidence in their young players, they stood pat. Although MN has a few veterans they still have quite a few good young ones coming up. That is why I'd have liked to stand pat too. Most noticeable MN pickups are short-term Santana, Margot, DeSclavani & Topo & even if they were doing well, these players are taking valuable playing time & experience away from our younger players. Of these we have some on the bubble- Larnach, Kiriloff & Miranda, who needs to prove themselves. Julien's long-term position is at 1B so that's where he should be playing. Varland, Alcala, SWR & Martin are MLB-ready & need playing time in MLB to get better. Players like Keirsey need to get their feet as soon as & as often as possible. CLE has chosen to invest in their young players & it has paid off, They have surprised a lot of people. That's why I'd prefer to do the same. Margot affects Kiriloff, Larnach, Martin & Keirsey; Santana affects Kiriloff, Miranda & Julien. The absence of DeSclavani though we paid for him has given SWR & Varland valuable time in the MLB. Topo not playing should give Varland, Alcala & later Canterino more opportunities in the BP. The fact that they aren't are confusing to me. My evaluations have our guys more productive options. But even beyond this you are investing in our long-term future players or at least improving their trade value. Instead of paying in trade & FA in positions that we have adequate depth & make us weaker overall. If we become short in the rotation we can still sign a SP like Rich Hill to a MiLB contract or go out & trade for another postseason SP. Because especially when Lewis comes back we should make the play-off & the time given to our young players will be valuable not only now but in the future.

I'd like some help with Olivar. I've heard that he has an above-average arm from somebody & below-average arm from others. I do not know if that below-average report is due to his low throw-out rate (because of a technic problem) or indeed he has a below-average arm. If it's a technic problem, that can be fixed if it's an arm problem then that's more complicated.

Blewett & Alcala are 2 different situations. Blewett is content in AAA & hungry to get to the MLB. While Alcala has had a lot of success in the MLB & AAA is a demotion & being put in the doghouse. Varland isn't doing that well in AAA yet he proven himself on the MLB level in the BP. That's where he should be in long relief one step away from the rotation.

A tip of the cap to the Santana/ Vazquez DP. Great effort on both parts, especially Santana for initiating it. For being mainly being a flyball pitching staff, too many GBs get through.

I had Festa well ahead of Raya in ranking. After today, Festa has widened that gap.

Without a doubt, we miss Buxton's elite glove making difficult catches at CF look easy. With injuries to Buxton, Correa & Lewis; Castro has been stretched very thin & the stress of playing the Yanks has probably done him in. Castro has been playing admirably until then. Inexperience has at times become apparent even with Martin's athleticism making good plays. Shawn Keirsey should have been called up to help out. IMO we have pretty good CF depth but Buxton is the best & we need him in CF.