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ashbury

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Everything posted by ashbury

  1. ashbury
    Well yes, of course. That's always been the roster strategy with the up-the-middle positions. Catcher, shortstop, center field - you need guys who can flat-out play those positions. The question is, what's the threshold below which you can not "tolerate" the offense? We found out last year with Andrelton Simmons at SS, that a complete black hole in the batting order puts the team at a competitive disadvantage. Celestino had the hot start but lately he's been in about that territory in CF. We're seeing the same with Sandy Leon at C now. No one is demanding a Mauer level of offense, but even a defense-first position has a limit on how much below "zero" you can achieve while preventing runs, so that chasing better and better gloves (with zero bat to go with them) reaches a point of diminishing return.
  2. ashbury
    From the article: Infielders may not switch sides. In other words, a team cannot reposition its best defender on the side of the infield the batter is more likely to hit the ball. Huh. I thought restricting the shift was akin to regulating zone defenses in other, lesser, sports. Now on reading this detail, they're kind of banning man-to-man defense as well.
  3. ashbury
    You don't even want to know about the super double-secret 67-day probation list.
  4. ashbury
  5. ashbury
    If you're saying Aliens had something to do with that one throw, I don't know how I'd contradict you.
  6. ashbury
    He's good. He's established himself as a major league starter. It's just that the expectations on him are high, because we don't have other young candidates currently establishing themselves likewise. He's not really who you'd want starting Game 2 of a post-season series, for example, but we may need to ask that of him. It's a bit much.
  7. ashbury
    The arguments provided in this article amount to basically ifs, ifs, and more ifs, in my opinion.
  8. ashbury
    jokerclapping.gif
  9. ashbury
    What kind of an insane throw was that from Brooks Lee? The guy really is something!
  10. ashbury
    Then he'd fit right in. Rimshot gif
  11. ashbury
    Looking at the injury risks who failed is one starting point. But I'll add to the picture, the injury risks of acquisitions who've panned out. Chris Archer had spent the last several seasons on and off the injured list. We've gotten 4-5 innings per game out of him, with pitch counts generally in the 70s From July onward, though, his ERA even under this light duty has been 6.64, with the team's record 1-8 in that span. Dylan Bundy, never a workhorse, pitched all of 2020 and was on the injured list for part of 2021. We've gotten 5+ innings per game out of him, with pitch counts generally in the 70s to 80s, His results from July onward have been around league average, with an ERA of 3.88 with the team's W-L of 7-4 in that span. Sonny Gray was on injured lists at times 2020-21. We've gotten 5-6 innings per game out of him, with pitch counts generally in the 80s to 90s. His results from July onward have been around league average, with an ERA of 3.93, with the team's W-L of 5-6 in that span. Archer had a strong beginning, and provided some value. Both Archer and Bundy have put undue strain on the bullpen resources. Gray, averaging about 1 inning more per start, has not been the kind of ace who routinely lets the key bullpen pieces relax and have a night off (except for setup/closer perhaps). Even if nominally these offseason choices for constructing the roster have worked out according to plan, I think they serve as an indictment of the plan itself, which was to accept greater than average injury risk and lower workload, in return for higher than average performance when healthy. I don't think it's worked, not in terms of excelling anyway. Bundy's been okay, Gray's been okay, and they represent the best results of the plan. Paddack and Mahle of course represent when the plan goes completely wrong. The "ups" don't balance out these "downs".
  12. ashbury
    Here's a way they are the same: both arrived because the FO had the alleged "luxury" of tanking the rest of a lost season by trading two remaining players of value. If the FO is dedicated to the "sustained success" they spoke of when they were brought in, in late 2016, such Fire Sales ought to be few and far between. So quibbling over whether any of the prospects so-obtained have been in the Twins' minor league system for "long enough" is a moot point in my book. I don't give them much if any development credit for filling the pitching pipeline™ that way. Making the best of a bad situation (as done in 2021) does not count as a Proof of Concept. Louie Varland, if he pans out like we hope, would be a very welcome step in the right direction, and definitely would count.
  13. ashbury
    You echo my thoughts, almost precisely. From one year ago.
  14. ashbury
  15. ashbury
    LOL.
  16. ashbury
    And yet in terms of WAR, which more resembles a counting stat than a rate stat, he still currently leads the team this season.
  17. ashbury
    We're playing with semantics now. As with many disagreements, it's centered on a term with a fuzzy definition. Obviously it's not a failure to locate a player other teams have passed on, and get him to the majors. It's a success for the player too. Continue playing with that all you want. I'm done playing.
  18. ashbury
    For a bottom feeder team. I enjoyed these success stories during the long winter of 2012-2016. 2017 raised my sights a bit, along with FO promises of sustained success, and while every team needs to fill out their roster with finds like Dobnak, it doesn't represent anything important to the franchise.
  19. ashbury
    Wait until you're retired, sonny.
  20. ashbury
    Time already spent on another injured list counts toward the 60. It's in the rules.
  21. ashbury
    Corresponding 40-man move?
  22. ashbury
    The two ashbury boys were at Yankee Stadium today. The post-game selfie showed sad faces.
  23. ashbury
    A clever fellow, Tommy can think up a procedure for shoulders, I'm sure.
  24. ashbury
    He'll be 22 before the Saints season is over. If he's not ready for the majors by his birthday, cut him.
  25. ashbury
    In boxing parlance, the 1987 edition had a puncher's chance. Every year a team or two is like that; hard work and good fortune came through for them that particular year. This year's team, though, has a glass jaw.
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