ashbury

Good catch. The box score shows it correctly. Jose Martinez got it in relief.

This was discussed briefly during the Game Thread last night too. It was notable that this time Molitor let Stewart continue until the run scored, as opposed to previous times when he might have gone to the bullpen sooner. I, too, would have liked to go even further than that, and see if Stewart could get that next batter. But, I wasn't watching closely at that point, and maybe he physically was past his limit. The first inning was bad awful terrible. But how about the pair of 1-2-3 innings that came next, and the one after that where the double was followed by a strikeout and a groundout? Nothing there for a prospect to build on? Maybe he's hopeless and maybe he's close. I think the results are still too mixed to decide either way. He had a streak of 8 batters retired, so there's something there. Command, and consistency, are going to tell his tale.

Any player in the majors is on the 40-man roster, so unless he is DFA'ed and passes through waivers he won't be subject to Rule 5. Of course a waiver claim would be less restrictive on the acquiring team than Rule 5 (they could just add him to their 40 but then use his 3 minor league options at will during succeeding seasons), so adding him to the 40 this month was a risk itself unless they 100% plan to keep him there over the winter.

I bring Buxton up. The decision affects not just him but the perceptions of every player in the system, and those on the outside we might someday want to bring in. Good play must be rewarded, otherwise anyone with a choice in the matter will avoid the franchise. One roster decision alone won't cause that, but you don't want to start going that direction with someone high-profile. I find it hard to justify Mauer for 2019. The 25-man roster has never been more restrictive to teams as regards position players, so if he needs diminishing time then it's a problem. If he's on the DL when not playing, that's one thing, since a replacement player can be added. But a "limited role" by a 1B/DH hampers the manager. A lower salary doesn't sway me at all - indeed a low salary to a veteran is a red warning flag as to his value to this or any team, except to a cellar-dweller. There's no pennant handed out for most wins per dollar.

Ft Myers, just to be clear. High-A.

I thought the minor-league deal for Jake Cave and the signing of Ryan LaMarre was this contingency. Not a starter - Byron Buxton was still Plan A, and either starter on the corner could be tapped for CF duty in a pinch. But "if Buxton goes down", these two were the plan. Something stronger would be akin to having four starting outfielders on the 40-man; hard to do. The jury's out on the front office's drafts, and so I'd combine a B for that with a C- for how they've handled the 40-man overall - if their offseason moves had worked out, it would be better, but process only goes so far and results are results.. Like some others, a Gentlemen's C overall, at this still-early stage. I have yet to see moves that make me say, "wow, something under the hood such as their Analytics team is really strong" - in fact their sifting through the Rule-5 dustbin has been embarrasingly bad.

Might be an appropriate level of enthusiasm for what they've accomplished. A good outcome for the season, with more to come, right? They're splashing around the carbonated beverages, like they're supposed to. But then, I'm not a huge fan of the often highly scripted celebrations. When teams string up the vinyl protection sheets and hand out goggles in anticipation of some champagne cheap sparkling wine being uncorked, it comes across as pretty calculated by now. This at least was more "go to it, guys, make a mess".

Like the legendary Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx, do we have a Seth Stohs jinx brewing?

Maybe he needs to be shut down. Season is almost over anyway, though.

Command is the problem, not stuff, in my book for Gonsalves. His fastball is good enough if he's careful, and his other stuff plays, I think, but he can't put it where the catcher places the mitt, pitch after pitch. It needs to be a high percentage of the time, not here and there, now and then. That doesn't make him unique, by a long shot, but then there's plenty of guys who never make it. I didn't get around to asking, during last night's game thread, whether you'd prefer a guy with great stuff but questionable command, or great command but questionable stuff. I think I'd go for the latter. I'm not quite sure Gonsalves's stuff is "great" enough to make up for his command, which is kind of why I didn't bother asking the question.

What did you think of his demeanor in his fifth inning? Chewing his lip, rolling his eyes, I don't remember exactly what. As I said in the game thread, I don't usually go much for mind-reading, but I thought he was throwing a "Skip, come and get me" vibe right around then.

Game of inches.

Philip Seymour Hoffman was too old to take the role of an athlete, even a first baseman, at that point in his career.

Anyone on the roster shouldn't play "never". On page 8 of a thread still nominally about Paul Molitor, I'm fine with this degree of accord reached.

In conjunction with the other answers provided, let me offer this approach. I think I did something similar with LoMo, a while back. J.D. Martinez and Khris Davis lead the majors in RBI as of this morning with 110 and 103 respectively. Let's break it down to playing time, opportunity by team mates, and home runs: Martinez: 534 plate appearances Davis: 518 PA Mauer: 412 PA So Mauer hasn't played as much, in aggregate. That's going to cut into the RBI. Next, here's how those PA break down, as to whether men are on base or not: Martinez: 279 PA bases empty, 255 PA with someone on Davis: 258 PA and 260 PA, respectively Mauer: 256 and 156, respectively So Mauer's team mates are not setting the table for him the way the other gentlemen's comrades do. Next, Mauer's less of a power hitter than them: when the bases are empty, the only way to get an RBI is with a homer, and he's a poor candidate. Martinez: 313 BA, .621 SLG, 20 RBI bases empty Davis: .247 BA, .562 SLG, 20 RBI bases empty Mauer: .238 BA, .322 SLG, 2 RBI bases empty So, with nearly equal opportunity, RBI are as expected - and you can knock Mauer for that, but you can also imply poor RBI skills about most hitters in this regard, when you compare them to league HR leaders Martinez and Davis. Finally, how do these three guys perform comparatively, bases occupied? Martinez: .363 BA, .693 SLG, 35 BB, 18 HR, 90 RBI (again, 279 PA) Davis: .271 BA, 574 SLG, 24 BB, 19 HR, 83 RBI (260 PA) Mauer: .344 BA, .472 SLG, 26 BB, 3 HR, 37 RBI (156 PA) When talking about RBI, a lot of what we think of as "driving in baserunners" is "driving oneself in with a homer". It's no accident that the leaders in HR this year lead in RBI. I know there is a tendency to equate low RBI with failure of will (and I don't think that was your point here). Mauer does better with men on base than empty, as do the other two, as do the leagues in general. But mostly it's the home runs, and opportunity. Everything else (Mauer walking a little much) is close to noise, by comparison.

Players have ups and downs during a season. If Grossman wants to be useful, the highs need to be higher and/or more numerous, or else the lows less low. He's not a big cog in the machine but his first three months, while the team was burying itself for post-season relevance, contributed.

Moderator's note: I've had to remove other posts in this thread for being overly personal, dismissive, or disputatious. Please stick to actual discussion, not sniping at fellow members.

The fact someone would take it seriously speaks volumes about the middle infield pipeline, even though from some perspectives it's a strength.

Mauer also trails Sam Rice, Clyde Milan, and Joe Judge, but alas the franchise record omits mention of time served with the old Senators. Coincidentally, 2086 is also Killebrew's career total, only a tiny portion of which was not with this franchise.

I likewise am hoping for your continued good health, Craig.

Yes, and I'll go farther. If your starter is of a caliber where third-time through is a concern (and it is indeed, for probably a majority of starters), then it's a certainty there will be relievers. Those relievers may or may not be "better", but they will be in the game, one way or another, and one of them will perforce be facing the top of the opposing lineup at some point, or probably two or even three. The manager might as well pick his spots in this way. I'm a big believer in the concept of starting with a short-man, preferably one with a different style (and opposite arm) of the nominal starter, to give the other guys a totally different look to think about.

Someone with that kind of profile at a corner position can carve out a few extra years if he's willing to move around the league a bit, particuarly to teams in a down cycle. Someone who wants to play for just one team is at the mercy of where that team happens to be in their own cycle. I just don't see the fit anymore, personally. We need high production along with that defense.

Lewis? He was drafted in '17. Yesterday's news. I want Larnach.

On that throw-out by Rosario, what if Matt Olson wasn't deked by Garver and that actually is his top speed?

(Bet he and Morrison are plenty tired of this reference.) Rarely swings. Home runs. Ended. Got it. It's enjoyable to watch one of our players do well, but he's not part of the future and probably will be part of our past soon enough.