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ashbury

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Everything posted by ashbury

  1. ashbury
    Is Nick Anderson the only reliever being tried out in this "Opener" role? I can't recall anyone else yet. Not sure if this represents an actual strategy on the part of the organization, or just something unique about this pitcher's repertoire that suggests him for such a role.
  2. ashbury
    Just lift the runner's leg off of the base with your glove hand. He was off-balance, anyone could see that.
  3. ashbury
    https://baseball.theater/ often has video of the plays we want to discuss, sometimes within minutes. You can watch the Garver tragi-comedy unfold here: https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/08/22/2415138283/1534970063990/asset_1800K.mp4 The pitcher Magill hustled down right away and was covering. (For that matter, all three outfielders were on their way in, although maybe not all at full speed - there was the potential for a throw to any base.) I'd be uneasy about a throw to second followed by a throw home, but you have to be willing to make the right play. Maybe a throw to Polanco now covering third was indicated, sooner, but there was a lot of traffic around the bag and a throw could easily have gone haywire. After his throw, where should Sano be? He was backing his way up to the bag, unaware that Polanco was there. He was part of the clutter that maybe caused Garver to hold off and just chase the runner back. The umpire and (especially?) the base coach also were contributing to the clutter. The rule about coaches staying in their box is always ignored. In this case maybe you can see a reason for the rule. Eye heart Baseball Theater. I don't think there were two men on third by the time Garver reached the base. No one to tag out.
  4. ashbury
    My question to Garver:
  5. ashbury
    No. There were some waiver-claim shenanigans between the Reds and Twins when we tried to remove him from the 40 back in March, but ultimately that's what happened.
  6. ashbury
    If you go back through popular baseball publications over the past 130 years or so, two themes never change: 1) there's not enough pitching, and 2) the new selfish players of today are in it only for the money.
  7. ashbury
    Having a different pitcher start an inning adds essentially no extra time to the game. It's the mid-inning reliever trotting in and then getting his allotment of warmup pitches that bogs the game down. If anything, not trying to wring 6 or more innings out of your starter reduces the chance of needing a mid-inning phone call to the bullpen.
  8. ashbury
    I don't think minor leaguers on the 40-man roster can be free-agents except through major league service time. With limited minor league options, that time can be lengthy but not infinite. The Twins had the choice to retain Rodriguez's services this way.
  9. ashbury
    Chief, you can go ahead with those retirement plans at the Assisted Living complex. Your services here are no longer needed; Mike's got things covered now.
  10. ashbury
    I can't find video of it this morning, to demonstrate, but the ball bounced before hitting the batter on the foot, and that foot was not fully in the batter's box - the arch of the foot was approximately on the line toward the plate. Isn't the batter required to stay in the box, for it to be a HBP? It wasn't the most consequential play of the game, but was an example of the luck Gonsalves seemed to run into that game, and we couldn't get a definite resolution of the rule during the Game Thread.
  11. ashbury
    I had to suffer the wisecracks from KC fans in the ballpark when Cave made the diving stab that turned into an inside-the-park HR, so he is dead to me.
  12. ashbury
    That was smooth. Brian on the other hand is chunky.
  13. ashbury
    That's fair, and was/is worrisome. But, they stayed the course, and brought in the fresh arm to attack the top of the order, second time through, so it worked out.
  14. ashbury
    I'm not especially a Harper woofer. Just pointing out an omission. If I have a point, it's probably that he's another baseline against which potential acquisitions could be compared. If not better than Harper, then why bother.
  15. ashbury
    This is probably a quibble, but the word "just" suggests some kind of disappointment. I expect the outing went as planned. He went through the opposing batting order exactly once. They seem to be trying out the concept of an "opener" as opposed to "starter", and this is how it will go when successful: get what you can out of your talented but limited pitcher, and move on to the longer guy according to schedule.
  16. ashbury
    Let me try to say it slightly differently: If I were GM, I can make shoot-from-the-hip determinations about players like Tyler Duffey or Nick Gordon (as I do), and it doesn't matter, financially or otherwise, because those decisions can be revisited next year at zero incremental cost. Ditto, if I don't learn everything there is possible to know about upcoming starters like Romero and Gonsalves. But if I'm aiming for contention next year, and I have a multi-million dollar asset that I have to make a binding decision about in a couple of months, then the standard for good stewardship of the franchise is a lot higher. Turning thumbs down on Erv so early, and then having him contribute positively to some other team's pennant push in 2019, would be a pretty bad stain. You can't go out and obtain a good asset at $13M with the snap of the fingers. I don't blame the front office if they put the decision off as long as possible. To shut Erv down now would be that decision, while foregoing additional information that could be gathered.
  17. ashbury
    Gordon's only 22. He's currently flailing at AAA - you can "see what he looks like," there, and I don't think you'd like it much, either on offense or on defense. I don't see a reason to press the panic button and try to accelerate a work-in-progress. With that underlying it, I would have no problem with a LoFo contract for 2019. Other GMs will discount the SSS too, so whatever trade value he has this August will probably be available next season, if someone else steps up and Forsythe proves to be redundant by mid-year.
  18. ashbury
    His AAA season stats look good in aggregate, but he was lights-out in 4 long stints in April, decent in May, and June-August his AAA numbers aren't too hot. He's been pretty hittable by this caliber of opponent for a significant stretch now. I'm not a believer - can't rely on him from game to game - down to a one-pitch pitcher and when the curve's not behaving, look out. He needs to come with a caution label, "Use at your own risk". I'm pleasantly surprised at his performance in 3 games since being called back up. Good for him. I hope he continues it and proves me wrong. Perhaps top-notch pitch calling is the answer, and can paper over his deficiencies and thus maximize his remaining asset.
  19. ashbury
    Ought we add Ryne Harper to the discussion? After being promoted from AA, he's also done well in a few August appearances for Rochester. At 29 he's not a world beater, but could be a contributor on a par with some of the other names.
  20. ashbury
    Go back to Question 2 in the article. Teams don't usually release a daily diary for players' visits to the trainer's room. I think there's no reason to take an uncharitable view of the team's handling of LoMo's situation.
  21. ashbury
    It's a thirteen million dollar decision this off-season. I have no objection if they perform some additional due diligence in the meantime, by giving him more starts.
  22. ashbury
    I went to bed before the game ended. Good to see they got that insurance run I was hoping for.
  23. ashbury
    Very true. Like I said, "taken into account."
  24. ashbury
    Moderator's note: OK, this is getting overly personal. Let's keep it about the topic. PS: Bird, you don't seem to be able to receive new Private Messages - please check whether your mailbox here is full.
  25. ashbury
    Individually, I guess that's an axiom - obviously no draftee comes with a guarantee. Yet in the aggregate, someone needs to come through big-time, several actually, or you never have a serious pennant contender. And where else do you look for those, than guys drafted near the top? It kind of comes with the territory for those guys.
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