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ashbury

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Everything posted by ashbury

  1. ashbury
    Recognizing that players are not the same as their stats on the back of their baseball card, and they have good games and bad games, is a step up. But I think it's also true with pitchers that they don't necessarily/always have their best stuff when they face their first batter or two or three... think of the many solid starters who have a reputation for "you'd better get him early". Similarly you sometimes watch a reliever struggle for a batter or two, and then find himself. Of course most relievers don't have the luxury of getting a full inning to get squared away. But it's still as much an art as a science. I'm not a Hildenberger apologist by any means, nor a big fan of the Closer role. But I don't think it's automatically a black mark against the dugout braintrust to leave him in, if they feel he's starting to find his feel for pitches. Of course, they can be wrong - it's a competition between batter and pitcher.
  2. ashbury
    Also, take a look at the Commissioner's remarks, in this article from 3 years ago: https://ftw.usatoday.com/2015/07/rob-manfred-mlb-trade-deadline-july-31-non-waiver If anything, the pressure (presumably from teams, not the Players Association) points toward an even later deadline, rather than earlier. The addition of the wild-card means teams remain undecided on their playoff chances farther into the season than when the rule was last changed in 1986. Incidentally, apparently this rule was part of the 1985 Collective Bargaining Agreement - probably it had no particular bearing on the strike that year, but such rules have to be hammered out to the satisfaction of all parties. I haven't yet found any documentation of what prompted the 1985-86 change, but teams wanting to have more time to decide about postseason chances seems the likely motivation. As for me, I'm basically in the camp that doesn't like watching a small group of super-teams load up by feasting on the carcasses of their dead competitors. But, baseball's a business and is not for the purist.
  3. ashbury
    The article makes a reference to an earlier article, but that link is dead. I checked with the latter author, and for anyone who cares, the link is here. It doesn't really get into the whys and wherefores of the 1986 change to July 31, however.
  4. ashbury
    I'm not who you were asking for an opinion, but I'll mention that when I took a look at the two pitchers, I was surprised to notice that Vasquez is actually the older of the two, by more than a year. Both have minor league options remaining, so that won't dictate much of anything either. Moya might have a little more room for growth while Vasquez might be close to "what you see is what you get" - that's an awfully fine distinction regarding a little more than a year's difference in age, but it's the reverse of what I had thought to be the case. In his short time in the majors, Vasquez has actually done more poorly against lefty batters than righties. It's still ultra-small sample size, but that could make the decision for management moreso than other procedural considerations if they want lefty arms for LOOGY purposes. At AAA he's been very good against lefties, of course.
  5. ashbury
    Astudillo is a BASEBALL PLAYER. I didn't watch the game last night, so I missed some good stuff from Willians. In addition to the short clip shown above, have a look at this clip. https://mediadownloads.mlb.com/mlbam/mp4/2018/09/15/2487371583/1536981095160/asset_1800K.mp4 Also, watch all the way through, if you want some insight into "team chemistry". Escobar used to clown around with pretending to have feuds with teammates - Astudillo and Berrios are continuing that tradition. It's not my cup of tea for interacting with others, but I can see it being a positive for our guys.
  6. ashbury
    QnD: he's been good. The stats show 60 innings so far, he's thrown out 2 of 5 basestealers, no passed balls, 1 wild pitch. This confirms my eye test while watching on teevee. No drama back there. I've said before, he's "quiet" behind the plate, a good trait. I've noticed a reasonable number of well-framed pitches on the corners for strikes - I'm not sure he's a magician but he's not giving away strikes either. I was expecting much different. The one game I saw him in person, that game in Pawtucket, they were hiding him in LF. Catcher is sometimes like Sherlock Holmes's dog that didn't bark. If you have to stop and think about the guy, maybe it means he's doing things right.
  7. ashbury
    Take a look at the Rochester squad, eliminate everyone who has been released already, and tell me who you would bring up. Or, who among those cut loose should be begged to come back. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=a828056e#all_team_fielding_2B The only one worth discussing, IMO, is the obvious one, Nick Gordon, and that topic has been hashed to death. I am an expert, by virtue of observing him at a game in Pawtucket late this season, and my firm opinion is he would be so badly overmatched that no good would come of it, either for helping the team now or for his own development. The pickings are even slimmer at AA, for someone who could come up and have a realistic chance. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?id=032a95ba#all_team_fielding_2B
  8. ashbury
    Polanco and Adrianza are in the lineup. Are you concerned about Forsythe missing out on some PA? Unless Sano is ready for duty, there isn't anyone else.
  9. ashbury
    Fixed. The tip jar is currently deployed for other projects. I'll let you know when it's back, for your convenience.
  10. ashbury
    We deserve a followup. Chief, how was the hangover on Monday the 25th?
  11. ashbury
    It happens that ashburysteven and I were in KC on July 21-22, but we were there to watch the Twins play the Royals, so we didn't think to explore anything about the 'Bones.
  12. ashbury
    /thread
  13. ashbury
    And what's the deal with Burr and Hamilton? (2018 ChiSox, in case you would need to research them.)
  14. ashbury
    I did not realize the T-Bones were in Kansas state. Makes sense now that it's pointed out - very analogous to Minneapolis and St Paul. Hope the Saints fare better in the KC Metro Area than the Twins did last night.
  15. ashbury
    I have no idea how to answer this. Ten years after he retires, I will happily cast my non-existent ballot for Joe in the Hall Of Fame. I do not care for his role or performance on the 2018 squad, the recent grand slam notwithstanding, and with the guaranteed contract coming into the rearview mirror shortly I do not wish for him to be on the 2019 roster. So, am I standing with him, or not? More broadly, I'm not so interested in threads that try to characterize wide groups of people as idiots, whether proud or otherwise, nor lump fellow posters into one of two binary camps. If this "poll" was an attempt at satire it was not successful. /Edit... Meanwhile, the moderators had a bit of a discussion, and since posters' opinions have been expressed by now on both sides, on a topic that (as formulated) probably shouldn't have seen the light of day in the first place, we are closing the thread.
  16. ashbury
    Moderator's note: Reminder, this is not a thread to conduct a full review of the state of the Twins organization, and it's never OK to call anything "idiotic". If Chris Gimenez's views on leadership don't interest you, perhaps move to a thread you find of more value.
  17. ashbury
    Kepler either.
  18. ashbury
    I was about to tackle the BABIP angle myself. For instance, I wondered whether his peculiar batting profile would lead to chronic low BABIP for some reason. But it appears not - some years he's been above .300 BABIP in the minors, other years below. So if anything, his low BABIP might mean we haven't even seen his potential yet. There's a chance that opponents find some key weakness to exploit. But, if the choice comes down to e.g. swinging at out pitches below the strike zone, I think Willians is a smart player, and will lay off. His minor league walk rates are low, but there have been times he's been willing to take a walk - not at a level you might want to see, but I don't see sheer ornery stubbornness in his numbers.
  19. ashbury
    So your interest is in forecasting. Two guys had similar stats in 2017, then diverged in 2018. Would it be interesting to know that EE's BABIP in 2017 was a tad low at .279, while Kennys's was a tad high at .325? Neither number is outlandish, but taken together, if a divergence in 2018 was destined to occur and you were foretold that one would have some kind of a breakout season, you might guess Eddie to be the one. And again, forecasting aside, with equal batting numbers like in 2017, I am much more interested in the player with middle infield skills than the one who doesn't have them. I don't dislike Kennys, indeed he's a fun guy, but I wanted him to up his game and instead he regressed at AAA.
  20. ashbury
  21. ashbury
    If the "Opener" concept catches on, that record will be toast.
  22. ashbury
    No need to rush, though, if that's your preferred destination. Stand your ground, and you'll be in the fifth row soon enough.
  23. ashbury
    I'm afraid Trevor May has earned a moderator's warning point for disrespectful tweeting.
  24. ashbury
    Talk about comic timing - you spoiled the whole joke by continuing after the punch line was delivered.
  25. ashbury
    Steady diet of low pitches that can't reasonably be lofted to the outfield, in that scenario, and dare him to walk.
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