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Mark G

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Everything posted by Mark G

  1. Mark G
    I don't believe he has ever given up, nor do I believe he isn't a smart baseball man overall. But there are fair critiques here; it is all in the way they are presented. Bear with me here: Rocco won a crap ton of games when we hit 307 home runs. He has lost a crap ton of games since the home runs have dried up some. Must be a reason. Again, bear with me: if a football team runs their offense consistently with the same game plan, run on first down, throw a down and out on 2nd, and throw a screen pass on 3rd, it won't take much more than a half to figure it out and defend them solidly. When the coordinator doesn't stray from the plan very much, an occasional trick play or long pass maybe, but overall doesn't stray from plan A, they won't win much. When a baseball offense bunts maybe a dozen times a year, seldom tries to steal a base, even more seldom uses a hit and run play, it becomes pretty easy for a team to defend them. And when plan A is use your starter for the first two times through the order and use the BP for the rest of the game, it means every guy in the BP has to be on that day to win, or at least most of the time. If someone has a bad day, there is little room for error, considering how the offense plays (see above). So your offense relies on the HR too much of the time and the pitching staff relies on the BP too much of the time. The end result is we score 3 runs or less 40 plus percent of the time, and blow saves too many games to be a winning club overall. And when it appears the manager will not stray from plan A, which the last 3 full seasons have appeared to show, it is justifiable to ask why an otherwise very bright baseball man won't budge from the plan when it is not winning. Fair? And I agree that we should keep any name calling to ourselves. But critiquing and criticizing are not the same; it is all in the delivery. Anyway, that's my story, and I'm stickin to it.
  2. Mark G
    Agreed. When I looked ahead to this series I looked ahead to the pitching match ups as well. Their top 3 guys fall between a 2.96 and a 3.55 ERA, with 155 innings or more, and we face all three this weekend. Obviously in a 5 game series next week we are likely to see all 5 starters, so we will face these three again unless they go 6 deep. That would mean 6 of our 8 games are against these 3 starters. We are going to need our starters to step up and do as well, or this is not going to end well. And it didn't start out great, either. And Rocco needs to know when to hold em, and know when to fold em, and last night was a fold, not a hold when it comes to the starter. He did do well to leave Sanchez in there for the length he did, but 1 for 2 didn't do it last night. With Archer and TBD going this weekend (Varland?) the bullpen is going to be taxed, I fear, so let's hope everyone is on. We need it now.
  3. Mark G
    The pitch clock is about a decade overdue. Pitchers and catchers have acted like they are in a virtual huddle, like football players between plays, deciding which set of signs they are on that inning, and hitters going through their glove and helmet routine between every pitch; it puts you to sleep. Once the batter is in the batters box and the pitcher is on the rubber, game on. Stay there. Throw the ball. Hit the ball. Or not, and strike out. But knock off the silly routines. The shift ban is a result of the game not teaching the fundamentals anymore. They want the launch angle, and speed off the bat, etc. Learn to hit the ball the other way. And if you learn how to bunt the ball where they aren't, the shift ends by itself. Since you can't, or won't, the league has to step in for you. Embarrassing. And I do love the bigger bases and less pick off throws. I love the stolen base, and it is long overdue coming back. Just think what it is going to do to the catching position. With the robot ump around the corner and more frequent stolen base attempts, framing pitches won't matter anymore, and an arm that can throw out runners will be back in. Welcome back! Overall, looking forward to '23. Let's see who adapts the fastest and the best. Baseball just might be fun again.
  4. Mark G
    It begs the question: did the Twins win, or did the Yankees lose?
  5. Mark G
    I tip my hat to the guys! Good win! But is it just me? As I look at the BP spread sheet I see 4 guys who appear unavailable tomorrow based on the number of pitches they threw the last 2 nights. At least that has been the pattern throughout the year. We might need Bundy to be a workhorse tomorrow.
  6. Mark G
    Simon and Garfunkel should have used the name Bert Blyleven in the "Mrs. Robinson" song.
  7. Mark G
    Okay, let's cut to the chase here. I know I am going to get my share of flak here, but I can live with it. If your plan A is to average 5 innings a start, then plan A is also to have the BP pitch 4 innings a game. Over a 162 game season that works out if you have 8 BP guys that are up to the task, that bring it game in and game out. But........what if you only have 7? Or.........what if it is only 6? Or........well, I won't kick a dead horse, but what if you just don't have a stacked BP that can handle 40 plus percent of your innings pitched? Us old farts would say you let your starters go until they prove they are out of gas, because the guy relieving them just might not be any better, first time through or not. Apparently, the analytics say anyone on a MLB roster is better than said starter if it is the 3rd time through. Now, I know I am a little different, but on planet Mark, that DOES'NT MAKE SENSE! But, if all of baseball is doing it, it must be right..........yeah, right.
  8. Mark G
    You are right. If we continue to develop from within, and bring in from without, starters who fit the profile you describe, then...........I don't know.............maybe it is the profile that needs changing, not the use of the pitchers who fit that profile?
  9. Mark G
    So, the amount you spend depends on the amount you take in. I would never argue with that. But, using that argument, doesn't the product have to improve if you want the amount coming in to improve? And you have to improve the product before you can improve the amount coming in, not waiting for more to come in before you improve the product. We are 20th in MLB in attendance because we are in that range as a product people will pay to see. It might be very much an example of the chicken or the egg question, but if we don't improve the product, we won't see an improvement in the amount coming in. Bottom line is, they can spend as much or as little as they want. Even if they lose money as an organization each and every year, the value of the organization continues to grow much faster than the amount of money they lose, so, again, they can spend as much or as little as they want. You were spot on when you said the product depends on the amount coming in, so we need to improve the product. It may cost in the short term, but it comes our in the end.
  10. Mark G
    The common thread in the article seems to be that we had knowledge of some issues in almost all of the deals. We went into the deals with our eyes wide open, hoping to get a pitcher coming out of injuries and pitch well again. Same can be said with the Archer signing and the Gray trade. Both coming off of injuries in the past and needing a little tender care in their innings and pitch counts. These are the bargains we are constantly looking for, and the risk is sometimes worth the reward and sometimes not, but let's not pretend it is simply bad luck. It is a pattern that cannot be ignored. The jury is still out for how it will affect '23, but let's hope the guys get well by then.
  11. Mark G
    When you issue 10 walks and strike out 17 times, it gets ugly pretty fast, doesn't it?
  12. Mark G
    One more thing I am going to watch is how his off speed pitches work through this lineup. He has a good fastball, but that won't be enough against this team; he will need his other pitches to be working as well. And I hope he doesn't get too much adrenaline going for him; it can make a pitcher a little wild. Actually, I am glad he is making his debut on the road. The home crowd and all his entourage would make him even more nervous. Go get em kid!!
  13. Mark G
    Awww, was it something I said?
  14. Mark G
    Both my sons are North St. Paul grads, and I live less than a mile from the Concordia College campus. It would be really tempting to just say hip hip hooray and celebrate a great local story. But should we be a little worried that, in the middle of a very close pennant race, we are calling up a pretty raw rookie over anyone else we have in the organization? What, exactly, does that say for what we have in the organization? When a rookie with 4 AAA starts is the best option we have to face the Yankees in a tight pennant race, maybe we should take a step (or two) back and evaluate the system. I know all about the injuries, but maybe that is the point as well. When we can't keep virtually anyone all the way down to AAA rookies healthy, even trading for injury prone pitchers, we just might need to take a long look at virtually everything. But, da@#, I sure hope Varland smokes 'em. What a story.
  15. Mark G
    I'm sorry, I think you misread my point entirely. I was being somewhat tongue in cheek about the whole thing, but my overall point was we can "if" on virtually every game, if not every at bat. "If" he had thrown a better pitch, the guy might have swung and missed, for example. I am not judging the trade on any of this, I am only saying that we can "if" ourselves into insanity "if" we keep going down that road. Personally, I think the trade may be good in the long run, seeing we have him for 2 more years. "If" he turns out to be another Pagan, well then.............. But until we know, I am hoping he turns out to be the guy we thought he would be.
  16. Mark G
    "Singles happen. If those two come off the bat a little differently it would have been extra innings." And if the worm had a .44, the bird wouldn't mess with him. If "ifs and buts" were candy and nuts....................:)
  17. Mark G
    "With the game on Fox, there is not postgame video." Thank God!
  18. Mark G
    Is it possible to DFA him solely as a pitcher and then re-sign him SOLELY as a utility player?
  19. Mark G
    Agreed; those two series were more about where the Giants and Red Sox are.
  20. Mark G
    Normally I would agree with you; Arraez is our best hitter overall. But right now, he is DOWN to .318. He has been in somewhat of a slump lately, and while he still makes contact, he doesn't strike out much, he is just off enough to make weaker contact than usual. Correa, on the other hand, has actually been half decent lately and I would have loved to see how the defense would have handled it. The same stats that show Arraez hitting .341 against righties, is the same set of stats that shows Correa's penchant for double plays. Can't have one without the other. Truth be told, he should have had Sanchez bunting with Arraez up next and Correa to follow. Sanchez is hitting 100 points lower than Arraez and I would take my chances with the top of the order. My point was once it got to 1st AND 2nd, you put the tying run at 3rd, where he can score in several ways, and the winning run at 2nd, with no force. You force the defense to decide do you walk Correa to set up the force at every base, or pitch to both him and Kepler with no force and the infield in during Correa's at bat. Make the defense decide what to do; don't decide for them. Just waiting for the hit(s) to score the run(s) is what we do far too often, and far too often it has ended just this way. As the old saying goes: "you do what you've always done, you're gonna get what you've always got."
  21. Mark G
    I couldn't agree with you more. Arraez arguably has the best bat control on the team, and setting up your 2 and 3 hitters only makes sense, especially since the stats Rocco has in front of him show how often (2nd on the team) Correa does exactly what he did, hit into double plays. We talk about the blunder by Miranda on defense and the blunder by Gordon on offense; how about this blunder by the manager in the dugout? Just might have been the biggest one of all.
  22. Mark G
    I am a little miffed on this one. We are being told that the umps decided to count the bench clearing as a mound visit, which is bizarre in and of itself, but on top of that not one of the 4 told any of our coaches this? Wouldn't they get together and do the old "I thought you told them......no, I thought you told them......routine and realize nobody told anybody and let it go? Are we really sure no ump told no coach nothing?? If so, the league needs to get involved. If they did tell someone, our staff needs to have a reckoning.
  23. Mark G
    Realistically, Verlander is who he is for a reason; I don't think any of us were expecting to beat him. And as much as I hate talking about moral victories, we can say we got 2 runs and 6 hits in only 3 innings against a better than fair Houston bullpen, so we may do better going forward. It was a weird game, but we did hold them within reason and put up a fight once Cy was out of the game, so I have higher hopes for the rest of the week. Higher than what is open to debate, however.
  24. Mark G
    Right now I don't fear Chicago as much as I do Cleveland, but Cleveland has 12 straight games, starting tonight, against over .500 contenders (San Diego, Seattle, and Baltimore) before they get to the 8 games against us. They will do well to split those 12, and might not even do that. So it will all boil down to the 8 games against Cleveland. If Chicago suddenly decides to go on a tear, I will take my crow medium rare. As for who is our biggest challenge, by far Houston. Those first two pitchers would be challenging for anyone, although we might be able to get to Garcia.
  25. Mark G
    I wish I had written this.
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