LA Vikes Fan

Did Astudillo actually swing at any strikes? Or were they all balls? Game over.

Is Buxton really hurt again? I'm not watching on TV.

I agree on Buxton but I’m sorry, I think you badly overrate Cave.He is not an OK outfielder because he simply doesn’t hit well enough and hasn’t for quite a while. I think he has shown that at his best, he is a serviceable fourth outfielder on a decent team and more likely the fifth outfielder on a good team. He simply does not have much value on the trade market. Any trade for a decent reliever would have to settle around the value of the prospects we givr up, with the possibility of Cave as an additional throw in to slightly sweeten the deal.

I completely agree, Brock. Teams still in the formative stage really got the short end of that decision. Having said that, the timing is right so I'd still give Larnach his shot now. He's likely to be up at some point this year so let's do it when we can. No more Cave or Garlick. That doesn't do anything for us, short or long term.

I'm not ready to punt today but I will be if we can't pull ourselves back to .500 by the end of May. We have roughly 26 games to do that - 16-10 will do the trick. If we can't get back to .500 after 1/3 of the season, we need to accept the fact that this roster just isn't that good and look to the future. In the interim, give guys a shot when the MLB guys are proven not to be successful. Play Larnach now while Arraez and Kirilloff are out, not Cave or Garlick. He's 24. time to find out if he can play. If he isn't ready, send him back down. Same with Andrew Vasquez in the bullpen. He's 27. He was once a good prospect, find out if he can play. I'm sure there are others. Do what we're doing with Rortvedt, give guys a chance.

Probably true on Celestino, but I disagree on Larnach. He's 24 and the time is right for him to be evaluated. I know he ahsn't played at AAA but that's because of the lost 2020 season. Between Araez on concussion protocol and Kirilloff going to the IL, the only thing between Larncah and LF is Cave and Garlick. We know what Cave and Garlick bring - 4th or really 5th OF production. I'd rather give Larnach a shot.

I completely agree. We are about a month of playing at this level away from turning this into a "reloading" or "rebuilding" year. If we aren't back over .500 by May 31, time to change approaches and get guys up here to learn and grow. Larnach, Duran, Balzovic, Celestino and maybe even Gordon, Blankenhorn, Weil and Vasquez need to be evaluated at the MLB level. Rooker and Jeffers should get another shot. Cave, Garlick, Colome, and the rest of the parade of mediocre relievers can go. Will if be painful to watch? Absolutely. Will it help us be better next year? We have to hope so.

Actually, amend that. Celestino or Larnach? Why not? Unless this Bullpen gets fixed immediately, this season is going nowhere. Cave and Garlick are fine to have on a contending team if they perform a little. They are not fine for a non-contending team because they aren't part of the next wave of starters. they take at-bats away from the next wave of starters. I hate to say this because I am the eternal optimist, but this does not look like a contending team. The bullpen is a dumpster fire and we have no fire extinguishers. That alone dooms us to at best fringe contender status. Add to that the fact that the rotation is a little short and lacks a true #1 starter, the offense is very boom or bust and thus inconsistent, and the defense if ok but tends to choke in the clutch, and the game situation managing has been below average at best. Now we're getting injury prone and that's without the IL stints for Buxton and Donaldson that you know are coming. It's hard to see one thing that will get this team going. Frankly, 85 wins would be an accomplishment.

Well isn't this special? Sounds like he goes on Il, Sano is activated. After Cave having yet another 0-4 evening with "only" one strikeout, it's time for him to go to AAA and play every day. Maybe he can find something that will get him back to 2019 (or maybe he just isn't very good). Bring up Broxton.

Isn't Duran on the IL? Same with Balzovic? If not, I'd be tempted to bring them up to pitch out of the bullpen for now. I'd rather have Thorpe start than Dobnak.

Sign Greene. Promote Law and Smeltzer. Demote Theilbar and Waddell. IL Colome. Make Robles the closer, Rogers a fireman, Duffy and Alcala 8th inning guys. And pray.... a lot.

I don't think we should platoon Kirilloff, at least not yet. He just came up, has had some success and not surprisingly some failures, and so far has looked like he can stand in and hold his own against LH pitching. We need to give him a chance ot show that he can be an everyday OF against all kinds of pitching. That's what we need, not more platoon players. I say he plays every day unless adn until he falls off a cliff iwth the bat so we can see the possibilities. I strongly disagree with platooning him. To me the question is obvious when Sano comes back - do you take ABs away from Sano or Kepler? Arraez can play LF with Kiriloff at 1B, Arraez can play LF or RF with Sano at 1B, and Arraez can play 2B or 3B when both play Kepler has been given a chance to hit LH pitching, but hasn't been able to do so except for 2019 so he can be a platoon player. I understand the concerns about a backup CF with Buxton so brittle but I would call up Broxton or keep Garlick over keeping Cave on the MLB roster. My steps: 1. Activate, Sano, send down Cave. 2. Decide if you like Garlick or Broxton as your 4th OF and put that person on the MLB roster. 3. Play Kirilloff almost every day. Bench Kepler against most LH pitching. Kiriloff plays LF most days and he or Arraez plays RF when Kepler is on the bench. Sano gets his days off against RH pitching, with Kiriloff or Arraez at 1B when he sits. I would leave Kiriloff at one spot (LF) and have Arraezx move around if we think he can play 1B. 4. Garlick/Broxton plays 2-3 days a week against mostly LH pitching and to give Buxton/ Cruz/ Donaldson days off with Arraez moving around.