Rock Bottom, 2021 AL East

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

Weird, because when they expanded rosters to 26, there was supposed to be a limitation on pitchers at 13. That not in effect?

 

I thought I remembered reading or hearing something about not using position players on the mound anymore for mop ups in blow-outs; maybe it's thought of as an insult to actual customers paying to watch a shoddy product.

 

I probably nightmared it.

[Larry Cook]

Yankees at rock bottom in the al East!

[Maxbialystock]

Yankees at rock bottom in the al East!

 

And a lot of weeping at gnashing of teeth at espn. They treat the Yankees as their home team.

[Elktonnick]

And a lot of weeping at gnashing of teeth at espn. They treat the Yankees as their home team.

 

Wow the Red Sox sure are a lot of fun to watch right now! Also caught a couple of Yankees games. They are playing about as poorly as I have seen them play in a long long time. But this is baseball, this could turn around for both teams. The bottom line is this could be a very interesting season.

[Larry Cook]

And a lot of weeping at gnashing of teeth at espn. They treat the Yankees as their home team.

 

That is the truth, which is why I do not watch those clowns.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

And a lot of weeping at gnashing of teeth at espn. They treat the Yankees as their home team.

 

The talking heads keep pointing at recent slow starts and how NY still wound up with 100-win seasons. What they conveniently leave out is that the '18 and '19 Yanks still had Didi, their best glove, at shortstop. There's no easy fix now, except for complete overhaul.

[mvp 78]

Will the Yanks be buyers or sellers at the deadline?

 

How many years until the Yanks cliff?

[jad]

I thought I remembered reading or hearing something about not using position players on the mound anymore for mop ups in blow-outs; maybe it's thought of as an insult to actual customers paying to watch a shoddy product.

 

I probably nightmared it.

 

I love it when position players pitch. What are you supposed to do in a 15-1 blowout? Pretend to 'jes' keep grinding'? The way, you pretend that flipping the bat after a HR is an insult of some sort?

[notin]

Will the Yanks be buyers or sellers at the deadline?

 

How many years until the Yanks cliff?

 

Let’s just say Boone and Cashman could be cast to play Thelma and Louise right now...

[mvp 78]

Let’s just say Boone and Cashman could be cast to play Thelma and Louise right now...

 

Is Taillon playing the Brad Pitt role?

[notin]

Is Taillon playing the Brad Pitt role?

 

Yes. Or Kluber. Good chance one or both gets injured filming.

 

I should also mention that Harvey Keitel’s part will have to be written out, since right now no one is chasing the Yankees...

[Kimmi]

Wow. Someone said this out loud and in public. 14 pitchers means 9 position players day after day with just 2 subs: a catcher and someone pretty versatile.

 

On the other hand, having just 2 subs means the Sox bench is going to be more engaged than those huge 3 man benches.

 

I have been saying this since before the season started. In fact, I expressed my surprise that most people thought we should go with 13 pitchers. LOL

 

The bench (and a couple of starters) that we have are so versatile that Cora can cover things very well with his 2 non-catching subs. It does help to keep the bench players more engaged, as you mentioned.

 

But more importantly, I figured that in most of our games, especially early on, Cora would need to cover roughly 4 innings with the pen. Having the extra reliever allows Cora more flexibility and also helps him to keep the pen from getting overused.

[Kimmi]

Will the Yanks be buyers or sellers at the deadline?

 

How many years until the Yanks cliff?

 

!!!

[moonslav59]

I have been saying this since before the season started. In fact, I expressed my surprise that most people thought we should go with 13 pitchers. LOL

 

The bench (and a couple of starters) that we have are so versatile that Cora can cover things very well with his 2 non-catching subs. It does help to keep the bench players more engaged, as you mentioned.

 

But more importantly, I figured that in most of our games, especially early on, Cora would need to cover roughly 4 innings with the pen. Having the extra reliever allows Cora more flexibility and also helps him to keep the pen from getting overused.

 

With so many days off, early in the season, a 9 man pen would not be needed until mid April.

 

The second point was that if one was needed, they are practicing just 2 hours away.

[notin]

With so many days off, early in the season, a 9 man pen would not be needed until mid April.

 

The second point was that if one was needed, they are practicing just 2 hours away.

 

Or this weekend, with 4 games in 48 hours. Whichever comes first...

[moonslav59]

Or this weekend, with 4 games in 48 hours. Whichever comes first...

 

I can see, if we were on a west coast stretch and had a 19 inning game, or something, but even in that case, we could have had Houck travel with the big team.

 

There is also the 27th man rule for doubleheaders, so that makes it easy.

[Bellhorn04]

I can see, if we were on a west coast stretch and had a 19 inning game, or something, but even in that case, we could have had Houck travel with the big team.

 

There is also the 27th man rule for doubleheaders, so that makes it easy.

 

Are you griping about something? Sorry, it gets hard to follow the train sometimes.

[moonslav59]

Are you griping about something? Sorry, it gets hard to follow the train sometimes.

 

The argument was about having an extra pitcher or bench player.

 

One major point for carrying a bench player was that if a pitcher was ever needed, you could have one there in 2 hours. That's not the case, if we were in Seattle, but I added that if we were on a long west coast stretch, which we were not, we could have brought along an extra pitcher (not on the 26 man roster) in case we needed to add one after having a 19 inning game the night before.

 

Setting the opening day roster does not preclude additions and subtractions just a few days into the season, if needed.

 

The other point was about us having to play 4 games in a 48 hour period, and that is precisely an example that adding a pitcher before that stretch would make sense and is entirely possible and easy to do.

 

(BTW, I was not "griping." I was defending the position that we never needed that extra pitcher, and if we did, we'd know enough beforehand to add one- or two in the case of the doubleheader.)

 

The fact that you can add a player to the 26 man roster for a double header also eases that strain on the pen during that 48 hour stretch- not to mention the fact that we had a day off to rest the entire pen before that 48 hour stretch.

Edited April 18, 2021 by moonslav59

[Kimmi]

In Cora we trust. If he feels like we're in a better position with 14 pitchers, then that's good enough for me.

[Bellhorn04]

In Cora we trust. If he feels like we're in a better position with 14 pitchers, then that's good enough for me.

 

Same.

[moonslav59]

Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.

 

4-12 COL

5-10 NYY

6-10 AZ

6-10 DET

5-9 WSH

6-9 Cubs

 

[harmony]

Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.

 

4-12 COL

5-10 NYY

6-10 AZ

6-10 DET

5-9 WSH

6-9 Cubs

 

And the Red Sox are tied for the second-best record in baseball.

[Thunder]

Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.

 

4-12 COL

5-10 NYY

6-10 AZ

6-10 DET

5-9 WSH

6-9 Cubs

 

 

Going to be a long summer out in Denver. That team hovered around .500 for years in that ballpark, and that was with Arenado. Would not be surprised if Blackmon wants out at the deadline, causing them to launch a full rebuild

[notin]

Going to be a long summer out in Denver. That team hovered around .500 for years in that ballpark, and that was with Arenado. Would not be surprised if Blackmon wants out at the deadline, causing them to launch a full rebuild

 

They'd move Blackmon at lightning speed if anyone wanted him. But since he is owed $42mill for this year and next and has a player option for 2023, that's a lot of commitment for a guy with a pretty mediocre OPS (.744) outside of Coors ( where he has a .983 OPS)...

[moonslav59]

They'd move Blackmon at lightning speed if anyone wanted him. But since he is owed $42mill for this year and next and has a player option for 2023, that's a lot of commitment for a guy with a pretty mediocre OPS (.744) outside of Coors ( where he has a .983 OPS)...

 

Certainly, they will have to pay a large chunk of that deal, but Arenado had similar splits:

 

Career:

 

Home: .985

 

Away: .792

 

Someone took him.

[Maxbialystock]

In Cora we trust. If he feels like we're in a better position with 14 pitchers, then that's good enough for me.

 

And I call a foul! You have already stated your emphatic belief that 14 pitchers is what any sensible team should want. In this case, you trust Cora because he is Kimmi fan.

[Maxbialystock]

Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.

 

4-12 COL

5-10 NYY

6-10 AZ

6-10 DET

5-9 WSH

6-9 Cubs

 

 

Oooooohhhhh. Sometimes the simplest stats are the most enlightening ones.

[Kimmi]

And I call a foul! You have already stated your emphatic belief that 14 pitchers is what any sensible team should want. In this case, you trust Cora because he is Kimmi fan.

 

I already stated, more than once, my reasons for thinking that 14 pitchers is a good idea. Typing that I trust Cora saves me a lot of time. LOL

[Kimmi]

In terms of run differential, the Red Sox are currently the class of the league.

[Larry Cook]

Speaking of "rock bottom:" here are the worst teams in MLB by record, currently.

 

4-12 COL

5-10 NYY

6-10 AZ

6-10 DET

5-9 WSH

6-9 Cubs

 

 

Cubs and Washington joining the Yankees in rock bottom land. This is definitely not a “pre virus” world we live in now!

 

Ps: 5 of these 6 teams are cold weather teams.