moonslav59

Gaetti, hands down. I'm not one to value RP'ers all that highly, but I do think fangraphs undervalues them. The Gaetti-Mo comp goes against that belief.

The thing is, every AL playoff bound team has a black hole. Some have 2-4. Also, with Duran up, we need to find ways for Kike and Arroyo to play nearly everyday. Kike can play 1B. I think we found our 1B platoon or coverage guy in Kike. Out of their top 9 hitters by PAs, the Rays have 4 guys at under .707 (2 under .641). Their next 3 guys are under .700, so 7 of their top 12 guys are under .707. Can they keep winning with just one guy under .700? The CWS have 2 of their top 9 under .700. Can they win? The A's have two, including one at .599. 6 of their top 13 hitters are below .700. They have one hitter over .826. The Astros have 2, including one at .548! Having 7 of their top 10 over .800 kinda makes up for that. Our top 3 guys by PAs are over .925, our next 3 are over .745. The next 3 are under .700 but Arroyo, our 10th man in PAs is now playing more than Marwin and Dalbec. 7. .659 Vaz 8. .673 Dalbec 9. .583 Marwin 10. .762 Arroyo We have 3 "black hole," but Dalbec seems to be squeezed out of playing time by the addition of Duran, and Marwin should not remain 9th in PAs, unless Arroyo gets hurt, again. Maybe Duran ends up in the top 9 or 10 in PAs, but that remains to be seen, and who knows what he will hit?

No doubt. Mo was the best ever closer. Gaetti was not the best ever anything. So, it comes down to how much you value a closer vs an everyday player.

That’s a bit deceptive. Since he’s done so well, he’s pitched to less batters per inning and thrown less pitches per batter.

If Marwin goes on the IL, Cordero could replace Chavis.

We don’t really know what Bloom might or might not do. I think he might make a big trade but not for a rental or maybe not even a guy like Berríos, who has one more year of control, unless extending him is part of the plan, Timing is also a key element in making a big trade. Some might think, “hey, we’re in a race for a ring, what better time is there but now?” I’m not sure Bloom is thinking now it the right time.

Great point, and while Gaetti was pretty good, no way were these two equals.

Dalbec can be platooned or see him play about 50%, with Kike or apparently Arroyo playing 1B when he sits, so Duran can play near FT without taking Kike out of the line-up.

With everyone healthy, would this be the 26 man roster? Sale, Eovaldi, ERod, Pivetta, Perez, Richards (Pen?) Barnes, Ottavino, Taylor, Whitlock, DHern, Houck, Sawamura Vazquez, Plawecki Dalbec Arroyo, Marwin Bogey Devers Verdugo Kike, Duran Renfroe JD #26: Cordero, Chavis, Brasier, Bazardo, Andriese, Workman, Rios

Speaking of the IL. Sale is on the 60 and begins his rehab, very soon. Brasier is on the 60, and I'm not sure when he comes back. (It may notmatter.) Bazardo is on the 60, and may not come back, this year. Andriese is on the 10 day IL. Santana is on the 10 day IL. Marwin may be going on the 10 day IL. Chavis, Workman, Rios and Brice are on the bubble.

Has any moves been announced to counter the Duran addition to the 40 man and 26 man roster and Houck to the 26 man roster? I have heard Marwin to the IL (for what?), and I'm guessing Brice gets DFA'd again. With Santana on the IL, he may be next, or do we DFA him and try to keep Brice on the 40? (Does he have to clear waivers, again?)

I think the biggest question right now is how do Duran and Kike play 8-9 games out of 10. I guess the idea that Duran may not play that much could be asked, but I think they called him up to play at least 7 of 10 games. The only way I see it working is for Kike or Arroyo to play 1B at least 4-5 games out of 10. Let's assume Kike does, since he has 89 innings at 1B over his career. Kike has none. We could see something like this: Games played out of 10 9 Renfroe (Kike plays LF or CF, Verdugo RF) 9 Verdugo (Kike plays LF or CF- Duran LF or CF) 8-9 Kike (4-5 at 1B, 1-2 at 2B and 2-3 in the OF) 8-9 Arroyo (Kike plays 2B) 5-6 Dalbec (Kike plays 1B) Basically, Kike plays the rover. Dalbec loses the most playing time. Everyone else gets 1-2 days off every 10 games, which isn't far from the norm, right now.

No doubt, Barnes looked better in April and May. I'm hopeful his last few games doing a little better is a sign of better things to come.

I'm not sure they even play Duran in LF at all. You don't throw a rookie, with not much experience even in CF to a corner OF slot without some game experience, right? I can't remember who the poster was that felt he'd play LF once called up.

Quite a few have, too. Here are his ERA numbers from these chosen time frames (baseball ref does not give OPS Against) 2.49 from opening day to June 5th. 4.76 from June 5 to June 24. 1.29 from June 25 to July 15. Maybe he's got over the blip. WHIP 0.63 1.76 1.14 Maybe not.

Yes, and nobody expected even half that (1.6). I did expect 1.0 to 1.3 and liked him better than Ottavino as our closer on opening day, despite Ottavino's better numbers in many categories. I think most here wanted Barnes over Ottavino, but weren't happy with either as the 2021 closer. Barnes sure shut us up! (Ottavino has won us over, too, after a slow start.)

I hear you, and although I do enjoy stats, I also like to enjoy and discuss the finer points of the game and the aspects data can never capture. I'd never love this game like I do, if I never played it. I was never good at hitting, but I got on base enough, ran well and defended very well. I enjoy watching the game like you do. Being a stat nerd does not mean I can't see other things- not that you implied I cannot or do not. Yes, the game threads are dominated by frustration fueled insults and lashing out. I'd love to sit down with you to watch a game, sometime. Just us two. I always respect your views and opinions.

If that was even a thought in Bloom's mind, Duran would have played some 2B in AAA.

Yes, it will take longer than 3 years to start seeing the results. It's not just drafting or acquiring the right pitching prospects; it's bout developing them. One might say Whitlock is some evidence that this management team is better than past ones, in terms of adding better pitching prospects. Maybe Houck is an example of improved pitching development. Yes, it's early, but I like what I'm seeing and reading about this new group of decision-makers.

Best OPS on the farm (100+ ABs) 1.004 Cordero (6 HRs in 150 As) .983 Granberg (9 HRs) .979 Mieses (15 HRs) .976 Dearden (10 HRs) .939 T Reed (13 HRs) .938 Meneses (10 HRs) .926 Duran (15 HRs) .903 Herrmann (5) .894 Wilson (10 ) .890 Howlett (10) .885 S Scott (8) .885 Fitzgerald (8) .862 Castellanos (9) .821 Cottam (5) .788 Ockimey (10) .785 Yorke (3) .776 Casas (6)

harmony, you know very well those projections are always very conservative. The probably project Devers to have an .820 OPS. The debate we are having is not about 2022, It's about pre 2021 Barnes in various time frames. It started with my point about him being worth this recent contract even without the 2021 numbers. I think he was, but it's a close call. Posting 2021 numbers and 2022-2023projections have nothing to do with with the statement you responded to.

Okay.If you think Mo was just "very good" then I can see not wanting to call Barnes "very good." Mo was the best, but I guess if you are just very good and everyone else sucks, it doesn't make you elite, right? 12 seasons over a 2 fWAR, including 7 straight. 17 seasons over 1.2 in an 18 year stretch. Just "very good." Okay.

My point was just about 2017-2019 or when I included 2020 to justify paying him $8M a year. I never said his overall career numbers are very good. I say 2017-2020- you respond 2014-2020 or just 2020. You don't think he was very good even from 2017-2020. Fine, but you may be alone holding that opinion.

I'm not one to think RP'ers deserve big money, but even I think WAR undervalues RP'ers. The high WAR RP'ers often are the high IP ones, not the ones that get the big outs more often. I still think OPS Against is one of the best tools to measure how good a pitcher is, just like using OPS to know who the best hitters are. When your OPS against is between .500 and .680 for 4 straight years, then .705 in a COVID year with just 23 IP, you are at least a very good pitcher. I'm not sure I can settle on saying just "good," but as long as someone is consistent with their criteria I'd probably not argue. Barnes has had a remarkably consistent and very good OPS Against. He's pitched in a hitters park was more than half his games. He's pitched against an AL East division known for top offenses. He's pitched on teams that are weak defensively. He's top 6 to 25% in many key categories, not just OPS Against. Even WAR and WHIP, maybe his weakest areas, he's still top 33% from 2017 onwards. Not thinking this is very good is puzzling to me, but to each his own, I guess.

If you are better than 94% of your peers you can't suck. Also, now you are changing your term from average or above average to "suck." Am I not supposed to take you at your word, here?