1. We hear all the time about what the "front office" is doing. Obviously this is used in connection with your GM and, in the Guardians' case, their president of baseball operations, Chris Antonetti.
In the business world the front office is the customer-facing division of a business. Interesting, as in baseball the 'customers' are more like other teams and players and their agents than they are like us, the fans, the true customers of this team. We just use front office as jargon when these people are really just the executives of the baseball operations division with the owner of the team also, in some cases, lumped in.
Not much crazy new here but just something that has been rattling around in my brain.
2. Good effort by Ohio State on Saturday. No one talks about it but it was just bad play calling that netted them -1 yards on their last three plays before forcing Ruggles to try a field goal longer than he had ever made. That was the key to the game there. Bad play calling on the last 3 plays. I was screaming for them to do a student body right-type play toward the sideline with Stroud carrying the ball. Could have gotten 2-3 or more yards and avoided a fumble as Stroud just steps out at the first sign of trouble. As far as the Buckeyes defense, Knowles has a lot to improve on next year.
3. Donovan Mitchell...SEVENTY-ONE...amazing.
4. To reiterate, it is time the Guardians start thinking about usage rates for their relievers. On paper they have enough relievers but, given the usage rates, they NEED another lefty reliever and could use, but don't really need, a veteran righty 7th innng guy. The former would likely be by free agency on a major league contract and the latter could be on a minor league contract.
5. It would be nice to see some of our utility guys out in Arizona working on their positional flexibility. Not everything has to be done starting in spring training. Arias should get time in LF and he and Freeman should get time at all 4 infield positions.
6. Is it just me or is this off-season in baseball just setting up perfectly. I mean, yeah, the Mets are spending ridiculous amounts but the free agent shuffle is going, in my opinon, flawlessly and so far, and I imagine in the future, the trades are going perfectly with teams who match each others' needs being able to make deals. The Guardians do have an excess of prospects but I applaud them for not just giving away guys BECAUSE they have excess. I mean, if Andre Knott's assertion that the A's were asking for Daniel Espino and other Guards' top 10 prospects for Sean Murphy is accurate, given what they eventually accepted for Murphy, it shows that the rest of baseball either thinks the Guardians' prospects aren't as good as the rankings would indicate or that they were playing hardball with Cleveland BECAUSE the Guardians have so many prospects that they won't be able to find playing time for all of them AND because the Guardians are in a competitive window right now. Again, props to them for not blinking and making a trade they will regret later, not for what they get back but what they give up.
7. While I applauded them in 6., I still am ticked that they traded Jones for Brito. Not an even trade and one that smacks, in reverse, of the Tobias Myers trade last year. Hey, Vargas for Carver, I get it because you needed the roster spot for Bell and a team like the D'backs have to roll the dice a little hoping to catch the brass ring. But Jones for a guy who will run out of minor league options BEFORE he gets to even 1/2 a season in the majors? Ridiculous on paper and, as I said before, teams that value guys the rest of the league doesn't value almost, and I repeat, ALMOST always get burned.
8. Can't wait for ST to start. Hoping for another season with only small or no injury issues and guys (like Shaw and Gonzalez, for instance) giving us bigger than expected results with most others giving us at least average results for their abilities. I know that is a big ask but this team isn't far from 94 wins this coming season but they aren't far from 83 losses, as well, if things don't break right.
9. Hoping NONE of our guys play in the World Baseball Classic. I don't know why but it seems like major leaguers seem to be more negatively affected by this type of event than guys in other sports. I mean, Olympic basketball for instance. How often are guys hurt in that event compared to what happens to guys in the WBC. And I am not just talking about acute injuries. Just long-term wear and tear. The WBC should be for career minor leaguers, professionals in other professional leagues not named MLB and guys in the lower minors, not for major leaguers.
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