Ranking Wars
MLB Pipeline just dropped a new Guardians top 30 prospects. Different people rank prospects differently but in what world is CJ Kayfus among the top 30 Guardians' prospects? In what alternate universe does a 21 year old Jhonkensy Noel drop from 15th to 28th since the last ratings came out earlier this month even though his two best months of the season so far have been July and August? Where Noel is rated below Jonathon Rodriguez? Where 6rh round draft pick Alex Mooney is rated 21st even though he hasn't swung a bat (at the time) in the minors? Where Andrew Walters, a guy whose upside is as a setup man, is ranked 18th before he even throws a pitch? To make all this happen Cody Morris, Hunter Gaddis, Justin Boyd and Joe Lampe have disappeared off this list, as Nate Furman did earlier this year.
To those people doing those MLB Pipeline rankings: You realize announcers use these rankings all the time and even certain GMs quote those rankings as fact when they trade their best starting pitcher for a guy on the IL in AAA. These ratings mean something. It appears that if you have a large bonus or are drafted in a high round but there is no history of you as a professional you STILL get ranked highly. Hey, I have no trouble with that, generally, but the Guardians 2023 draft is highly suspect and to rate those draft picks ahead of guys like Rodriguea, Frias, Noel, Morris and Gaddis, and other...as my wife's grandmother use to say..."that ain't right...that ain't right". Ranking level does not equal bonus amount, people. It just doesn't.
Bo Naylor - Advanced baserunning class
So, I think it was Wednesday's game. We were rallying and, with the infield in, Kwan hit a grounder to second, and the secondbaseman tagged out Naylor and stepped on first to double Kwan, ending the inning. I think that if Naylor just dives back to first base it does two things: (1) creates enough confusion that they may not even get one out, let alone 2 or (2) slows the play down enough that the runner on 3rd scores before the double play is created. As I am sure you all knnow the 1st baseman would have to, without stepping on 1st, tag out Naylor and then step on firsr to get Kwan. Looking at the replay I don't think he had time to do both. If he bends down to tag Naylor, Kwan would beat the tag of first base. If he tags the bag he couldn't reach down fast enough to tag Naylor before the run scored. He could have looked like a genius...but he ended up looking like a rookie in the headlights when he froze and made the fielder's job easy. Rookies!?!?!?!?! Arrgh.
Columbus Triangle
What the heck is going on? Given the success (albeit limited, in some cases) that some of our current Columbus pitchers have had in the majors, it is incredibly puzzling as to why these guys are struggling like AAAA players in their second time around in Columbus. Hunter Gaddis, Jamex Karinchak, Peyton Battenfield, Tim Herrin and even Zach Plesac have not looked all that sharp this year. These guys were supposed to provide above average (for the average ML team, that is) AAA depth for our pitching staff.
Instead, these guys have all, to some degree, had their performance fall off the table this year in Columbus. Is it something in the water in Columbus? Is the pitching coaching in Columbus messed up? Are these guys just pouting because they think they belong in the majors? They should be dominating but they are not. It is puzzling and infuriating as we need that depth so we don't have to use AAAA retreads with Michael Kelly and Daniel Norris, neither of whom SHOULD have a future in this organization.
Well, I have come up with a plausible explanation. The Clippers team is surrounding by a time warp creating what I have termed the Columbus triangle. Pitchers go into that triangle and one of two things in happening: (1) their careers crash and burn and they disappear from the majors forever or (2) they gointo the triangle and never come out, simply being replaced by dopplegangers who can't pitch or (3) they go into the triangle and come out as 45-year old versions of themselves where all their stuff has naturally age-degraded although their journaey through the space-time continuum has made their external bodies appear the same age.
In any case, call the medics, call the astrophysicists, call the Bermuda Triangle or Alaska Triangle experts, call somebody and let's get to figuring out how we can reverse this.
These guys are important and that is why they are considered assets. They actually should be positive contributors to our ML team and not just look like AAAA guys who you can get on the waiver wire any day of the week.
Ramirez out, today's game is Columbus vs Tampa
In sort of the cherry on the whipped cream on the hot fudge sauce on the ice cream sundae, Jose begins serving his (now) 2 game suspension today. That pretty much nails this moment as the completion of the 2023 Columbus Clippers being converted to the 2023 Cleveland Guardians. We will see today if a AAA team can, in fact, beat a WS contender.
BTW, here is hoping that MLB looks at Tim Anderson's suspension and says "Oops, sorry. After relooking at the video, we have decided that you are a punk a--, b----- and we have raised your suspension to 7 games instead of our original underestimate of 6 games. And, if you are wondering, yes, the game we took off Ramirez's suspension we added it to yours. How do you like that, sucka?" Then I woke up from the best dream I have had recently.
When you have a player suspended does that mean you have to play one player short during that stretch? It appears so as I don't think we added a player for Clase's suspension and it doesn't look like we have added one to today's active roster.
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