Thoughts For A Wednesday Afternoon

 GUARDIANS GAME

Retirement is a blessing and a curse.  While it gives me a chance to watch entire Guardians' games live, it gives me time to watch entire Guardians losses live.  Fair disclaimer, I was doing household chores while I was watching but, whatever, I saw the game.  Here are my thoughts:

• Battenfield - He was hit hard when he was hit.  Truth be told, this is about what I expected out of Battenfield with his stuff.  He is like the Cleveland rookie pitcher of the '80s.  A couple of good outings mingled in with a couple of bad outings and as long as the math showed that there were more good outings than bad outings (I mean, even just one outing above even) we had hope.  But, in our heart of hearts, we knew mediocrity when we saw it because, in the '80s, we saw a lot of it.  So that brings me to Battenfield.  On our minor league depth chart at the beginning of the season the starting pitching looked like this: Espino, Williams, Bibee, Allen, Gaddis, Curry  Battenfield in terms of guys who could help the big league rotation this year.  For him to even have the limited success he has had is a pleasant and welcome surprise.  But we all knew when he came up and we all know now who the first guy sent to the minors will be when Civale OR McKenzie come back: Battenfield.  The point is, if you score zero runs even Shane Bieber can't win a game for you.  But Battenfield has given us all I think he is possible of giving.  With the way our offense has been, however, it is not enough to win games as there is no margin for error.  
• Hysterically, the only 4 hits of the game today were by Freeman (2 - smash that ate up the second baseman, infield chopper), Fry (bloop) and Arias (bunt).  Truth be told,  only Freeman's smash up the middle was hard hit and a good play by Mckinstry would have wiped that one out.  But it shows the depth that the rest of the lineup has fallent to where the rest of the guys were like, 0-21.  
• Speaking of infield choppers, Freeman's was almost a carbon copy of Arias' earlier infield chop.  The difference, in my opinion, in the result was taht Arias wasn't running hard to first base compared to Freeman.  This is something I have seen from Arias.  You know, if you are hitting a buck and a half, maybe you ought to run like your hair is on fire.  Plus, running hard fits with what our players do.  For him to not bust it to first base in that situation is not a good thing, I'm telling you.
• Good to see Fry get some work at catcher. He hit the ball hard in the first inning when he flew out. He handled his one chance at 3B well.  He doesn't look overwhelmed or overmatched.
• Zunino, Zunino, Zunino.  What to do about him?  Part of me wants to release him right now but I think you DFA Gallagher and bring up Naylor and make him the starter against RH starters and make Zunino the backup.  If you lose Gallagher so be it.  We still have Collins at AAA as the backup.  Zunino has certainly been a waste of money with his bad hitting and his even worse defense.  Well, we'll always have him plunking Badoo in the cup to remember.  But, really, time to bring up Naylor and make Zunino the backup catcher that he has so justly earned.

MINORS

• Gavin Williams touched 101 today and at the end of his last (5th) inning was still hitting 98.  Gave up only 2 hits and 2 walks, struck out 10.  He was as dominant as I could ever have imagined him to be so early in the season which he started in AA.  Still has some development to do but he looked really strong today.  Maybe even ML ready for a second division team.  But he should be here soon if he stays healthy and productive.
• Tanner Burns - Didn't see him pitch as I was watching (in silence thanks to MiLB.tv) but his numbers looked good.  Still don't think he is throwing that hard but he has had his good velocity moments.  Maybe we should go Freddy Beene on him and change him to a reliever.  
• Hitters - Not a lot of great news here:  Lampe is a hitter, just a singles hitter at this point.  Naylor and Palacios looked good.  Is there any chance in this world that what we are seeing from Korey Holland is real?  Any chance at all because he looks good and like a professional hitter right now.  
• Rocchio needs to be called up and Arias sent down to play SS every day.  Arias is providing no spark to this team at the moment...and this team needs players who provide a spark.  
• All the other guys who pitched today were organizational guys or guys who really need to break out the rest of this year to avoid becoming or continuing to be organizational guys.

That's it for now.  Time for more adulting.

Thoughts for a Tuesday Night

MAJOR LEAGUE TEAM

• Detroit went 1-15 with RISP tonight.  We won the game 2-0.  I don't think you win many games 2-0 when your pitchers give up 14 baserunners (9 hits, 3 walks, 2 errors).  We need to hit better...much better.
• Rosario went 4-4 tonight.  Maybe he will be the catalyst for this offense to find itself.
• Brennan went 2-3 tonight and scored the crucial second run.  I am really on the fence regarding whether he is going to be Steven Kwan (maybe + a little power) or Oscar Mercado going forward.   Let's hope for the Steven Kwan end of things.
• Beiber...what can you say?  Outstanding again
• The bullpen gave up no runs in 3 innings...don't worry about the man behind the curtain.  Just focus on the result.
• Francona doesn't trust any player he hasn't seen for an extended period of time (read: veteran of some ilk).  He needs to start.  I still say pull a Billy Beane on him and demote or trade the guys who aren't performing or aren't (for whatever reason) signing with us long term.  Zunino and Gallagher batting in close and late situations with one of them (and Fry) still on the bench is just too ridiculous to even talk about.  Heck, Gonzalez pinch hitting against the Yankees in the 9th last week instead of Fry is EXACTLY what I am talking about. A potential historical moment in a game where we already had the lead going into the bottom of the 9th totally blown out of the water.  Sometime what the fans want and what is the right thing to do corresponds.  Naylor, Gimenez, Brennan to the bench tomorrow with Fry, Freeman and Arias starting.  

MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS

• Joey Cantillo was getting squeezed tonight and did not have control of his fastball or command of his breaking pitches.  He was lucky to escape giving up as few runs as he did.
• Bo Naylor needs to be called up.  Sometimes you have to eat your microwave dinner before it is cooked thoroughly....Oh, my, that was a terrible analogy.
• Keep an eye on Richie Palacios.  If Brennan continues to scuffle, Palacios deserves a chance.
• I have to ask myself why Zach Plesac can pitch so well at AAA and so lousy in the majors...and then be so pissed when he is demoted. Dude, you gave up like 37 hits in 21 innings.  All you had to do to keep your job was be a quality NUMBER FIVE starter and you couldn't come close to doing that.  I hope you get your act together, man, because I still think you can be a helluva major league starting pitcher for a long time.  Key phrase: 'get your act together'.  
• Nate Furman needs to at Lake County.  
• I am still waiting for Jhonkensy Noel and Jonathon Rodriguez to absolutely go off and each end up with 30 HR this year.  

That's all for right now.  As for the Guardians, a win is a win but we need to just freakin' hit better and, given our pitching, we have the ability to win every game with the pitching we have been getting over the past three series.   Literally EVERY game.  

How Do We Fix Our Hitting?

 Look, this isn't working.  

• Gonzalez wasn't hitting the ball hard.  Either he fixes that or he isn't useful to this team right now.  Gonzalez sent to the minors to fix his problems.  Check
• Mike Zunino isn't hitting and is playing TERRIBLE, I repeat TERRIBLE defense.   Cam Gallagher isn't hitting.  We have a lot of money invested in Zunino, not so much in Gallagher.  Bring up Bo Naylor, ready or not and trade Gallagher.  Platoon Zunino and Naylor which means that Naylor should get a lot of the ABs.  Keep Fry as your 3rd catcher
• Will Brennan isn't hitting.  Send Brennan down to the minors to get his act together.  Bring up Richie Palacios.  Platoon him and Fry in RF.
• Gabriel Arias is pathetic at the plate.   He doesn't play the brand of ball the Guardians played successfully last year.  In fact, like guys like Mercado, Zimmer, Clement, etc., he is the antithesis of the brand of ball the Guardians played successfully last year.   We need to find a player who can play that brand of baseball.  Send Arias down and bring up Rocchio, who DOES play Guardians brand of baseball.  Where Rocchio would play is up in the air but we could find ways to give some everyday ABs to him just like we are trying to do with Arias.
• Naylor cannot hit left handers.  Play Bell exclusively at 1B and use Freeman, when he is not playing elsewhere, as the DH for Naylor against lefties. Or play Fry at 1B against lefties.

Will these moves make the team better, offensively?  I am not sure but the guys we have up here now are not doing the job and putting the offensively-lost Arias in RF where he has no experience is NOT the answer.  We have the redundancies who are on the 40-man roster and ARE producing at AAA.  It's time to use them to give us a spark.

In summary:

Send down: Arias and Brennan

Trade or release: Gallagher

Bring up: Bo Naylor, Richie Palacios and Brayan Rocchio

Play more: Freeman, Fry, Palacios, Bo Naylor and Rocchio.

Questions for Tito

 I have listened to a lot of Francona's postgame 'press conferences', whether they are actual or just writers asking him questions in his office.  I have been struck by how the writers seem to be walking on eggshells when they ask these questions, or at least that is my impression.

If I had been there asking questions after tonight's game I would have asked:

1. Why didn't you pinch hit Freeman for Zunino in the 9th today?

2. David Fry's last AB before tonight was 10 days ago in Columbus.  How do you plan to get him some more ABs?

3. Arias has struck out in almost half his ABs this year, including 8 of his last 14.  What are thy working on with him to get him to make more quality contact?

The problem with what I see going on here is that they say Arias is a big part of their future.  I know he is young but how have they made this determination?  Arias does not have much speed, he doesn't make a lot of contact, he doesn't have a great walk rate.  The only two things he has shown is a great arm at SS and some penchant for power.  A good fielding SS with power who can carry a .250 average is worth a lot, especially when is young and cheap.   But how can you look at his performance and say he is a big part of your future when he has to pretty much play great defense and hit like he did in 2021 in Columbus.  The last two years he has not been that player.  I just don't get it.

Could it be that they sent Gonzalez down because he reminded them too much of Bobby Bradley and Franmil Reyes?  That is, he might have been a flash in the pan and is done?  

I get that. But what is the infatuation with Arias.   If he is the heir apparent to Rosario at SS I get it.  But trade Rosario and let's get this transition going.  Playing a guy in RF that has NONE of the offensive attributes you want in a right fielder and ZERO experience playing there is a bad idea.  It makes no sense when you can get him ABs by just trading Rosario.

Antonnetti today said that transactions aren't happening.  I don't doubt him but, really?  Teams that need a SS aren't willing to trade for one right now and, instead, are going to wait another 50 games before getting one who solves their SS problems?  I think there are good trades out there, but that is just my opinion.

Finally, I am glad David Fry got into a game today but expecting ANYTHING out of the guy when you have frozen him out for 10 days without an at bat creates a self-fulfilling prophecy if your opinion is that he isn't a quality ML player.  In my opinion, as the 26th guy on your team he is one of the most valuable role players in the majors.  How many guys can give you professional defense at 3 positions and provide some offense?  Hey, he may just be a 25th or 26th player but, in my opinion, he will be an important part of this team if given a chance.  But if you DON'T give him a decent chance you have just created a self-fulfilling prophecy when he doesn't perform. 

Thoughts For A Monday: In Comes Detroit And Other Thoughts

DETROIT COMES IN

I had this thought last night that we need to win this series to stay ahead of Detroit.  Then I realized that this was 1980s thinking, just to not be embarrased by being behind a team that is still in their rebuild. The key here is NOT to win this series so we stay ahead of Detroit, it is to win this series so we can either gain ground or stay in reach of Minnesota.  

During the season there are so many ebbs and flows for other teams that intersect our season based on when we play that team and how we are playing that it is hard to predict what will happen in any given series.  We are still not scoring runs (6 in 3 games against Minnesota, 14 in our last 6 games) so I will be looking more about what our offense can produce right now, about getting that offense going.  We are fortunate to be only 2.5 games out of first place in the AL Central right now.  We will just root for the boys and hope they can put up a great series against the Tigers.

Speaking of the boys, it will be interesting to see if David Fry plays tonight.  Detroit starts a left-hander but now our bench is Arias, Freeman, Fry and Brennan, 3 RH hitters and 1 LH hitter.  I could see us starting a lineup tonight that looks like:

Kwan LF

Straw CF

Ramrez 3B

Bell 1B

Rosario SS

Gimenez 2B

Freeman DH

Zunino C

Fry RF

DOUBLE PLAYS

So far this year we have hit into 21 double plays (0.61 per game while last year we hit into 119 DPs (0.73 per game).  Of course, our lack of baserunners this year, 301 OPS compared to .383 last season) could have a lot to do with the difference in % DPs this year. Our leaders so far are Rosario (5), Naylor (5) and, surprisingly, Kwan (4).  So far Josh Bell has not hit into a DP although you can see how his swing path and results so far could lead to be susceptible.  Still, as I said at the beginning of the season, maybe he wouldn't hit into as many with the outlawing of the shift.  Seems, so far, to be playing out that way.

Note that Tyler Freeman has a penchant for hitting into DPs in his career (35 in 366 minor league games, 2 in 84 ABs in the majors) and Fry and Arias are still rookies so there is that.  

MINORS REVIEW

Really not a lot to say about what is going on in the minors right now.  Only Rocchio and Bo Naylor stand out to me so far, a good thing because they are in AAA.  Noel and Jonathon Rodriguez look like they might be about to break out as the weather warms up as they are hitting and, generally, laying off those chase pitches down and away and, in fact, getting a good (for them) number of walks.  Aaron Bracho is becoming interesting with his sudden HR pop just about the time that Gabriel Rodriguez and Junior Sanquintin appear to be fading into organizational player territory.   

As far as pitching, no one besides Gavin Williams is standing out right now as far as prospects. Herrin, Plesac and, to some extent, Gaddis, are performing well after their demotions which is a good thing, depth-wise.  The guys I am looking for having breakout years, Webb, Nikhazy, Mace, are not doing it yet and some of our younger players like Fox, Tolentino, Tena, Angel Martinez and others are REALLY struggling.  

It is early but, right now, the minors is sort of blah to me.  There is plenty of time for this to turn around but we are starting to get enough games in to see trends.  Keeping my fingers crossed that these trends change soon.

Thoughts For A Sunday: The Result Was Good, The Signs Were Not Good

 We won the game....yeah.  The Twins did their best to give us the game and, this time, we did just enough not to give it back.

But there were some signs there that weren't that good, in my opinion.

• Andre Knott said that the Guardians said they 'need to get Gabriel Arias going because he is an important part of our future.' or something like that.  So they demote Oscar Gonzalez and put Arias in RF.  In true Amed Rosario fashion, he drops a very catchable fly ball.  For the game Arias was 0-2 with 2 Ks and 1 BB.  For the season he   For the season he is hitting .171 and has K'd 21 times in 47 ABs.  Last yera he hit .193.  In 2022 he hit .240 at AAA with 13 HRs in 288 ABs with 78 Ks.  Note that 2022 was his second full season in AAA.  They just sent Oscar Gonzalez down to 'get him going'.   

WARNING SIGN: They played Arias out of position against a tough right-handed pitcher when Brennan was available just to 'get him going'.  His defense almost cost us the game and his offense was non-existent.  He should be sent to the minors to get plenty of reps to get himself going.  The comment, the position he was playing, his stats, EVERYTHING, screams send him to the minors to get his act toghether.

• David Fry continues to sit.  I am reminded of two movies
• Wilfred Brimley in "The Natural" saying "Well, I may have to take him but it doesn't mean I have to play him.  EVER."
• The guy playing the Art Howe character in "Moneyball", refusing to play Scott Hatteberg at first base.  Then Billy Beane trading Carlos Pena so that Howe had no choice.

Fry is not chopped liver.  I have watched him play for two years at AAA.  He is professional, has played good defense, ESPECIALLY this year at 1B and 3B, can play some in the outfield and has about A MILLION TIMES more experience playing catcher than Gabriel Arias has playing RF.

WARNING SIGN:  The guy comes up and sits except for one ridiculous pinch-running assignment where, as a slow white guy, he replace Josh Bell on second base...in an at-bat where he could have pinch hit with the bases loaded in a game we were winning in the top of the 9th.  Instead, Francona pinch hit Gonzalez who was in a season-long slump.  Francona should have pinch hit Fry in that situatuon.  I get that these are all important games and maybe Fry will play against Detroit but the guy has now sat for about 5 days without playing.  How effective do we think he will be with that layoff facing ML pitching for the first time?  Can we say self-fulfilling prophecy?

• Josh Bell was, in my opinion, safe yesterday when Miranda bobbled a potential doubleplay ball.  The Guardians didn't challenge when I think they would have won.  I have seen a number of times this year when they weren't quick enough on the trigger or simply didn't challenge plays they could have won.  I don't know how they compare to other teams in that regard but, from where I sit, they are too slow or simply do not get good information about when to challenge and when not to, losing a number of opportunities for rallies.  Not that they are bad all the time, but when they are bad, they are really bad at it.

WARNING SIGN: Francona never looks quick on these things and more than once this year he was bailed out by the umpires cutting him some slack when he didn't really challenge in time.  It just seems like he is too slow.  This is something that can be fixed by quick information back to him.  This needs to be fixed.

• Brayan Rocchio is mashing.  He is making highlight reel plays although, truth be told, he is not as good at SS as Arias is.  Still, he is a switch-hitter who is hitting for average, steals bases and can play around the infield.  The fact he wasn't brought up when Gonzalez went down is disturbing.  I love Tyler Freeman's potential but the reason I think he came up is because he has been in the majors before.  It was clearly Rocchio's turn, especially since Freeman has never played the outfield in his life except for one game in a HS all-star game.

WARNING SIGN; Don't know what the warning sign is here except that maybe Francona will always opt for the more experienced guy, even if he isn't the right guy. 

• Bunting - I have already covered how Francona is not very good at the bunt, not considereing the guy who is bunting but, rather, assuming that everyone can bunt, especially rookie middle infielders, when, in fact that isn't true.  I have already documented how he asked Freeman to bunt when the guy had only 3 sacrifices in 1500 plate appearances in the minors.  One could argue that top prospects are not asked to bunt so that may skew his numbers but, really?  Ask a guy to bunt who doesn't have much experience?  

WARNING SIGN: I am not against bunting in general but I am against bunting the way Francona deploys it.  When Austin Hedges bunted I was all over it because (a) he couldn't hit and (b) knowing he couldn't hit he learned how to bunt effectively.  With this team and it's speed, you don't have many situations in which you HAVE to bunt, and, in my opinion, you only bunt in today's baseball when you absolutely have to.

• The wild and crazy Jose.  Twice this week he has done, how can I put this, overly aggressive things on the bases. 

WARNING SIGN: To me, when your captain and leader is doing crazy stuff it is a sign of desperation and you don't want to see that out of your leaders, either players or management.  So, there's that.

• Arias in RF.  Hey, my wife knows baseball. As we were watching Arias drop that ball yesterday, I said that I think it was his first game in RF ever.  She said 'Really, and he is playing it in the majors?'  My thought exactly, darling.  Shades of Amed Rosario.  Deploy a guy at a position he isn't comfortable in.  David Fry would have been soooo much better in terms of experience in the outfield than Arias.

WARNING SIGN: To me, learning to play a new position happens in the winter and in ST.  How many times did we hear that Freeman was going to be getting reps in the OF in ST but we never, NEVER saw it in a game.  Then he was going to play RF in Columbus the day before he was called up.  Really? One game, wave the magic wand and then he is good.

So, now we are at gametime.  But some things to watch for over the next couple of weeks.

Thoughts for a Saturday - 1000 Blog Posts and Still Cranking - Now Let's Talk Baseball

 To all of you who have read this blog site over the years, thank you for listening to an old guy talking about Guardians baseball.

I just noted the stats on this site and realized that this is the 1000th post I have on this blog.  

Fanfare, cue the fireworks and party noisemakers.  

OK, now that we are done with the festivities, let's talk baseball.

• Todd Paquette (thanks for all your great work, Todd) posted a video of Jose Cedeno hitting a HR off the Dodgers in an extended ST game.  The pitcher he hit it off was, I think, Hyun-Il Choi, a Korean prospect who is a relatively highly-regarded prospect in the Dodgers system who is in extended ST rehabbing an injury.    So, while it is just extended, it means a little more to me if the guy he hit the HR against was not just another guy coming over from the Dominican for his first taste of Complex League baseball this summer.
• Hankins going to start today.  Still waiting for the debuts of Boyd, Haffer, Planez, DeLucia, Genao, Tucker, Valera, Misiaszek, Campbell, DeLauter and the recoveries of Morris and McKenzie.
• Note that small ball doesn't always work,k even in the low minors: Lynchburg under .500 while having great OB and SB totals but very little power (7 HR at last glance).  The Guardians need to set some more power hitting.
• Rocchio with his first HR.  Still giving him the next chance and sending Arias down.  Freeman still getting cheap hits and slapping the ball the other way.  He gets his chance this season, just not now.
• Bobby Miller (one of the headlines in "The Trade" with the Dodgers), gives up 4 runs in 1 2/3 innings in his second start of the year.  Still looks rusty.  Hope he's not hurt again.
• Looking at today's pitchers in the minors, Zach Plesac, Will Dion (tandem), Ethan Hankins, Hunter Stanley (prospect or suspect), Tommy Mace (control or no control) and Alonzo Richardson (currently not many Ks and more BB than Ks, prospect or gimmick guy/suspect), all stand out as guys who are worth watching today.  Some on the fence (Stanley, Richardson, Mace), some recovering from injury (Hankins), some trying to keep up beating the odds (Dion) and some still searching for their mojo to kick in (Plesac). 
• Furman needs to be promoted.  He doesn't belong at low A, he is a polished college bat for gosh sakes!
• Kelly and Barager look like guys on the train to/from Cleveland if we ever clear up a roster spot and need to go on the merry-go-round we had last year when we needed an extra arm for a couple of days.
• Give David Fry a chance, please!  He should have batted against the Yankees in the 3-2 victory.  He can help at least a lttle.  Whitey Herzog would have found a way to work him in and have him have success doing it. The White Rat was a genius at that.
• De Los Santos, unsung hero of the bullpen so far...Morgan not far behind although he scares me like Bob Wickman used to.  It's not really a save unless you load the bases was Wickman's motto.