Transmogrified Tiger
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Everything posted by Transmogrified Tiger
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I think the simplest explanation for Canario is: A position player has to be called up No one at Iowa is in a place where they are proven to push for more time than the current position player core. If they were they probably would've been called up previously While not being the favorite to get any regular playing time, Canario is the option who can be me most useful as an extra bat on the bench during these extremely important playoff race games I don't think it's any more complicated than that. In a perfect world would I prefer Canario playing every day at Iowa? Probably. But it's also worth noting that Canario is not a top prospect, he's a guy whose most likely MLB future is a platoon/bench option(doubly so on the current Cubs roster). A couple weeks of ABs is not going to make or break his future, and if they're calling him up now they clearly think he's hit whatever benchmark they'd need to feel comfortable calling him up next year even if he doesn't play again for Iowa. So whatever hit to his progress is taken is worthwhile to have the best possible roster for the stretch run, especially since that sacrifice is not so great in the grand scheme of things. -
I could see something pandemic-related potentially being a lagging factor, but I'm not sure how much I can put on his buildup from draft year. In 2019 he put up 96 innings in college(100% as an SP), in 2021 it was 100 IP, and 2022(when things went off the rails) was 118. This year he's at 108 with a couple starts left, I'm not seeing an obvious point where we should have expected him to hit some conditioning wall, and if there is it's pandemic-related and not particularly applicable to others going forward.
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I think the real story with Kilian is not so much that he's a command pitcher who didn't have enough stuff for higher levels(though that is not necessarily untrue), it's that he's a command pitcher *who lost his command*. If anything he (and to some extent Taillon) are data points that pitch labbing guys is not a process without potential downsides, because even if his stuff is still not noteworthy he has added velo and tinkered with his pitches in other ways since the trade.
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- ben brown
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Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 9-3-23
Transmogrified Tiger replied to CaliforniaRaisin's topic in Cubs Minor League Talk
Shaw 3/4 with a 3B, SB, K Caissie 2/3 w/ a BB -
12 days off and gets it down, never a doubt
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When was the last time Mastrobuoni faced a live pitcher
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Nicky 2 ribbies
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I can't tell if it's just because it's been a half decade since we've had a hitter put up this type of season or if he's been preternaturally timely with his hits, because the conversion rate has just been obscene.
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Bellinger is unreal
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That is certainly one way you could read this thread Yes, exactly, nailed it
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lol "a little weary" yeah that's one way to describe it No one is asking for emotionless objectivity or endless optimism/positivity, but if the whole point is to react emotionally in the moment then don't forget to enjoy the good things that happen too. Having the game thread almost exclusively filled with people venting is a miserable forum experience and it's got to be an exhausting way to follow a game/team too.
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Today's thread is really proving his point, venting is fine and all but it's really obvious that in a game where the Cubs currently have a lead how many folks are actively looking for the negative and the whole of the thread reads as a bunch of misanthropes.
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EDLC sure swings through a lot of fastballs for someone with his supposed skill set
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First basemen have a pretty steep aging curve in the modern game, and the ones who have defied it the best are those who are in excellent physical condition and demonstrate other skills besides elite power(hit tool, plate discipline, gold glove defense). Alonso has none of those, and even if he has better plate discipline than Chris Davis he's still a pretty substantial risk. The optimist's case is that he has set a consistently high floor, which while it isn't foolproof(e.g. Prince Fielder) definitely helps, alongside his performance maybe being suppressed a bit by his home park.
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I feel like I'm giving a pretty clear answer to this question. Again, I don't want to overstate this, reasonable people can disagree, but if you want an answer to the question 'why not try Canario?' it's that he isn't as good as the players who are playing instead, even if those players aren't currently hot.
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Smyly was struggling to a worse degree than the RHH on the squad, and Wicks is a better caliber prospect who has been set up for success with extra rest that probably would've benefitted Smyly had it been given to him. Also, since Wicks was called up Smyly has pitched fine with 5 IP, 2 R, 7/1 K/BB (most of that coming in a post-opener start situation) which really underscores that reactionary changes because you're frustrated with a guy's recent performance is not a great path to optimizing performance. This type of thinking would've had us throw away Merryweather, Madrigal, Fulmer, Seiya, Morel, and probably others at various points in the season for a shiny new option from the bench/Iowa, and they'd be much worse off for it.
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The underlying logic here is 'these guys haven't been good recently, maybe the new guy will be better', it's bad process to chase the hot hand this way when there's little reason to think the new guy is a materially better player or matchup.
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The margins are not huge so there's room for logical people to disagree, but I don't see much reason for Canario to start any games unless you have a rare situation(LHP starter, multiple regulars hurt/rested). He's a defensive downgrade if you stick him in CF, and as a DH he's not going to provide anything that Wisdom and/or Morel do not, and he'll be a different/worse profile as a hitter than Candelario and/or Madrigal. Let him be a matchup PH as needed, but these games are not for us to find out what we have in Canario, they are to win and make the playoffs. And Canario being a mystery box is not synonymous with him being a better option than others we may be (momentarily) down on.
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Anyone Playing Immaculate Grid?
Transmogrified Tiger replied to UMFan83's topic in General Baseball Talk
Turn your phone sideways, the full set of options show up in landscape orientation. -
The Reds have stared at a weird amount of middle-middle fastballs in hitters counts today
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College Football - "Week Zero" and Week 1 (Aug. 26-Sept. 3)
Transmogrified Tiger replied to Andy's topic in Other Sports
Looks like it's on Peacock but only if you're a subscriber. If you have an antenna that could also be an option given that it's on NBC. -
So basically they want Smyly to do near-starter things and Cuas can't get extended just off bereavement anyway, so they open with him to get something out of him in the DH and set up the lineup for Smyly?
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For me it's mostly about Strider being easily the best SP/worst matchup on either team, and that carries more weight than marginal differences in rotation or offense when you face their best starter twice in a 5 game series.
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Entering today he has a 70 wRC+ and 0.3 fWAR in 228 PA since the start of July.
