Transmogrified Tiger
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Everything posted by Transmogrified Tiger
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Is this the year before a historically good season that culminates in a title? Almost certainly not. Is this the first year of a streak of seasons where the team is playoff caliber? It can be. The team as constructed today is close to a division winner on paper, and if they fall short I'm gonna try not to dwell too much on what might have happened if they had signed Candelario instead of Mancini. That said, the 2016 team made a big spending splash with Heyward and added a depth starter in Lackey, but their quality was already there to make that historic run. That is not the case for the 2024 team, so they need to either keep or replace a fair amount of quality with a good success rate plus get some other unexpected breakthrough(their Aramis/Arrieta trade, for example) to set themselves up for the future. The quality they have to replace is generally here at market rates(Stroman, Bellinger, Hendricks) so the finances should be less of a constraint, but you've still got to make those moves happen.- 9 replies
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- jake arrieta
- jon lester
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well now Wisdom can pitch the 8th
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Happ I don't think realized the throw was coming to 3rd, so he started an abbreviated slide late and ended up stumbling past the bag. His hand slipped a couple inches off the base so he got tagged.
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"JD probably would've given you a more clever answer" your words not mine Joe
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Not as much as it used to, especially for 1B. Look at the leaderboards for the position and see how many of the Top 10 hitters or so didn't break through in MLB until 25+, didn't have much prospect pedigree, or both. Hitting modern pitching at a level suitable for the bottom of the defensive spectrum seems to take more reps to prepare than it did a decade ago. That said, I do think trading for Candelario and playing him at 1B is instructive for Mervis' future on a couple levels. There's no longer the assumption that MLB growing pains are an acceptable cost of business. Doesn't mean that every prospect that doesn't hit immediately is banished forever, but they're playing to win now and they aren't going to hold the door open for him like they did this year with Hosmer and Mancini. Also, adding Candelario as a 1B without giving Mervis another shot(especially since Young got a 1B/DH cameo in between) gives us a data point on how they feel about his short term prospects. Despite that, I'm not convinced that Mervis isn't getting extensive time by next May(the position doesn't have an abundance of options on the market and DH is somewhat unsettled too), but I've definitely lowered my expectations compared to 3 months ago.
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Iowa's regular season runs through September 24th, and they won the first half so they'll be in the playoffs afterward.
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Anyone Playing Immaculate Grid?
Transmogrified Tiger replied to UMFan83's topic in General Baseball Talk
By the same token -
Anyone Playing Immaculate Grid?
Transmogrified Tiger replied to UMFan83's topic in General Baseball Talk
8/9 because my Astros WS champ didn't play in the playoffs, I demand to speak to the immanager -
The only thing PCA is the clear best option for is CF/OF defense, and it's only brought up in this context because it's a thing PCA is excellent at. There isn't any current issue with CF/OF defense, there's multiple good CF defenders on the roster, no one is getting defensively replaced late in games, it's unlikely to be a thing that matters deeply to the front office in how they deploy that one roster spot. PCA isn't going to be a good MLB hitter next month, and while he is very fast he's an inefficient baserunner compared to Mastrobuoni. If you want speed you bring back Mastrobuoni, if you want a bat first guy you bring back Mervis or Young. We don't have to consider who is the best option for speed + LH bat + OF defense because that's not the grouping that will or should be prioritized. But since you asked, still Mastrobuoni. Slightly better baserunner, much better bat(for September 2023), and where he lacks elite defense he makes up for with positional versatility.
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I don't think it's unreasonable to ask for Ozzie Albies to be put in jail
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Eh, whether you look at ERA, RA/9, or FIP he's been a Top 10 SP this year.
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Kinda curious if they try Wesneski in short relief once Assad is rested/Stroman is healthy. Would be a little bit of a risk in the instance of future SP injuries, but Assad has shown capable. Plus you could have Wesneski take on the Fulmer multi-inning fireman role to keep him reasonably stretched out and then have Fulmer for later innings.
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So the likely plan is Cuas, Leiter, Alzolay then, yeah that's about as good as you can hope for under the circumstances. With Olson due up though I'd at least think about Leiter in the 7th.
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Happ was running on the pitch but I have to wonder if Acuña slipped or something, the real-time or replay didn't really show him. That wasn't so far in the corner that Happ should've scored standing.
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I feel like scorers were basically told this year 'it's only an error if a little leaguer could've done it' as some backdoor way of killing off the error entirely
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shouldn't have tried to deke him Acuna
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I think it's mostly a path of least resistance sort of move. If you look at the pitchers on the 40 man there isn't really another option if they want a fresh arm. Rucker can't be brought back up for a few days, Estrada just went to Arizona for injury/dev list purposes, Brown is on the IL, and Thompson and Jensen are disasters. Kilian can backstop long relief for a couple days until Assad/Wesneski are able to resume that role(since they don't need the #5 SP until Stroman returns), and Rucker can take over that roster spot after if not Stroman himself.
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I originally typed up something longer, but the real answer is I would put heavy odds against PCA seeing MLB time unless there's big, unforeseen changes(e.g. multiple injuries). There is one (1) roster spot available for a position player call up in September, unless the org commits malpractice and doesn't add an RP when rosters expand. PCA is unlikely to be the right choice given his current readiness, duplicative skill set with the current roster, and lack of 40 man spot compared to the alternatives. Want CF/OF defense? Have it already. Want a PR? Mastrobuoni is probably better at it. Want a LH bat? Mervis, Young, or even Mastrobuoni are a better bet for a team making a playoff push, and don't require an early 40 man decision.
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White Sox Season in Jeopardy
Transmogrified Tiger replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in General Baseball Talk
Welcome! -
White Sox Season in Jeopardy
Transmogrified Tiger replied to Brock Beauchamp's topic in General Baseball Talk
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tyler no
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Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 8-5-23
Transmogrified Tiger replied to CaliforniaRaisin's topic in Cubs Minor League Talk
Rucker started and went 3 IP for Iowa, which is 1) interesting as a signal of what they might be preparing his role for and 2) confirms he's almost certainly not coming up in the next day or two as bullpen help -
And yet! Cubs Braves wRC+ fWAR/500 PA wRC+ fWAR/500 PA 144 5.0 170 6.0 134 2.6 152 3.7 130 4.1 142 5.7 121 2.8 121 3.2 121 2.9 116 3.9 119 4.6 115 2.8 101 2.8 113 2.9 100 1.6 110 3.3 99 3.2 106 0.7 119 3.3 Average 127 3.6
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I bet they'll try to avoid Merryweather if at all possible, but there's no one in the pen who has thrown consecutive days so they're in a pretty normal spot for as many consecutive games as they've had. Plus a roster move is always a possibility.
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Led by multiple runs for all 9 innings, nice comfortable low-stress win. Adbert even chose today to give up his monthly home run when he had room to spare, what a pro
