Autumn Dreamin

Quero's .370 average vs. LHP is top 3 in the league (min 100 PAs) He's also been doing this overall:

A shutout with only 4K's is pretty efficient. 102 pitches between Smith and GIlbert, if not for the error could have been <100. Yesterday's shutout took 10Ks and 161 pitches in comparison.

It's actually very cool that Luis can go 0-4 and it's not a death knell for the offense. Also stole a rest day for Colson, Tauch, and Teel, and only used two arms to boot. Good stuff.

Five shutouts for AL central teams in the past 3 days, and none of them were the White Sox! In fact we pitched two of them!

While scoring 15! Against the AL Central! First team to shutout KC all season.

Probably. He pitched well to Thaiss, so there could be something to a "vet" being good for him, but he's also just made some tweaks that have resulted in overall improvement recently.

Good, now I don't have to consider whether Meidroth's error cost a no hitter

He's a better framer, but his blocking, etc. needs work. Quero is one of 3 catchers with 0 passed balls in 400+ innings behind the plate (Raleigh, Dingler). He has a .998 fielding percentage which is also top 3. Teel has 5 passed balls in fewer innings, and a lower fielding percentage (.991). I also prefer Quero's work with pitchers, but some of that is biased because I've seen much more of it since he's been in the system longer.

Or wanted to get to #30! Nice turnaround for him

He's just absolutely hooked on an extra 90

Man I'd maybe even go batter to batter in the 8th at this point...but probably safer to call it a (very good) night.

Teel needs to dust off his old OF glove if it's up to me

Vargas is addicted to hustle doubles, just wild about an extra base whenever available

Incredibly efficient work from Smith, could be even better without the error. I wonder how long they let him go if he continues to stay out of trouble. I assume 6 is still the limit, but he could make it difficult.

BROOKSY! Love the play on offense > play on defense combo

4 games in a row scoring 6+ runs, and 6 out of the last 7 And more runs through 4 innings than the entire road series in KC

Welcome back Korey!

Very relieved to hear from Brooke that it's a "roll the dice" gesture and not what my gutter mind thought at first...

I think trialing him in the bottom third of the order for longer than was strictly necessary coming off the IL might have been a sign of shifting away from "bonafide leadoff 2B" and more towards "contact oriented utility guy."

Chase has been a little error prone lately. Luckily that one didn't cost a run.

In CST, from a guy who has seen him at various points on this ride: “He’s still Luis Robert, man,” starting pitcher Davis Martin said. “He’s still the best player I’ve ever played with. It’s fun to see him loosen up and be a focal point.” I do think there's something to it. He went from the pressure of living up to the early extension, to the pressure of trying to "save" the last core, to the pressure of constant trade chatter. Been a while since it's been solely "just go play your best baseball" for him. I know the assumption has been that he'd instantly take off on another team, but maybe that just introduces a new set of headaches. Trying to fit in/impress in a new place, worrying about the option, having to find a new deal if the option is declined...and that deal would probably be a short term prove it situation, so it's the same cycle. If Luis (and Boras) would entertain it, I'd at least inquire about a reasonably priced extension. The worst of his injury concerns seem behind him, there's no glut of high ceiling OF prospects knocking down the door, and maybe he responds well to feeling more secure and settled in without having to be "the guy" for this core. And as a side note, I really, really like Davis Martin. Smart, hard worker, seems great in the clubhouse.

Wonder if a Perez promotion follows soon.