caulfield12

He had better stuff than Scott Carroll (remember the big issue with getting him to enough MLB appearances to qualify for a pension)...and he triumphed over his diabetes problems and even managed to look like a legitimate starter for about 6-8 weeks the other year...but he HAS to go to the bullpen and focus on his 2 seam sinker and perfecting one other pitch to go with it. No more overthinking and trying to utilize 3-5 different pitches in his repertoire, but "rock and fire" like our Little League coaches or parents from the stands would always shout encouragingly.

Not sure that last line is going to escape the censors. Then again, what's possible to say in public discourse has dramatically changed since the summer of 2015.

Roach recalled, lol?

How about those Rays and Blue Jays...over two consecutive days, each team blew a 7 run lead, or multiple 7 run leads. That just never used to happen before the baseball was changed to create even more offensive fireworks. Or the Padres/Rockies series earlier in the season.

We've spent a lot of time on here arguing whether Ivan Nova is really worth $9 million for what he brings to the table, but the Brewers' fear of investing in Free Agent pitching is befuddling at best. God help us if Rick Hahn tries to follow the same "risk-aversion" path the next two offseasons on the starting pitching front. OR MAYBE WE NEED TO HIRE DAVID STEARNS, lol? You have one of the better starting line-ups in the National League (especially with Huira now), and you STILL went out of the way to save $5 million on Wade Freakin' Miley (who shut down the Cardinals at Busch)...with a payroll of around $122.5 million, your five highest paid players are on the position side. How much did we spend on Nova, Jay, Herrera, McCann and Alonso? Something like $30 million? Can anyone explain this...because Stearns isn't stupid? Is it the KW philosophy of "adding at the break/retooling at midseason" because they're a mid or small market team? Is it an organizational philosophy (based on their experiences with Jimmy Nelson, Knebel and Suter) not to invest tons of money into the rotation? The Brewers have 8 starting pitchers on the books for less than $20 million... Chacin $6 million (pretty bad this year, amazingly solid last year) Chase Anderson $6 million Zach Davies $2.6 million Gio Gonzalez $2+ million (incentives-based deal, brought back after spending 2017 there) B.Woodruff $561,400 F.Peralta (now in the bullpen with Knebel out) $564,400 Brent Suter (out since last July with TJ surgery) $568,000 Jimmy Nelson (career might be over, he's their equivalent of Carlos Rodon), $3.7 million I'm not sure whether it's impressive that they've been able to compete, or it's dumb, or both...but they're the perfect example of a team that should be 100% all-in/go for it mode...and that, just like the 2003 White Sox not being willing to pay Kenny Rogers the princely sum of $5 million, the Brewers are going to come up just short because they weren't willing to give Wade Miley that same amount of money sixteen years later. Also, how you can look at that rotation realistically and believe it can match up with the Dodgers, Braves, Nationals, Cubs, Cardinals, etc.? I think I would be pretty irate as a Brewers' fan, with how well they support that team up there at the gate. If the Royals can go $131.5 million, $143 million and $122 million, so can the Brewers. After 2005, the White Sox had the most expensive rotation in baseball when they added Javy Vazquez. Now, it seems that the White Sox are aiming to have one of the best (and eventually most expensive as the rebuild moves on) starting line-ups...with one of the cheapest starting rotations in baseball. Do you agree with following the Brewers' path, because of all the pitching injuries that are like an epidemic in baseball with max effort deliveries and a focus on just getting through the line-up twice (3-5 innings pitched)? Is it possible to get lucky in the playoffs without a great rotation or true top of the rotation guy (see 2014-15 KC Royals)...? It got the Brewers to the World Series, almost. To use more openers and invest and invest and invest into the bullpen...like the Brewers and Royals have done, creating "superpens" and even going with QUALITY openers to start games like Houser, Barnes and Burnes?

By my count now, we're getting outscored by the Twins by 38 runs in just 10 games....beating us now by almost 4 runs per game. That's almost unheard of.

Could see 78-80 wins, but there's no way with a rotation including Covey, Nova, Despaigne, Banuelos, Santana, etc., that you're getting to a 90 win team. I suppose it would be a good talking point for Hahn at SoxFest..."well, if we improve the defense, which will definitely happen with Robert and Madrigal, we'll be right on the cusp of the wild card hunt."

Hahn has got to be “promoted” to Buddy Bell/KW pastureland...

25-134 with risp....a woeful .187, 126 lob. Make that 25 for last 135...129 lob. Yikes.

That ball was two inches off the dirt. Guess the umpires are worried about their getaway flight...kind of like Moncada got all the bad calls last year. Even the Twins’ announcers were saying how bad it was.

Jay up to .326...goodbye, back to Cards? Bader is struggling. And one can never have too many Charlie Tilsons.

See Flowers, Tyler....or Narvaez, Omar.

Ask the Cubs if they though Hendricks and Hamel were going to get hurt...they couldn’t even be sure Darvish would not be a basket case. Having Chatwood and Montgomery to work out of the bullpen has mostly worked out (albeit overpaid). They’re currently using a minor leaguer/placeholder and they tried Alzolay as well. Even the 2005 White Sox desperately needed a fresh Brandon McCarthy down the stretch.

After you get past Gerrit Cole, there’s certainly a next tier of guys like Bumgarner, Hamels, Wheeler, Ryu (see health history), maybe Strasburg, Odorizzi (he’s been fading recently). That’s something like 6-7 pitchers Sox (most/some) fans would be happy to get. But that’s also true for every team in baseball. Gonzales would be in that next group along with the likes of Alex Wood (has missed entire season, will struggle to get past 150-160 innings next year after missing 4 months), Michael Wacha, Kyle Gibson, Porcello, Chacin, Fiers, etc. They could all be Ivan Novas in waiting, none are guaranteed to work out. Getting Gonzales for a reasonable price locks in a guaranteed #3/4 starter...then you can really set your sights on the top of the leaderboard.

https://www.spotrac.com/mlb/seattle-mariners/marco-gonzales-18161/ I missed the 2020 salary...$1 million, so exactly like trading for Quintana for the Cubs, pretty much.

Why? They’re going to need all the pitching they can get...

But being league average, where he currently resides...isn’t likely to continue into his age 32-33 seasons. Not if you’ve been paying attention to the trouble he’s been having recently with just typical MLB fastballs over the heart of the plate. If he can recover the final two months and raise it back to 850 ops most would have no problem bringing him back for 2020. There’s also got to be recognition he doesn’t play championship level defense...which you really need with Moncada and Anderson on the left side, scooping or flagging down errant throws.

https://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=15172&position=SS We should be realistic about Anderson. 2.5 fWAR is probably his norm, 3ish in a really good season. He’s not going to hurt you there (right around league average), but his OBP will always drag his value along with his careless defensive mistakes. Mammoth is pushing it, at any rate...his leadership, energy and swagger were all definitely missed.

The Patron Saint of Lost Causes (everyday playing time for Jose Rondon throughout the offseason) weeps...

You’re also forgetting there’s a very good chance he walks after five years...if he continues to maintain his production level and health and salaries continue to skyrocket.

https://www.mlb.com/video/jorge-polanco-reaches-on-a-fielding-error-by-third-baseman-yoan-moncada-byron-bu

If Marco Gonzales was on the White Sox, he’d be Jose Quintana 2 and highly valued by Sox fans...at least a #2 starter.

At the time he was having a pretty good, but not great season. 50% of it’s about positional needs and filling out the roster with players from other teams. 25% at least is based on past reputation... http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/3b/sort/OPS/order/true Moncada has clearly had the better season, but look how many guys he has to compete with at third...Devers, Bregman, Chapman, etc. http://www.espn.com/mlb/stats/batting/_/position/1b/sort/OPS/order/true Jose is basically middle of the pack if we go by the most important stat, OPS, OBP+SLG. Santana was named because he’s had a very good season and the game was in CLE. In the NL, he (Jose) would have been buried behind six other players. Look at #8-12...all American Leaguers, but none have the name recognition or play on really bad teams. Once you get to the ASG the first time, it’s much easier to go back again and again. Gurriel gets overshadowed on the Astros...Jose only has 3-4 players on the Sox just a few diehard baseball fans know well to compete with. Voit, overshadowed and has never been named. And six of the best first basemen 5 years ago are below Abreu...all well-known players struggling for various reasons.

Even if Whitley flops, they still have Tucker and Alvarez.

You can add on mishandling the Russell situation, signing Descalso and being in the position where you have to hope and pray some dude named Robel Garcia who played four years in Italy can continue to play over his head...eventually the scouts will catch up to him.