Jammer7

Did the organization ever say why he stayed behind in Florida? Working on the change-up, perhaps?

Well, it does make sense in that there is no Manny Machado, no Adam Jones, no Jon Schoop, not even a Mark Trumbo in the lineup. And that is the context of my point. Although I like our team for what it is, a rebuild. If we had Caleb and Chance, our team ERA and WHIP would be much better...and yes, it’s subjective, but I believe it to be pretty obvious. I like the way these current catchers play the game. I don’t need numbers to show that. All of those stats last year were for a different team. Different pitchers for more than half of the staff. An “lol” is indicative of humor, which that last line of the previous post was. I was being a little silly. Swihart got traded to the Diamondbacks, so really there is not a point here any further.

Well, that’s fair. Let’s have this discussion at the end of the season. We’ll have real numbers to compare. My opinion is subjective, certainly. And they certainly are cheaper. ERA and WHIP are great numbers to look at, WHIP in particular. Last year’s pen had much more back end talent, and there was an endless shuttle of marginal arms going to and from Norfolk. Those numbers are not the whole story. We were 5-14 last year on this date. 8-12 this year, with a limited offense. So, I suppose in that way the pitching is better...lol.

Don’t have objective evidence for you at the moment. But take out the two best games and the two worst games, and I’d bet the team ERA is more appetizing. However, I don’t think Yadier Molina himself, even in his prime, would do much better than we have had from Sucre and Severino in regards to defense and team ERA. Our pitching is what it is. Better than last year, and cheaper too. I pass on Swihart. Never seen what all the hype was about. And arb eligible next season...nah, we’re good.

You may be right. I don’t think there is any possible way that Tanner Scott gets DFA’d. But Mike Wright is always a possibility. I wonder what Nunez being able to throw unrestricted now means for Rio Ruiz. I like Ruiz, but he may need some time at Norfolk. His swing is long, at times, and he’s leaking on the front side often. It’s fixable, but I think he may need to go down to get consistent at bats.

I want to agree. DJ’s arm is a bit stronger than Joey’s and the offensive numbers would be better. But I can’t see DJ in CF, and Joey does hit LHP fairly well. I think DJ went down, in large part, because of the acquisition of Dwight Smith, Jr.. And I have to say that I would much rather have Dwight Smith Jr. than DJ in LF. The other thing was Renato Núñez becoming the DH due to Trumbo not being ready.

I really liked what I saw of him this Spring. Good athlete with smooth actions and a solid arm. He was not overmatched against pitching in the later innings when he played mostly. Granted, most of the pitching he faced is currently in the minor leagues, but some were major leaguers. I’m sure he was really happy to see Mountcastle moved to 1B. ?

The Jays are stacked in the OF. They’re not a good team, certainly, but their OF is the least of their worries. The Orioles are certainly the benefactors. Smith has been much better than expected.

Yeah, but a guy they DFA’d is our best defensive OF...and our second or third best hitter.

Like everyone here, this just sickens me. Hang in there young fella!

Phillips has pitched well this Spring, sure. But are we really making something of Spring numbers again? I mean, he’s been facing minor league hitters mostly. Maybe it’s just that his fastball is flat and they don’t think he’ll be near as good as the small sample size numbers are these past four weeks when he has to face AL East hitters. He has a track record, some good, but some yuck last year. Elias and staff have trackman and all of the advanced metrics in front of them. But some want to defy their call and say this kid was robbed? Ok. Carry on.

Severino is a win/win situation for Elias. He’s gambling a bit with all of the waiver wire deals, but I like it thus far.

Two things: Wilkerson is not a SS so depends on what you may value; and Alberto may likely be DFA’d as well when Elias thinks he can pass him through.

Severino is likely to be DFA, I would think. So, Elias is trying to add more talent to the system. I’m not sure what is not to like, unless you think Wilkerson is better than Jackson.

Duquette did say that when he hired Fred Ferreira, I believe. But ownership clearly was not on board with that. Buck got the ML roster to outperform expectations and money had to be spent on payroll that Dan wanted to spend internationally, IMHO. Dan had a history of doing what he said he would, but he got overruled by Buck and Peter. Look back at what Dan did early in his tenure, he was a good executive when he was allowed to do what he wanted to do. And sending them 750K, who knows. Maybe the BJ’s wanted that to sign 8-10 more kids. Who knows. I will trust Elias at his word, since he has a track record of doing just as he has said he would. And ownership has come out and said that he is THE MAN in charge. Signing Koby Perez is absolutely huge and backs up what he said. This is the real deal. It’s going to happen, absent some massive shift in ownership philosophy.

I have been wondering the same thing. I have not seen Ruiz play defensively yet, but his swing looks great. Núñez seems to have regressed some defensively, but his exit velocity was impressive in 2018. Still a long month of Spring Training remains, and I look forward to seeing these guys in March. (We have tix to 3 games and are staying at a resort on Lido.) I do not see both making the team. There just does not seem to be room.

Yeah, he’s not Machado or Arrenado. But, at 3B you only need a quick first step. He’d have to learn the angles you play at 3B, bunt plays and such. Maybe worth a shot to look anyway.

Well, he was an infielder, SS, in high school. Was not a catcher until some his senior year. Jeff Donaldson is a recent example, but there have been many catchers over the years that moved to 3B, if for nothing else, to add some value. Sugar Bear Rayford was one, for instance. Maybe it isn’t something he can do, but why not take a look at it? His ceiling of an average, at best, catcher with some offensive capability lends itself to this change if he’s able. He may need a year to change, so be it. It’s not like we don’t have the time.

I wonder if Sisco could play 3B. Even if it is only average, it would be better than Núñez. I had some hope for Núñez, but looks like he still has the yips in his throws. And, as always, you take the best player available. I am a huge Abrams fan, and I think he will be hard to pass on. But Rutschman is making it look ridiculously easy right now. We’ll see what transpired in the next few months.

Fair enough. Owe you a beer.

Easy...as do I have much to do. Which was why I missed by one pick. And that post was not directed to you, if you look again. Easy....

Hey pal, the flogged thing was also known as humor. I am not mad. Not that sensitive. I was posting on the go. It’s all good.

You are so kind. It is my opinion, and I would rather have had Mad Bum or Jason Heyward. I know you will look it up to fact check me on my comments from then. Enjoy. And just for clarification, my thought process was as to how i would draft them in retrospect. Would you rank him as the #5 prospect in that draft now? I would not, but hey, whatever.

Off by one pick, excuse me. I should be flogged, purged. And it’s debatable whether or not he was worthy of the #5 pick. There certainly was much worse out there, and I suppose the lense I view him through is tainted by his inability to reach the hype that surrounded him. I wanted them to take Mad Bum or Jason Heyward at that slot, personally. And I am sure Frobby will look it up to see my comments from then. It was a particularly bad draft that year.

Matt Wieters did/does everything slowly. ? The bat may have slowed down because of how much of a beating he took. But he was a very good major league catcher for several years. Not worthy of the #4 pick in the first round, but he was the consensus talent for that spot at the time of the draft. Underachieved, no doubt.