I think that's a big hope for them. Small sample, but he was looking better before the injury. And Dan Altavilla should be back soon enough. I don't know if they care or not, but he's another guy throwing upper-90s.
I expect Altavilla to get a good look with our without Schreiber--because he throws much harder. I don't know what the timing of those 2 coming off the DL is, but (again) I expect Altavilla to be given a chance to prove (or dis-prove) himself.
Altavilla started his rehab assignment on the sixth. Schreiber has not yet started his. I'll be curious to see if they wait until September 1 on both of them to avoid needing to send anyone down. I'm assuming they'll just add two pitchers when the rosters expand.
Stratton, Smith and Long cannot be optioned. The rest could be. Of course, Erceg isn't going anywhere and neither is Bubic. Harvey, when healthy, wasn't going to be optioned. It's really James McArthur and Angel Zerpa who can be. I'd be in favor of both, but the options in AAA aren't great either.
I'd be more than fine swapping those two for Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz and seeing what happens, but I think it's important to remember that before giving up runs in three of his last four outings, Zerpa gave up runs in five his previous 33. Should this team be more reactionary now that they're in the home stretch? Maybe. Again, I'd be fine with it. I also don't care if they move on from Stratton in any way possible. He's the definition of middling. It's just that there's more thought about than just "oh that guy sucked lately."
The problem with Stratton, to me, is that he's middling but he also has a player option for next year. If they cut him, they're going to be paying that for him to pitch for someone else and he might rebound. Since he hasn't been truly awful, it's a hard sell.
Yep, that's a big issue with him. He's blown up at some bad times, but he's also been generally fine if used in better spots. They were in a bad position on Friday with wanting Bubic to close. Plus, they needed a grounder and he gets grounders. Then he got a grounder. It just didn't work.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been watching Wacha starts lately and being absolutely stunned at how good his line is at the end. I asked my podcast co-host about it last night and the best theory we came up with was that the team was behind for most of Saturday's game and when they finally tied it, he immediately allowed two baserunners so it felt worse than it was. Your theory is at least as good as that one, I think.
I would say ppl getting cranky about Friday’s use of Erceg was that the Cards had 9 outs left - it was fairly likely that the meat of the order was going to come up again at least by the 9th. Especially the way the Cards were hitting. The pen would have had to be perfect for 3 innings to make that scenario happen. I mean……
Then again, being an armchair manager with the benefit of hindsight is so nice!
I get it, but it goes back to the scenario of saving a guy for a situation that may never happen. It's what happened with Bubic. He was being saved for the ninth, but they never got to him because the guys they used instead didn't allow it to happen. If Smith/Stratton come in for the seventh and do what they did in the eighth, are people upset Erceg wasn't in there? I'm frustrated by the inconsistency of being aggressive with Erceg but not Bubic more than I'm frustrated with using Erceg so early.
Could part of it be that they maybe still want to be careful with Bubic's usage and be more regimented with when he comes into the game to not throw off his warmup routine? Sort of grasping at straws but that's not the most outlandish explanation
That's pretty good. I can buy that, though another reason why he can't be counted on as a true bullpen ace. If he has to stick on a schedule and can't go back-to-back days, he's useful when he's in there, but he can't be one of the three best in the bullpen.
100% agree on Bubic. But expecting 9 outs from our pen was not very likely. Walks, a single here or there, and here comes the top of the order again, but in the 9th. Either way we shouldn’t have to be debating over the use of only 2 reliable pitchers from the pen
Excellent analysis David! As you know, I am a big Fermin fan! He needs to be in the lineup all of the time and when Salvy is catching, he can DH. Fermin catching also saves wear and tear on Salvy and his opposite field homer was great on Saturday! We have to keep Salvy’s bat going because it really helps to have the MVP BWJ, Vinny, Salvy combination that forces the enemy to pitch to them!!!
I would take a look at Steven Cruz again. Evan Sisk is interesting. Marsh is a guy who I still think can be a solid reliever but there are certainly questions. They also have Bowlan pitching out of the bullpen. There’s Dinelson Lamet too, but the walks are scary there.
Caught a bit of mariners game yesterday, and Arozarena sure seems to mesh well with them. But announcers mentioned something that vaguely reminded me of your MJ analysis: Randy is a guy who thrives in postseason push. Pre allstar he was at .202/.309/.362 . Obviously his current post allstar .315/.446/.589 is tantalizing, but Merv is a whole lot cheaper of a gamble.
I know it is unpopular, but I hope Melendez is still part of '25 as i think he is closer to the MJ of the latter half of '23
Well yes, we got the split, but again, the bullpen has some sad pieces. How about swapping with Triple A or is that not feasible with contracts?
To add on to bullpen thoughts, any optimism time off for Schreiber could help him return to form? Maybe the arm needed a breather?
I think that's a big hope for them. Small sample, but he was looking better before the injury. And Dan Altavilla should be back soon enough. I don't know if they care or not, but he's another guy throwing upper-90s.
I expect Altavilla to get a good look with our without Schreiber--because he throws much harder. I don't know what the timing of those 2 coming off the DL is, but (again) I expect Altavilla to be given a chance to prove (or dis-prove) himself.
Altavilla started his rehab assignment on the sixth. Schreiber has not yet started his. I'll be curious to see if they wait until September 1 on both of them to avoid needing to send anyone down. I'm assuming they'll just add two pitchers when the rosters expand.
I thought they could only add one pitcher for some reason.
Shoot, you're right. I totally forgot about that. So maybe not!
Stratton, Smith and Long cannot be optioned. The rest could be. Of course, Erceg isn't going anywhere and neither is Bubic. Harvey, when healthy, wasn't going to be optioned. It's really James McArthur and Angel Zerpa who can be. I'd be in favor of both, but the options in AAA aren't great either.
I'd be more than fine swapping those two for Evan Sisk and Steven Cruz and seeing what happens, but I think it's important to remember that before giving up runs in three of his last four outings, Zerpa gave up runs in five his previous 33. Should this team be more reactionary now that they're in the home stretch? Maybe. Again, I'd be fine with it. I also don't care if they move on from Stratton in any way possible. He's the definition of middling. It's just that there's more thought about than just "oh that guy sucked lately."
The problem with Stratton, to me, is that he's middling but he also has a player option for next year. If they cut him, they're going to be paying that for him to pitch for someone else and he might rebound. Since he hasn't been truly awful, it's a hard sell.
Yep, that's a big issue with him. He's blown up at some bad times, but he's also been generally fine if used in better spots. They were in a bad position on Friday with wanting Bubic to close. Plus, they needed a grounder and he gets grounders. Then he got a grounder. It just didn't work.
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been watching Wacha starts lately and being absolutely stunned at how good his line is at the end. I asked my podcast co-host about it last night and the best theory we came up with was that the team was behind for most of Saturday's game and when they finally tied it, he immediately allowed two baserunners so it felt worse than it was. Your theory is at least as good as that one, I think.
Yeah, I don't know what it is. It's just not impressive ever. But there he is at the end.
I would say ppl getting cranky about Friday’s use of Erceg was that the Cards had 9 outs left - it was fairly likely that the meat of the order was going to come up again at least by the 9th. Especially the way the Cards were hitting. The pen would have had to be perfect for 3 innings to make that scenario happen. I mean……
Then again, being an armchair manager with the benefit of hindsight is so nice!
I get it, but it goes back to the scenario of saving a guy for a situation that may never happen. It's what happened with Bubic. He was being saved for the ninth, but they never got to him because the guys they used instead didn't allow it to happen. If Smith/Stratton come in for the seventh and do what they did in the eighth, are people upset Erceg wasn't in there? I'm frustrated by the inconsistency of being aggressive with Erceg but not Bubic more than I'm frustrated with using Erceg so early.
Could part of it be that they maybe still want to be careful with Bubic's usage and be more regimented with when he comes into the game to not throw off his warmup routine? Sort of grasping at straws but that's not the most outlandish explanation
That's pretty good. I can buy that, though another reason why he can't be counted on as a true bullpen ace. If he has to stick on a schedule and can't go back-to-back days, he's useful when he's in there, but he can't be one of the three best in the bullpen.
100% agree on Bubic. But expecting 9 outs from our pen was not very likely. Walks, a single here or there, and here comes the top of the order again, but in the 9th. Either way we shouldn’t have to be debating over the use of only 2 reliable pitchers from the pen
Excellent analysis David! As you know, I am a big Fermin fan! He needs to be in the lineup all of the time and when Salvy is catching, he can DH. Fermin catching also saves wear and tear on Salvy and his opposite field homer was great on Saturday! We have to keep Salvy’s bat going because it really helps to have the MVP BWJ, Vinny, Salvy combination that forces the enemy to pitch to them!!!
With Pennington gone, are there in your opinion any arms in Omaha or NW Arkansas who could help down the stretch?
I would take a look at Steven Cruz again. Evan Sisk is interesting. Marsh is a guy who I still think can be a solid reliever but there are certainly questions. They also have Bowlan pitching out of the bullpen. There’s Dinelson Lamet too, but the walks are scary there.
Out of sight out of mind, I already kind of forgot about Marsh. Nice to have a hope rather than just a prayer in the wings
What’s the latest on Marsh? Is he an option?
Sure, he’s an option along with a lot of others who provide plenty of questions on their own.
Caught a bit of mariners game yesterday, and Arozarena sure seems to mesh well with them. But announcers mentioned something that vaguely reminded me of your MJ analysis: Randy is a guy who thrives in postseason push. Pre allstar he was at .202/.309/.362 . Obviously his current post allstar .315/.446/.589 is tantalizing, but Merv is a whole lot cheaper of a gamble.
I know it is unpopular, but I hope Melendez is still part of '25 as i think he is closer to the MJ of the latter half of '23