That won't happen. He's had a great spring, and is coming off a great AAA season, but that doesn't cancel out the fact that he is 30 and struggled when given MLB chances. His spring career features: 2011 - .946 OPS 2012 - .981 OPS 2013 - .927 OPS 2014 - .927 OPS
Nah, I agree that he was unnecessarily troll-y, but surrounded by that was a good, insightful baseball writer. Anyway, I know that's amazing news for most around here. Hopefully the replacement doesn't suck.
Yup, he gone. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thanks for a really great time, Houston <a href="https://t.co/ZbjTxLkLAj">https://t.co/ZbjTxLkLAj</a></p>— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) <a href="https://twitter.com/EvanDrellich/status/711985499196493824">March 21, 2016</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
What a shocker... going to Boston. Hopefully we actually get a writer who somewhat doesn't hate the city for which he writes.
Its still the most probable explanation... unless there's an injury involved. Also, not all relief pitchers choose to work on something, or need more lag time/adrenaline rush/real-game situations to get their stuff up to par. Again, the only thing that would concern me is if Giles was hiding an injury. Anybody know what Billy Wagner's ST stats were in 2000? The year his elbow imploded (but he tried to pitch through it... and pitched badly). Where do you even look up ST stats? Are the players really asking for that, though? I know its frustrating as fans... but ST is a necessary evil for some of these players to get their mechanics, timing, and endurance in place for the long-ass season to come. Fans treating ST (and the stats that go with it) as merely "pre-season baseball" really doesn't do the whole process much justice. The NFL and NBA have training camps to do all the heavy training/endurance stuff.... and the games are more roster-molding after-thoughts. ST is combining all of that, along with the roster battles.
This may seem dumb to some, but am I the only one that would rather see Hoyt instead of Fields on the opening day roster? Somehow Fields got his own intro music, but has not done much to earn it. Sure he throws around 95mph, but last year it seemed like he was always giving up runs. He does not throw hard enough to purely overpower guys, and his 95 is easy to pick up. I don't understand Hinch's affinity for him. I haven't looked at the stats, but I believe Hoyt has played well since he was traded here and I think it's about time he get's a shot.
I think too many people are enamored with Fields' fastball (which does have a tendency to straighten out and be hittable). He still needs a viable off-speed offering, and better overall strike zone command. But as it is, he's still going to be below Giles/Gregerson/Sipp/Harris/Neshek on the totem pole... which in that case, he's certainly a good enough pitcher to fill that role.
Fields pitched in 54 regular season games last year and gave up runs in 11 of them, so while you think that it seems like he was always giving up runs, he didn't in almost 80% of his appearances.
Wow does that set of 5 look good. Not the name-recognition of the guys on the Royals or Yankees now...but if they perform up to their potential / last year for most of them (except late-season Neshek), they could be just as effective. Nothing new, I know. But I love reading the list
I'd like to see James Hoyt be on the team, but I wouldn't want to cut Fields. Injury will likely open a spot eventually, and Neshek will be gone after this season, unless he has a good year.
Agreed. There's more upside in Hoyt but Fields is by far the surer bet. I'm hoping at least some of the high upside relievers at AAA get some play this year. Any of Hoyt, Danny Reynolds, Juan Minaya, or Jandel Gustave could turn into a late-innings option. They just have to get playing time.
3.55 ERA, but just like last year advanced stats loved him. Doesn't help he struggled at the end of the season, so it is freshest in memory. Keep hoping he will finally hit his ridiculously low FIP.
Luhnow: Things that have stood out to you? Generally speaking, very happy. Our players have been healthy. Guys on the mend are mending quickly. Team we'll field against the Yankees will be a great team. Couple of question marks (backup catcher, who will be the last guys on the roster and everyday 1B). We have a couple of weeks to decide. Who has been the biggest surprise and who are you pleased with? You have to be pleased with Tyler White at 1B. This is a guy who made it to AAA last year. Played every level of our minor leagues. 33rd round pick. He just hits. Some questions amongst our staff about his defense. He's played a good defensive 1B and continues to hit. He's put himself on the map. Whether he's opening day or comes up during the season, he's gonna help us. When you get help from a 33rd round pick, you're scouting department is doing good job. Does he remind you in a totally-indirect-way-nothing-but-numbers of Altuve in the minors? You literally hit at every single level and then say but this is the big leagues. All you can do is produce where you are. He has. That's true. Altuve was an undersized 2B and White's a big guy, not that mobile at 1B. Those aren't guys typically you see flashing through the system but both of them made it through record time. Altuve skipped AAA and White already had a taste of AAA. He'll be a ML hitter for a long time. A.J. Reed Great stroke. Great power stroke. His ceiling is so high. He hasn't had much time in the upper minors but what he's had, he's taken advantage of. Reed & White in ST this year and what they did a year ago. It's nice to have guys like that. The AL with the DH, with power guys, you can always find another spot for them. Another guy who has been a pleasant surprise not for me but others is Colin Moran. Played really good 3B, love his swing & has been a productive player. Luxury to have Marwin. It's great. You have a SS playing 1B. Marwin has turned himself into one of the most valuable players on our team because of his versatility. We got asked a lot about him over the offseason but that was one conversation I wouldn't take any further. He's so important. He's the glue to this entire offense & defense. ... We were able during the early years(2012-13) to give guys playing time and see what we had. Some proved themselves and some worked themselves out of the organization. A luxury we don't have anymore. SI had Dallas, Altue & Correa on the cover and were prognosticating an Astros championship. Talk about having Springer for hopefully 140+ games. When Springer is playing & healthy, he's one of the best players in the game and can really help us. This is a fun, young team with a lot of potential. While we do have question marks here and there, we have depth, still a lot of good, young players coming. Conversations no longer about the guys coming. It's about the guys here and what they're able to do. Rasmus, he had options. He's been around. He wanted to stay. What does it mean to you? It means a lot. He was comfortable here. His personality blossomed here. It's a place he can win.
Luhnow-speak for "he was going to be opening day 1B, but he played himself into AAA for two weeks as he's now too valuable to waste a year of service time for 2 weeks of play".
