My impressions are limited after only 2 games, but I will say that Bregman looks really good. Not sure if its focus, confidence or health, but he seems really dialed in to start the season.
The only issue I have with Odorizzi is that he is blocking Javier. I get that it's a 162 season and 2 TOR starters are returning from / starting rehab from significant injury. "You can never have too much pitching" and that is true. But having all those arms causes problems for individual players even if not the team. But sitting Javier in the bullpen as his service time clock ticks away bothers me. The team has stated that they want Javier to start and that his future is in the rotation. He was a ROY finalist aa a starter in 2020 then bumped to the bullpen last year for no fault of his own. This is year 3 not year one. Starting Jake may be best move now ( debatable) but it surely hurts Javier's development and the team in 2023 or 2024.
Javier made 9 starts last season. If you think it's because he's being "blocked" by Odorizzi I'm not sure what to tell you. I don't know what the plan is, but if the Astros wanted him starting he would be starting. They basically mothballed Odorizzi in the playoffs, so they won't give him starts if they don't want to.
It's only 2 games and it's the Angels but : Alex looks healthy and driven which should lead to an all star caliber season. Pena looks like he can be a solid player and hold down shortstop which is big. McCormick and Siri should mix n match CF into a position that won't drag the team down. The pitching staff looks very deep, especially the rotation. This team has potential to be as good as any this side of 2019.
Javier’s command blocked Javier. Framber really impressed in his outing. He didn’t really use his new cutter but his changeup was very effective. That pitch has come a long way in his ability to command it and it can be another strikeout pitch for him.
I agree. But is his injury bug over or is this just a temporary reprieve? It has worked both ways in the past, so my expectations are still tempered.
I'm a fan I like the "Space" font, liked it when the Rockets did it on theirs, and like it here. Always like when the orange gradient is used, even if only on the socks and trim. Like the numbers on the pants throwback as well. Good combo of retro and modern imo. Hat is ok.
Roster moves I would like to see... 1. Cut Baez 2. Cut Niko Goodrum after trading for Jose Iglesias when the Rockies realize they suck.
No ish has b****ed about the Odo signing more than me, but he is what he is- an average pitcher. Could we do better (and for less money?) Sure- I think. Wish we used that money elsewhere. But is Odo in any way, shape or form a problem for us or an impediment to winning if he goes out and throws 150 innings? No way. He’s fine. He can get you through regular season games with competence in the same way Fiers could, and in an ideal world you don’t roster him in the playoffs and say “see you next spring”.
Possible trade deadline needs (most likely to least likely) TOR Bullpen piece Corner OF Bat SS 1b/dh Type I know they don’t want to play Tucker at CF, but you could for a couple months if that becomes a problem or Brantley is washed up. Maybe just a RH hitting Corner OF of Brantley becomes a guy you want to platoon and you don’t want Myers and Chaz/SIRI out there at the same time. Most likely outcome is you need 1 thing and can shift other parts around depending upon what the price tag is for that one thing. IMO you want to go into the playoffs with 7 bats you can trust- 7 or 8 arms (depending upon the allocation between starters and relievers) and then guys with a specific skill set that you will use occasionally. You can mix or match acquisitions from there depending upon where your needs are and what the price tag is.
I’d love to know how many starts in each year by the best 5 guys. mid you get 140 starts from your front line guys and use 6 pitchers to cover the other 22 starts that’s not all that important and can be filled by MInor League Jags. If you get 100 starts from your main 5 that’s a big problem. I think 2018 even though we used 9 starters we used our main 5 almost exclusively. 2017 by comparison was sort of a low key disaster for starters and the rotation was held together at one time by Fiers and bailing wire and super glue.
As many good things there were to see in the opening season, I noticed that Pressly's velo is still down 2-3 mph even in his appearance yesterday. He's been consistently averaging in the 92.5-92.9 range for his fastball over his last three appearances going back to ST. Moreover, if you look at the game-by-game velo going back to last season Pressly's been bleeding velo significantly since the Tampa series last September:
Definitely something to keep an eye on, but I’m assuming the front office has addressed this concern prior to offering him a pretty fat extension.
He could be sacrificing some speed for movement/location? His weapon still remains the curveball, and it seems more breaking/spinning/dangerous than ever. Maybe we should look at his overall spin rates and see if there is any changes/decline there as well? Oswalt went through a similar downtrend in velocity... but it was again more to gain location/movement than an actual physical decline.
