Relief pitching If you go by wOBA, an OPS-like stat that does a better job of adjusting for the value of extra-base hits, then the Mariners had the second-best bullpen this year, allowing a mere .274 mark. Or they were tied for second, anyway ... with the Astros, who also allowed a .274 mark. They were both well-rested down the stretch, facing fewer batters than any of the 28 other teams. Needless to say, there’s not a lot of separation here, and if things go according to plan for Houston, they won’t even really need to rely on the bullpen that much, because they expect their starters can go deep into games. This one is close, and we’ll give a slight edge to Seattle by virtue of having Andrés Muñoz, perhaps the most overpowering bullpen arm in the series. Tiny edge: Mariners Hahaha ha this one aged well
Doesn't matter Houston would not trade Garcia for a first baseman. He is far too valuable. A package including him would be ridiculous. I expect Gurriel to be back next season anyway but even if he is not there is no reason to overpay for a replacement.
Urquidy to Arizona for Jake McCarthy would make a ton of sense for both Big upgrade for us in CF They need a mid rotation starter and have OF depth Both have control
I am 100% for this move. McCarthy is an exciting player -- super athletic. Best years are in front of him.
You can’t give JV 40M a year- you just have to spend that on 2 bats. Our starting pitching is so good that he’s not necessary in the regular season and he’s just sketchy enough in the playoffs to not feel like you’ve got the hammer that’s going to beat the other teams best guy.
I hope he doesn't exercise that 25M option if we lose this series. I can see him taking a massive drop off in production at his age and I think this mentally would be too difficult for him to recover from. It would be hard for the fans to accept too.
Yup.. I'm out on bringing Verlander back. If he takes the option fine but if not spend the 40 million per year he wants on extensions, position players, and maybe bringing Montero back.
I have to agree on letting Verlander move on because of the high price tag. Verlander is unfortunately proving himself to be a "regular season pitcher". He's been very hittable this postseason. Even in the game he won against the Yankees, they had a lot of chances early.
Crane reportedly loves JV. Hopefully baseball OPS can override those emotions. JV has a mental block on postseason baseball for some reason. Houston sports man. This man has some James Harden in him.
Harden is a head case and has motivational problems. I don't think either of those apply to Verlander. For his approach (strikeouts), I just think his stuff isn't quite good enough to be dominant against the talent and focus level of playoff baseball.
I don't think I need to explain the parallels on why James Harden and JV are attached to the hip in Postseason discussion. Verlander has some of the best stuff in the game. He doesn't locate in the playoffs. That is a mental/mechanical issue. Mid to upper 90's when you want it with a wipeout slider and a plus curve is great stuff for the postseason.
Curious, how many times has Verlander showed up for a season out of shape (fat) and demanding a trade? Or given less than his best effort on the field... or gone to a strip club the night before a game...
Not sure. I don’t think he’s that guy. But why are you pretending there isn’t a giant postseason drop off?
Re-read my posts -- I am saying that he's having a postseason dropoff. But I'm saying it's due to his stuff not being elite enough to pursue his style of pitching in the playoffs. You are saying it's a mental issue, like James Harden, and I am disagreeing with that. Harden is a maturity issue and a mental issue. Verlander is a physical issue. Harden is physically gifted yet squanders it. Verlander works super hard and has had sustained success over time. Harden got fat, chased celebrity status, pursued a lifestyle of self-indulgence, and caused a rift with the owners/GM. Verlander is none of those things, which is why the Harden comparison fails.
Ok. I could care less what any player does behind the scenes. I just care about postseason performance. Saying JV's stuff is not adequate is pure casual r****dation. I am done lmao.
Baseball is a game of inches and momentum. JV made a good pitch to Castellanos well below the zone on 1 and 2. I'm sure the expected result of that pitch is 80+% out. If that happens they are out of that inning without a run scoring and this is a different game. FTR The next pitch to Bohm was terrible
If Verlander lays another egg in his next start there's no way you can bring him back at his expected number. I'm not sure it's the wisest thing to do regardless. His ERA over his last 8 postseason starts is 6.02 (5.03 FIP), I imagine you would have a hard time finding an 8 start stretch even remotely that bad since he's gotten here. He was on the ropes early in his last start also, but he managed to get through it. Given how dominant he's been his entire tenure with us, it's hard to just chalk it up as randomness.
Next game I would tell Verlander that he's got 3 innings to go max effort and use his full repertoire of pitches... then I'd go to the bullpen (Urquidy and Garcia for 1-2 innings each).
