I have a bad feeling that it will be a 60 day IL for Brantley. That would open a spot for Dirden. I think (no insider info) the shoulder is worse off than expected and the family issue is him deciding if retirement is the right option. Similar to what happened with Castro last season. Even if he comes back soon he has a long way to go to be ready for regular season baseball. He wasn't even swinging the bat when he was here. So no off season and no spring training, that is a lot of work to put in on a rehab shoulder.
Would be pretty damn bad to start the season with Alvarez at half health, Altuve ded, and Brantley ded. Let's hope this isn't the case for Brantley.
Seems like a pretty big leap. Didn't he go back home multiple times for this same family issue? That's a weird way to handle it if it is just about him and his family deciding if he should retire.
Alvarez just needs to be healthy enough to swing a bat and jog around the bases. He should be fine as long as he can swing the bat pain free. Dirden will be on the the roster if Brantley ends up out for an extended period of time. If Brantley is only a couple of weeks out, then Meyers will cover center and Chas will cover left. I'm not too worried other than Hensley holding down the fort at the plate with Altvue injured. That thing that worries me the most is Altuve having his normal rusty start after the injury. He may not be productive until mid season.
I’m an optimist by nature and I think Hensley is going to rake and play an adequate 2b (he might end up with better range than Altuve). Dirden and McCormick can rotate between center and left and LH and RH. Myers can play CF until Leon or Gilbert is ready. Alvarez should be constant DH until Brantley returns and maybe longer. So against RH: Hensley 2b Pena SS Alvarez Dh Bregman 3b Tucker rf Abreu 1b Dirden LF Myers CF Catcher Against LH: Hensley 2b Pena SS Alvarez DH Bregman 3b Tucker RF Abreu 1b McCormick CF Dirden LF Catcher
I'm going to put this out there. Since Meyer's injury, Dubon has hit for more power than Meyers. I want Meyers to succeed but he shouldn't get much burn until he can prove himself again. He's had one good month in the majors in the last 2 seasons.
I think I prefer to see Will Wagner brought up and alternate him and Hensley at 2nd base and bench infielder situationally until one sets himself clearly ahead.
No need to rush Wagner. Maybe if Altuve was going to miss the season, but to bring him up this inexperienced only to force him to outperform a guy like Hensley or get sent back in 2 months? Nah. Let him keep working at a more organic system.
With only 2 LH in the lineup I would like to see more space between them. I also think Yordan may need a week or so to get back to speed in the field. 1 step st a time- get him into the lineup at DH for a week or so then back into LF. Vs LHP Bregman 3B Pena SS Alvarez DH Abreu 1B Tucker RF McCormick LF Hensley 2B Meyers CF Maldonado C Vs RHP Bregman 3B Alvarez DH Abreu 1B Tucker RF Pena SS Dirden LF Hensley 2B McCormick/Meyers CF Maldonado C
Gage optioned, Brantley officially to start out on IL. Bullpen will be Pressly, Abreu, Montero, Neris, Stanek, Maton, and 2 others from Martinez, Blanco, Bielak and the other NRI’s who haven’t been reassigned yet. I bet it’ll be Blanco and Martinez.
I'm guessing Blanco has passed Bielak on the Starting Pitcher ladder. As such, I think Blanco is starting in AAA, and Bielak is the long man unless there is a loogy still in play to placate Dusty.
With the pickoff restrictions, I wonder if you see a lot more pitch-outs this season compared to in the past. It worked pretty well in this ST game after Blanco had already attempted 2 pickoffs.
I don't know where you getting I have "blind love" for Meyers? Do you hear me spewing sweet nothings? Clamoring for him to lead off since Altuve is hurt? Or even play every day? He is on the 40 man roster and has a proven track record as an MLB player, unlike Dirden. He has 1.7 bWAR and 1.4 fWAR in about 2/3 of a full season, including being positive WAR in both seasons he has played. Yes he was positive WAR by both metrics last year. He is a player so I am suggesting he play vs LHP and split time with Chas vs RHP so Dirden can play vs RHP. But again I don't see where you say I have "blind love" for him.
Anyone else find it weird that runs that score from a pitcher balk count as earned runs while runs that score from a pitcher fielding error don't?
Chas has a 0.298/0.371/0.536 slash line against LHPs. There are only 20 guys that have hit LHPs better than Chas the past two years. I expect Chas to regress some against LHP, but to suggest Chas is not deserving of splitting time against LHPs with Meyers seems like blind love. Edit: Oops. I didn't see in the earlier post that you had put Chas in LF against LHPs. I mistook your splitting Meyers and Chas against RHPs to be indicating that you realize Meyers has not proven he can hit MLB RHPs.
