Managers tend to defer to veterans. That means Verlander and Framber are ahead of him. I could see an argument for game 3, but as mentioned I like the idea of breaking up games where you throw the bullpen. That could be solved by: Game 1: Framber / Bullpen Game 2: Verlander / Kikuchi Game 3: Brown / Bullpen Game 4: Blanco / Arrighetti Bown and Verlander are too similar to me to want to pitch them in the same game or even maybe consecutive days. It's not as if Framber and Blanco haven't looked as good as Brown has at times.
Let's not say dumb things in the heat of the moment. Dezenzo is a rookie who is hitting worse than Singleton so far. Singleton has him 75 points in OPS and nearly double the walk rate. You would be gambling on small sample size hoping the rookie goes on a tear. I was excited when we got Caratini. I stated at the time he would be one of the best backup catchers in the game. Let's not pretend he a reliable 1B. Sure, if you have to because of injuries or game situations... having him their for 9 innings is not ideal. I trust Dubon there defensively before Caratini. Singleton has above average range according to fielding stats and slightly below average fielding%. Caratini is average fielding% and below average range. That's using career numbers. The sample size is really small though for Caratini. He has played the equivalent of 4 games per year over his 8 seasons. Singleton had played double that in just his rookie year alone. I wish there was someone better, but an ops+ of 95 out of your 8 or 9 hitter isn't bad. Look around the league, there might be only 2 or 3 teams doing better than that. I like him in the 9 spot. If he draws a walk late in a game, you can pinch run for him with the top of the lineup due.
I was just commenting on the game when I was talking about Dezenzo in that post. Disagree about Singleton being an avg fielder. He's got very limited range. If you hit the ball to him he will catch it but that's about it. If you want to say he does something at 1B well it's scoop low throws. Is that enough to makeup for Caratini 's bat? No it isn't IMHO, so we will have to agree to disagree. Don't believe me ask Framber what he thinks of Singleton's defensive skills.
Hmmm...they're both out of town (not far) next week: Okie City and Arkansas, then they're both back at home on the 10th for a week. No idea what the timeframe is, but there's always Florida.
I'm just going by the numbers what the metrics say. Typically a 1B is involved in more plays in the field than as a hitter. If they thought Caratini was a solid 1B, they would be playing him there more than an inning or two at a time. They aren't going to compromise the defense behind the pitchers so the 8th or 9th hitter can be improved.
Considering the injuries and our sustained success, I will never doubt our ability to evaluate and develop pitchers with this current staff. None of our pitchers were high draft picks or highly regarded prospects when they were signed or drafted.
I understand veterans. What I’m telling you is Hunter Brown has been one of the best 5 pitchers in the AL since May- he’s pitching game 2. Framber has been one of the best 5 pitchers since then as well and has experience/- he gets game 2. They will figure it out from there. But it’s not going to be JV or blanco or a tandem start ahead of Brown. They are giving him the ball in game 2 and telling him to go kick ass. It’s not as complicated as you are making it Where it gets complicated is if arrighetti is as good in September as he’s been in August/ does he get the ball 3rd? Or 4th? Or is he the bridge guy? I personally think it goes like this: Framber, Brown, JV, kikuchi.
Yeah the way Brown is pitching they are 100% giving him the start in one of the first 2 games. To me right now the top 3 guys are lined up Framber-Brown-Kikuchi and the only question is who starts game 4 and how the other guys will be used.
I think the biggest question is JV's ego. He probably thinks he's earned the #2 starter -- but as of now, he shouldn't even be #4.
Yes Verlander has an ego but more than anything he wants to win. He knows the score; if he wants to be the Game 2 SP then he needs to pitch better.
