I think it’s very much like blaming Bagwell for all the moves that didn’t work out for the brief 2-3 months where this team didn’t have a GM. And now everybody is blaming Crane and the drinking buddies for the downfall of this team in general (did they somehow cause Alex Bregman and Chas McCormick to forget how to hit as well?). At some point, it’s just trying to find somebody/someone to blame other than the players who are either injured or under-performing. Crane also picked Luhnow when he wasn’t on many team’s radar as a top GM candidate. Crane did get sorta forced to take Click… but still did some outside the box thinking and procuring a data-science guy from one of the smartest organizations in baseball. Now he selected a GM who helped build (via the draft) one of the best MLB teams currently (and for the foreseeable future). Every one of his GM choices speaks to somebody who’s calculating, selective, and isn’t just in some back room tossing a few back and throwing darts hap-hazardous. I’m also not saying Crane is blameless or infallible… its just too convenient when people find what they want to attribute to him (or Bagwell) as the negatives, whereas most positives get attributed to the guys who aren’t here anymore (the guys that wouldn’t have been here without Crane).
Every year, things go wrong. What is disturbing is that this year, many things have gone wrong all at the same time. Everyone wants an explanation or reason. The truth might be that aberrant things happen from time to time. Sometimes, everything just seems to go right (2017), and other times, it all goes wrong (2024).
Whitley is not on the 26 man currently, so even if he gets put on IL somebody on the active roster will still have to go on IL, DFA, or maybe a guy with options left can get demoted.
won two games against the rockies in high elevation and they think they've turned their season around lol they ain't even 0.500!
Meyers arm is what keeps him from being a real Gold Glove caliber centerfielder. He tracks down and plays balls very well - he just struggles to keep guys from taking bases. At this point he should be the regular in CF and given a chance.
This is my point. It's shades of Biggio in the OF. Throw the ball to Pena and let him do it from there. Hoooowevah: Dubon is about 1 of 4 guys who are getting hits with RISP, so I'm not gonna complain if they run him out there either. CF is not the problem, or even a problem. eta: just looked, Dubon has 12 Ribbies in 17 ABs (.588 BA) with RISP
Winning a baseball game takes many things. Dubon has a very good arm and can keep runners from taking an extra base, but he averages 6.8 feet less range than Meyers. How many balls land within 6.8 feet of him in CF? How many of those extra bases are prevented by getting the out to start with? There is no doubt that Dubon has been hot w/ RISP and that's huge when the rest of the team isn't. Complicating this is that Altuve and Pena have also been good so that leaves 3B as the only other position Dubon can start at. Bregman is the starter and a rookie manager isn't going to bench him in a contract year though he should start giving him "work days" off. So that means that Meyers, despite being good when playing, is the odd man out.
I just had a thought. What if bringing Joey up is Dana Brown's way of telling Espada to stop using Dubon in the OF? Joey platoons w/ Meyers in CF and plays some 1B. Dubon starts once per week at each of 1B, 2B, and 3B. Altuve and Bregman can DH if they don't need a day off. He starts once every other week at SS. Abreu or Singleton is DFA'd
I have no problems with either guy in CF, or Super Joey if it comes to that. Like I said, CF is not a problem. 1B/3B/LF...you know, the positions that you expect a bit of offense from last in OPS at 1B, LF is 25th, 3B is 2nd to last.
Yeah, I guess Joe doesn't have the same pull as Dusty, lol. I always thought it was detrimental that Dusty had 2 different GMs balls in a wooden box on his desk.
Agreed Even within that, 2017 had some down times. At one point Mike Fiers was the staff ace due to injuries. The 2018 team was technically better than the 2017 team (along with being better than the 2021 team), but didn’t make the World Series thus they are somewhat forgotten in this Golden Era. I do think Bregman and Chas looking like replacement players has been a bigger factor when the offense struggles vs. the 1B dilemma…. And while it would have been nice to see Hunter Brown, JP France, or eventually Spaghetti grab a rotation spot and make the most of it (sorta how Blanco has done)…. Just a constant reminder why people shouldn’t get too attached to prospects.
