OT: Raise the Jolly Roger: The Sky is Falling

[DanielPlainview]

1. I want to see Brault pitch well again.
2. I want to see Bell hit a HR.
3. I want an ump with a stikezone that doesn't go from batter's box to batter's box and from ankles to chin.

I think 1 and 2 are doable. 3...I'm not going to hold my breath

 

[DJ Spinoza]

My winning streak plan is largely a slightly improved offense which comes out thumping early in games: Frazier quietly continues to get hot and hits like David Freese said he would, Newman remains high OBP/speed guy, Marte remains Marte, Bell returns to form, Polanco heats up, and Moran continues to get consistent at bats over the POS. (and the least likely, for Hurdled reasons) Toss in Reynolds over Dickerson 60% of the time (and spelling Polanco for the rest of his playing time), and if we get just a little bit of help from the young pitching, maybe there's some newfound momentum.

However, I imagine we're in for something more mixed and disappointing. We need roaring momentum, and then a shocking finish before the ASB to end up a game or two over .500. Do that and you are right back in the hunt. More likely, we'll probably bumble around, but do something wild like beat the Astros 2/3 and sweep one of the divisional series only to fall on our face otherwise and end up basically where we are now, 6 or 7 games below .500.

 

[ImporterExporter]

How many more losses until we start seeing people canned?

Or is that too much to ask?

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I suppose there's some chance of firings if we lose, I dunno, 10 or 15 more in a row? I don't think anything would happen even if we continued to slide and put up something like a 6-15 run before the ASB in the remaining games to cement our position in the cellar.

For one, there's the cheapness of the ownership and the committed contracts. And there's the excuse of injuries. I'm not sure about this, but it seems pretty rare that a GM would get fired within a season, and I suspect that they wouldn't do it to Hurdle within the season either, partly because their striving for mediocrity approach doesn't exactly amp up the pressure.

I could maybe see Searage becoming a scapegoat if the pitching remains rough, though again, the injury excuse could come into play. The most realistic firing scenario I can imagine is NH doing nothing really at the deadline but some minor acquisitions, maybe dumping Melky for a prospect and receiving a reclamation flier in some other minor trade, while unloading Dickerson's salary, and then in the offseason they bring in someone to clean house.

So I guess in short, it's too much to ask. My attitude is basically just f*** it, let's win a bunch of games in a row to keep things interesting. The clean house, full rebuild option is a tempting one in the abstract, but I actually think it's more fraught with problems, especially from the perspective of right now. There's no way we fire Huntington and have a new GM right away who has a strategic vision to remake the team, and so short of that, I'd rather just see them fight back and take my chances. Maybe if we're out of it, selling off Vazquez comes into play, but even in that scenario I don't trust NH to get the right package. (and I don't see how anyone but NH is gonna be making that call, unless it's in December or January of next year)

 

[DJ Spinoza]

We should try to hoodwink the Mets into trading us Edwin Diaz as a reclamation project.

 

[wheelz87]

Reynolds is unreal

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Part of me can't believe I'm gonna toss in any play by play at this point, but I guess I've made my bed. Richards is very tough, so it will be important to cash in on any big opportunities we have tonight.

Is Brault good now?

 

[lordstanley91]

He’s been much more consistent in his mechanics and throwing strikes and now has a better era than archer and musgrove...wtf

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Part of me can't believe I'm gonna toss in any play by play at this point, but I guess I've made my bed. Richards is very tough, so it will be important to cash in on any big opportunities we have tonight.

Is Brault good now?

Yeah, even laid a nice bunt to advance a runner.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I'll say this about Brault: it's not like he doesn't have the stuff to be a solid backend starter in the league. I'm going to need a sample of probably about 10 starts before I start believing it, but his execution has been encouraging.

I definitely want to see Keller get a couple more starts, but there should be opportunities for Brault to keep a foothold in the rotation if he pitches well. We basically have no LHP options other than him and I guess Cam Vieux.

 

[lordstanley91]

Jesus Christ Moran

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Not gonna lie, that Alfaro at-bat has me hyped. Brault looks like a totally different pitcher right now.

Go back to my post from earlier today about how the winning streak can happen, and throw in "Brault becomes a Matt Boyd lite for the next 3 months."

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Moran needs to redeem himself by getting this ball in the air somehow. Gotta convert this run against Richards.

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Moran needs to redeem himself by getting this ball in the air somehow. Gotta convert this run against Richards.

He did

 

[DJ Spinoza]

So yeah, things could be worse for us.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I'll say this about Brault: it's not like he doesn't have the stuff to be a solid backend starter in the league. I'm going to need a sample of probably about 10 starts before I start believing it, but his execution has been encouraging.

I definitely want to see Keller get a couple more starts, but there should be opportunities for Brault to keep a foothold in the rotation if he pitches well. We basically have no LHP options other than him and I guess Cam Vieux.

Domingo Robles the only other LHP that looks good right now

 

[lordstanley91]

Brault is dealin under pressure

 

[Scandale du Jour]

Hopefully Brault can go two more innings. Some run support would also be appreciated.

 

[Empoleon8771]

Brault looks absolutely night and day from how he looked earlier in the year. Even though his fastball is only sitting at about 92 MPH, it looks more dangerous than that.

He also just got a double, so that's neat.

 

[DJ Spinoza]

Block and Walk are signing the company line in terms of pitching to contact and giving up singles, and to some extent, that's not terrible, because Brault's fundamental problem for the past several years has been control. So the fact that he can keep pumping strikes in there and get soft contact, stay ahead of hitters, etc., is crucial, even if the Marlins would have converted one of those opportunities with a big hit. But the reason to get excited about him is that his pitches are deceiving guys. You put that together with being ahead in the count consistently and staying mostly out of the middle of the plate, and you'll have success. How long you'll have success is yet to be seen, but this isn't a fluke thing against a young team or something.

 

[Empoleon8771]

I'm not saying Newman is bad defensviely with this, but I wish Newman was as good as Tucker defensively. He'd be a downright orgasmic starting SS with plus defense added to his speed and ability to make contact.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

Brault looks absolutely night and day from how he looked earlier in the year. Even though his fastball is only sitting at about 92 MPH, it looks more dangerous than that.

He also just got a double, so that's neat.

Yeah we have enough guys who have strong arms but lacking control. Nice to see Brault doing this..and being a LHP.

 

[JimmyTwoTimes]

I'm not saying Newman is bad defensviely with this, but I wish Newman was as good as Tucker defensively. He'd be a downright orgasmic starting SS with plus defense added to his speed and ability to make contact.

Newman looked bad his first 30 games last year. Hoping Tucker does the same Kevin is doing now when he comes back.

 

[td_ice]

One of the best slides I ever seen at home plate! great job Newman.

Bell with the triple. 4-0 now.
Moran makes it 5-0

 

[DJ Spinoza]

I think Newman is ok defensively – better than I thought, but what prevents him from being a plus is that his range isn't quite as good as you'd want and he's not as automatic as you'd want. He's not a liability all the time out there, but I'm still not sold that long term, it's the defense you want at SS. On the other hand, he's ideal for 2B if he keeps hitting, and he's a useful utility option since he can actually play SS with some reliability.

Another thing I really like about Newman is that his fundamentals are very sound, and he always seems like a heady player. Two recent examples: that slide just now and then either yesterday or the day before, when he was making sure to indicate to Marte that he could be safe at first I think. He's just got a great presence out there, and as much as I really like Pablo Reyes as a player/person/guy to root for, the disparity between him and Newman in terms of their September performance is illustrative of why you shouldn't put a whole lot of stock in September.

Great adjustments to get to Richards in this inning. Let's see if Brault can just keep pumping strikes in there and maybe get into the 7th again. I think I'd be slightly cautious with throwing him back out there, since like Musgrove he seems to fall off a cliff at the end of his starts, and he promptly walked the first two guys in his last start when we had him out there, but I'd make it a judgment call. If he can get the innings and has a huge lead, then why not.