Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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If you DO load up on RHH in the opening inning (I don't think they will), IMO one of them needs to be someone you can swap in a LHH for otherwise it's somewhat of an advantage for them when they go with a RHP in the middle/late innings. That would probably mean something like Monasterio, then Turang subbing in. You could just bite the Pomeranz bullet & hit Frelick 2nd after Chourio, then probably Contreras. But I suspect Yelich will hit 2nd. About a 97-win season being 'meaningless' if they don't advance---I suppose that's the residual effect of the evolution (deterioration?) of sports with the advent of multiple rounds of playoffs. Given the money to be made it was inevitable. But by its' very nature & by the length of the season, baseball is the best game for which the regular season should carry the most weight. Byes & home field help to some extent, but IMO it goes against the essence of the game to have twelve teams make the postseason. Of course it won't change back. And of course I'm making myself sound like a 93-yr-old. But here we are--a 97 win season would be meaningless to some with a loss today. I just think that's unfortunate.
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He addressed it recently. I don't remember how he worded it, but it had to do with the idea of getting him the extra AB. It works with Ohtani, but the bottom three spots in their order get on just a little more often than ours.
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99% sure Gasser has thrown his last game in 2025. If they advance I'd expect to see Myers added unless there's an unexpected bump in Woodruffs' recovery. Wouldn't mind Ashby, but I would lean toward Quintana as well.
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Yeah. People are upset about not scoring like we did in the first two games--or even close to that--but to me falling behind early is at least as big of a problem if not bigger. Bauers can play a corner adequately, but there's something to be said for having him ready on the bench to be inserted in a key spot. If we don't figure out the 1st inning thing there might not BE a key spot. Frelick can play CF but not at the level of Perkins, so if he's playing there you're weakening yourself in CF AND RF. And I doubt Chourio in CF right now would be a good idea. That said it wouldn't shock me if there's something different rolled out Saturday, good idea or not. But this whole thing gets magnified when you're down three right away. Put up a zero in the 1st, roll out the lineup from game one & two, and just breathe for crying out loud.
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Great point re Hoerner. Even during the regular season I didn't like the way we pitched him. For two games now, they've been the aggressor on the mound while we seem to take 6 or 7 hitters to make the same determination. Early HRs play a part in that of course, but vs this team reacting by nibbling is never the right response. AFA the offense is concerned, the balance you mentioned is key. It doesn't take much for hitters to go into 'I have to get us out of this' mode & I think that's affected some of them. It can quickly turn Yelich, for example, from a dangerous hitter to a downright liability. Swing-decision wise, Collins hasn't looked like himself for awhile. I don't think Frelick has been horrible but a couple ball-strike calls have affected him, I think. And Turang, geez. I'd love for whoever has been wearing his uniform to give it back to the real Brice. Stringing together good ABs is always a challenge. But even in game two, the long balls came (twice) with 2 runners on, otherwise it's tight late. This 'woodpecker' thing isn't a constant, it needs to be re-committed to every day.
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That's pretty good. It would be even better if he included "And find a way to get our DH to stop chasing breaking balls out of the zone".
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Not sure when we see him, but I think Miz pitches at some point & should go for as long as he can be effective. I'd have a LH open as well. And I'd like it to be Quintana so Ashby can be available for the mid-portion. And I'd agree that Patrick is almost certain to work. Not sure about Uribe for only one inning. If ever there was a game to ride him hard this is it, and he's extremely well-rested.
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I'm not in the medical profession. But a longtime friend who now is a Red Cross director did one of his clinicals years ago relating to afflictions of the mind. I get the despondency, but sports fans can be interesting test cases, to say the least. Many take the leap of actually believing that they 'knew' something bad was going to happen beforehand, which is obviously nonsense. I'd say it's a defense mechanism. Maybe not textbook, but........ But back to baseball. Like in 2011, they're returning home tied after going up 2-0 & need to play better than they played in Chicago. No momentum. Chicago also had none, but found a way to turn things around at home. We need to do the same.
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He adjusted the batting order in game three vs a RHP after facing lefties in the first two. He's done that numerous times during a season in which they won 97 games, and it was often successful. The red lights were including Lockridge in that game, and not reverting to the games 1 & 2 BO in game four. He spread out the LHH. I understand the idea behind that, but it didn't work. So that can certainly be criticized.
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It looked obvious from late in the season that Lockridge would be added, due in large part to the ? regarding Chourio & the hammy and probably fueled by Collins turning in some downright horrible defensive play late in the season, along with the ability to PR. Definitely, he hasn't contributed. But there weren't many other options. They didn't put much effort into getting Hoskins more ABs late in the year, so I don't think they ever considered him much of an option. His #s were OK in Nashville. That might prove to be a mistake. After that, they took a look at Urias in AAA, and Tyler Black was probably considered. Siegler would've been an INF version of Lockridge. Slim pickings.
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In situations like that you're right, it isn't as consequential if he doesn't reach. I just have a hard time lumping a twelve-pitch AB someone puts up, with one where you're totally overmatched or chase three pitches & sit down or whatever. I thought what he did was impressive despite the result.
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Ortiz was 'kept in' because at that time Murphy would've been happy with making it a one-run game, and Ortiz was more than capable of advancing the runners into scoring position w/one out & two of the better hitters on the team looming. No one is 'in over his head', except apparently Yelich in the following AB. Check around. You seldom if ever see a manager make moves like that in the fifth inning, when you have the same spots in the order coming around again in a couple innings & you only have four or five position players, and only one of them a MINF. It may have been part of the reason Vaughn was held back until the 9th inning in game 3. The A's did that in the 70s. they had three or four guys who could play 2B, none of them particularly good hitters, and would often PH for them. But that was when you had seven position players on your bench. Usually the only early moves these days are when you more-or-less script it, like Counsell the other day when he waited for a RHP so he could then insert Busch.
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Actually, that was a very good AB by Lockridge that unfortunately ended badly. If several guys put up 7, 8. 9 pitch ABs like that on a consistent basis it can turn games. It's bitten Peralta on the backside many times over the years. It hurt him today, to an extent. I'm not defending him starting game two, though.
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I didn't mind leaving him in to sacrifice. Bank on Yelich or Chourio to drive in a pair & make it a one-run game. Had Murphy pulled out a crystal ball & saw us giving up three more runs then he probably hits for him.
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Not if we can work from ahead in the count. The problem will be length, unless Patrick or Miz can be effective. If they go with one of the lefties early, a scoreless first would be refreshing. Might even be invigorating.
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Lather, rinse, repeat---the similarity between Peralta & Priester in the opening inning was stunning. One out, and a 'no big deal' ground ball single by Hoerner. I guess that means we have to lose our water & walk Tucker on four straight. The 1st inning HRs sucked the last two days, but what preceded & followed them was just as bad IMO. Set a horrible tone. I couldn't help but compare it to when Palencia entered the game to face Chourio. Here's a guy who turned around 101MPH for a HR in game two. But Palencia went right after him. First pitch pop up. I don't have numbers in front of me, but in the latter stages of the season it seemed like our pitchers nibbled more than previously. Saturday, be more aggressive in the zone early in the ABs.
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I can only say what I'd do: Ashby or Quintana for a start & a couple innings. I know Ashby worked some today, but he's worked back-to-back several times so I think he easily could do it. Both probably get used either way. I think a bigger issue is how they parse out the rest. Best case scenario, Patrick & Misiorowski could cover fifteen outs, more if Miz is locating & getting ahead in the count like he did in Pittsburgh. Patrick might be a darkhorse for the start. I'm not so sure we don't see Priester for an inning. Another thing to keep in mind: Uribe has mostly been in mothballs for a long time. He could go two. Anderson, Koenig, Mears---despite the uncertainty there's more than enough to cover nine effectively.
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I believe it boils down to getting Yelich back up to the plate (as well as Chourio, who I assume is hitting 2nd) ASAP in a close game. That's not to say I'm in favor of it, but that's the mindset. I guess it's the offensive equivalent of using a closer early, or asking him to get five or six outs, in a playoff game. If 8 & 9 in the order can get on base like in the first two games it'll look a lot smarter.
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He's splitting the LHHs as far apart as he can. It's more about that than declaring "Turang is a cleanup hitter". I might argue for Frelick leading off though, with Yelich 4th.
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I think they wanted 3 LHP in the BP and thought Quintana might've been starting a game, hence Gasser. But even then you could make a case for Zastryzny over Gasser. It looks like it wound up being an either/or with Myers & Patrick, and Patrick is throwing the ball really well right now.
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It was posted by someone earlier that Lockridge being in the lineup didn't make a difference in them losing the game. I agreed at the time, but analyzing it further Perkins would've most likely been the hitter when you had the runners at the corners w/one out, instead of Lockridge. And Perkins had collected three hits in the first couple games. My gut tells me we might've seen the same safety squeeze, but maybe Perkins puts it in a better spot.
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Boyd hasn't been great. But "He's left-handed, and Colin Rea isn't" might've been the determiner. I too, am fine with it.
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Yeah, Turang has had ABs where he's bunted--even when it was semi-expected--and beaten it out or forced a bobble. Having Collins still available definitely might've changed the dynamic. But the 2nd PH in the 7th was for Ortiz, and it's going to be pretty automatic that he'll be hit for if they're trailing late.
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Got it. I will say that I wouldn't be surprised if Uribe has an outing of more than one inning this series. But the others, you're right.
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You make a good argument. But Frelick is hitting around .300 for the year vs LHP. I doubt it was ever considered to pull him back for Vaughn there & I have no problem with it. And if the eighth doesn't go well, the ninth certainly does matter. Maybe if he had another bench bat for the 9th........but even then I think he stays with Sal.
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