Jim French Stepstool
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Everything posted by Jim French Stepstool
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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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Of the three LHH mentioned, I like Frelick at the top of the order. But in a relatively short post-season I think managers can get caught up in the idea of getting your better hitters more PAs. I'd say Yelich has been swinging it OK. But yeah, you have to question how often he'll see baserunners when he comes to the plate if leading off.
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In the eighth inning Murphy was thinking ahead to the ninth w/Monasterio & Perkins due up. I suspect that's where he was already slotting Vaughn (personally I would've used Vaughn for Perkins, not Monasterio). He liked the idea of Frelick vs Thielbar more than Mona & Perkins vs Keller. And I don't see him using Jansen as a PH in the 9th vs a RHP. I agree re the bunt. It's not necessarily giving up an out & you're pressuring the INF. But after strike one, I felt any chance of seeing it went out the window.
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Good stuff. But as for Miz, game five or not I feel much better about him pitching at home, especially after his game two performance. You aren't going to second-guess either way? I'm sorry, I'm afraid we're going to have to revoke your message board license.
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I agree Peralta should start, but I don't know where you're going with the second sentence. People who have followed the starting pitcher in this series have given up one run in three games & allowed one inherited runner to score.
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I originally liked the idea of Peralta being held back for a possible 5th game, but I've wavered on that in favor of him starting on his regular day. I wouldn't hate starting out w/Ashby for an inning or two but man, I'd love going into the back half of the game w/a lead & both Ashby and Koenig available if needed. Then if you DO go five games you'd probably have at least one of them available, plus Quintana for an inning if needed and most likely all the one-inning RHPs after a day off (not that Uribe couldn't go more than one). And Misiorowski & Patrick most likely don't pitch tonite. They're covered Saturday if needed.
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Very true. It's really about the LRLR thing & not wanting him next to Contreras when opponents go to the BP. Me, I'd be fine with Frelick, Chourio, Yelich & Contreras 1-4 & be done with it.
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Lockridge was a headscratcher, for sure. But it's not like they've never moved Chourio up or down in the order due to the handedness of the pitcher. Hell, the guy in the other dugout benched Busch & his 30-whatever HRs the other day because Ashby was opening. Managers these days are big on matchups & going L-R-L-R as often as possible. One quibble I might make, is dropping Frelick to 5 with Yelich leading off vs RHP. It just smells to me of overplaying the 'get him as many ABs as possible' thing. Ohtani does it but he obviously has much more help surrounding him, and LA has folks other than Perkins & Ortiz in the bottom third of the order.
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So if you fit anyone for goat horns today it obviously has to be Priester. 3-2 to Busch, then the HR really seemed to put him in nibble mode until the Kelly AB, which he couldn't afford with the zone that was tight both ways. You could say he didn't catch much of a break w/the bases-loaded hit, I guess. Got to 0-1 due to Crow-Armstrong chasing a pitch he chases all the time, then puts the next two in the same spot & he takes both. Then of course you don't want to go 3-1, so...... Most of the civilized world thought Lockridge might be bunting in the 1st & 3rd situation. Even so, I was OK with it in concept, he just needed to deaden the ball more than he did. They battled, and the BP was once again terrific. But we needed to be a little more woodpecker-ish in a few key spots. Turangs' AB after the Chourio double was pretty terrible. And that was nothing like the Isaac Collins I've seen all season, swinging at a clear ball four. Had they scored in the ninth, that would've been one damned interesting defensive alignment for the bottom half. I kinda expected Monasterio to hit for himself, then probably Vaughn for Perkins. Someone might have to nominate Counsell for the PJ Fleck 'Get Put on Camera Every Twelve Seconds' award.
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Off Season Ideas
Jim French Stepstool replied to Scooterfletcher's topic in Transaction Rumors & Proposals
As a 3B Durbins' arm could be described as adequate. No way is he ever penciled in as a SS. Barring something very surprising I think you'll see the same format next year at 2B-SS-3B while they bank on continued development from Pratt & Made and as always take a look at what might give you a short-term jolt at the deadline that isn't prospect-cost prohibitive. IMO the only way they consider a Turang at SS & Durbin at 2B scenario early in 2026 would have to involve a heckuva jump from Wilkin, and his bad luck with health has hindered that. -
We know how they value run prevention, and I think they're SO much better defensively with Perkins in CF & Frelick in RF. With Yelich & Chourio both available that kinda aces out Collins. Collins had the horrible defensive game late in the season also, which still might be sticking in Murphys' craw. Just a guess, but had Chourio never landed on the IL Collins' PT might've shrunk at that time. As to Lockridge over Perkins today, I have no idea. But I do like the feel of two switch hitters on the bench, as well as Vaughn. And if it's a ground-ball day, Bauers is a nice call at 1B even though Vaughn has been solid.
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I recall talking to a co-worker in '82. The team was coming back to Milwaukee after falling behind 0-2 to the Angels in the ALCS & she was pretty despondent. I mentioned that if you just win game 3, all of a sudden you're nine innings from tying the series up & of course that's what happened. So yeah, a great spot to be in but momentum can be a funny thing. I'm surprised no one until now has mentioned the Yelich LF/Chourio DH possibility. I think Yelich has been adequate when out there while Collins has struggled a bit w/the glove recently. But my gut says they're looking at Chourio as an all-or-nothing decision--play both ways or not at all.
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I love (and am not surprised by) the move of Adamczewski to LF. Not AFL related, but also looking forward to seeing how they sort out assignments for Boeve, Burke & Adams in '26. I'm assuming Wilkin is ticketed for AAA.
