Jim French Stepstool

Very good piece. First off, I think the defensive chops this team has shown might play into this somewhat, leaning more towards wanting the ball put into play as opposed to 'fooling' a hitter. Not defending Contreras, just wondering if this plays into his thinking. I also don't believe we have a staff full of guys obstinate enough to do a lot of shaking off. Viewing the info provided, that can be a problem when you pair Contreras with a young pitcher less inclined to shake off whose #1 clearly isn't the fastball (Hudson). I don't know if it happens here, but historically in baseball there's often an "Oh, what the hell, if that's what he wants, OK I'll throw it" attitude from pitchers, then you make the pitch, but without conviction. These guys go over hitters on a regular basis. Looks like something that needs to be cleaned up. Given the teams' nature it probably has to be diplomatic, but still addressed. As an aside, if Yoho makes it up here & Contreras calls mostly for the 92-93 MPH fastball, a ritual human sacrifice may be in order.

Memo to Adames, Willy...........

Technically, a catcher gets a putout for a strikeout, so whoever caught Sheets in his 18 K game.

When you're going to explode all over someone offensively, it's nice to save it for a game where it's really timely. Civale was pretty ugly tonight. The leadoff HR & back-to-back hits in the 4th really seemed to put him in nibbling, non-aggressive mode with the hitters immediately following. Especially in the 4th, vs their 7 & 8 hitters you'd think the runner on 3rd was the winning run instead of a meh runner in a 7-1 game. That's the only bad thing in this one, getting 11 runs & still having to use your pen for 5 innings. Frelick was a smorgasboard of defensive excellence tonight. That throw to 3rd, he didn't even plant & throw with momentum, instead turning to his right & then planting. Fundamentally wrong, but still got a ton on the throw. I've always felt his throwing arm was unfairly panned, but what he uncorked there was better than even I would've expected from him. Plus two hits, one vs a lefty. Just a great day. Terrific job going with the pitch by Sanchez.

Not surprising given Mitchells' optics vs LHP recently. Perkins 2nd, that's a square I definitely didn't plunk anything down on.

One of Mitchell/Frelick has to play vs a LH starter, interested in seeing who sits. I'm guessing Mitchell.

They say Yohos' FB is 93-94. The way his other stuff moves, it would be cool if there was a way to measure how fast it LOOKS to hitters when he chooses to use it. I'm guessing there will be some sort of celestial crossroads in the space-time continuum shortly after 9-1, where decisions will be made about the above two.

They've especially missed him vs LHP. You had to play both Mitchell & Frelick together vs lefties which ain't gonna work. Throw in the defense, and it's obvious Perkins should see time. My guess is he'll form an OF with Frelick & Chourio vs LHP, and be out there maybe half the time vs RHP.

His biggest problem before this year (IMO) was way too much chasing outside the zone. He's somewhat corrected that, but yeah at times it's gone too far the other way. He's had ABs in similar situations lately where he actually swings early at fairly good pitches to hit & fouls them off. Did it again today in the 1st inning. Then he's put in more-or-less a self-imposed protect mode, which he isn't good at. Confidence & the relaxation that comes from it. We've seen what it's done for Chourio. No, Mitchell isn't at the same level, but he tightens up sometimes & winds up fighting himself.

There can be head scratchers--there always are when you play 162--but It's pretty obvious why they ran out the batting order today that they did. It didn't work, so yeah, maybe they should've put all the guys who made soft contact today & showed little plate discipline in a different order. THAT'S the ticket. Thing is, most of this revolves around Yelich in the 3-hole not being there.

He was hit pretty hard in the 7th, you'd have to say he failed. But he also didn't catch a break to save his life. I mentioned how we chased today at the plate. Contrast that to the Contreras AB w/the bases loaded. Mears got ahead 0-2 & IMO threw at least 2, maybe 3 pitches you could easily get a swing on on a different day. He laid off every one. Throw in the soft single to center & the apparent new rule that you aren't allowed to get two calls overturned in the same game. Needs to locate a little better & maybe mix the slider in more, but it's clear to me what they see in him.

Sometimes you can generate enough offense to squeeze out a win w/o looking real impressive doing it. But chasing & soft contact is a bad combination & tough to overcome. The last decent shot was in the 8th. Ortiz is always good at extracting a walk, and did so as Romero wasn't real sharp. First & second w/no outs, except it wasn't because Sanchez decided to chase ball four. Mitchells' last AB was significant in a diagnosis sort of way. He looks horrible in the 1st inning--this time with the platoon advantage--with runners on the corners & one out. Second AB, pretty much just as bad. In the ninth, no one on, one out, down three runs, very low pressure. And he smokes 100MPH for a solid base hit against a very good closer. You can see why they stick with him. Holes in his swing, especially up top, but improved plate discipline & not devoid of talent. But the bigger moments, how he tightens up compared to the other ABs, it's just so incredibly obvious it's painful. How they parse up the PT in CF & RF now that there are three for the two spots will be interesting.

As long as he doesn't get pitched around w/Mitchell behind him. That's my concern in a close game, esp if a LHP is warming or already in the game. At least now they can PH as they actually have another OF available.

I'd always felt he looked better at the plate from the left side, actually. But he swung it well hitting RH before hitting the IL & I hope that continues because yeah, we really need it vs lefties.

I think what he's doing there, is trying to construct something where Mitchell doesn't have to face a LHP later in the game. Putting him between Contreras & Adames might accomplish that, as well as separating him an extra spot from Turang. But I agree, it looks strange.

They were both poor last night, which I pointed out earlier. But at least Mitchell has improved his plate discipline, and has had some decent ABs vs RHP recently. The problem with both is they really shouldn't be out there vs LHP, and while Perkins was gone Mitchell HAD to be. That's why Perkins coming back is important as long as he hits righties, which he was doing before going down. I don't include Frelick in this because, while him facing a LHP is far from ideal, the quality of his ABs & chances of success are IMO far better than Mitchell or Black.

Scratch DE James Thompson from the above list. Injured & reportedly out for the season. Tough loss in an area of questionable depth.

So, everyone knows there was little for Murphy to complain about re the ball/strike calls in the home 9th. Except there kinda was. I don't know how the NBA operates, but anyone who's seen a college hoops game sees sequences where the refs start to swallow the whistles late, if the game isn't close. That's kinda what we saw tonight. Williams was flat-out poor, but what should've fueled Murphys' ire was the "get the game over with" strike zone in the sequence before that, particularly the strike three call to Sanchez. Now, a hit batsman, a base hit from a guy hitting .130, golly gee, I better start umpiring the game seriously again. If Murphy wants to get pissed, THAT'S what he should've been pissed at. No hits, but I thought Hoskins put up some real impressive at-bats laying off the breaking balls after falling behind in the count. Too bad he saved his worst one for last. In extras, leaving the ghost at 2B after the 1st out of the inning. I hate that with a passion. Funny how one thing can turn events. The 10-pitch AB & walk to Arenado, I thought Myers wasn't himself from that point on. Same with Williams after he hit Contreras. Probably the worst thing about tonite, even more than losing, was seeing Mitchell & Black appear to be way, way too small for the moment in about 4 ABs between the two. Perkins as an option will be quite welcome.

That's some really good data, thanks. If you compile this stuff while at work, I want your job.😁

Found out after the game Carpenter was hitting something like .100 on breaking pitches this year. So yeah, on 0-1 maybe you go neck high with the FB, then breaking stuff, or visa versa. Still, he got on top of a pitch I didn't think he could hit out.

If baseball was poker, I guess a "We're walking someone to get to Goldschmidt w/the tying & winning runs on base" beats a "We're letting Mears in to face Carpenter with Koenig ready". Actually, if the baseball gods let me see where the ball Carpenter hit out was located BEFORE he hit it, I'd have been fine with it. Just got on top of the sucker, something LHH don't do real often. Love, love, love Montas establishing 96-98 & working off it. That's his best path to success IMO. Three RBI day for Hoskins on another day. Hang with 'em. Devin Williams, in keeping with the poker theme, really has a pair.

The time where we should all be appreciating this team, in light of all the obstacles they've had to endure, arrived a long time ago. It's easy for me because I've appreciated, for a long time, what they do to mitigate those obstacles & "work smarter". Fan message boards attract all types of fans, and their styles bump into one another & cause consternation, which is one of the things that feeds this media. The type that seem like they'd rather be right, than have the team be successful, have always been a little curious to me. Or the ones who open up with something like "They've played well & should be commended, but"...........and then proceed to write a book. I suspect I'm guilty now & again, on both ends. But if it's well thought out & not just a rant, it all has value. Problem is, with the many layers added on to baseball stats in recent decades you can attempt to make Keith Hernandez sound like Keith Osik & visa versa.

I think it's fortunate that Peguero still has the option left. Let's not forget 2023; he's capable of pitching at a high level & unless he's included in a trade I like the idea of having him with the team next spring camp. But for now it's certainly the right move. They do seem to like two bulk-innings guys in the BP but Ross seems vulnerable to me after the doubleheader. I think Hall stays, Ross goes and..........they also had an affinity for 3 one-inning LH types in the pen, but Milner might have little left in his 2024 tank & Zastryzny is a question mark. So Paredes seems to fit the timeline, unless by that time they just can't deny Yoho anymore or Misiorowski continues to throw strikes as a reliever.

You pretty much HAVE to check on the market for Williams and some of the other relievers. You don't give him away but he's an obvious asset & fills a role where we are particularly strong. I'm not so sure we look to add a starter. Might be prudent to look for maturity & efficiency from Peralta as he ages, continued consistency from Rea & Myers, and looking to the farm talent (including Hall), whatever level Woodruff comes back to, and the eventual return of Gasser to flesh things out. I feel the hole to fill will be at 3B as I agree Ortiz gets moved to SS. In his 1st full year as a pro, Wilkin had to deal with AA-level pitching after taking one off the face & having to hit for a stretch while wearing a mask. Let's let him & Boeve settle in & continue to develop with an eye towards '26 when both corners may be up for grabs. Would also like Ollie Dunn to get a AAA season under his belt. Black is a quandary moving forward because Hoskins is most likely back, Yelich almost certainly is the main DH, I just don't believe he can play 2B or 3B sufficiently and his trade value is up in the air. I haven't looked at the FA market but if there's a left-side INF they like that's willing to go for a one-year deal or one year w/player option, that could happen.

With the season less than 2 weeks away I thought I'd throw out some comments position-by-position, a synopsis of some of the stuff I've heard/read & my own observations. QB........Van Dyke, after a slow start seems to be more comfortable & eventually started separating himself from the others, which isn't surprising. It looks like he's settled in throwing the ball & supposedly runs w/the ball better than you'd think, since the optics suggest he'd be a statue in the pocket. His last work at Miami just kinda leaves me questioning how good he'll be. Hopefully there's a comfort level that will show through & allow him to be the best version of himself. Locke would be a good 'game manager' QB on many of the past UW teams. Under this system IMO he's adequate at best. The most talented kid is the freshman from Texas, Mettauer. But unless he grows by leaps & bounds in the next few months he's not a factor in '24. RB........Much better depth & talent than last year. Looks 'committee-ish' to me, with Mellusi (stay healthy, please) & Oklahoma transfer Tawee Walker leading the pack. Darrion Dupree & Dilin Jones are talented freshman, Dupree will play & Jones might. Yacamelli & Jackson Acker are journeymen & reliable. WR.....Will Pauling is very reliable in the short-to-medium pass game they employ. I'm a big fan of Trech Kekahuna & Vinny Anthony. They have hopes for others that haven't seemed to separate themselves--Bryson Green, CJ Williams, Chris Brooks & others. And no one seems to have established himself as a deep threat, I'm hoping Anthony might be that guy. TE.....Tucker Ashcraft can catch the ball. Riley Nowakowski, an over-achiever that a coach like Barry Alvarez would've loved, can block. They'll both play a lot. Rob Booker is a future hopeful, but TE isn't an easy position for a freshman. Jackson McGohan transferred in from LSU but hasn't made a depth chart move as yet. OL....Has to be better than the comedy of mental errors seen last year. Assuming he's past all that, Jack Nelson should make half of a good pair of bookend tackles w/Riley Mahlmann. The interior is bolstered as it appears C Jake Renfroe is finally healthy. Seems to be a battle btwn JP Benzschawel & Joe Brunner for a starting guard spot opposite Joe Huber. The bad news: whoever loses that battle might be the only experienced depth. Some freshmen might be in the two-deep. DL.....Definitely better. James Thompson has turned into a bit of a playmaker & Curt Neal seems to have alleviated concerns about NT. Ben Barton reminds me a little of CJ Goetz or Matt Henningsen, limited athlete but a tactician that gets the job done. They added 2 FCS-level guys for depth. Elijah Hills & Brandon Lane. I still hold out hopes for RS freshman Jamel Howard. LB....Just a case of sorting out roles, really. Jake Chaney returns on the inside, & Christian Alliegro can play at a pretty high level if he stays healthy. Jaheim Thomas is at his (I think) fourth different school but has had a great camp & should start. Tackett Curtis came from USC. He once started there but is coming off surgery. On the outside, good potential depth as well w/ Darryl Peterson, Aaron Witt (if he can maintain health), & transfers Leon Lowery (Syracuse) & John Pius (Wm & Mary). Thomas Heiberger is a true freshman that was one of the stars of camp & was going to definitely get on the field, but a leg injury has him on the shelf. More than enough edge rush here if this group stays intact. Secondary.....This could turn out to be one of the better groups in the B10. Hunter Wohler is outstanding & the other safeties (Preston Zachmann, Kamo'i Latu & Austin Brown) have experience. At corner, Ricardo Hallman was a dangerous ballhawk & Nyzier Fourqurean has had a great camp. If they stay assignment-sure these guys will make plays. Xavier Lucas is a true freshman who keeps making plays in camp. It looks like he can't be kept off the field.