That is almost all on the backs of relievers. Our starters are middle of the pack in ERA with advanced stats putting them in the bottom 10 of pretty much everything. And now our bullpen is starting to give up runs because they typically have to cover at minimum 4 innings every night. We have a ton of holes on this roster. Starting pitching is one of them. So you'd rather lose 2-1 than 3-1? The offense is bad. I don't care about the make-up of the pitching staff. I just care about its results. What? I'm saying our starters aren't good. I don't want to trade for deGrom or Syndergaard, I don't think they're available and even if they are I don't think we have enough to get either one anyways. I'm saying that our starting pitching is bad and they don't go deep into games and that's eventually (maybe starting now) going to have an effect on the effectiveness of the bullpen.
It's one game a night and if you live in the Brewers broadcast area it's blacked out. If you're not in the broadcast area I've seen the Brewers on 3 times in a week but you shouldn't expect that. You should be happy if they're on once a week.
Starting pitching, catcher, 2nd base, shortstop. That's 4 out of 9 positions. If Braun and Santana don't start hitting, that's another hole. So yeah, I would say that's a ton of holes.
That is almost all on the backs of relievers. Our starters are middle of the pack in ERA with advanced stats putting them in the bottom 10 of pretty much everything. And now our bullpen is starting to give up runs because they typically have to cover at minimum 4 innings every night. We have a ton of holes on this roster. Starting pitching is one of them.
Let's not forget that the Astros have plenty of options to cycle through at 1B/DH before they think about trading one of their starting pitchers for Thames. They're currently trying J.D. Davis. Gattis has been hitting better. Gurriel or Gonzalez might start hitting better. Reed is hitting well in AAA. Alvarez was hitting well in AA before he got hurt. They could call up their top outfield prospect Kyle Tucker and start a rotation there giving some outfielders a break by allowing them to DH every few days. I think they would try all of these things before they trade Keuchel for Thames. If there's one thing we've seen in the last couple of years it's that 1B/DH types don't have much value in trades or free agency.
The Diamondbacks lineup tonight features 3 hitters that have OBPs over .300. The one with the highest OBP in the lineup? That would be pitcher Patrick Corbin at .348.
I hope you're getting to do everything you loved. Sit under a tree and chew on sticks. Chase rabbits and squirrels. Lay on the biggest bed you can find and look out a window. Just know how much I love you and how much I miss you. You were my first dog. You were one of a kind. I wouldn't have traded you or the time we had for anything. Words can't describe how much you meant to me. Sorry for taking the thread down this path. It's been a day and I'm still a complete wreck.
The only argument you might be able to make is Ray because they drafted two outfielders but one turned 18 a few months ago and the other won't turn 18 for a month and a half. They're most likely years away and if they work out would be right in line to take starting jobs right as Cain and Yelich's contracts run out.