ashbury

Pete Maki sounds more than a little like Chris Parnell, of SNL and Archer and other entertainments. Parnell has the gift of smoothness that sounds like a parody of TV commercials without even trying, but dialed back just a bit he's soothing. I have no idea what technical chops Maki brings to the job but I bet he is good at talking pitchers down from the ledge after they've blown a save for a second game in a row. Speaking of blowing saves, I had looked at Pagan's monthly numbers recently too, and felt it best to view the good final month as merely a SSS blip in the context of a terrible month that preceded it (and not very good ones before that, nor the season before). But baseball is a game of constant tinkering and adjustment, and it's interesting to know that there is a reason that the pitcher attributes to this difference. Trouble is that the batters are allowed to tinker and adjust too, when facing him, and I imagine that Pagan is willing to talk about the curveball because he knows that the "book" on him already has been updated to include this addition. He's not a young man and I'm sure he's tried new things here and there many times. I'm skeptical but I'll never root against a Twin. Wait and see, and I'll hope he proves my skepticism to be unfounded.

I never thought I'd be wishing for a happless pitching rotation, but here we are and I'm pleased so that's how I voted.

As others have said, those ERA look systematically too good, especially when compared to those WARP numbers. A starting pitcher with an ERA in the low-3's? Most WAR-type numbers would be a lot higher.

Getting your jaws wired shut makes it difficult to maintain sufficient nutrition. There are a lot of other details to worry about as well. It's not like he can just work through it on the field while the bones heal. And it'll put him farther behind than simply coming to camp late. Mrs Ash had jaw surgery many years ago. It was a very nerve wracking six weeks of recovery.

A mean that varies as we go, of course. It's not like flipping coins or drawing cards from a deck. I don't quibble with the phrase really, but I wish there was another one.

It's always been known as a pitcher's league, even when it was high-A. By contrast the Texas League and the PCL are known as hitter's leagues. When looking at stats it's wise to adjust by as much as .100 for the OPS you see in hitters, and (I dunno, maybe) 1.25 for ERA. (Those are just my own back of the envelope numbers, TYVM.) I think it's the altitude - everyone accepts that offense is inflated at Coors field due to the thin air, which not only lets the ball carry a few feet farther but makes it harder for breaking pitches to have any bite. Down in Florida where the ball travels through a mixture of oxygen, nitrogen and molasses, the pitcher is in his element.

Before making accusations of ineptitude, have you considered how an actual manager who gets paid a salary for his services might respond to the question?

Interesting point about Mahle's L/R splits. I see now that the first 3 years of his MLB career he had rather extreme splits in the traditional direction - lefties tattooed him. Then suddenly it flipped, and for 3 years running it's the righties who make him look bad, and for the past 2 seasons like maybe he doesn't even belong in the majors when facing them, he's become that much of a LOOGY in disguise. Reverse splits aren't usually sustainable, so this has been mighty weird. Obviously it hasn't escaped his attention and he wants to do something about it.

You encouraged reading the Dan Hayes piece in The Athletic, and I just want to say that the photo of Joe Pohlad sure has him rocking the Brian Dozier style pompadour hairstyle and audio headset.

Backwards in some sense but he apparently came away with more money. A LOT more money.

A lot of it IMO comes down to how the team was marketed when it came to its new location. The Dodgers and Giants played up the long roots back in NY when they went to California, and both had been in a World Series just a few seasons earlier. The Senators by contrast hadn't won 80 games in a non-war season since 1936 - their reputation was just mud. I wasn't there in 1961 but I bet the Griffiths did their best to say at every opportunity, "no, no, these are the MINNESOTA TWINS. Brand new and shiny!" It's true that the major league franchise dates back to 1901; but the TEAM from Minnesota's perspective started in 1961, and it's the hearts and minds that I'll cater to when thinking about all-time teams, even if we forego a few all-timers like Walter Johnson. IOW it's an emotional choice and not many minds are going to get changed.

So the position players won't especially lead us to glory, but don't represent a complete black hole. Now on to the pitchers! Could still eke out a 90-win forecast.

Same reaction to that headline, here. Nice and easy, if you please.

Pitchers and catchers report now. Ashbury reports in another month. Can't wait!

In Cincy I liked the view of the river from what I recall being above the first base line.

Mad props to the FO if they could pull it off, though.

There once was an outfielder named Puckett, Um, never mind.

No such list can omit Tsuyoshi Nishioka. I'd also lobby for Lance Lynn instead of Archer.

Yes. When the scenario you laid out happens you tell your friends, "you won't believe what happened in the game last night." Nobody says that about two groundouts in the 10th. Fun, versus manufactured situations.

That insane walk rate looks like a double-edged sword to me. Is his eye really as keen as that, or was he abusing young pitchers who haven't developed command yet? When he starts facing pitchers who can try with some chance of success to drop a curveball in there for a strike on a 3-1 count, we'll know more. Of course he comes into 2023 with another season under his belt just like they do. I'll watch every prospect with an eye toward what he can do at the next level of competition, but probably none as much as E-Rod.

I'll be keeping an eye on Kyle Farmer. He spent time on the Reds paternity list in 2021. In my experience, there's a chance for this to be a chronic condition that flares up every year or two.

This is the time when to Ft Myers we turn. Jeffers and Ryan: report! Who's in great shape? We soon hope to learn. Vázquez and Durán: report! Greiner and Mahle, Wolters and López, Bañuelos and Ober, Cisco and López, Raise up that gonfalon, sign one more López! Catchers and pitchers: report!