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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 22, 2024 22:49:51 GMT -5
It's too early to say "I told you so," but boy did Yamamoto look overwhelmed and overrated last night facing a real big league lineup in a game that counted. I thought Orel Hersheiser said it best when he said that YY was finding out the hard way that MLB hitters are not intimidated by 97 and don't have to cheat for it and then look foolish on the off-speed stuff, the way that NPB hitters do. It wasn't long before he seemed to be avoiding throwing strikes.
One of my biggest questions on him is his size and he looked like a high-schooler out there with guys like Xander and Tatis in the box. He'll put that one behind him and probably right the ship but he looked like the poster child for why great college starters under 6' don't get drafted high. Maybe he'll be one of the exceptions.
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Post by scottysmalls on Mar 22, 2024 23:35:40 GMT -5
It feels like size should be irrelevant aside from the question of what your stuff could be and any injury risk (though I don’t know if it’s actually confirmed that smaller pitchers are bigger risks). Once we know a guy has elite stuff/command who cares how big he is?
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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 23, 2024 0:19:34 GMT -5
I guess it's anecdotal but there just aren't that many great pitchers who are his size. There are famous exceptions (I comped him to 2x CY Tim Lincecum and we'll see if that was too generous) but there's also an archetype for the MLB starter. If you have a team's starting pitchers stand on one side of the clubhouse and the rest of the team on the other, you can immediately see that one group is much taller than the other. What I found most interesting when this first got stuck in my mind was that all of the Japanese starting pitchers who have been successful in MLB (there's about a dozen in total) are over 6' and most of them fit the MLB archetype. Daisuke was the smallest of that select fraternity and he's not a particularly small guy. It's not a disqualifier but it's a red flag for me, particularly for a guy asking for mid nine-figures who has never faced a MLB lineup or pitched on a 5-day schedule.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Mar 23, 2024 0:24:46 GMT -5
That first game he definitely looked overmatched. What surprised me was how his command deserted him at crucial times. Nerves perhaps.
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Post by incandenza on Mar 23, 2024 5:58:55 GMT -5
If the idea is that Yamamoto might not make it in the majors after all based on one start, I will go ahead and buy low on Yamamoto stock. I can't imagine the scouting consensus was that far off, and Japanese pitchers have tended to adjust to MLB just fine.
And if you're wondering about his 8.38 spring training ERA... he also has a 2.08 FIP. That discrepancy alone ought to tell you all you need to know about spring training stats.
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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 23, 2024 9:12:26 GMT -5
If the idea is that Yamamoto might not make it in the majors after all based on one start, I will go ahead and buy low on Yamamoto stock. I can't imagine the scouting consensus was that far off, and Japanese pitchers have tended to adjust to MLB just fine.
And if you're wondering about his 8.38 spring training ERA... he also has a 2.08 FIP. That discrepancy alone ought to tell you all you need to know about spring training stats.
Sure, I'd love to buy low on him. Sadly, LAD don't have that option... |
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Post by julyanmorley on Mar 23, 2024 11:16:48 GMT -5
Naoyuki Uwasama didn't make the Rays and has an opt out. He does have a very nice minor league deal so he might not leave. Pretty good chance we nab him if he does though IMO.
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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 23, 2024 11:28:43 GMT -5
Naoyuki Uwasama didn't make the Rays and has an opt out. He does have a very nice minor league deal so he might not leave. Pretty good chance we nab him if he does though IMO. Based on how the Sox spring training lineup pounded him, I'll pass. EDIT: From my recollection, the Sox pounded him at least twice this spring. I was kind of hoping we'd see him a few times in the Trop this year. |
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Post by keninten on Mar 23, 2024 11:57:20 GMT -5
Naoyuki Uwasama didn't make the Rays and has an opt out. He does have a very nice minor league deal so he might not leave. Pretty good chance we nab him if he does though IMO. Based on how the Sox spring training lineup pounded him, I'll pass. But he is 6`1" |
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Post by patford on Mar 23, 2024 13:11:25 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that?
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Post by keninten on Mar 23, 2024 13:36:23 GMT -5
Peter Angelos passed away
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Post by asm18 on Mar 23, 2024 17:04:15 GMT -5
Don’t worry I’m sure it’s just a blip
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Post by Soxfansince1971 on Mar 24, 2024 9:11:32 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that? Sale was great when healthy, but he was only healthy the first 2 1/2 years with the Ted Sox. I am glad they traded him for Grissom. |
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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 24, 2024 11:04:18 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that? Maybe they've already got him in the bubble wrap and packing peanuts? |
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Post by redsox04071318champs on Mar 24, 2024 13:44:35 GMT -5
Jim Bowden, FWIW, said that Montgomery is probably going to sign this week and has two long term offers in hand.
Mentioned that the Sox and Yanks are involved to a degree, but to watch out for Baltimore and Arizona.
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Post by asm18 on Mar 24, 2024 14:02:32 GMT -5
Carlos Rodon has primarily been a two pitch starter the last three years - in part because those pitches (fastball and slider) have been damn good. That’s a lot harder to pull off if your two pitches are merely fine. The Yankees have been having him throw a new cutter this spring, to mixed results it seems.
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Post by Oregon Norm on Mar 24, 2024 15:27:09 GMT -5
It's the Samson effect - cut the hair, lose the flair.
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Post by julyanmorley on Mar 24, 2024 15:38:30 GMT -5
Ezequiel Tovar signs a 8/84 deal with the last year being a club option
Very different player than Casas, but the same service time, same kind of prospect pedigree and similar projections going forward. Tovar is also 15 months younger.
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Post by julyanmorley on Mar 24, 2024 15:49:14 GMT -5
This is a group of 8 major leaguers, and includes our own Lucas Giolito who had previously publicly given his support for Harry Marino.
I think the vote that counts is of the 72 member group that is 34 minor leaguers (who are presumed to be overwhelmingly for Marino) and 38 major leaguers who Bruce Meyer is possibly going to get 100% of.
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 16:11:05 GMT -5
Chris Sale hasn't pitched since March 14 when he went 3.1 against the Rays. Has there been any recent news touching on that? Maybe they've already got him in the bubble wrap and packing peanuts? I managed to find a tweet from a week ago saying he was pitching on a backfield so the Braves could set up their rotation. Which may be but none of their other starters have skipped a turn and this is the time in Spring Training where starting pitchers are ramping up to five or more innings. All I know if he was still with the Sox I'd be very concerned and not believing the "set up the rotation" bit. |
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 16:17:16 GMT -5
It's the Samson effect - cut the hair, lose the flair. To me the Yankees kindergarten dress code really does sort of emasculate a player. The very fact a player (particularly someone with the stature and clout of Cole) would agree to such idiocy says something about them. And I'm saying this as someone who dislikes the whole greasy looking Southern cowboy look. I'd never dream of telling a professional baseball player (or anyone) "If you're a Yankee you must conform to the Waffen SS dress code. Waiting for the day when someone finally has the eggs to tell the Yankees, "I'll sign with you but don't tell me how my hair and beard are supposed to look." |
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Post by incandenza on Mar 24, 2024 16:42:07 GMT -5
It's the Samson effect - cut the hair, lose the flair. To me the Yankees kindergarten dress code really does sort of emasculate a player. The very fact a player (particularly someone with the stature and clout of Cole) would agree to such idiocy says something about them. And I'm saying this as someone who dislikes the whole greasy looking Southern cowboy look. I'd never dream of telling a professional baseball player (or anyone) "If you're a Yankee you must conform to the Waffen SS dress code. Waiting for the day when someone finally has the eggs to tell the Yankees, "I'll sign with you but don't tell me how my hair and beard are supposed to look." It's such a perfect symbol of how ossified the Yankees culture is. "Keep your hair short and shave your beard" is a statement within the cultural logic of like the 1970s; it bears no relation whatsoever to 2020s fashion or politics. But half a century later they just keep at it out of sheer inertia and self-regard. |
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Post by patford on Mar 24, 2024 20:40:40 GMT -5
To me the Yankees kindergarten dress code really does sort of emasculate a player. The very fact a player (particularly someone with the stature and clout of Cole) would agree to such idiocy says something about them. And I'm saying this as someone who dislikes the whole greasy looking Southern cowboy look. I'd never dream of telling a professional baseball player (or anyone) "If you're a Yankee you must conform to the Waffen SS dress code. Waiting for the day when someone finally has the eggs to tell the Yankees, "I'll sign with you but don't tell me how my hair and beard are supposed to look." It's such a perfect symbol of how ossified the Yankees culture is. "Keep your hair short and shave your beard" is a statement within the cultural logic of like the 1970s; it bears no relation whatsoever to 2020s fashion or politics. But half a century later they just keep at it out of sheer inertia and self-regard. Early '70s Yankees were very much on the shaggy side and that's the root of Steinbrenner's idiotic rule. It's just absolutely this purists and amazing to me that someone hasn't told the Yankees to shove it. Gerrit Cole should have done it. Cole with the Astros looked like a complete filthy slob. And then he folds like when he could have made it a matter of principle and had the clout to do it. |
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Post by Underwater Johnson on Mar 24, 2024 21:19:01 GMT -5
It's such a perfect symbol of how ossified the Yankees culture is. "Keep your hair short and shave your beard" is a statement within the cultural logic of like the 1970s; it bears no relation whatsoever to 2020s fashion or politics. But half a century later they just keep at it out of sheer inertia and self-regard. Early '70s Yankees were very much on the shaggy side and that's the root of Steinbrenner's idiotic rule. It's just absolutely this purists and amazing to me that someone hasn't told the Yankees to shove it. Gerrit Cole should have done it. Cole with the Astros looked like a complete filthy slob. And then he folds like when he could have made it a matter of principle and had the clout to do it. Brian Cashman: "Our offer is $324m over nine years but we'll need you to shave every day and get a haircut once a week." Underwater Johnson: "Yes, boss." |
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Post by James Dunne on Mar 25, 2024 7:37:10 GMT -5
Yeah, I think the rule is dumb, but I don't think looking like a shaggy bum is a matter of principle either. My hair is too long and I'd cut it for way less than $300 million dollars.
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