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2022 Season | Series #36 | Guardians @ Jays | Aug. 12-14, 2022

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Hot damn. Awesome series, winning two of three and outscoring the Jays 16-4. The Jays were 34-21 at home coming in.

The starting pitching was tremendous and so was the pen. The 5th highest scoring team in baseball was held to 4 runs in 3 games at home. If the Guardians continue to pitch like this anything can happen.

The catchers starting to contribute on a daily basis has been huge. Hentges had two hits and two RBI's today. They were both bloops, but, hey, they all count.

The Guardians ran wild on Alejandro Kirk. The Jays' All-Star catcher may be an excellent hitter but he's awful at throwing to second base. If we get them in the playoffs it's going to be a track meet.

Rosario had three hits and a walk, including a 422-foot home run. He continues to play at an All-Star level both at the dish, in the field, and on the bases. I don't know if there's a better baserunner in the game right now.

Nice to see Owen Miller get a couple of doubles and a line out to third. All three balls were hit on the screws.

Straw was 0-for-4 with two more fly balls to right field, but he did make a fantastic leaping catch to get Bieber out of an inning. I'd still like to see more of Benson in center. I think Straw is now 3-for-40.

The Jays' defense was pretty shaky today but the G's were rock solid.

Whit Merrifield looks like he's running on fumes. He's not getting to balls at the top of the zone - he's popping up all of them. He also botched a ground ball by Naylor that allowed a run to score from second.

Speaking of pop-ups, Jose struck out three times and then drew a walk, but promptly was out trying to steal when he overslid the bag. He salvaged a little respect in his last at-bat with an RBI single.

So the G's take the season series 5-2. Very impressive. Let's keep it going against the Tigers at home.
 
I know this is timing and need based, but should we be excites for him? He doesnt seem to make any top 10 prospect, does he project to a 3rd or 4th starter at the major league level?
He's probably a tick above Pilkington, Gaddis, and Bettenfield IMO. But he's not on the level of Logan Allen Junior, Williams, Bibee, or certainly EspinGOAT. But he feels like a Plesac type 4th/5th starter. He's had 2 really good outings his last two times out in Columbus. IMO given service time etc he should probably be our 6th starter for doubleheaders etc. for the rest of the year.
 
Crazy seeing that we have a 5 game series left against the Twins and then a SIX GAME series against the Royals ti close out the reg season.

Damn rainouts.
That 6 game Royals series is huge.

If they fall off a bit here, and they will somewhat, they could make up a lot of games on the Twins or a wild card given how tough the remaining schedule is.

Could easily take 4-5 from KC.
 
The general consensus thru the first half of the season was that this team could not compete for the division title against Chicago and Minnesota.

And even if they did, winning the division had little value, since this team, without any power, could not compete with the other post season qualifiers.

Few posters pushed back on this idea of present futility.

As things stand now, we are not only contending, but we are winning the AL Central. If we continue to do so, we will host a three game series in the first round. The opponent will be one of:

Toronto
Seattle
Tampa
Baltimore
Minnesota
Chicago
Boston

Anybody still think that we can't compete in a three game home series against any of them?
 
I don't care what anybody says.
This team has been managed Impeccably on the field and in the front office.
 
Nobody said this team would win the division in Spring. That's the beauty of it..

Paper is paper and games aren't played on paper. Whitesox were the sexy pick in the central. Twins spent the boatload on a few guys to compete. Guardians stayed the course, most fans didn't like it, even CATS. Don't let him fool you. Guy wanted BATS. He wasn't sold on this team being complete as it's been. Not many was. There was literally zero expectations, and that's the glory of baseball. Such a great sport when your team wins.

It was always pinned as a rebuild year. Depleting injuries opened the door to Cleveland conquering a division with the youth movement, and now it's looking like it's Cleveland's to lose. We get to see how they handle the pressure of building a lead going forward and whatever happens, happens.
 
The general consensus thru the first half of the season was that this team could not compete for the division title against Chicago and Minnesota.

And even if they did, winning the division had little value, since this team, without any power, could not compete with the other post season qualifiers.

Few posters pushed back on this idea of present futility.

As things stand now, we are not only contending, but we are winning the AL Central. If we continue to do so, we will host a three game series in the first round. The opponent will be one of:

Toronto
Seattle
Tampa
Baltimore
Minnesota
Chicago
Boston

Anybody still think that we can't compete in a three game home series against any of them?
That’s why it was disappointing, to many, that we didn’t do more at the trade deadline. There are lots of examples of teams that make the playoffs with 85-88 wins and go to the WS and win.
 
Nobody said this team would win the division in Spring. That's the beauty of it..

Paper is paper and games aren't played on paper. Whitesox were the sexy pick in the central. Twins spent the boatload on a few guys to compete. Guardians stayed the course, most fans didn't like it, even CATS. Don't let him fool you. Guy wanted BATS. He wasn't sold on this team being complete as it's been. Not many was. There was literally zero expectations, and that's the glory of baseball. Such a great sport when your team wins.

It was always pinned as a rebuild year. Depleting injuries opened the door to Cleveland conquering a division with the youth movement, and now it's looking like it's Cleveland's to lose. We get to see how they handle the pressure of building a lead going forward and whatever happens, happens.
The great thing? It still is. We've had what, 14 players make their major league debut? This is a rebuilding year. This is a year to tear it down, shed weight, and see what you have. Just look at the list of guys we've gotten rid of. Chang, Zimmer, Mercado, Bradley, Logan Allen, Reyes, and I'm sure I'm missing a boatload.

We're rebuilding AND WE'RE LEADING THE DIVISION WHILE DOING IT.

It's fucking fun.
 
The great thing? It still is. We've had what, 14 players make their major league debut? This is a rebuilding year. This is a year to tear it down, shed weight, and see what you have. Just look at the list of guys we've gotten rid of. Chang, Zimmer, Mercado, Bradley, Logan Allen, Reyes, and I'm sure I'm missing a boatload.

We're rebuilding AND WE'RE LEADING THE DIVISION WHILE DOING IT.

It's fucking fun.
On The Fly!

Job no.1: compete.

Job no. 2: fortify.
 
The great thing? It still is. We've had what, 14 players make their major league debut? This is a rebuilding year. This is a year to tear it down, shed weight, and see what you have. Just look at the list of guys we've gotten rid of. Chang, Zimmer, Mercado, Bradley, Logan Allen, Reyes, and I'm sure I'm missing a boatload.

We're rebuilding AND WE'RE LEADING THE DIVISION WHILE DOING IT.

It's fucking fun.
This^

Edited to say that they have done so without tanking.
 

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