2022 Minor League Thread

[CDAV45]

Do you believe that a less efficient pitching staff is smarter than maybe having a better hitting catcher?

And I don't know how much you would add until you put him out there, but if the FO thought it would be better with him in Cleveland over Hedges/Maile combo then he would definitely be up and he isnt. So on paper it will definitely be a half a run or higher for the ERA in the sense of answering your question. Personally I think Naylor will struggle to hit and will produce less hitting and defense than Hedges/Maile combo this season since he isnt 100% ready for the bigs...

You need to stop with this BS. This pitching staff is experienced enough that having Hedges back there makes very little difference. Due to their ability to control their pitches there is less demand for a fantastic defensive C. I've told you time and again that it isn't a one way street. Experienced pitchers can help young catchers as well. Our current catchers suck ass. They're fucking terrible at the plate and it's hurting this team. Having said that I do not expect a C to be acquired due to Naylor and Lavastida being so close.

It will not be "a half run or higher". You don't have a clue what it will be. Maybe they contribute offensively and make it possible that not every damn game is a nail biter because we can't score runs with the bottom half of the lineup making life easier for our pitchers. Point is that we're all speculating here.

Naylor may struggle to hit(I doubt it), but he likely won't struggle to the degree that the current turds are struggling. At least there's some potential there.

 

[DickyLeftridge]

You need to stop with this BS. This pitching staff is experienced enough that having Hedges back there makes very little difference. Due to their ability to control their pitches there is less demand for a fantastic defensive C. I've told you time and again that it isn't a one way street. Experienced pitchers can help young catchers as well. Our current catchers suck ass. They're fucking terrible at the plate and it's hurting this team. Having said that I do not expect a C to be acquired due to Naylor and Lavastida being so close.

It will not be "a half run or higher". You don't have a clue what it will be. Maybe they contribute offensively and make it possible that not every damn game is a nail biter because we can't score runs with the bottom half of the lineup making life easier for our pitchers. Point is that we're all speculating here.

Naylor may struggle to hit(I doubt it), but he likely won't struggle to the degree that the current turds are struggling. At least there's some potential there.

INJECT IT INTO MY VEINS

 

[CATS44]

Valera is a better version of Brian Giles?

He is a left handed Manny?

Thats the problem here. Too many live in fantasy worlds when it comes to prospects.

Giles was a better offensive player than JRam...and he did it without striking out nearly as much as Valera.

Manny, along with Pujols, were the two best RH batters of their era....and he did it without striking out nearly as much as Valera.

********

Yes. Now that we are in the thick of a pennant race, I want to win now...and I'm guessing the FO will adjust its plans to meet the new situation.

The odds of any MIF prospect arriving now and immediately coming close to the value that Amed provides is so minute as not to be worth calculating.

The odds of Brennan arriving and immediately being BETTER than Kwan are even more minute.

OGonz was the prospect du jour. Everybody wanted to see him play in Cleveland. He did, and he has produced. But since he is now in Cleveland, some want to replace him already with a new prospect du jour.

Unbelievable.

 

[petes999]

Stupid question but if manager can call a steal or pickoff from the dugout. And at one point, could call pitches for inexperienced catcher. What, if anything, is stopping then from using these Qualcomm machines (if catcher audio is an earpiece so hitter doesn’t pickup the audio used for pitchers and others that have)?

Then this game management issue of Hedges vs Naylor/Lava goes out the window.

 

[sportscoach]

You need to stop with this BS. This pitching staff is experienced enough that having Hedges back there makes very little difference. Due to their ability to control their pitches there is less demand for a fantastic defensive C. I've told you time and again that it isn't a one way street. Experienced pitchers can help young catchers as well. Our current catchers suck ass. They're fucking terrible at the plate and it's hurting this team. Having said that I do not expect a C to be acquired due to Naylor and Lavastida being so close.

It will not be "a half run or higher". You don't have a clue what it will be. Maybe they contribute offensively and make it possible that not every damn game is a nail biter because we can't score runs with the bottom half of the lineup making life easier for our pitchers. Point is that we're all speculating here.

Naylor may struggle to hit(I doubt it), but he likely won't struggle to the degree that the current turds are struggling. At least there's some potential there.

Let me ask you, did Kluber have a certain catcher he preferred to throw to when he was here?

 

[CDAV45]

Let me ask you, did Kluber have a certain catcher he preferred to throw to when he was here?

Did Kluber perform any different when not being caught by Perez? Where we a better team when Gomes was hitting? These are rhetorical questions.

I’m not downplaying the importance of solid defense at any position either, especially up the middle, but there needs to be some offensive balance unless your 1-8 can mash. That isn’t the case here.

 

[sportscoach]

Did Kluber perform any different when not being caught by Perez? Where we a better team when Gomes was hitting? These are rhetorical questions.

I’m not downplaying the importance of solid defense at any position either, especially up the middle, but there needs to be some offensive balance unless your 1-8 can mash. That isn’t the case here.

Gomes when healthy was the guy who caught Kluber because that's who he wanted catching him and no one else at the time... The relationship between catcher and pitcher is being downplayed a lot by you and Dicky to be honest...

Bauer always had better numbers when he just let the catcher call the whole game. He likely knows more about pitching than just about anyone, but having the right mix between the two is huge in my mind.

 

[thestatman]

Gomes when healthy was the guy who caught Kluber because that's who he wanted catching him and no one else at the time... The relationship between catcher and pitcher is being downplayed a lot by you and Dicky to be honest...

Bauer always had better numbers when he just let the catcher call the whole game. He likely knows more about pitching than just about anyone, but having the right mix between the two is huge in my mind.

Just curious here. How can you stomach a catcher that hits 160? I know I can't. Baseball is a 2 way game. If you can't do both, then you don't belong in the league.

 

[CATS44]

Maldonado is batting .153 for the Astros. The Stros are scoring 4.40 runs per game.

The Stros are a pretty good team, huh?

Hedges is batting .160. We are scoring 4.39 runs per game.

 

[macbdog]

Maldonado is batting .153 for the Astros. The Stros are scoring 4.40 runs per game.

The Stros are a pretty good team, huh?

Hedges is batting .160. We are scoring 4.39 runs per game.

The Stros must have clearly better pitchers, then?

 

[DJTJ]

When Noel comes up, which at this point seems inevitable, they better have a Christmas in July giveaway and we better sing First Noel.

 

[CDAV45]

Gomes when healthy was the guy who caught Kluber because that's who he wanted catching him and no one else at the time... The relationship between catcher and pitcher is being downplayed a lot by you and Dicky to be honest...

Bauer always had better numbers when he just let the catcher call the whole game. He likely knows more about pitching than just about anyone, but having the right mix between the two is huge in my mind.

I don't give a shit who he "wanted". He performed just as well regardless if it was Gomes, Perez or whoever.

You wouldn't know if Bauer's numbers were better by letting the catcher call the whole game or not. Sounds like you're pulling stuff out of your backside.

The only downplaying going on here is by you. Hedges defensive prowess doesn't negate the fact that he's a burden in a lineup that already isn't long enough.

Comparing our situation with the Astros is just dumb.

Alas, this issue will be short lived and resolved for a long period of time hopefully.

 

[DickyLeftridge]

Stop delaying the inevitable. Banish the Catchers. Banish Straw. Rest Jose. Bring up Naylor Junior (3 more hits last night), Will Benson (or Will Brennan if you really prefer), and either Jones or Freeman. Do it now as we have about 20 games against AL Central trash for the young guys to feast on to get their feet wet after today.

Quit whining about development time as if it's bound by your arbitrary and completely invented and made up timelines. It is very, very clear that there are multiple spots in the major league lineup that these players have earned over the existing, impotent placeholders.

We all know I'm right about this. It will be sad if it's not implemented and Naylor Junior, Jones, Benson/Brennan, Freeman all cool off during their additional and pointless muh muh muh development time in Columbus. Strike while the iron is hot and the fire isn't completely extinguished from the disasterous Straw/Hedges/Maile/Sandy Leon experiments. What a fuggin disaster.

 

[sportscoach]

I don't give a shit who he "wanted". He performed just as well regardless if it was Gomes, Perez or whoever.

You wouldn't know if Bauer's numbers were better by letting the catcher call the whole game or not. Sounds like you're pulling stuff out of your backside.

The only downplaying going on here is by you. Hedges defensive prowess doesn't negate the fact that he's a burden in a lineup that already isn't long enough.

Comparing our situation with the Astros is just dumb.

Alas, this issue will be short lived and resolved for a long period of time hopefully.

I am not actually pulling stuff out of my ass right now, I have watched or listened too every single game since 2016... I pay attention to the things they say about the clubhouse and what they are going to be trying to do differently.

Bauer always did worse with a catcher who didn't know how to call a game since he liked to do thing his way and he was so smart he made himself dumb, by being to smart and got in his own way...

I am not saying that I don't want more C production bat wise, but Cleveland isn't going to rush C prospects because they have a young starting staff (I think we are the youngest in the league still) and they don't believe Lavastida and Naylor are 100% ready yet anyways on both sides of the ball. I think Lava and Naylor will produce better hitting wise, they just won't have the C defense and handling of the pitchers that is super important to Francona and the FO just yet.

If we end up out of contention, you could see a change, but until then, we are stuck with Hedges/Maile... Houston is doing the same thing we are, they though have a lot more power in the lineup and don't have other holes (like DH) that we do. If Straw and Reyes were hitting at career averages, we would have no issues right now honestly...

 

[CATS44]

I agree, but the Astros aren't scoring any more than we are, so they must not have a lot more power than we do.