2022 Season | Series #14 | Guardians @ Astros | May 23-25

[Martyinnewyork]

The hate on Clement is justified, he‘s done nothing significant. But why isn’t the hate directed more at Reyes? Reyes is our DH - supposed to be our cleanup hitter, our power bat, our run producer. Clement has a higher OPS than Reyes. Franmil is the easiest out in the Western Hemisphere. And maybe some dissatisfaction should be directed towards the folks making out the lineup, they’re the ones putting him in there to fail game after game. Why is it that the thought process is that “we have to keep playing him, that’s how he’ll come around”? Why not sit him and work with him in the batting cage? When he starts to look better, and figures out that a breaking ball that starts out looking like it might graze the outer edge of the plate will actually end up in the dirt a foot or two outside and that he SHOULD NOT SWING AT IT?

I repeat. Clement has a higher OPS than Reyes.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Cal Quantrill will try to win the series for the G's tonight in the finale. Quantrill is coming off a good start against the punchless Reds, having allowed just one run in 7 innings. He has been solid, allowing opponents three runs or less in six of his seven starts.

But according to FanGraphs, Quantrill is the worst starting pitcher in baseball. His ERA is 3.48 but his xFIP, which attempts to strip away the fielding element and just measure pitching performance, has him at 4.70, near the bottom. And SIERA, which is claimed to be a little more accurate than xFIP, has him at 4.95, worst of the 62 pitchers who qualify.

Apparently Quantrill has been either very lucky in having balls hit right at fielders or the beneficiary of some great defense, or both.

He has 25 K's and 15 walks, which is not impressive, and it's down from last year. 25 K's in 41.1 innings indicates he hasn't been missing a lot of bats. It will be interesting to see how he fares against a very good offensive team tonight.

Quantrill's biggest problem has been pitching from the stretch. With nobody on batters are hitting just .188. With runners on they're hitting .314 and with RISP it's .310. He needs to be tougher in getting out of innings unscathed with runners on base.

Cristian Javier, RHP, goes for the Astros tonight. He has been starting and relieving this year. The first time through the order batters are hitting .164, the second time .273, and the third time .375 (3-for-8). As a starter his BAA is .233/.714; as a reliever it's .135/.382. It looks like he's been very effective for three innings but then hitters get to him. In four starts he's only faced 8 batters three times.

However, in his last start he went six innings against the Rangers, allowing just three hits and one run on a season-high 91 pitches. It looks like he is getting stretched out.

Franmil has two hits in his last 21 at-bats; a single and double. This will be Game 40 and he is hitting .195 with 3 home runs and 12 RBI's. He is easily the most disappointing player on the team so far, and I don't see any contenders. Amed Rosario at .236/.575 and Zach Plesac with a 5.40 ERA are the only other players who are even in the conversation for that award.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The hate on Clement is justified, he‘s done nothing significant. But why isn’t the hate directed more at Reyes? Reyes is our DH - supposed to be our cleanup hitter, our power bat, our run producer. Clement has a higher OPS than Reyes. Franmil is the easiest out in the Western Hemisphere. And maybe some dissatisfaction should be directed towards the folks making out the lineup, they’re the ones putting him in there to fail game after game. Why is it that the thought process is that “we have to keep playing him, that’s how he’ll come around”? Why not sit him and work with him in the batting cage? When he starts to look better, and figures out that a breaking ball that starts out looking like it might graze the outer edge of the plate will actually end up in the dirt a foot or two outside and that he SHOULD NOT SWING AT IT?

I repeat. Clement has a higher OPS than Reyes.

Tucker's 3-run homer on an 0-2 pitch put the Astros up 7-1 and made Clement's misplayed fly ball irrelevant. That being said, I don't think Clement's bat (such as it is) justifies playing him in the outfield. But Kwan has been been awful lately (.194 in May) and I don't think Tito wanted to have him get overpowered by a tough lefty and further erode his confidence.

I think this was more about giving Kwan a break than getting Clement's bat in the lineup at the expense of defense.

 

[mopete12]

I don’t agree with playing Clement in LF but he is more than serviceable as a UIF.

He’s actually been extremely unlucky at the plate this year. His wOBA is .265 but his xwOBA is .332, which is tied with Gimenez for 4th highest on the team (behind Ramirez, Naylor, and Maile and slightly ahead of guys like Miller and Kwan).

 

[Benway]

Our next HR by a LF will be the first this season. (CF too)

 

[sportscoach]

I don’t agree with playing Clement in LF but he is more than serviceable as a UIF.

He’s actually been extremely unlucky at the plate this year. His wOBA is .265 but his xwOBA is .332, which is tied with Gimenez for 4th highest on the team (behind Ramirez, Naylor, and Maile and slightly ahead of guys like Miller and Kwan).

Clement played OF in college, so that position isnt new to him, but he has never played in that stadium before. He would admit that was an error, and from the way he reacted, it was because he wasn't sure where he was to the wall and misjudged it cause of trying to figure his position. He doesn't make that error twice, so I am not worried long term

 

[Criznit]

Maybe it's time to give Palacios an extended look? Has the profile of a quality leadoff hitter if he can play ML baseball..

 

[sportscoach]

Maybe it's time to give Palacios an extended look? Has the profile of a quality leadoff hitter if he can play ML baseball..

I think we need to make some changes soon to be sincere...

 

[Gson]

Maybe it's time to give Palacios an extended look? Has the profile of a quality leadoff hitter if he can play ML baseball..

Seemed like when he was here for the incredibly brief time.. he established himself as "not afraid".. but seemed to increase the "anger" in his swing as the number of AB's/plate appearances mounted. In short, he was over swinging, or so it seemed.. The return to MiLB appears to have quieted his stroke.. so this might be a sign of maturity in his game..

No?..

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Seemed like when he was here for the incredibly brief time.. he established himself as "not afraid".. but seemed to increase the "anger" in his swing as the number of AB's/plate appearances mounted. In short, he was over swinging, or so it seemed.. The return to MiLB appears to have quieted his stroke.. so this might be a sign of maturity in his game..

No?..

It looked to me like he was overswinging as well. It looked like he was trying to hit the ball 500 feet, which didn't match his physical profile.

 

[Martyinnewyork]

Tucker's 3-run homer on an 0-2 pitch put the Astros up 7-1 and made Clement's misplayed fly ball irrelevant. That being said, I don't think Clement's bat (such as it is) justifies playing him in the outfield. But Kwan has been been awful lately (.194 in May) and I don't think Tito wanted to have him get overpowered by a tough lefty and further erode his confidence.

I think this was more about giving Kwan a break than getting Clement's bat in the lineup at the expense of defense.

I think you missed my point. My point is not to focus on Clement being a bad fit in left field. My point is to focus on WHY THE HECK ARE WE WORRIED ABOUT ERNIE CLEMENT WHEN FRANMIL REYES IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM???

 

[Criznit]

I think you missed my point. My point is not to focus on Clement being a bad fit in left field. My point is to focus on WHY THE HECK ARE WE WORRIED ABOUT ERNIE CLEMENT WHEN FRANMIL REYES IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM???

Sometimes... Most times.. it's easier to talk about the elephant poop in the room than the actual elephant.

 

[CATS44]

Clement is a util and always profiled as one. His calling card is his defensive versatility.

He is better off here than playing everyday in Columbus...and taking away at bats from MIFs that profile a lot higher.

 

[CDAV45]

I think you missed my point. My point is not to focus on Clement being a bad fit in left field. My point is to focus on WHY THE HECK ARE WE WORRIED ABOUT ERNIE CLEMENT WHEN FRANMIL REYES IS A MUCH BIGGER PROBLEM???

Marty, I'm only speaking for myself here when I say that I don't see how one is a bigger issue than the other. What hurts this lineup more, Franmil underperforming or not having a big bat in the best position to put one? Even if that means dealing with subpar defense.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Franmil's underperformance is killing us for sure, but so is the lack of production from our corner OFers. Not having much production from Franmil and the corner OFers amplifies Hedges' shitty bat as well.

In the end I'm not overly concerned. I never expected this team to be a contender this season anyhow, and there are guys like Valera, Naylor, and Lavastida in the system fast approaching. There is also a shit ton of SP and MIF talent, and some if will have to be dealt so I wouldn't be surprised to see them bring in a corner OFer.

 

[sportscoach]

Marty, I'm only speaking for myself here when I say that I don't see how one is a bigger issue than the other. What hurts this lineup more, Franmil underperforming or not having a big bat in the best position to put one? Even if that means dealing with subpar defense.

Please don't misunderstand what I'm saying. Franmil's underperformance is killing us for sure, but so is the lack of production from our corner OFers. Not having much production from Franmil and the corner OFers amplifies Hedges' shitty bat as well.

In the end I'm not overly concerned. I never expected this team to be a contender this season anyhow, and there are guys like Valera, Naylor, and Lavastida in the system fast approaching. There is also a shit ton of SP and MIF talent, and some if will have to be dealt so I wouldn't be surprised to see them bring in a corner OFer.

What a guy like Clement does is semi-irrelevant since his job is to give guys days off while putting up good ABs...

The starters are the ones that need production and we both agree not all of them are doing that.

Now the question is how do we fix the problem?