2024 Season | Series #6 | Guardians @ Red Sox | April 15-18, 2024

[CDAV45]

Lol, you literally made that point yourself in the post I quoted you on, so sort that out with yourself

I think someone is guilty of misinterpreting what someone else said for their own good. My shit is sorted and has been for quite awhile now. Thanks!

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

NO QUIT IN THIS TEAM!

The bullpen finally gaks up a big lead, but the offense comes back and Morgan, Gaddis, Clase, and Barlow pitch five innings with no earned runs.

Clase got a ground out, a fly out, gave up a double, and then got the third out. If it wasn't an extra inning game it would have been another routine save. I think folks are being too hard on him. He's never been a strikeout pitcher so he's not that good with a ghost runner to start an inning. Hopefully Vogt will pick up on that and start using Gaddis or Smith in that situation - guys who are more likely to get strikeouts.

Jose and Florial with two-strike base hits in the 11th to win it! Freeman with a homer and a double - hopefully that gets him out of his slump.

Tyler O'Neill being out after that collision yesterday really helped.

The Guards had 14 hits and 6 walks - gotta love that offense. But they need to fix Beede - he's up to a 6.48 ERA.

Kevin Wong continues to abuse us; two hits and three more RBI's tonight. He's hitting close to .500 in his career against Cleveland.

Bibee is getting there, slowly. Five innings and one earned run on a hanging curve. Something to build on for next time.

Welcome to the big leagues, Cade Smith. Now get back on the horse next time. But there's no shame in giving up a double to Rafael Devers - he kills Cleveland pitching. He has 10 homers and a BA over .300 lifetime against the Guardians. He has a career .851 OPS. Hope that discomfort in his knee that got him removed tonight persists a couple more days.

Another amazing come-from-behind win. This is really feeling like 2022 all over again - only with more power this time.

 

[CDAV45]

NO QUIT IN THIS TEAM!

The bullpen finally gaks up a big lead, but the offense comes back and Morgan, Gaddis, Clase, and Barlow pitch five innings with no earned runs.

Jose and Florial with two-strike base hits in the 11th to win it! Freeman with a homer and a double - hopefully that gets him out of his slump.

Tyler O'Neill being out after that collision yesterday really helped.

The Guards had 14 hits and 6 walks - gotta love that offense. But they need to fix Beede - he's up to a 6.48 ERA.

Kevin Wong continues to abuse us; two hits and three more RBI's tonight. He's hitting close to .500 in his career against Cleveland.

Bibee is getting there, slowly. Five innings and one earned run on a hanging curve. Something to build on for next time.

Welcome to the big leagues, Cade Smith. Now get back on the horse next time. But there's no shame in giving up a double to Rafael Devers - he kills Cleveland pitching. He has 10 homers and a BA over .300 lifetime against the Guardians. He has a career .851 OPS. Hope that discomfort in his knee that got him removed tonight persists a couple more days.

Another amazing come-from-behind win. This is really feeling like 2022 all over again - only with more power this time.

What has me excited is the idea that we are just starting our ascension. Wait til guys like Manzardo and DeLauter get here. Super excited, but I sure would like to add a good young SP or 2 into the mix.

 

[CBBI]

If you can get a really good return for Clase that helps this team now then they should jump all over it. His value might not be the same come the AS break and I don't want to take that chance. It's a bit risky for sure, but that type of return could push this team over the top and make life easier on the BP.

In a vacuum, sure.

But I don’t think you can risk just absolutely murdering the very positive vibes by dealing Clase in the midst of a great overall stretch of play.

Even if you are convinced it is the “right” move for the organization, there’s just a human element that can’t be ignored. These guys aren’t robots. You can’t pull the rug out from under them and expect it to go well.

 

[CBBI]

I mean look at last year for goodness sake.

That team was only a “contender” in the loosest sense of the word in the worst division in baseball, but things basically fell apart immediately upon them selling while faux contending for a division title.

Imagine how damaging it would be for the clubhouse if they traded a multi time all-star away while they’re actually winning at a huge clip.

Can’t happen realistically.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Moderator speaking here with a request. Can we please try to avoid making declarative statements like, "Clase isn't going anywhere."

If someone says now would be a good time to trade him and you disagree, please respond by saying, "I don't think Antonetti would want to fix what isn't broken at this time", or something like that. Even better would be to explain why you don't think the Guardians would trade him.

And if someone says, "Clase isn't going anywhere", please interpret that to mean, "In my opinion, they aren't going to trade him, but I could always be mistaken".

Thank you. A little respect and etiquette goes a long way.

 

[Criznit]

Moderator speaking here with a request. Can we please try to avoid making declarative statements like, "Clase isn't going anywhere."

If someone says now would be a good time to trade him and you disagree, please respond by saying, "I don't think Antonetti would want to fix what isn't broken at this time", or something like that. Even better would be to explain why you don't think the Guardians would trade him.

And if someone says, "Clase isn't going anywhere", please interpret that to mean, "In my opinion, they aren't going to trade him, but I could always be mistaken".

Thank you. A little respect and etiquette goes a long way.

Three simple letters IMO...

 

[CATS44]

Hmmm

Some want to trade Clase. Others want to dump Beede and Barlow. Others want to cut Eli. Thats 4 of eight guys in what so far has been the best bullpen in baseball.

This pen is ranked...

1st in fWAR.
1st in ERA
1st in FIP
1st in HR/FB
1st in HR/9
7th in K/9
14th in BB/9
1st in WHIP
7th in IP

It would be beneficial if they werent needed as often, and I'd like a lower walk number, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.

In fact, it would be ridiculous to change anything at the moment.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Clase was throwing 101 tonight. However, he is not a swing-and-miss pitcher. IMO, he is not the best guy to bring on with a runner on second and nobody out when you need a strikeout, a pop-up, or a fly ball. Clase is a ground ball pitcher and sometimes ground balls find holes and sometimes they get runners from second to third.

Even with a one-run lead going into the bottom of the 10th I'm not sure Clase is the best choice. But if Vogt were to bring in Barlow, for example, and he allowed the ghost runner to score fans would be all over Vogt for not going with Clase.

 

[CATS44]

The last thing Vogt should do is push Smith and/or Gaddis into closing.

 

[Lee]

Moderator speaking here with a request. Can we please try to avoid making declarative statements like, "Clase isn't going anywhere."

If someone says now would be a good time to trade him and you disagree, please respond by saying, "I don't think Antonetti would want to fix what isn't broken at this time", or something like that. Even better would be to explain why you don't think the Guardians would trade him.

And if someone says, "Clase isn't going anywhere", please interpret that to mean, "In my opinion, they aren't going to trade him, but I could always be mistaken".

Thank you. A little respect and etiquette goes a long way.

No I wont say that, I am not going anywhere.

 

[CBBI]

I totally understand and don’t even totally disagree with the logic behind wanting to sell high on Clase with the power arms that are already here with and with even more on the horizon.

But that’s either an offseason or non-contention season deadline move. It just can’t realistically be done early in a season where everything is going great.

If the Guardians come crashing back to Earth? Ok fine, re-evaluate things in July.

But right now it just wouldn’t pass the vibes check

 

[MD13]

I totally understand and don’t even totally disagree with the logic behind wanting to sell high on Clase with the power arms that are already here with and with even more on the horizon.

But that’s either an offseason or non-contention season deadline move. It just can’t realistically be done early in a season where everything is going great.

If the Guardians come crashing back to Earth? Ok fine, re-evaluate things in July.

But right now it just wouldn’t pass the vibes check

For anyone who doesn’t think that type of move matters to the rest of the team, just look back at Josh Naylor after Civale was traded away.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

The last thing Vogt should do is push Smith and/or Gaddis into closing.

Agree, Clase should remain the closer. But tonight I would have brought him in to pitch the bottom of the 9th with the score tied instead of Gaddis. Clase is most effective when he starts the inning with nobody on base because he gives up a lot of contact. He lost a lot of games last year due to ground balls finding holes with RISP.

Then I would bring Gaddis on in the 10th with a runner on second to start the inning because he can get K's. Clase is still the closer unless it's tied in the 9th, then use him to get to extras.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Congratulations to the Cleveland Guardians, who now possess the best winning percentage in baseball and are 9-2 on the road.

Still only one game ahead of those pesky Royals, however, and two games ahead of those pesky Tigers.