Post by marstannum on Jan 18, 2024 21:34:45 GMT
Hello! Checking in again after a very busy holiday season, and yikes. The pitching has absolutely imploded. Fortunately the bats have been decent, but the Steve Finley injury really hurt.
I see you've been trying out a few different starters (and that Schilling weirdly pitched in relief one game), which is great.
Webb has been fantastic, and Kennedy, Schilling, and Ray have all been decent. Batista was lights out in his one start so far, so if he keeps it up that should round out the five regular starters. I know you usually have a sixth starter listed as well, but Daniel Hudson was pretty bad in two starts, and Gallen, Haren, Kelly, and Corbin have all played themselves out of the rotation. Can Josh Collmenter fill a role as a spot starter/bullpen arm like he did for the MLB Diamondbacks?
because....
The bullpen has also struggled. Most of the arms have been just barely good enough to stick around (Ziegler, Kim, Nelson, and Bradley all had their ERA go up by more than 0.70, but none are awful yet), but Jameson definitely needs to go. If Collmenter can take the spot starter/bullpen role there will be another spot to give Mantei a shot out of the 'pen, right?
Offensively, we're in a decent spot but not a great one. That Finley injury really hurt since he was having a great late December/early January and more Carroll didn't help a bit. Bell and Durazo have been showing up again, too, which doesn't help. Kelly, Marte, Williams, and Escobar have all cooled off recently, but Goldy, Young, and Peralta have been hot.
I don't know what to do about the lack of power. The team is really suffering from Gonzo's and Bell's awful season, and guys like Upton, Williams, and Peralta are playing well enough to stay up but just don't have the power I would expect.
Here's my take on the position player part of the Active 26 Man Roster:
C – Carson Kelly
C – Miguel Montero
1B – Paul Goldschmidt
2B – Orlando Hudson
SS – Ketel Marte (2B/CF)
3B – Eduardo Escobar (2B)
CI – Chad Tracy (3B/1B/RF)
IF – Matt Williams (3B/1B/SS)
MI – Steven Drew (SS) 2008-2010
LF – David Peralta (RF)
CF – Chris Young
RF – Steve Finley* (CF) *Injured
OF – Justin Upton (LF/RF)
OF – David Dellucci (RF/LF/CF) 1999-2001
Drew being around means we can keep Bell far, far away from the EB diamond, and if Dellucci has a good year he'll a great backup utility outfielder who can keep Carroll away and fill in at any spot to give a day off. At this point in the season it doesn't matter that Dellucci can only give you ~70 games since your usual trio will be Peralta/Upton, Young, and Finley left to right.
C – Carson Kelly
C – Miguel Montero
1B – Paul Goldschmidt
2B – Orlando Hudson
SS – Ketel Marte (2B/CF)
3B – Eduardo Escobar (2B)
CI – Chad Tracy (3B/1B/RF)
IF – Matt Williams (3B/1B/SS)
MI – Steven Drew (SS) 2008-2010
LF – David Peralta (RF)
CF – Chris Young
RF – Steve Finley* (CF) *Injured
OF – Justin Upton (LF/RF)
OF – David Dellucci (RF/LF/CF) 1999-2001
Drew being around means we can keep Bell far, far away from the EB diamond, and if Dellucci has a good year he'll a great backup utility outfielder who can keep Carroll away and fill in at any spot to give a day off. At this point in the season it doesn't matter that Dellucci can only give you ~70 games since your usual trio will be Peralta/Upton, Young, and Finley left to right.
As always, thanks for running this thing! I love having some baseball to follow during the offseason, especially in a year like this when the anticipation for the next season is so high for my team. Cheers!
