AL Central Discussion

[Shanemansj13]

brutal night for rocchio

He’s been the best hitter

 

[Shanemansj13]

just like in the Detroit series this team cannot hit with RISP. 2nd half of the season they struggled. The only reason they won the Detroit series was bc of some big timely HR’s

Every fly ball they hit is off the end of the bat.

 

[Stakesarehigh]

He’s been the best hitter

Kwan in the Detroit series by a substantial margin

 

[Shanemansj13]

Kwan in the Detroit series by a substantial margin

In this series so far, coming into that at bat

 

[Shanemansj13]

2 errors, 2 runs. Likely the difference. Can’t make mistakes especially when you struggle hitting with RISP

 

[broncosmitty]

2nd half of the year CLE looked like a AAA lineup too

You’re getting good Kwan in the post season though.

 

[broncosmitty]

2 errors, 2 runs. Likely the difference. Can’t make mistakes especially when you struggle hitting with RISP

Yankees trying to even it out with base running blunders.

 

[WiggyRuss]

tough ALCS loss for the Guards. Some really tough losses. Crushing that Clase really shit the bed in the post season.

In the grand scheme of things- a very successful season. 2nd in the AL in the regular season, a bye, series win, and then - while only 5 games- a pretty hard fought series against the Yanks. Yanks best just beat the Guards best.

A lot of good stuff to grow on. Some things to be excited about:

1. A lot of good bullpen guys developed. Smith, Gaddis and Herrin will all be weapons next year. Stephen will be back next year. Clase will of course be back- hopefully the post season doesnt mess with his head.

2. Lane Thomas will be the CF from Day 1 next year- eliminating a huge hole that we tried to fill with guys like Straw, Florial, and others. Huge upgrade

3. Rocchio was great defensively (except for some brain farts here and there- one obviously HUGE one in Game 5)- he started hitting well in September and really carried that into the playoffs.

4. Kwan really bounced back from a mediocre season to firmly establish himself as a great leadoff man and defender and a big weapon- was awesome in the playoffs. He struggled in the 2nd half- but after some DL time and some rest he came back- think he really was playing beat up for a while.

5. Love that Fry and Noel had some big moments and give the Guardians some nice hitting depth. Fry in-particular really took a step forward. He got hurt too and will prob. have elbow surgery. I look forward to him a lot next year. Manzardo looked really good after he got called back up. His first stint was rough- Guards did a great job finishing him off in AAA and when he came back up he looked ready to be a nice bat.

6. Bibee established himself and I think still has some nice upside.

7. Still have some really good minor leaguers - DeLauter and Bazzana will be up within a year or two. Some other interesting guys a little further away- Chourio, Velazquez, Genao, Welbyn Francisca, and a lot of pitching they just drafted.

8. Jose- enough said- 1 hr shy of being the 6th player in MLB history at 40/40. 1 hr and 1 dbl. short of being 2nd player at 40/40/40 in MLB history. Stud.

9. Vogt was incredible- a huge question was replacing Francona- a legendary manager and future HOF'er. Vogt did a great job.

What needs to improve?

1. Need to settle the rotation. After Bibee a lot of question marks--- What are the answers? A lot of guys that are possibilities- from Bieber, Williams, McKenzie, Allen, Boyd, Cobb, Cantillo, Lively- are any of Bieber, Boyd, Cobb resigned? Will McKenzie finally have TJ surgery like he should have a year and half ago or keep trying to pitch with a torn elbow ligament? Are Allen and Cantillo worth a spot? Do they pay Lively 6M in arbitration to come back? I think Williams will be fine with a full spring training- After Bibee and Williams though- a lot of question marks- some intriguing options- but do you spend money on Bieber, Boyd, or Cobb?

2. Josh Naylor- cant argue with 31 hr and 108 rbis- 2nd in HR and 1st in RBI for first base in all of MLB. Thats big time production. He only has 1 year left and Manzardo really looked good when he came back up. Plays really good D- especially digging out balls at 1B. Do they re-sign him? Trade him? Guards usually dont let guys get to free agency that have pretty substantial value. Does his poor conditioning affect them offering a long term deal? Seems like there is a push to trade him and give Manzardo the position- but id be wary- 31 hr and 108 rbis is a big advantage to have and he really helped protect Jose. Big clubhouse presence too. Tough decision here.

3. Bo Naylor and Andres Gimenez-- first off I'll start wtht he good. Gimenez is one of the best defensive players in all of baseball. He is not going anywhere unless he is maybe moved to SS for Bazzana to play 2B. Naylor was strong behind the plate and a great pitch framer. Now the bad- offensively- Gimenez was mediocre at best- and Naylor really disappointed. Gimenez was okay- but Naylor was a total black hole for most of the season. Need more from these 2 guys on offense--- both will def. be back but we gotta get more.

All in all- a great season with a little distance from the ALCS. The Central is gonna be brutal next year though.

 

[WiggyRuss]

biggest question marks-

1. Settling the rotation.

2. What happens with Naylor.

3. Do they try and improve RF- or let Brennan and Noel platoon?

other than that- there should not be much change. Naylor is the really tough question mark. Deciding whether to let it ride, re-sign, or trade is so tough. His mostly poor post-season has a lot of fans wanting to trade him and give Manzardo the job- but first base is a lot weaker around baseball then people think- and his regular season production was big time.

If he wants to try and break the bank he is prob. gone. I obviously think they need to prioritize a long term deal with Kwan--- but the Guardians arent nearly as good without him- and Manzardo going from 30 and 100 is just not happening. You need the guy to protect RAmirez and Naylor did that job during the regular season- but his poor conditioning scares me for a long term deal.

Guards will figure out the rotation and have a lot of options and a little money to play with. Naylor to me is THE question of the offseason.

Be nice to make a deal for Brent Rooker in RF (I can dream) !!!!

 

[navamind]

Alex Kirilloff retires from baseball at age 26

The Twins first baseman was never able to play an entire season in the major leagues because of injuries.

www.startribune.com

sad, but can't blame him. Hopefully he earned enough in his MLB career for a nice living. Never really got a healthy chance in the major

 

[catman]

Alex Kirilloff retires from baseball at age 26

The Twins first baseman was never able to play an entire season in the major leagues because of injuries.

www.startribune.com

sad, but can't blame him. Hopefully he earned enough in his MLB career for a nice living. Never really got a healthy chance in the major

I saw him play in Class A ball. His bat was quick and he didn't swing and miss often. He was a good hitter and a decent fielder at 1B. He also played outfield and had a decent arm. It's a shame that his body let him down.

 

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