Gonzales and Cruz

[PolarVortex]

First, Gonzales.
Is he...(gasp, cough, stutter) our...ace now? Wasn't it just 6 months ago that we were ready to lynch Dipoto for trading away O'Neill for this guy? The truth is Gonzalez is less talented than Paxton but he has way more guts. Paxton is an emotional child. It doesn't take much to rattle him and some times it takes him 2 or 3 starts to recover. Seriously.

And Cruz.
Has he slowed down at all since we signed him? I don't think so
HR per game ratio:
2015 44/152 = .2895
2016 43/155 = .2772
2017 39/155 = .2516
2018 25/88 = .2841

I'm in the camp that says give him a 2-year extension.

 

[NWinAZ]

As you know, 'our ace' doesn't mean he is an ace. Just like Paxton is 'our #1 SP, but he isn't an actual #1 SP.

 

[PolarVortex]

As you know, 'our ace' doesn't mean he is an ace. Just like Paxton is 'our #1 SP, but he isn't an actual #1 SP.

Yeah. The word 'ace', as it applies to baseball pitchers, is one of those subjective terms that seems to have a unique definition depending on who you ask. For me, I think every staff has an 'ace', but not every staff ace is a league ace. And some league aces, like say Garrit Cole and Charlie Morton, are not even their staff's ace. And there are some who won't call a pitcher an ace unless he has been doing it longer than Cole and Morton have. And there are others who will never call a buy like Gonzales (or Jamie Moyer) an ace because he doesn't throw fast enough. Confusing? Sure.

 

[PolarVortex]

As you know, 'our ace' doesn't mean he is an ace. Just like Paxton is 'our #1 SP, but he isn't an actual #1 SP.

Yeah. The word 'ace', as it applies to baseball pitchers, is one of those subjective terms that seems to have a unique definition depending on who you ask. For me, I think every staff has an 'ace', but not every staff ace is a league ace. And some league aces, like say Garrit Cole and Charlie Morton, are not even their staff's ace. And there are some who won't call a pitcher an ace unless he has been doing it longer than Cole and Morton have. And there are others who will never call a buy like Gonzales (or Jamie Moyer) an ace because he doesn't throw fast enough. Confusing? Sure.

 

[Logicallylethal]

Maybe I'm old school but I want my ace to consistently go 7 to 8 innings every start. The ace needs to be a horse that takes pressure off the bullpen and offense every time he is on the mound.

Paxton has ace quality stuff and has shown flashes of it but when ranking him among the best of the best in MLB he is still lower tier with the Justin Verlander, Chris Sale, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer, etc.

Gonzales has potential to be our ace but he's not there yet.

That's what is lacking with this team. We have a lot of number 2 and 3 caliber pitchers. In the playoffs can we depend on LeBlance to still pitch the way he has?

 

[Anointed One]

Gonzo has continued to be a very good pitcher for us... He's pitched quite a few games for us into the 7th inning... He's become a workhorse... With that in mind, last nights seven innings pushed his season innings total to 132 2/3 innings.
His career-high for innings is 126 1/3 he threw last season, one year after sitting 2016 with Tommy John surgery. Hopefully he doesn't get a tired arm or become fatigued as we come down the stretch since he's basically been our most consistent pitcher...

On a side note, looks like Leblanc has finally come down to earth - which pretty everyone of us was waiting to happen...

 

[seahawksfan234]

First, Gonzales.
Is he...(gasp, cough, stutter) our...ace now? Wasn't it just 6 months ago that we were ready to lynch Dipoto for trading away O'Neill for this guy? The truth is Gonzalez is less talented than Paxton but he has way more guts. Paxton is an emotional child. It doesn't take much to rattle him and some times it takes him 2 or 3 starts to recover. Seriously.

And Cruz.
Has he slowed down at all since we signed him? I don't think so
HR per game ratio:
2015 44/152 = .2895
2016 43/155 = .2772
2017 39/155 = .2516
2018 25/88 = .2841

I'm in the camp that says give him a 2-year extension.

Tough to say regarding Cruz. Luckily he has no value as a fielder which erases half of his suitors.

On the other hand, do we have room for him?

Ryon Healy looks to be in the Mariners long-term plans. With Cano likely moving to 1B, that would push Healy to DH. Also with Cruz being 38 and somehow still hitting the cover off the ball, it's hard to determine when he will fall off.

In an ideal situation, we trade off Healy and retain Cruz for another year or two.

 

[Anointed One]

Gonzo has continued to be a very good pitcher for us... He's pitched quite a few games for us into the 7th inning... He's become a workhorse... With that in mind, last nights seven innings pushed his season innings total to 132 2/3 innings.
His career-high for innings is 126 1/3 he threw last season, one year after sitting 2016 with Tommy John surgery. Hopefully he doesn't get a tired arm or become fatigued as we come down the stretch since he's basically been our most consistent pitcher...

Looks like it took it's toll...