Re: General Discussion

6739
All done.

Since Ramirez is a switch hitter, it could be him full time at 3rd but he's not really a great fit for that position; not really a 3rd base arm. His splits are better as a RH hitter but not by that much. I'd think with Uribe gone, they're even more likely to exchange Gonzalez for Yandy Diaz

Re: General Discussion

6743
May be wishful thinking, but I think they will now bring Yandy up and send Gonzalez down.

Ramirez will play 3B most of the time. Yandy will spell him at 3rd once in a while and will play the OF along with Davis & Guyer against lefties.

Just my guess.

Will be more oppurtunities for Yandy to play than Gonzalez the way things are set up. Yandy can play 3rd on days Ramirez gives Lindor and Kipnis a day off too.

Re: General Discussion

6744
I think it may be time to worry about Salazar.

Remember he was shut down with arm fatigue in June. His velocity has dropped since.

Jordan Bastian Verified account @MLBastian
Here's Salazar's start by start velo for the season. Has varied throughout, but recent period more of a steady drop.
Image
As one guy on Twitter pointed out, his swing & miss rate has dropped from 13% to 8% in that same time frame. Bastian rightly says they're laying off his good changeup now and tee'ing off on his fastball since it's velocity is down.

Re: General Discussion

6747
Baseball America just released the first of its Best Tools ratings, by managers and coaches, and in the AL Best Pitcher:
No. 1 Sale No. 2 Salazar
Best Changeup: No. 3 Salazar.

He was quite a pitcher for half a season and we certainly need him back. I'd prefer to give Clevinger a couple starts and rest Salazar for 15 days. Then we can hope he'll be rested and ready for the stretch run.

Re: General Discussion

6748
Other Best Tools in the AL:

Speed: No. 3 Rajai Davis. But if they had an age-adjusted ranking, Davis would easy top the field.
Slider: No. 1 Andrew Miller despite his 27.00 ERA as an Indian
Control No. 2: Josh Tomlin The king of the sold homer
Reliever No. 2: Andrew Miller [behind Zach Britton]
Defensive Catcher: No. 2 Yan Gomes
Defensive 2b: No. 3 Jason Kipnis
Defensive ss: No. 2 believe it or not Lindor behind Andrelton Simmons
Manager: NO. 1 Terry Francona

Re: General Discussion

6750
Hillbilly wrote:Salazar says he's feeling pain in elbow but not like when he had Tommy John. Tito says they will do mri for his peace of mind but he doesn't think he looks injured to him. ?
Well, to be fair, there IS a difference between injured and sore. So his elbow may very well be sore (tendinitis or just strain) but not necessarily injured. I speak as a tennis player. I mean pitching a baseball has a way of stressing that arm, lol.

I'm with you, definitely shut him down for 15 days.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain