Last night after packing up his stuff, Bauer went to the media dining room and held, a very unusual, goodbye press conference for journalists. Then he went into the stands and stood & watched the game with the fans.
Call him what you want but dude is definitely different.
Re: Articles
7082The kid loves baseball.
He really doesn't care who he's playing for but 99% of Major League players don't care either. They just want to play.
Tough to leave friends behind but tomorrow is another day and a chance to play baseball with a different group of newly found friends.
Fans find this fact hard to swallow.
He really doesn't care who he's playing for but 99% of Major League players don't care either. They just want to play.
Tough to leave friends behind but tomorrow is another day and a chance to play baseball with a different group of newly found friends.
Fans find this fact hard to swallow.
Re: Articles
7083Baseball is a business, and the sooner players treat it that way the better off they'll be. Fans have to understand that just like THEY treat their livelihoods in a business-like manner, so do players.
This stat (Puig, a free agent at the end of the season, is hitting .252 (94-for-373) with 22 homers and 61 RBI) is very deceiving by the way. Puig has almost mirrored Jose Ramirez this year. He was ice cold for the longest time this year so those stats are like Jose's - tainted by 2+ months of crap.
This stat (Puig, a free agent at the end of the season, is hitting .252 (94-for-373) with 22 homers and 61 RBI) is very deceiving by the way. Puig has almost mirrored Jose Ramirez this year. He was ice cold for the longest time this year so those stats are like Jose's - tainted by 2+ months of crap.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7084Meisel's take:
Final Thoughts: The fallout from the Indians’ trade-deadline decisions
Zack Meisel 2h ago 9
CLEVELAND — Here are 14 final thoughts following the Indians’ trade-deadline dealings.
1. Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer shared a last meal at Lucky’s Cafe on Wednesday afternoon.
Bauer, Clevinger and Shane Bieber have developed a close friendship during the past two seasons, a bond founded on competitiveness. They assist each other. They tease each other. And they never sugarcoat when they’re around each other, whether Clevinger is pointing to the radar gun, Bauer is pointing to his strikeout total or Bieber is pointing to his All-Star Game MVP prize, a new Chevy Silverado.
Bauer had advanced past the initial shock of the three-team trade — more so the timing (reporters and teammates simultaneously learned of the transaction while in the clubhouse) and destination (a playoff long shot that had hardly been mentioned as a likely suitor) than the fact he was dealt. So, there was no tiptoeing around the topic at lunch.
“I was like, ‘Hey, look at the return you gave us with you leaving,’’’ Clevinger said. “‘You see how many guys came over here?’”
2. The three hurlers had countless conversations about the trade deadline the past few weeks. They knew the Indians might attempt to deal from a source of depth (assuming — and this is a bit of a risky assumption — Corey Kluber and, perhaps, Danny Salazar can provide a lift) to address their lineup. They knew Bauer’s name had been bandied about in trade rumors for months.
“It kind of seemed like we were getting away from it,” Bieber said, “and then all of a sudden last night, it just happened. That’s the business side of it. You can never get too sold out on whether something’s going to happen.”
3. Bauer has contended for weeks that the whispers never bothered him, never disrupted his daily routine. But it would be human nature to concern oneself with the possibility of such a life-altering event surfacing at any moment.
“You never know what’s just a front,” Bieber said, “just saying it to say it or saying it to try to get it more out there and to be more comfortable with it.”
4. Bieber bid farewell to his locker mate Wednesday morning, as Bauer packed up his belongings. They shared a quick moment, but, naturally, Bauer had a videographer capturing the day’s events, which made it “kind of weird.”
“Classic last note to leave on,” Bieber said, laughing.
5. Bauer’s exit meeting with Terry Francona was also abrupt. By the time Bauer met with Francona and Chris Antonetti, the pitcher had heard from his agent about the trade.
“We wished him well and he went on his way,” Francona said.
Based on Francona’s description, this congregation was a bit less heartfelt than the one in which he, Antonetti and Michael Brantley all had tears escaping their eyes last fall.
“There are times when it’s probably more difficult than others, that’s probably safe to say,” Francona said. “Last year, when we talked to Brantley in his exit meeting, there probably wasn’t a dry eye — his or ours. Sometimes it’s emotional and sometimes it’s not quite as emotional. That’s just being honest.”
6. Francona said he voiced concerns to Antonetti and Mike Chernoff about how Bauer’s untimely long-toss session in Kansas City might spoil clubhouse chemistry. Francona had said he was considering further discipline for Bauer beyond a league fine, though that’s a moot point now. Bauer declined to comment on that topic when asked Wednesday evening. It seems as though that relationship might have reached a boiling point.
(Denny Medley / USA Today)
7. The Indians are thrilled with their return for Bauer, as they addressed short- and long-term needs in the batting order and stocked the farm system with a few more prospects. Still, they had to hold their breath Tuesday night.
Antonetti and Chernoff were sitting in Francona’s office and tuned to the Reds-Pirates game, only to see Yasiel Puig involved in a fracas on the field. Antonetti had flashbacks to 2011, when they neared completion of their deal for Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez inexplicably labored through a 45-pitch inning in San Diego, and then took a physical so the trade could be finalized.
“We’ve almost come to expect it,” Antonetti said, laughing. “We would have preferred for that brawl to not happen, but it’s part of the deal.”
Antonetti said the Indians have not heard from the league about potential discipline for Puig.
8. Francona has only been around Puig once, for the 2014 Japan All-Star Series.
“People that I respect in the game have really been overboard in their praise in what he can be,” Francona said. “I need to talk to him. I need to ask him what’s important to him.”
What’s important to Francona is he now knows whom to cower behind if the benches clear at any point in the next two months.
“If something ever happens,” Francona said, “I’ll be behind him every step of the way.”
9. Puig and Franmil Reyes were expected to land in Cleveland on Wednesday night and join Francona’s lineup Thursday for the series finale against Gerrit Cole.
Perhaps no one is more eager to observe the new-look lineup than Ty Van Burkleo. The Indians’ hitting coach said some front-office members selected video for him to watch to start to learn about his new sluggers. Van Burkleo said it’s all about getting to know the newcomers and their tendencies and preferences. He knows one thing: They can mash, as they have combined for 49 home runs this season. Van Burkleo joked that all he needed to do was tell them to swing at strikes.
“Everybody said we’re getting a man in every sense of the word,” Francona said, with regard to Reyes. “With Puig, a lot of people feel like we’re going to get the two best months of his career. I hope that’s the case.”
Another endorsement Francona received about Reyes: “We think we have a kid who has leadership capabilities and was revered in that clubhouse in San Diego.”
10. The lineup clearly received a facelift, but can the starting rotation survive Bauer’s absence? Salazar will start Thursday, his first start in 674 days. He’s stretched out to about 70 pitches and his fastball was clocking in about 91-93 mph during his minor-league rehab stint. Instead of piggybacking Salazar, Adam Plutko will start this weekend against the Angels.
Kluber could return within the next month. If he fares well in a sim game Saturday, he’ll likely make a minor-league rehab start next week. A few of those and he’ll be back in the mix. Kluber’s health and effectiveness could prove critical to the Indians’ chances this season. It’s a risk the Indians knew they were taking.
“The goal isn’t to have the best pitching staff,” Antonetti said. “The goal for us is to build the best team that’s capable of winning the World Series. And to do that, we knew we may have to trade from some areas of depth to address other needs.”
Clevinger didn’t seem concerned.
“That’s one place we had depth,” he said. “That’s why we knew that probably a piece we’re gonna move is gonna be one of our staff, whether it’s up here or in the minor leagues. We’ve got depth all over when it comes to that. So we’ll be all right.”
It helps to have a defensive savant behind the plate in Roberto Pérez.
11. It also helps that the Indians have created a pitching pipeline. Bieber has blossomed from wide-eyed rookie to burgeoning front-line starter in a year. Zach Plesac has soared through the Indians’ system to offer seismic contributions during a season in which Kluber, Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco and Jefry Rodriguez have been sidelined.
Bauer aided that cause. Count Plesac, Bieber, Clevinger, Nick Goody, Adam Cimber and even Neil Ramírez among those whom Bauer helped during his Cleveland tenure.
Bieber suggested Bauer knew Bieber’s mechanics better than Bieber did. He would help him with sequencing and with pinpointing certain keys that indicated how to return to his ideal delivery when his mechanics got out of whack.
“A lot of times, it was him telling me what he saw and then I could feel it,” Bieber said. “So, he’s an extra set of eyes and he definitely hasn’t just done that for me. He’s done that for everybody. He’s definitely left a lasting impression.”
But Bieber said he has already started to pay it forward, sharing certain tidbits he picked up from Bauer with other pitchers. One of his pupils is Kyle Nelson, his offseason roommate, who has posted a 2.29 ERA, with 53 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings, for High-A Lynchburg and Double-A Akron this season.
“I think the development of our pitchers we’ve had in our system at the major-league level and guys who have come through our minor-league system allows us to contemplate trades where we’re trading from pitching to be able to address other areas of our team,” Antonetti said. “Without the development of those guys, we couldn’t consider deals like this.”
(Adam Glanzman / USA Today)
12. Logan Allen, Clevinger’s close friend and offseason training partner, will head to Triple-A Columbus. He entered the season as a consensus top-100 prospect.
Chernoff’s take: “We were on him during the draft and have followed him throughout his minor-league career. He got to the major leagues this year and has been up and down between Triple A and the big leagues. We feel like with his pitch mix and potential continued development, he could be a middle-of-the-rotation type starter.”
And Chernoff on Akron-bound Scott Moss, a 24-year-old southpaw acquired in the trade: “(A) really interesting, fourth-round pick for Cincinnati a few years ago with a great three-pitch mix that we feel like can continue to develop and potentially be a starter for us down the road.”
Moss has a high walk rate this season, but other numbers (ERA, hit rate, home-run rate, strikeout rate) catch the eye.
13. Antonetti hinted that the club had made progress on other deals Wednesday, only to reach the deadline without any additional agreements.
“One of the things we’ve learned over the years is there’s no such thing as being close,” Antonetti said. “You have a deal or you don’t. I would say that there were a number of times (Wednesday) where we thought we were either at the finish line or crossed it and it didn’t happen.”
The Indians had conversed with other clubs about Bauer (and Kluber) dating nearly nine months. They were content to play the role of the tortoise in the race to that finish line if they didn’t receive the sort of return they had envisioned. It required a third team to net the Indians the immediate help and long-term solutions they coveted.
They didn’t have to deal Bauer to a team they might encounter in October, which Chernoff acknowledged “sweetened the deal.” They didn’t tap into their farm system to swing a trade (though some pitching help wouldn’t have been frowned upon). They’ll have some expendable pieces they can dangle on the trade market this winter.
14. The Indians operate with the lens of short-term and long-term improvements, not buying and selling, as Antonetti stressed Wednesday. Every team expects to get the better end of every deal it makes, so it boils down to whether a team is improving immediately or in the future. Every player has an assigned value, based on talent level, projection, club control, salary and other criteria. Now, those factors aren’t the end-all, be-all in a trade, because standings, payroll, positional depth and farm system quality all influence decisions. But it helps to explain how the Reds and Mets, a couple of sub-.500 teams, wound up with Bauer and Marcus Stroman, respectively. It’s all about relative value.
The Indians certainly enhanced their expectations for 2020 and beyond with this trade. They control Reyes through the 2024 season. Kluber and the rest of the pitching staff could determine whether the front office nailed both objectives — short- and long-term solutions — in one fell swoop.
“If there wasn’t the right deal, we wouldn’t have moved forward on it,” Antonetti said. “Now, how we maintain our patience, it’s a difficult thing because we all want things to happen immediately. We have enough practice at trying to do it and have enough checks and balances in place that we’re trying to make sure we’re appropriately diligent in how we move through things.”
Bauer understood it, even if it still proved difficult to stomach. It’s not always so anticipated, though. Clevinger was lifting weights in 2014 when he learned he was headed to the Indians.
“It felt so personal at the time,” he said. “I was 20 years old and I felt like it was them giving up on me. I remember looking back and seeing the business side of things and it’s just not the way it is. It’s like stocks. It doesn’t matter about your feelings. It’s about winning.”
(Top photo: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
Boom! Glad you really enjoyed it.
Final Thoughts: The fallout from the Indians’ trade-deadline decisions
Zack Meisel 2h ago 9
CLEVELAND — Here are 14 final thoughts following the Indians’ trade-deadline dealings.
1. Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer shared a last meal at Lucky’s Cafe on Wednesday afternoon.
Bauer, Clevinger and Shane Bieber have developed a close friendship during the past two seasons, a bond founded on competitiveness. They assist each other. They tease each other. And they never sugarcoat when they’re around each other, whether Clevinger is pointing to the radar gun, Bauer is pointing to his strikeout total or Bieber is pointing to his All-Star Game MVP prize, a new Chevy Silverado.
Bauer had advanced past the initial shock of the three-team trade — more so the timing (reporters and teammates simultaneously learned of the transaction while in the clubhouse) and destination (a playoff long shot that had hardly been mentioned as a likely suitor) than the fact he was dealt. So, there was no tiptoeing around the topic at lunch.
“I was like, ‘Hey, look at the return you gave us with you leaving,’’’ Clevinger said. “‘You see how many guys came over here?’”
2. The three hurlers had countless conversations about the trade deadline the past few weeks. They knew the Indians might attempt to deal from a source of depth (assuming — and this is a bit of a risky assumption — Corey Kluber and, perhaps, Danny Salazar can provide a lift) to address their lineup. They knew Bauer’s name had been bandied about in trade rumors for months.
“It kind of seemed like we were getting away from it,” Bieber said, “and then all of a sudden last night, it just happened. That’s the business side of it. You can never get too sold out on whether something’s going to happen.”
3. Bauer has contended for weeks that the whispers never bothered him, never disrupted his daily routine. But it would be human nature to concern oneself with the possibility of such a life-altering event surfacing at any moment.
“You never know what’s just a front,” Bieber said, “just saying it to say it or saying it to try to get it more out there and to be more comfortable with it.”
4. Bieber bid farewell to his locker mate Wednesday morning, as Bauer packed up his belongings. They shared a quick moment, but, naturally, Bauer had a videographer capturing the day’s events, which made it “kind of weird.”
“Classic last note to leave on,” Bieber said, laughing.
5. Bauer’s exit meeting with Terry Francona was also abrupt. By the time Bauer met with Francona and Chris Antonetti, the pitcher had heard from his agent about the trade.
“We wished him well and he went on his way,” Francona said.
Based on Francona’s description, this congregation was a bit less heartfelt than the one in which he, Antonetti and Michael Brantley all had tears escaping their eyes last fall.
“There are times when it’s probably more difficult than others, that’s probably safe to say,” Francona said. “Last year, when we talked to Brantley in his exit meeting, there probably wasn’t a dry eye — his or ours. Sometimes it’s emotional and sometimes it’s not quite as emotional. That’s just being honest.”
6. Francona said he voiced concerns to Antonetti and Mike Chernoff about how Bauer’s untimely long-toss session in Kansas City might spoil clubhouse chemistry. Francona had said he was considering further discipline for Bauer beyond a league fine, though that’s a moot point now. Bauer declined to comment on that topic when asked Wednesday evening. It seems as though that relationship might have reached a boiling point.
7. The Indians are thrilled with their return for Bauer, as they addressed short- and long-term needs in the batting order and stocked the farm system with a few more prospects. Still, they had to hold their breath Tuesday night.
Antonetti and Chernoff were sitting in Francona’s office and tuned to the Reds-Pirates game, only to see Yasiel Puig involved in a fracas on the field. Antonetti had flashbacks to 2011, when they neared completion of their deal for Ubaldo Jimenez. Jimenez inexplicably labored through a 45-pitch inning in San Diego, and then took a physical so the trade could be finalized.
“We’ve almost come to expect it,” Antonetti said, laughing. “We would have preferred for that brawl to not happen, but it’s part of the deal.”
Antonetti said the Indians have not heard from the league about potential discipline for Puig.
8. Francona has only been around Puig once, for the 2014 Japan All-Star Series.
“People that I respect in the game have really been overboard in their praise in what he can be,” Francona said. “I need to talk to him. I need to ask him what’s important to him.”
What’s important to Francona is he now knows whom to cower behind if the benches clear at any point in the next two months.
“If something ever happens,” Francona said, “I’ll be behind him every step of the way.”
9. Puig and Franmil Reyes were expected to land in Cleveland on Wednesday night and join Francona’s lineup Thursday for the series finale against Gerrit Cole.
Perhaps no one is more eager to observe the new-look lineup than Ty Van Burkleo. The Indians’ hitting coach said some front-office members selected video for him to watch to start to learn about his new sluggers. Van Burkleo said it’s all about getting to know the newcomers and their tendencies and preferences. He knows one thing: They can mash, as they have combined for 49 home runs this season. Van Burkleo joked that all he needed to do was tell them to swing at strikes.
“Everybody said we’re getting a man in every sense of the word,” Francona said, with regard to Reyes. “With Puig, a lot of people feel like we’re going to get the two best months of his career. I hope that’s the case.”
Another endorsement Francona received about Reyes: “We think we have a kid who has leadership capabilities and was revered in that clubhouse in San Diego.”
10. The lineup clearly received a facelift, but can the starting rotation survive Bauer’s absence? Salazar will start Thursday, his first start in 674 days. He’s stretched out to about 70 pitches and his fastball was clocking in about 91-93 mph during his minor-league rehab stint. Instead of piggybacking Salazar, Adam Plutko will start this weekend against the Angels.
Kluber could return within the next month. If he fares well in a sim game Saturday, he’ll likely make a minor-league rehab start next week. A few of those and he’ll be back in the mix. Kluber’s health and effectiveness could prove critical to the Indians’ chances this season. It’s a risk the Indians knew they were taking.
“The goal isn’t to have the best pitching staff,” Antonetti said. “The goal for us is to build the best team that’s capable of winning the World Series. And to do that, we knew we may have to trade from some areas of depth to address other needs.”
Clevinger didn’t seem concerned.
“That’s one place we had depth,” he said. “That’s why we knew that probably a piece we’re gonna move is gonna be one of our staff, whether it’s up here or in the minor leagues. We’ve got depth all over when it comes to that. So we’ll be all right.”
It helps to have a defensive savant behind the plate in Roberto Pérez.
11. It also helps that the Indians have created a pitching pipeline. Bieber has blossomed from wide-eyed rookie to burgeoning front-line starter in a year. Zach Plesac has soared through the Indians’ system to offer seismic contributions during a season in which Kluber, Clevinger, Carlos Carrasco and Jefry Rodriguez have been sidelined.
Bauer aided that cause. Count Plesac, Bieber, Clevinger, Nick Goody, Adam Cimber and even Neil Ramírez among those whom Bauer helped during his Cleveland tenure.
Bieber suggested Bauer knew Bieber’s mechanics better than Bieber did. He would help him with sequencing and with pinpointing certain keys that indicated how to return to his ideal delivery when his mechanics got out of whack.
“A lot of times, it was him telling me what he saw and then I could feel it,” Bieber said. “So, he’s an extra set of eyes and he definitely hasn’t just done that for me. He’s done that for everybody. He’s definitely left a lasting impression.”
But Bieber said he has already started to pay it forward, sharing certain tidbits he picked up from Bauer with other pitchers. One of his pupils is Kyle Nelson, his offseason roommate, who has posted a 2.29 ERA, with 53 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings, for High-A Lynchburg and Double-A Akron this season.
“I think the development of our pitchers we’ve had in our system at the major-league level and guys who have come through our minor-league system allows us to contemplate trades where we’re trading from pitching to be able to address other areas of our team,” Antonetti said. “Without the development of those guys, we couldn’t consider deals like this.”
12. Logan Allen, Clevinger’s close friend and offseason training partner, will head to Triple-A Columbus. He entered the season as a consensus top-100 prospect.
Chernoff’s take: “We were on him during the draft and have followed him throughout his minor-league career. He got to the major leagues this year and has been up and down between Triple A and the big leagues. We feel like with his pitch mix and potential continued development, he could be a middle-of-the-rotation type starter.”
And Chernoff on Akron-bound Scott Moss, a 24-year-old southpaw acquired in the trade: “(A) really interesting, fourth-round pick for Cincinnati a few years ago with a great three-pitch mix that we feel like can continue to develop and potentially be a starter for us down the road.”
Moss has a high walk rate this season, but other numbers (ERA, hit rate, home-run rate, strikeout rate) catch the eye.
13. Antonetti hinted that the club had made progress on other deals Wednesday, only to reach the deadline without any additional agreements.
“One of the things we’ve learned over the years is there’s no such thing as being close,” Antonetti said. “You have a deal or you don’t. I would say that there were a number of times (Wednesday) where we thought we were either at the finish line or crossed it and it didn’t happen.”
The Indians had conversed with other clubs about Bauer (and Kluber) dating nearly nine months. They were content to play the role of the tortoise in the race to that finish line if they didn’t receive the sort of return they had envisioned. It required a third team to net the Indians the immediate help and long-term solutions they coveted.
They didn’t have to deal Bauer to a team they might encounter in October, which Chernoff acknowledged “sweetened the deal.” They didn’t tap into their farm system to swing a trade (though some pitching help wouldn’t have been frowned upon). They’ll have some expendable pieces they can dangle on the trade market this winter.
14. The Indians operate with the lens of short-term and long-term improvements, not buying and selling, as Antonetti stressed Wednesday. Every team expects to get the better end of every deal it makes, so it boils down to whether a team is improving immediately or in the future. Every player has an assigned value, based on talent level, projection, club control, salary and other criteria. Now, those factors aren’t the end-all, be-all in a trade, because standings, payroll, positional depth and farm system quality all influence decisions. But it helps to explain how the Reds and Mets, a couple of sub-.500 teams, wound up with Bauer and Marcus Stroman, respectively. It’s all about relative value.
The Indians certainly enhanced their expectations for 2020 and beyond with this trade. They control Reyes through the 2024 season. Kluber and the rest of the pitching staff could determine whether the front office nailed both objectives — short- and long-term solutions — in one fell swoop.
“If there wasn’t the right deal, we wouldn’t have moved forward on it,” Antonetti said. “Now, how we maintain our patience, it’s a difficult thing because we all want things to happen immediately. We have enough practice at trying to do it and have enough checks and balances in place that we’re trying to make sure we’re appropriately diligent in how we move through things.”
Bauer understood it, even if it still proved difficult to stomach. It’s not always so anticipated, though. Clevinger was lifting weights in 2014 when he learned he was headed to the Indians.
“It felt so personal at the time,” he said. “I was 20 years old and I felt like it was them giving up on me. I remember looking back and seeing the business side of things and it’s just not the way it is. It’s like stocks. It doesn’t matter about your feelings. It’s about winning.”
(Top photo: Rick Osentoski / USA Today)
Boom! Glad you really enjoyed it.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7085Tito is always so easy going, all these quotes by him tell quite the story.
If Terry Francona isn't gushing with compliments about you, there are some real issues.
As for me, I am grateful that Trevor Bauer pitched his ass off for the team, and also coached his ass off for many of our younger starting pitchers. He actually planted the seeds for the post Bauer era.
If Terry Francona isn't gushing with compliments about you, there are some real issues.
As for me, I am grateful that Trevor Bauer pitched his ass off for the team, and also coached his ass off for many of our younger starting pitchers. He actually planted the seeds for the post Bauer era.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7086I'm no fan of Carl Willis. I really think we lost our best pitching coach in Bauer. Maybe we can get Calloway back some day soon. New York doesn't seem to be a fan.
Re: Articles
7087Anybody that has to ask Carl Willis to help him out is not ready for the Major Leagues.
At the major League level, players coach themselves or interact with current teammates.
At the major League level, players coach themselves or interact with current teammates.
Re: Articles
7088Don’t agree with that at all. Guys lose a bit of their mechanics all the time. Affects their control, velocity, etc. A good pitching coach catches it. With us recently it was Bauer that caught it.
Re: Articles
7089To me, it's no different on a baseball team then in real life.
If you are having an issue, you will go to whomever might be able to help. It might be the pitching coach, it might be a teammate.
Remember Greg Maddux? If he was on my team I would certainly go to him - yet there were stud pitching coaches in Atlanta at the time.
Trevor Bauer is just a very smart, very analytical student of the game.
Probably a better pitching coach then just about anyone - just like any team would hire Maddux as their pitching coach. As well, he's probably a better pitching coach than Callaway too or the vast majority of current pitching coaches.
If you are a teammate you know that and they were very lucky to have him as a resource.
But he did his work and Clevinger, Bieber etc can carry on.
If you are having an issue, you will go to whomever might be able to help. It might be the pitching coach, it might be a teammate.
Remember Greg Maddux? If he was on my team I would certainly go to him - yet there were stud pitching coaches in Atlanta at the time.
Trevor Bauer is just a very smart, very analytical student of the game.
Probably a better pitching coach then just about anyone - just like any team would hire Maddux as their pitching coach. As well, he's probably a better pitching coach than Callaway too or the vast majority of current pitching coaches.
If you are a teammate you know that and they were very lucky to have him as a resource.
But he did his work and Clevinger, Bieber etc can carry on.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7090There was story on pregame show not long ago, where Plesac mechanics got a bit off. He had a bad outing allowing like 4 runs. Bauer noticed his timing was off coming out of wind up. He wasn’t getting behind his lower half like he should, and pointed it out to Plesac. He worked on it his next bullpen session and corrected it. Next outing he pitched 7 great innings.
This is not uncommon, even for vets, to get mechanics a bit out of whack. Sometimes something very small. Good pitching coaches will sniff it out.
This is not uncommon, even for vets, to get mechanics a bit out of whack. Sometimes something very small. Good pitching coaches will sniff it out.
Re: Articles
7091Pitchers, at the Major League level, have refined their mechanics and have had success at all levels. The level of success got them to the Major Leagues. Their mechanics are unique to themselves. The hardest fix is when things are just a little out of whack from when they were having success.
They are not suggesting new mechanics.... just fix what worked before.
Teams can provide video analysis of mechanics when pitching well and mechanics of pitching when things are off.
A good pitching coach and the player himself can spot the difference but the question is can they find a way to get back to where they were.
They are not suggesting new mechanics.... just fix what worked before.
Teams can provide video analysis of mechanics when pitching well and mechanics of pitching when things are off.
A good pitching coach and the player himself can spot the difference but the question is can they find a way to get back to where they were.
Re: Articles
7092Totally agree, and Bauer is likely one of the top in the business.Hillbilly wrote:
This is not uncommon, even for vets, to get mechanics a bit out of whack. Sometimes something very small. Good pitching coaches will sniff it out.
Where I differ with you is that this comprises a slam on Willis. To me, it's more a statement about Bauer's baseball/pitching IQ which most anyone would be challenged to be greater than.
Same with Maddux, for example, but now players make so much money why would a former star player go back to the travel trenches of MLB? Because he would immediately be hired and be at the top - that's not a slam on other coaches.
"I've suffered a great many tragedies in my life....most of them never happened". Mark Twain
Re: Articles
7093Baseball Reference rates winners and losers for trade deadline deals and no deals
Indians: A Winner [they list Reds as a loser for picking up a very good player but without any real chance to make the playoffs at the expense of a couple young talents]
Although it seemed like a too-far-out-there possibility, the Cleveland Indians indeed traded Bauer despite having a wild-card slot in hand and the AL Central lead in their sights.
"You’re losing a damn good pitcher, and we're in a race right now," second baseman Jason Kipnis said, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.
The Indians will be in trouble if neither Corey Kluber (broken arm) nor Carlos Carrasco (leukemia) returns from the injured list to fill the void in their rotation that Bauer's departure created. Still, there are worse gambits than that.
And the categorical positive of this deal is that the Indians' lineup is now equipped with Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes, who've combined to slug 49 home runs. Between them, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana, the Tribe now have an offense built for October.
If the Indians fail to go deep into the playoffs this year, all won't be lost. Reyes is a 24-year-old who's under their control through 2024. Likewise, the three prospects they netted—left-handers Logan Allen and Scott Moss and infielder Victor Nova—are legitimate talents who should impact the club's future.
Indians: A Winner [they list Reds as a loser for picking up a very good player but without any real chance to make the playoffs at the expense of a couple young talents]
Although it seemed like a too-far-out-there possibility, the Cleveland Indians indeed traded Bauer despite having a wild-card slot in hand and the AL Central lead in their sights.
"You’re losing a damn good pitcher, and we're in a race right now," second baseman Jason Kipnis said, according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.
The Indians will be in trouble if neither Corey Kluber (broken arm) nor Carlos Carrasco (leukemia) returns from the injured list to fill the void in their rotation that Bauer's departure created. Still, there are worse gambits than that.
And the categorical positive of this deal is that the Indians' lineup is now equipped with Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes, who've combined to slug 49 home runs. Between them, Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Carlos Santana, the Tribe now have an offense built for October.
If the Indians fail to go deep into the playoffs this year, all won't be lost. Reyes is a 24-year-old who's under their control through 2024. Likewise, the three prospects they netted—left-handers Logan Allen and Scott Moss and infielder Victor Nova—are legitimate talents who should impact the club's future.
Re: Articles
7094Indians once again did a good job on both the short term and the long term consequences of their deals [don't forget the reliever and IF they acquired in a separate deal]
Re: Articles
7095TFIR:
I have heard this story about Bauer. I have heard similar stories about Callaway. We even have a pitching coach in the minors who I have heard great things about, helping players in this regard. But not one time have I heard a similar story about Carl Willis finding the flaw in a guy’s mechanics and setting him straight. He was with us, what, 6 or 7 years previous stint, now 3rd season this time. I don’t remember a single story.
Now I am sure he is doing a lot of work behind the scenes. But this minor story about Plesac made the news. Why haven’t we heard anything similar about Willis? I remember hearing pitchers rave about Callaway. Don’t remember a single good comment about Willis?
You hear one point it out to me.
I have heard this story about Bauer. I have heard similar stories about Callaway. We even have a pitching coach in the minors who I have heard great things about, helping players in this regard. But not one time have I heard a similar story about Carl Willis finding the flaw in a guy’s mechanics and setting him straight. He was with us, what, 6 or 7 years previous stint, now 3rd season this time. I don’t remember a single story.
Now I am sure he is doing a lot of work behind the scenes. But this minor story about Plesac made the news. Why haven’t we heard anything similar about Willis? I remember hearing pitchers rave about Callaway. Don’t remember a single good comment about Willis?
You hear one point it out to me.