Cleveland Sports Forum

Lol I guess old habits die hard.

Great to see this team celebrate !

Crazy to see Detroit possibly get into playoffs and eliminate Twins or Royals ! Twins and Royals have been terrible in September.

I think the Guardians magic number for clinching the 2nd bye position is 1 !

rusty2 wrote: Mon Sep 23, 2024 5:59 pm Crazy to see Detroit possibly get into playoffs and eliminate Twins or Royals ! Twins and Royals have been terrible in September.

And so has Baltimore though they had more cushion.

Tigers versus Guardians would be wild !

AL Central showing it's stuff early.

It Sucks that Jose's last game got rained out depriving him of a 40,, 40, 40 season..
But, does anyone remember what happened the first two series we played on the West coast?
Jose had not 1, not 2, but 3 balls hit over the wall only to be denied of 3 homers on 3 leaping grabs.
Wow!
With Shohei Ohtani's big season, and Judge's big season, looks like Jose will be denied of another shot at the MVP award.

All wild card games were 2-0 and 3 were visitors were victors. So much for the weak sisters of the poor.

Tito to manage the Reds!

Not surprised at Tito....he needed some serious time off and Cleveland needed to move on as a result.

Win/win and Cincy benefits.

I am noting that....Tito lives in Tucson and Cincy trains in.....Goodyear!

Who fills the last roster spots?
Noel? He didn't hit anything in September.
Freeman? He didn't anything in August or September before his exile
Straw? He hasn't hit anything in 3 years
JRod? He had a great AAA but didn't hit anything in brief Cleveland stop
Schneeman? Probably so, he gives them a LH bat although an especially good one
Arias, never has looked good in the majors, he's a solid AAA hitter

Bullpen?
2 brand new rookies: Walters and Sabrowski? Neither with very much minor league experience but unblemished brief major league performances
Cantillo in the bullpen if Cobb is 3rd starter?
I guess Lively will be long man
But so will Avila
And Williams, too, if Cobb is starer
Does that leave room for Morgan?
I hope it doesn't leave room for Sandlin

A lot there but have to remember postseason games feature bullpens getting involved earlier than usual. And with days off even more so.

And Cleveland already went to the bullpen early during the regular season as a regular practice.

So I do think Sabrowski and Walters will be considered heavily. At least one or the other.

Of course we don't know about Cobb but being the veteran he is I wouldn't be surprised if he starts a game 3 if able.

Both Walters and Sabrowski make the roster; as does Cantillo. On vacation are Lively and Avila as well as Sandlin.
Cobb must have felt OK yesterday since he's on the roster and I guess starting game 3.
One additional position player: Tyler Freeman to pinch run and I suppose pinch hit.

GOLD GLOVE FINALISTS

SECOND BASE
Andrés Giménez, Guardians
Nicky Lopez, White Sox
Marcus Semien, Rangers

Giménez won the AL Gold Glove Award at second base in each of the past two seasons (as well as a Platinum Glove in 2023) and has a strong case to make it three in a row. He tied for the MLB lead with +20 Outs Above Average and led AL second basemen with 20 Defensive Runs Saved. Semien, though, wasn’t far behind Giménez in OAA (+19), and the two actually had identical +14 figures in Statcast’s fielding run value metric. Lopez saw time at both middle-infield spots for the White Sox in 2024 and produced +5 OAA, including +4 as a second baseman.

SHORTSTOP
Brayan Rocchio, Guardians
Anthony Volpe, Yankees
Bobby Witt Jr., Royals

Witt struggled on defense during his 2022 rookie season, but his glove work has come a long way over the past two years. The Royals superstar led AL shortstops with +16 Outs Above average in 2024. Volpe, who won the AL Gold Glove Award as a rookie last year, ranked second among AL shortstops behind Witt with +13 OAA in 2024. Rocchio finished his 2024 rookie campaign with +7 OAA and placed fourth at the position with 10 Defensive Runs Saved.

LEFT FIELD
Colton Cowser, Orioles
Steven Kwan, Guardians
Alex Verdugo, Yankees

Kwan, who missed time due to injuries but still posted 9 Defensive Runs Saved, +4 Outs Above Average and nine outfield assists in 2024, is looking to snag his third Gold Glove Award in three big league seasons. Cowser is an AL Rookie of the Year contender in part because of what he did on defense for the Orioles, ranking second among left fielders with +8 OAA. The veteran Verdugo notched 6 DRS and seven outfield assists for the Yankees.

And Guardian'Indians devloped nominees: Ernie Clement at 3rd base and Willi Casto as Utility in the AL
No Cleveland originated defenders among NL nominees, i.e. not Lindor who is likely to finish No. 2 in NL MVP contest