.
Q. Is it feasible to powerflush Gallardo if he gets pulped his first three starts?
A. No. And he won't get pulped three starts in a row. Nobody does. There are fielders out there.
.
Q. Is it "entitlement" to keep a guy in the lineup if he's making a billion dollars?
A. Nah. In baseball they make commitments. That's how F-500 works. Politics are involved, and should be involved.
Don't get me wrong amigos. No way you can just trade for a guy making this much money and round-file him after four starts. No way you DO accept him if you think that will happen.
Now ... Pete Carroll, he strides across the NFL landscape like a giant metal golem from eons gone past. If he didn't think Bobby Wagner was cutting it, he'd wait three plays. But on the other hand you have that little Miami Heat coach who tried to manage LeBron and D-Wade. Baseball is in between. Which is fine.
...
Entitlement was like when Hargrove would stick with a random vet who'd paid his MLB(TM) dues, and freeze out Shin-Soo Choo.
.
Q. Is Gallardo really such a tragedy?
A. Picking out the saber red flags on this dude ... it's like picking out a flavor at Baskin Robbins 31. You don't even want to go there, amigo. Just walk away.
Well, just picking a couple at random ... fly ball rate for a junkballer (many starts are in Texas and LAA and stuff, not Safeco). SwStr% versus FpK%. You won't find a saber bet any worse than this, try though you might.
But it isn't the 31 flavors of saber flags that SSI is parroting from all the other blogs. This is an EOE blog, and what drives Dr. D to distraction is that slider that is so painful to watch ... and this guy throws it 30%, 35% of the time. He throws that slider more than Felix used to throw his changeup. Like as much as Smyly throws his curve. And you cringe every single time. It's a scout's thing even more so.
.
Q. What could Dipoto be thinking?
A. He's thinking that Yovani Gallardo has great baseball IQ, which Gallardo does.
That Gallardo is a very flexible man, which he is. Gallardo has 4 distinct (cruddy) pitches and he will use any of them to trick somebody into a 2-bouncer or a fly ball to center field. Hey, gentlemen. Worn-out vets who trick enough batters to hang on another year, that goes back to John McGraw.
You've got an MLB(TM) innings eater who sees himself as belonging here. Self-image is a powerful thing, grasshopper. And the thing is, in front of this defense, JeDi is hoping for a .270 BABIP from his #5 and surviving to a 4.01 ERA.
Or, that's what it sez here, that Dipoto must (logically) be thinking. You know, actually there will be a little bit of fascination in watching to see whether Gallardo can trick people into enough Atom Balls in a given start. Not trying to be snide. It's an interesting little plotline. Gallardo definitely has the big brain for that, and he's got a wide repertoire of silk napkins in his top hat.
....
Alternatively, Dipoto is sitting on info that Gallardo's arm is about to bounce back. Huge. G'luck with that one, mate. You could say that about anybody, up to and including Rich Harden.
.
Q. You like Seattle Sports' idea-r of a quick trip to the DL?
A. Gallardo gets 10-12 starts, unless he really does hit the ERA windshield with a 7.00 splatter in the first 5 starts. But, yah, for sure that's the default cover story when they swap him out. You know what's weird? That they got TWO guys in Tacoma they want to keep "stretched out" on one day's notice.
Be a-fraid,
Dr D
And Silva was 8.60 in 2009...That year, even if they'd got an extra win every game he pitched (They didn't lose them all) they'd have been denied the playoffs by a 95 win Red Sox wild card and 97 Win Angels. Another 93 win season with no playoffs might have sucked more, I guess.
This Year. You want to take the chance that it's not the difference?
nm
I'm with you here. If hes your 7th or 8th best option he shouldn't be in there from Day One. One or two games in the standings could be the difference for the playoffs.
This is the reason I hated this trade so much, more than the fact he looks like toast. You're married to him to some degree.
Yeah.. No
...2 SPs in Tacoma on a moment's notice signals to me (minimally-educated guess) that JeDi is more flexible than this. Gallardo is his preferred use of Sunk Cost, but he's not married to 10-12 starts, no how. And it's not necessarily the ERA he's looking at (obviously - not putting words in anyone's mouth here).
I think JeDi has a mission for Gallardo. He sees a problem with the man's game, and has a minimally acceptable class of result he expects from Yovani. Return to form is a bonus, not an expectation - we're looking for a guy here who can keep our offense in the game without shutting the other team down completely, yet in an manner which still gives the bullpen odds for an easier night.
That said, the manner in which Yovani reaches his steady 4.x ERA is what's going to determine the call here. If cool weather and a fresh lcoation are still making every game a nail-biter, and if the fixes dreamed up by Servais and co don't function OR aren't being followed... that's what gets the #5 SP carousel started sooner than later IMO. And I'm guessing Jerry sees enough potential to take the shot (upside for sure!), but enough of a down-scenario to be prepared from Day One.
I'd love to be wrong here. At least flash enough brilliance for a couple weeks to get some of his cost off the books. Maybe he can have a season approaching 2015 even, not that long ago and he did pitch in a launching pad.
For years I've been saying they didn't need to bring in an inning eating veteran because of the youth assembled and I've mostly been wrong. This year I didn't mention it because the collection wasn't there to start out. The depth was largely built in rapid fire trades, yet is the best assembled youth for the rotation I've seen in floor. Don't see the upside to get excited about on as many of these guys. But with more than half of them coming in just within 4 months or so it was hard to figure what was there at all.