Mr President Elect said:
texasaggie2015 said:
Wellness check on everyone.
I know this is beating a dead horse, but with your comments on the FO being at odds with Dusty. You've said in the past that the FO isn't as upset about Maldy playing over Diaz. Is that still the case? Admittidely, Maldy's numbers the last 30 have been great, somehow. But Diaz's numbers have been elite since June and has an OPS of 1.133 in September. I just don't have faith in our pitching staff and thus needing our optimal lineup to stand any chance in the playoffs once the FO has a say. Do you think there is any chance they sit Maldy for Diaz with Framber or JV on the mound?
They're upset about the lack of at-bats from Diaz more so than lack of time behind the plate.
There's plenty of opportunities for Diaz to get into the lineup without catching. Abreu has had back issues since spring training. It would make a ton of sense for Diaz to be getting starts at first base to relieve Abreu and keep him fresh. He could also DH. Between those two positions and an occasional start behind the plate, there's no reason he shouldn't be playing 6 days a week.
That's what the front office is frustrated with. You can still have a very, very good lineup with Maldy in the 9-hole if that's what you insist on doing. But it seems Dusty just doesn't want to do it.
This whole idea of a "defense first" lineup with JV on the mound probably makes some sense in previous years. But not this year. This isn't the same dominant JV and you'll need to provide more than 3 runs of support.
Now, all that being said, the pitching is toast. Across the board. Framber and Javier are both dealing with fatigue and/or nagging injuries. JV isn't his old self and there's no telling if he's going to figure things out.. and even if he does, how much do we trust playoff JV? Hunter Brown is also way over his career high in innings pitched. JP France has been great for us, but he's ideally not a guy you want to rely on in the postseason to make a big start. Piggy backing might be a solution. But that being said, they might very well decide that they need Yainer behind the plate and roll out the best possible lineup every night in October from an offense standpoint.
All that to say this.. a lot is changing very fast and I don't think anything is set in stone.
The most important thing right now is winning tonight.