Kuhl Places

 

How is a career 4.33 ERA starter who's come in and out of the IL for Pittsburgh for 5 years suddenly working with a sub-3 ERA after 7 games in one of the toughest pitchers' parks in baseball?

I don't get it. Maybe this is some stuff Kuhl has been hiding all these years, maybe he was stuck hiding behind people like Gerrit Cole, Jameson Taillon and Ivan Nova, but...it's vexing to me. Last year, he was given the head of the rotation, the Opening Day start, and he only ended up starting 14 games with a 4.82 ERA before being passed over for the likes of Wil Crowe and J.T. Brubaker. 

I'm glad that he has this here in Denver, and now when they need him, but I wonder where all this was in Pittsburgh. It's a lot like Carlos Rodon suddenly springing to life last season. Maybe it's that late-20s stride a lot of pitchers can hit. Maybe there's no science to it. I don't know.

At the moment, though, Chad Kuhl and his outrageous start is one of the few good things to talk about as far as the Rockies are concerned. I mean, you can't really go wrong with a core of C.J. Cron, Charlie Blackmon, Ryan McMahon and Connor Joe, and having Austin Gomber and Kyle Freeland in good shape always helps, but this team is teetering on the brink of .500 and below the Diamondbacks in the standings. Maybe you can make the case that the series with Philly turned the tide for the Rockies and pointed out most of their flaws, but it's a point I am too humble to make.

The main issue with the Rockies is that the bullpen is godawful and only Daniel Bard and Tyler Kinley have really shown up from it. But there are smaller issues, like the heart of the lineup, Kris Bryant, going down on an injury, bad defense, the number of blowouts, and the complete lack of control coming from German Marquez. Any sign of promise this team had in April seems to have vanished, and all they can do is hold onto success stories like Kuhl and Cron as if to say 'well at least it wasn't all bad'.

I do think the D-Backs are gonna drop back into 5th at some point, but I'm not sure if the Rockies will be a bottom feeder for the majority of the season.

Coming Tonight- The Orioles' new man above the marquee, just as I predicted in 2018.

Do the Rangers Actually Have a Shot?

 

This morning I talked about the Pirates being a third place team because the fourth and fifth place teams exist, not really owing to their own merits. Today we talk about the Rangers, a team that could very well be sliding into third place due to the total collapse of the Mariners...and who could very much use this to their advantage.

The Rangers aren't specifically a bad team, but they sure have been resembling one. Kole Calhoun, Marcus Semien and Jon Gray haven't been up to the standard they've been signed at, most of the team was picked away by the Yankees, and right now the majority of the lineup filled by replacement guys. However, some of these replacement guys are turning out- Eli White, Jonah Heim, Brad Miller and Dane Dunning are certainly playing worth their weight, despite all of them filling roles left by trades and free agent departures. 

Plus, Martin Perez came home after being in Boston for 2 years and is already back to the degree of dominance he flirted with back in the mid-2010s. Perez, in 7 starts, has a 2.01 ERA, 2 wins and 33 strikeouts. I saw him pitch against the Phillies and despite the strength of the Phillies' lineup, we could not get anything done against him. Perez isn't flashy, he isn't a full throw-hard, strike-everybody-out kinda guy, but he is consistent. He was a strong low-rotation man in Boston and he's a strong high-rotation man in Arlington. And for a very inconsistent roster, Perez provides a needed boost of consistency.

The big problem with this team is that the core that was advertised is not doing well. Adolis Garcia only has 6 homers and is hitting .206, a far cry from his start last year. Corey Seager is doing pretty well, but it needs to be more than him. Willie Calhoun, once again, when the team needs him the most is nowhere to be found. And once again, Marcus Semien, after an MVP quality season, has nothing left to challenge it with. 

So, like the Pirates, this team could get to third despite some huge structural problems. Unlike the Pirates, though, they do have the wherewithal to stay in third on their own merits. They've won a few games in a row, they have the potential to sweep series'. The Rangers might be better than the Mariners right now, and they could block them from competing. Of course, this could all be for nothing. It's the Rangers that get to decide.

Coming Tomorrow- Former Pirates low-tier pitcher, FINALLY turning it around in Denver.

The Man Who Won While His Team Was Being No-Hit

 

Sometimes baseball is too funny for words.

The Pittsburgh Pirates, who are currently in third place in the NL Central, not by being the third-best but merely by being the third-worst, won on Sunday, under a start by Jose Quintana, without even getting a single hit. Because Art Warren of the Reds walked some people and one of them scored on a fielder's choice, he and Hunter Greene could not technically be charged with a no-hitter because the Reds weren't good enough to score a run.

Now, did the Pirates win because their pitching was good enough, or did they win because the Reds' batting is so bad? I...honestly think it's kind of the former.

Until last week, none of the Pittsburgh starters had been credited with a win, but...at the same time, it wasn't fully indicative of the rotation's awfulness. You do have people like Zach Thompson, Mitch Keller and Bryse Wilson who just can't seem to get anything done, but you also have Jose Quintana quietly having a comeback year, with a 2.19 ERA and a 1.081 WHIP. Even if Wilson will give up a grand slam to Willson Contreras or J.T. Brubaker will lose 3 games without a win, you still have Quintana almost singlehandedly lifting the rotation.

The bullpen though, like last year, is non ironically good. David Bednar is still for real, with a 1.00 ERA, 25 Ks and 7 saves in 18 innings. Wil Crowe has become a pretty solid long-man with excellent strikeout energy. You also have Dillon Peters, Chase de Jong and Max Kranick, all typically starters, providing nice bullpen innings.

Now...there are enough issues with this lineup that you can understand why none of them got a hit on Sunday. For one thing, some of them, like Josh VanMeter, Yoshi Tsutsugo and Jack Suwinski [despite defensive upsides] aren't hitting at all. You also have the catching position, which has been left to Michael Perez in the absence of Roberto Perez's health and Andrew Knapp's DFA'ing. Plugging Diego Castillo, Rodolfo Castro and Michael Chavis helps things, but only so much. And with the upsides of people like Ben Gamel and Dan Vogelbach come the downsides of them striking out a lot.

The Pirates are good enough of a team to win a no-hitter, but they're not good enough to not get no-hit. I sincerely hope Bryan Reynolds heats up and this team begins to earn their 3rd place over time.

Coming Tomorrow- I saw him shut out the Phillies a few weeks back. 

My World 2.0

 

I was talking to my friend's dad yesterday. Lifelong Cleveland sports fan stuck out in South Jersey. Suffering beyond suffering with the exception of the Cavs and also some pennants from the Guardians. I said 'you guys might have a shot to sneak in this year', and he seemed slightly less optimistic than me [60 odd years of following Cleveland sports will do that to you] but agreed there was a chance. 

Going into this season, that's more of a chance than I thought the Guardians would be working with.

If you'll remember, my theory was that the White Sox would take first, the Royals would be behind them after their second consecutive killer Spring Training start, and then the Tigers, boosted by healthy and good performances by Javier Baez, Eduardo Rodriguez and Austin Meadows, would be in third, and I figured the Twins and Guardians would be back there due to how much of a downturn both teams seemed to be after last season.

Well, as it turns out, the Guardians' smaller moves and roster refinement was enough of a strategy to remain somewhat of a competitor. And for my friend's dad's sake, I'm kinda happy for that.

The rotation is...slightly shaky in places [Aaron Civale], but for the most part it's a pretty concise, strong group of people that the GM was banking would all be healthy and moving together. Shane Bieber seems to be in pretty good shape, and he's leading the team in strikeouts with 36 without overexerting himself too much, which is the name of the game if you're a pitcher in 2022. Quantrill and Plesac are having calmer but still strong years. And as a pure contrast to Bieber, you have 24-year-old Triston McKenzie, who has 34 strikeouts and is a pure hard-throwing menace, additionally working with a low ERA of 2.97 this year as opposed to his typical 6-ish range. If McKenzie's figured out how not to get hit as often, and Bieber's plan is to stay healthy, this rotation could be intact for a bit. Of course, if Civale gets demoted, there's always Eli Morgan waiting on standby, and he's a lot better this season. 

Elsewhere, the Guardians just have a pretty solid contact based team cooked up, with Steven Kwan, Owen Miller, Josh Naylor, Myles Straw and Andres Gimenez all having excellent contact-centric years. Gimenez I'm excited to see hitting at MLB level, because I was worried that last season's down year meant he wouldn't fit anywhere other than Queens. Gimenez, though, is having the best season of anybody, hitting .326 with 20 RBIs. And in terms of power, Ramirez and Reyes are still reliable as well. I really just wish Josh Naylor was able to do something incredible without immediately getting injured afterwards, but I suppose as a Canadian he takes less after Wayne Gretzky and more after James Paxton.

The Guardians have a lot to work with, and need to figure out how to outrun the competition if they can't quite out-power-hit them. The White Sox could rebound, the Twins could hold, the Guardians need to outdo both of them, which could be tricky. But with the people still in Cleveland, it's not impossible.

They're just an underdog again. They were one in 2016...

Coming Tomorrow- [uncontrollable laughter]

Geaux the Distance

The Phils taking down the Mariners I could have seen coming. But the Phils taking a few games away from the Dodgers? The same Dodgers that have been on first most of the season and look to make the playoffs yet again this year? That shocked me to my core.

Cause deep down, while this Phillies team is an improvement over the last few, they still make very human mistakes. Kyle Schwarber can't hit for average, Alec Bohm is streaky as hell and still makes errors, for every strong night by a reliever there's one night where Hand, Familia or Alvarado nearly walk a guy home, and Bryce Harper's throwing injury has made the outfield a bit haphazard. But they are still very much a Phillies team, and that means big moments and big wins even when you're not expecting it. That means hitting home runs off of Walker Buehler and still taking the game even as the Dodgers score 10 points off you. That means getting leveled by Kyle Gibson or Ranger Suarez.

I mean, at the end of the day, this rotation schematic of Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, Kyle Gibson, Ranger Suarez and Zach Eflin is pretty dang good. It's not like last year where you have 3 good days and then dammit Chase Anderson and Matt Moore are here. All five of those guys are pretty sharp this year. And even when Eflin's injured, Bailey Falter makes a surprisingly alright starting pitcher. I did not know that. I thought we'd be working with Cristopher Sanchez as the 6th man, but Falter kept shit down last week, and I respect him for it. Nola, though, is having the best time of any of them, with 47 Ks and a 1.000 WHIP despite getting the rap for 4 losses. Gibson, Wheeler and Suarez are relying more on control and putting it where they ain't and less on striking out every guy. Wheeler just had a major strikeout year, and now knows how dangerous that is to a pitcher's longevity, so he's being more careful and I respect that. 

At the same time, the core of this team is doing pretty well. Harper, Segura, Castellanos, Realmuto, Hoskins and Bohm are all hitting, and Herrera, I suppose, is a pretty solid CF backup. I also like that we have people like Johan Camargo and Garrett Stubbs who can pop in and surprise everybody. I always wanted depth like that. 

This is a good enough Phillies team, and the goal will be outlasting the middle of the NL East and eventually climbing back up to take on the Mets, and not get no-hit this time. It will be tricky...but it can be done. 

Coming Tonight: Former Cy Young winner struggling to stay un-figured-out.

Continued Nastiness

 

My dad has the theory that the reason why the Yankees have had such a strong start and the Red Sox have had such a weak one is all in scheduling. The only competitive teams the Yankees have had to play have been Toronto, Cleveland and Chicago. No Tampa series' yet, no west coast road trips yet. Meanwhile, the Red Sox have had series' against the Twins, Blue Jays, Rays, Angels, White Sox, Braves and Yankees, and this week they have to play the Astros. Next we're gonna drive through that cactus field as well, which is right next to all those overturned rakes, and down the street from the parade of elephants celebrating Hannibal's ascent of the alps.

My dad is also convinced that even though the Red Sox are bad now, and are in last as I write this, they will get hot suddenly and be unstoppable. And looking at this Red Sox team...okay, there is the POTENTIAL for that. Is there a red-hot ace? Yes, Nathan Eovaldi is excellent as usual, and has 42 Ks over 7 starts. Have the big hitters shown up? Yes, Xander Bogaerts, Rafael Devers and J.D. Martinez are all hitting, even if the power numbers haven't exactly come through yet. Is there depth and flexibility? Yes, Garrett Whitlock can start games and Jarren Duran and Jaylin Davis are down in Worcester ready to go when needed.

But...what is this team as a whole? Well...a disappointment.

A lot of the intrigue of this team was based on the signing of Trevor Story, who was willing to move over to 2nd base to accommodate Xander Bogaerts in what may be his last year in Boston. Unfortunately, Story is not as adept a 2nd baseman as he is a shortstop, he's only hitting .210 and has only hit 1 home run. Say what you will about Javier Baez, Carlos Correa and Corey Seager, but they're all hitting to some degree right now. Story is not delivering to the degree that he did in Denver, and it is almost heartbreaking. Additionally, last year's success story Kiké Hernandez isn't hitting, perennial power man Bobby Dalbec isn't hitting, and defensive hero Jackie Bradley, as usual, isn't hitting.

As for the rotation...while Rich Hill did just get activated, Michael Wacha, Chris Sale and James Paxton are all injured, making it hard for the Sox to keep things together. It also doesn't help that two of the healthy starters they have, Nick Pivetta and Tanner Houck, both have ERAs around 5. So even if Eovaldi's doing well this season, you're relying on him and Rich Hill basically. If you only have 2 good starters and one of them is a 41-year old trickster who's basically Bartolo Colon if he was from Boston instead of the DR, you need to rethink things. The WooSox have Connor Seabold doing well right now, he's always an option. 

So what I'm saying is, for the Sox to be able to compete and come back from this, a lot needs to snap into place at once, and a lot of disappointments need to turn around. I wanna give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they're just having a tough month or so, but a lot of this team doesn't necessarily scream 'competitor' right now. 

Coming Tomorrow- A perennial ace whose team just went toe-to-toe with the best team in the NL.

Gore and Peace

 

The following is an actual thing the Padres did.

The San Diego Padres, who have six major players who are not hitting currently employed in their lineup, figured that the best way to solve their hitting gap...would be to sign Robinson Cano, who hasn't been hitting well at all, and whose best recent numbers came during a season where it would later be revealed that he was taking HGHs.

The San Diego Padres, everybody. Trying to take great strides forward but getting clotheslined by the hurdles.

And look, let's say that Cano does end up hitting a bit for the Padres. You play him at 2nd base it relocates Jake Cronenworth to the outfield, which is fine because it displaces the not-hitting Trent Grisham. You play him at DH it relocates Luke Voit to the bench, and we all know how pissed off Voit got last year when he got put on the bench. If you're playing a 38-year-old Robinson Cano, on sheer mythology at this point, over Luke Voit, I wouldn't be surprised if he quits the league and goes to play in Korea. 

The good news is that people like Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer, Ha-Seong Kim and Jurickson Profar are delivering on multiple levels for the Padres. But...this is a Padres team without Fernando Tatis Jr., and they're only barely lapping the Dodgers, rather than the full domination. I don't like how different this team works with and without Tatis, a team shouldn't be like that.

What's making this team a contender, and what's probably the reason why this team is breathing up the Dodgers' necks right now, is the pitching. Darvish-Manaea-Musgrove is a pretty awesome initial hydra of a rotation. And while you'd have thought going in that Snell and Lamet would supplant them, the Padres have explored other ideas. Nick Martinez, in from abroad, is dealing some solid low-rotation numbers, ERA around 4, 2 wins. MacKenzie Gore's been fantastic in his first 5 starts, with a 2.42 ERA and a 2-1 record. Gore's been germinating for a while and it's awesome that he's finally ready. And meanwhile Musgrove has 4 wins and Manaea has 38 Ks, so...the rotation's doing what it's supposed to. And it's getting them over the top.

The trick will be getting the lineup on the same page, and even if Tatis shows up in a bit, I'm not sure how exactly that's going to work without a lot of people going on tears at the same time.

Coming Tonight: The Yankees called him Nasty. The Red Sox call him an ace.