Cleveland Sports Forum

Both sides want to get paid... Players could easily opt out. Personally it is their own fault for whatever happens.

Same for all of the people that said hey it is Memorial Day and you are not going to ruin my vacation.

So instead we blame the politicians for not saving us from ourselves !

now that the postponements are staring to pile up and the schedule revised on the fly my questions are:

1. can players opt out now, or later? I would assume so.
2. how do they reschedule canceled games in a short season?
3. does anyone think that 30 teams will actually make it through the end of the 60 game season?
4. how about world championship ring to last team standing?

Corey Kluber Diagnosed With Grade 2 Teres Major Tear
By Jeff Todd | July 27, 2020 at 2:21pm CDT

Rangers righty Corey Kluber has been diagnosed with a grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle in his right shoulder. He’ll spend at least a month resting the injury before attempting to resume throwing.

It’s a brutal outcome for both the 34-year-old Kluber and for a Rangers team that acquired him from the Indians over the offseason. Given the timing involved in the shortened season, it’s all but impossible to imagine him retaking the mound in 2020.

Kluber is earning at a $17.5MM annual rate this year and can be retained for a $18MM salary in 2020 (or bought out for $1MM). It’ll be awfully difficult for the Rangers to take that bet now.

The Rangers will call upon southpaw Kolby Allard for the time being. If all goes well, he’ll be a competent back-of-the-rotation piece, though it is hard to imagine the lefty coming close to Kluber’s potential contribution.

Rangers have had a history of either bad luck or bad decisions with free agent pitchers. One year contract so they don't lose a lot. Hope this is not the end for Kluber. Terrific career with the Tribe

Clevinger missed his last start for the Padres with bicep tightness; scheduled for "bullpen" session yesterday, didn't see an update. If he's ok he's scheduled to pitch SD's first game in the playoffs.

update:

Clevinger (biceps) threw a successful bullpen session and will start Wednesday against the Angels, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.

The 29-year-old was bumped from his start over the weekend due to right biceps soreness, but he had no issues during Monday's bullpen session and is good to rejoin the rotation. The Padres figure to remain cautious Wednesday and monitor his workload in what will be Clevinger's final start of the regular season.

San Diego Padres RHP Mike Clevinger gets MRI after leaving start early
September 23, 2020Updated 8:15 PM EDT




The San Diego Padres are awaiting MRI results for right-hander Mike Clevinger after he left Wednesday's start against the Angels after 12 pitches with a right biceps injury.

"He was feeling good, he got through the first and came in and said it just tightened up on him I think it was after the second hitter," manager Jayce Tingler told reporters after the game. "It was originally around the bicep tendon, and he said, ‘I just got kind of tight there, in that area.’ ... I don’t want to speculate because honestly I don’t know."

Prior to Wednesday, Clevinger had not pitched since a Sept. 13 win against San Francisco. Clevinger’s scheduled start last Saturday was pushed back due to tightness in his right biceps.

The Padres acquired Clevinger on Aug. 31 from Cleveland. He is 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts since the trade.

What this means for the Padres
Dennis Lin, Padres beat writer: The Padres surrendered considerable talent to acquire Clevinger, thinking he would lead their pitching staff not only in this postseason but also into the next two. Now, as the team awaits MRI results, Clevinger's playoff status is in doubt. With no off-days scheduled in each round, losing the right-hander indefinitely would leave a conspicuous hole in the Padres' rotation. For a pitcher with a high-effort delivery, it would raise natural questions about his long-term health heading into 2021. Still, the Padres are optimistic that Clevinger's injury is relatively minor. Only time will tell.

Who would step up in Clevinger's absence?
Lin: Even before Clevinger's arm trouble, Dinelson Lamet had made a robust case to start Game 1 of the wild-card series. If Clevinger's absence becomes prolonged, the pressure will continue building around Lamet, who has pitched like a Cy Young Award contender this summer. The second game and, if necessary, a third would fall to Zach Davies and Chris Paddack, whose role for the first round had been unclear. The Padres recently shifted Garrett Richards to the bullpen, where he figures to remain for now. If Clevinger's injury is serious and San Diego advances to the best-of-five division series, Richards may be asked to return to the rotation.

Who in the NL benefits most if Clevinger is out?
Molly Knight, senior Los Angeles columnist: Clevinger missing the postseason due to injury would be a crushing blow to the Padres, and open a clearer path for other teams besides the Dodgers to win the NL pennant. If Clevinger is sidelined through October, the biggest beneficiary will be whoever captures the No. 5 seed and faces the Padres in their three-game first round series. If the Dodgers win their first-round matchup, they would also benefit from Clevinger's absence, since they appear to be on track for a second-round clash with San Diego. The Padres have been the second-best team behind Los Angeles in the NL this season. They would still be favored in their first-round matchup without Clevinger, but losing him would be a gut punch for a team making its first trip to the postseason in 14 years.

(Photo: Orlando Ramirez / USA Today)

5 Comment

BA's All Rookie Team includes:

SS Willi Castro, Tigers

Castro went 3-for-4 in his first game and never stopped hitting. He recorded a hit in 28 of 36 games, had more multi-hit games (13) than hitless games (8) and finished sixth among rookies with 45 hits despite not making his debut until Aug. 12. Overall, Castro led all rookies with at least 100 at-bats in batting average (.349), slugging percentage (.550) and OPS (.932).

AVG OBP SLG AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB
.349 .381 .550 129 21 45 4 2 6 24 7 38 0

Well we got Leonys Martin out of it. But if we still had Willi, we'd be better placed to send Lindor away for some outfielder who can hit.

civ ollilavad wrote:BA's All Rookie Team includes:

SS Willi Castro, Tigers

Well we got Leonys Martin out of it. But if we still had Willi, we'd be better placed to send Lindor away for some outfielder who can hit.

Oh yeah, no doubt in retrospect that one looks like it could bite us big time.

We got less for Gio Urshela, but at the time we had a full quality trio of starting infielders and he had not learned out how to hit. I was always a big fan from Mahoning Valley days on and I'm glad he's a success, sorry its for the last team I'd like to see get lucky!

I went to a ST game out here in Az a few year ago and Urshela had autograph duty that day. When you see these guys up close and without a hat on, you can't believe how young these kids look. I swear Urshela looked like he was 16 years old.

We saw lots of Urshela jerseys last winter in Cartagena Colombia. Then I checked his bio and discovered that's his home town.

Mercado is another Cartagenan. Perhaps they all develop their offensive skills at a somewhat advanced age.

Skanks out ! Ain't that a shame.

The Rays advance and show us that brilliance comes in many forms


By Eno Sarris 7h ago 12
Brilliance doesn’t always look the way you think it will. The Rays keep showing us this in different ways.

That Rays brand is commensurate with analytics, with out-thinking the competition, with innovation and data — and they’ve earned that reputation. This collection of players was plucked from waiver claims, low draft picks and trades, and were employed strategically in unique ways to destroy the league. That’s the brilliance we’ve come to know from them.

The Rays value position players who can put the barrel on the ball, have a good hit tool and hit the ball hard — and find their defensive position later. They value pitchers with spin and ride, and tell them to throw higher in the zone, and coax more spin efficiency from them with a great pitching development staff. Then they figure out how to piece the puzzle together in new ways that make it difficult for opponents. All of that takes hard science, it takes numbers, it takes a healthy research and development department that is empowered to help make decisions.

But the Yankees have that, after years of investment in their analytics and technology. Do the Yankees give the same amount of attention to the soft science of team building that the Rays also put on display, proudly, in this series?

Consider Mike Brosseau, who had the at-bat of the game against Yankee closer Aroldis Chapman. The platoon infielder took nasty sliders in off the plate, fouled off triple-digit pitches and eventually turned on a 100 mph fastball, depositing it in the left-field bleachers for the go-ahead run in a tight game.

“Mike Brosseau is a perfect example of why we feel our organization is so special,” manager Kevin Cash said after the game. “Him at the top, our scouting to recognize it, our player development, our guys pushing and saying to get him up here, he’ll make the most of it.”

Sounds like another Rays find operating at the upper end of his potential. But when asked about it after the game, a beaming Brosseau simply answered, “Just trying to get a runner on and try to get the next guy up.”

You immediately get a sense of how this team feels about each other, and what the Rays might also do well other than talent acquisition.

“Unreal to be a part of, being a part of that moment with Brosseau, you can’t put that into words,” Austin Meadows said later. “It couldn’t happen to a better guy.” He spent more time talking about Brosseau and his team than he did about his own solo homer, which put the Rays ahead in the fifth inning.

“That was very storybook, that was crazy, to go up there and have that kind of at-bat,” starter Tyler Glasnow said of Brosseau’s blast. Here again an impact player — a starter who got the first seven outs without allowing a run, on two days’ rest — highlighting his teammate. “Brosseau is such a good dude, it’s so awesome that it was him. He’s grinded all year long, kind of had sparing playing time and just gone and did that in such a big moment like that.”

“The Element” by Ken Robinson tells the story of Mick Fleetwood’s upbringing and the welcoming, loving household he was born into that looked past some of his learning disabilities.

“In the Fleetwood household, everyone understood that brilliance came in many forms and that being poor at math, or unable to recite the alphabet backward, hardly doomed one to an inconsequential life,” wrote Robinson of the eventual rock star’s family.

The Rays might have something in common with Fleetwood Mac.

“What makes us good is the mentality, how easy it is to come here to play,” said Glasnow of what distinguishes the Rays. “So many of the players here … are guys that have been given a chance, and everyone just comes out and plays their heart out. They can do what they do with lineups and stuff because everyone is just so on board with winning.”

The Rays can do what they do because they give you a chance, and everyone is on board.

“The Rays gave me an opportunity when everyone else said no to me, to be on a major-league roster. They gave me an opportunity to play for this wonderful organization. From top to bottom, all the staff that is working for the Rays has treated me wonderfully throughout the years,” Ji-Man Choi said before the game.

“Their belief in me moving forward is all I need,” Hunter Renfroe said last week of the front office, “so I can help the team win no matter what I have to do.”

“At our alternate site, it was very competitive, it was a bunch of good guys who are starters anywhere else,” said Shane McClanahan after his major-league debut Monday, which wasn’t good, and before his second try Wednesday, which was better. “Good clubhouse guys, a great staff. That was a very good atmosphere, every single person there got better, I’m very thankful for having experienced that. I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for all those people.”

“Cash tried everyone in different roles to make them feel comfortable in different roles,” said Pete Fairbanks earlier this week, who was the record 13th pitcher to get a save for the Rays this year — and got it in the postseason. “Anything I can do in whatever inning, like I’ve said.” After Game 5 he said: “I’ll throw till my arm falls off.”

“There’s just something about it, that, I don’t know, just the positivity and the demeanor throughout the whole clubhouse from the front office to the coaching staff to the players and everyone else involved, it’s fun to show up every day,” Rays elder statesman Kevin Kiermaier said before the game. “I love being with these guys.”

“I like to adapt,” said erstwhile closer Nick Anderson, who came into the game in the third inning and got eight outs in relief. “I was ready.”

“It’s a cohesive effort,” pitching coach Kyle Snyder said of preparing the bullpen for ever-changing roles. “Between Dewey Robinson, Rick Knapp, Jorge Moncada, the communication we’re getting from those guys, Stan and myself, there isn’t much that’s lost in terms of what we think these guys are capable of. Really prioritizing who they are becoming, and making sure these pitchers understand not just what they are capable of, but what they are capable of being. You have to bring Stan Borowski into the equation, because of his ability to prepare these guys in real time as well as instill confidence.”

This isn’t forced: It seemed like every Zoom went somewhere other than the person being interviewed. This team deflects. This team thanks others. This team supports each other. This team feels the entire staff and front office values them uniquely, sees their potential, and is ready to help them be their best.

So when Mike Brosseau, an iffy-gloved, undrafted iffy-contact hitter from a small college, stepped to the plate against Aroldis Chapman, big-ticket international signing, fire-breathing closer supreme from the New York frigging Yankees, yeah, Brosseau represented the whole Tampa Bay Rays, literally, figuratively and even metaphorically. He went with the full informational and emotional support of his coaching staff, teammates and front office, representing what this team does well just by being there.

“There was that day in 2016 when nobody wanted me,” Brousseau said after the game, but the Rays, “They know what we do well and they put us in the scenarios to do that. We have a lot of guys that may have been overlooked in our careers … when you have that combination together with everybody having that little chip on their shoulder, everybody going to the park ready to play and wanting this team to advance, and to do their part to make sure that happens, it’s a dangerous combination.”

“Hands down the greatest moment I’ve been a part of in baseball,” Cash said of Brosseau’s homer. “What that meant to this team.”

Brilliant.

Tito's star student runs the team. Cash deserves lots of credit.