So I was thinking about this after Framber’s meltdown last night.
The team held on to Springer, then let him go, and time has shown that was the right decision.
The team held on to Correa, then let him go, and time has shown that was also the right decision.
Same for Cole. Same for Keuchel.
But holding onto them all the way to FA made sense because the team was a WS contender.
Now, the team is looking at scenarios for Bregman, Tucker, and Valdez. Bregman and Valdez are firmly in the Springer/Correa zone - extending them would be a mistake. But now, the team is in no way a championship contender. Even if they somehow squeaked out the West, there is zero doubt that the Yankees or Orioles could sweep them in their sleep.
You HAVE to keep Tucker.
Trading Bregman is pretty much a lost cause. You wouldn’t get more than the compensatory pick at this point.
Valdez is the only real trade asset they have. He has to be moved by the trade deadline.
Even though we know he’s a head case, there will be a contender or wannabe that needs pitching badly enough that they’ll be willing to overlook that (or convince themselves that they can change it) and maybe pay a premium.
If he goes to some other team and we face him, every damn batter should bunt to the left of the mound.
I heard that mentioned several times in the post game and it caught my attention.
Yainer tried to play it off, Espada noted it, but apparently, Framber sort of went rogue.
Of course not, but that’s irrelevant. The question is what are Espada and Brown going to do about it? If Espada knew Framber was deviating from Yainer’s game plan in the 5th inning, why did he not A) send out Josh Miller as soon as possible to chew his butt out or B) pull him before seven runs scored? He just sat there and let him give up seven runs in an inning. Sending Miller out to talk to Framber after two more hitters reached on singles following the first three-run homer is too late.
Also, if Yainer recognized Framber was deviating from the game plan that was working, why does he not feel empowered by the coaching staff to go out to the mound and address the issue?
Yep, this right here. Guys have bad games, they have blow up innings, they go away from the gameplan, these things happen. A manager has to do something, not just sit and watch it play out. I’m getting more and more frustrated by Espada. He has been far worse than I thought possible.
Chandler Rome reports: Joe Espada, Framber Valdez and Yainer Diaz all said that Valdez went away from the gameplan in the seven-run fifth inning
“Yainer did a really good job calling pitches. I was the one that decided to try and change the game plan. I had to deal with the consequences,” Valdez said.
Yainer Diaz: “I could try to force him to throw a certain pitch, but he knows how he feels and how his pitches feel. He makes the decision.”
“This is the first time this has happened, but maybe me as a catcher, I should have forced him more to throw certain pitches.”
Thanks. I mean, it’s the pitcher’s call. The catcher can call anything he wants, but the pitcher throws what he wants. If they agreed on a plan, and it was working until Framber decided to wander off just for the hell of it, that’s on him. I’d smack him, if I were the manager.