Planless Guardians Fall Behind, Concede Game, Division to Royals
morning N&N for August 28
The August Guardians are the worst team I have ever seen.
Entering last night’s game with a 1-game lead in the division, the Guardians played like a team with a 1-game lead over the White Sox.
Gavin Williams pitched 5 solid innings. Then there was a 2-hour rain delay. Down 2-1 when play resumed, Stephen Vogt noticed a deficit, and did what he does the minute he falls behind: inserted his poor players into the game. Nick Sandlin was first up, and actually pitched a scoreless inning.
Then came Scott Barlow. Barlow hasn’t thrown strikes all season, and teams started to pick up on that a few dozen games ago. He should have been DFA’d at that exact second. But he wasn’t, and Vogt thought this was a good time to play for Wednesday. The team picked up on this. Barlow didn’t throw strikes, and handed the Royals runs with walks and wild pitches. Long reliever Pedro Avila was up next, and he pitched averagely like he always does. To close out the final innings, Anthony Gose was given the ball. Gose belongs nowhere near a MLB game in the year 2024, but he keeps getting chances because the Guardians lack the normal depth that a team has laying around to get through a season.
As all this was going on, the offense slept through another game. No in-game and in-AB adjustments were made; none ever are. Chris Valaika could not even show up for work and the results would be the same, and he would face the same zero consequences.
The batting half of the roster also never changes. Roster moves only happen when a pitcher is needed. Tyler Freeman can go up there and hand pitchers outs, but he’ll never be sent to AAA. Brayan Rocchio can have zero shot of ever reaching base, but his defense keeps him on the roster. Lane Thomas was apparently given Havana Syndrome the minute he met Valaika. 15 batters batted after the delay. None reached base.
Will Brennan and Jhonkensy Noel, who have hit the ball well in the past month? They didn't see the field last night.
Until changes are made, I will continue to wonder if the Guardians are fist fighting prior to every game—or if the person who caught Calvin Ridley needs to be looking into this organization.
Around baseball
- The Astros probably going to sign recently-available outfielder Jason Heyward.
- Jose Tena homered off of Gerrit Cole. Free from Chris Valaika, Tena’s MILB hitting is allowed to continue at the MLB level.
- When the Cardinals make a move, mounting evidence suggests it is likely to have been the wrong move. Sounds familiar.