Just wondering: Verlander gave up 3 HRs in an inning after McKann got replaced with Avila. Today Avila is catching and the Sox have a ton of hits. Is Avila still tipping pitches?
Bell just gave up his first runs, a 3-run homer - with Avila catching.
Btw, Norris also got hit hard with Avila catching. There is definitely something wrong!
He has a tendency to call for outside fastballs. Also whenever the pitcher is ahead, he has a strong tendency to call for balls. As a hitter if the count is 0-1 you can take. If it goes 0-2 by accident you can definitely take. If it's 1-2 you can take and even on 2-2 you can take and your odds aren't that bad. That's how Avila is calling the game. He gets his pitchers in trouble ALL the time.
With Avila catching you should swing at 2-0, 2-1 and 3-2 and otherwise just take. That way you always get a nice fat pitch to hit over the fence. Btw, this was pretty much the Red Sox approach in the 2013 ALCS.
This team is awful. We got some great contracts we can't move. Hopefully JV can be moved to LA with some cash. Move JD for sure. Miggy lulz aids contract. Kinsler gonna have to come off DL super hot to move. Victor lulz. Should have moved Avila 2 weeks ago.
If JV heats up just a little bit there's a good chance someone takes him as the deadline approaches. You're right that it might take some cash, but he's a name and he's going to be one of the better guys available.
They'll get something for JD. Not enough, but something.
There will be a market for Kinsler even if he's not super hot. He's a big upgrade over a lot of guys at 2B and he's not too expensive.
No idea if there's a market for Avila, but they won't get much for him.
Need to just give up on Tyler Collins.
They'll have to live with the contracts of Miggy, VMart, Upton and Zimmerman unless they throw in a boatload of cash.
Verlander would have to waive his 10/5 rights for a trade, just FYI
Based on some of his comments from last year, I think he would waive for a trade to a legit contender. He wants to win a title and if the Tigers go into full rebuild he's going to be too old even if whatever they do pans out.
I doubt that someone will be moved. The division is too weak to give up at this point.
Before I go into selling mode, I fire Lloyd and restrict Avila to 1B/DH and pinchhitting.
Besides that, I don't have that much of a problem with Ausmus, because I am convinced that he is not making any decisions. He is there to look nice and to provide leadership, but the real decisions come from the computer-model. Bad analytics is the biggest leak with this team.
Let's face it: The guy is hitting .217 (.202 over the last month), makes a ton of errors if he touches the ball and if he doesn't touch it, they usually record it as "base hit".
Under normal circumstances he would be send down to the minors, but with him there is some sort of sunken cost fallacy at work, because he was 1st-round draftpick at one point. The Rays gave up on Mahtook who was their 1st-round draftpick in 2011 and maybe we should learn from them. The real problem with Castellanos is that he is so bad and it is so well known, that you can't get any value for him in return.