tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post4029895395996759393..comments2024-03-16T08:21:16.037-04:00Comments on The DiaTribe: Closing the Book on 2011Paul Cousineauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-15343966792090717062011-09-30T14:22:44.728-04:002011-09-30T14:22:44.728-04:00Paul,
Ok, let me rephrase the question..."Ca...Paul,<br /><br />Ok, let me rephrase the question..."Can anyone tell me how Tony Sipp strikes anyone out?" His average 90mph fastball and mediocre curve seem to be primarily what he throws, yet he still gets people out, and strikes them out! He reminds me A LOT of a LH Jensen Lewis.<br /><br />Anyway, my LaPorta confidence is wavering quite a bit as well, but I'm trying to be optimistic here.<br /><br />Concerning Tomlin, he will give up many HRs due to his tendency to pound the zone and his lack of dominant pitches. But he'll be a great five because he's a competitor and refuses to give in to hitters. He doesn't give up free passes, and as a result of his accuracy tends to have a lively defense behind him. So you can always count on being in the game, and what more can you ask of a 5th starter? Now, if they could only find a #1 and a #3.Halifaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16712626480683595819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-42571434775781057522011-09-29T15:22:35.140-04:002011-09-29T15:22:35.140-04:00Great column as usual Paul. I totally agree on al...Great column as usual Paul. I totally agree on all of your assessments in the “report card” except Tomlin. However, on Tomlin I strongly disagree. I actually felt that Tomlin was the best story of the year. Your point is taken as far as his inferior stuff and his high HR rate, but I just can’t get over the way he poured strikes in there and at times looked flat out dominant (specifically the one game against the Yankees where I believe he took a no-hitter into the 7th?). There was also another game in Oakland where he looked dominant and I think one more against the Red Sox if I’m remembering correctly. <br /><br />Now maybe this is just a case of cherry picking from the best of his performances, but the thing that grabs me is the fact that the guy just simply knows how to pitch and at times has precision-like command and at other times at least very good command. And what about the record-setting streak of consecutive starts? In my book that’s a pretty impressive record! After all, that’s the goal of any starting pitcher – to keep his team in the game and give them a chance to win. And the fact that the guy is an “out of nowhere” surprise makes his story even sweeter. Anyway, just throwing my two cents in. Great job with the column this season and I look forward to all of the off-season hot stove stuff!Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11663077750759819578noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-60728732676637425712011-09-29T10:19:20.080-04:002011-09-29T10:19:20.080-04:00Thanks Jay, and I think that I share the concern o...Thanks Jay, and I think that I share the concern over Tomlin's ability to replicate his 2011 success over the long-term.<br /><br />GW,<br />If Brantley can turn into Devon White, I'd do backflips, but he really didn't get on base and he didn't really show much speed on the basepaths. I'm not giving up on him developing those skills as part of his game at the MLB level...I just would have liked to have seen them this year.<br /><br />Hal,<br />I've given up on LaPorta as I just don't see any signs that he'll mature into what we hoped he would be. As for Sipp, he struck out 22% of the hitters he faced (below only Pestano on the team), so that's a pretty good start in getting people out.Paul Cousineauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03490622970961409253noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-86175167490715884382011-09-29T09:55:40.483-04:002011-09-29T09:55:40.483-04:00Not giving up hope on Ubaldo, but my confidence ha...Not giving up hope on Ubaldo, but my confidence has been severely shaken.H E needs to get back to throwing strikes. Speaking of which, he strikes me as someone who needs a certain level of comfort, as he lived nearby, with his family, Colorado's stadium and really didn't want to leave. He threw much better at Progressive Field and perhaps the off-season will allow him to become acclimated to the area and the team and his pitching will reflect that fact. In a nutshell, he needs to THROW STRIKES!<br /><br />Same goes (haven't given up) for LaPorta and Brantley. But sometimes it just takes awhile for players to mature.<br /><br />MVP of the season may have been Cabrera, but it's the BULLPEN that won them all those games, especially early. That late-inning trio shut down the opposition so often that it allowed the Tribe to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat quite often in the first half of the season. Many a game was won in the latter innings at Progressive.<br /><br />Oh, and I ask again, how does Tony Sipp get anyone out?Halifaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16712626480683595819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-79937516919157757062011-09-29T02:56:47.879-04:002011-09-29T02:56:47.879-04:00I'd be pretty down on Brantley as well, but my...I'd be pretty down on Brantley as well, but my expectations are more along the lines of Devon White circa 1991-1993 than Grady Sizemore circa 2005-2007.<br /><br />Not expecting power, rather the generation of trouble on the base-paths on a consistent basis, with a minimum of strikeouts, and good (not great) fielding abilities.<br /><br />(Of course, one has to have some hope his base stealing abilities improve - substantially.)<br /><br />Since his fielding stats show him to be as good as (if not better than) Grady in CF, not to mention his paucity of strikeouts (and better OBP) in comparison to The Face at the plate, I can't understand why the Front Office - or you - would feel the way they do.<br /><br />Then again, we were also told Ubaldo was going to be our new No. 1 starter by this same F.O....Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11805401.post-53874910357129302992011-09-28T22:43:11.876-04:002011-09-28T22:43:11.876-04:00Beautifully summed up as usual.
It's fair to ...Beautifully summed up as usual.<br /><br />It's fair to call Tomlin's season a success, and it's equally fair to call it a fluke.<br /><br />The only real "red flag" is that he's Josh Tomlin, and I choose not to deny him any credit for what he improbably produced this season.Jayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17506129155693983095noreply@blogger.com