Tag: lucas giolito

Good Road Trip Changes Mind Of Guards’ Front Office?

Perhaps the Guardians going on the road versus two teams with playoff aspirations and winning both series had an impact on the minds of Chris Antonetti and Mike Chernoff.

We have not been shy in saying the front office of the Guards has not been totally in on making a playoff push since the trade deadline after moving Amed Rosario, Aaron Civale, and Josh Bell. The players weren’t happy which caused Antonetti and Chernoff to fly to Houston to meet with players about the moves.

Players think about the season they are playing. They don’t care about the 2024 edition of the Guardians because they may not be in Cleveland next season.

And we repeat, our problem was not in trading the people they did, it was not getting anything that could help the team this season, seeing as though they were a half game out at that time.

We have always been under the opinion that if a team is five games or less out of a post-season spot on September 1st, they are legitimately in the race. And today, Cleveland sits five games behind the Twins.

So, the Guardians’ management saw an opportunity on the waiver wire and took advantage. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim decided to dump salary with a month to go in the regular season and Cleveland took advantage, claiming three pitchers: Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez, and Matt Moore.

Giolito is the most familiar name, having had three very good seasons with the White Sox (2019-21), going 29-21 in those campaigns with ERAs under 3.53. This season, he is 7-11 with a 4.45 ERA combined with Chicago and the Angels, giving up just 139 hits in 153.2 innings, striking out 165.

He has been plagued by the long ball with the Angels, giving up 10 in 32 frames. He gave up three each in losses to Atlanta and Philadelphia. He can soak up innings and is an upgrade over Noah Syndergaard, who was designated for assignment after pitching on Sunday.

With Cal Quantrill coming back tonight, hopefully he and Giolito can ease the burden on the Guards’ young starters for the rest of the season.

Lopez, a right-hander like Giolito, figures to help the bullpen. He is 2-7 with 6 saves and a 3.93 ERA in total, and had a 2.77 ERA with the Angels. He has whiffed 71 hitters in 55 innings, but did walk 30. He has also allowed 8 home runs.

Moore is a southpaw and has been around the block at 34-years-old. He’s also been very effective this season, compiling a 2.66 ERA and 49 strikeouts over 44 innings. His last four appearances haven’t been good, he’s allowed six runs in four frames. But he was great before that.

He provides another solid lefty along with Sam Hentges, who has pitched much better of late.

It did cost the Guardians some money, but they also saved money in the deals they made at the end of July, so it’s likely a wash.

If Giolito regains something close to his old form with the Pale Hose and with the additional bullpen help, perhaps the Guards can put together the run they have been searching for all year. Their longest winning and coincidentally longest losing streak are both four games.

It’s too bad these moves couldn’t have been made sooner and let us also stop you from thinking this was some sort of grand plan. There is no way the front office could have seen the bizarre collapse by the Angels.

With Tampa in for the weekend followed by the Twins, this stretch of six games will determine whether or not this will be a fun September.

And a hot streak from Jose Ramirez and the return of Josh Naylor could be large helps too.

Guardians Proving An Old Baseball Adage

There is an old saying in baseball that momentum is today’s starting pitcher. There is no better example of that than the 2022 Cleveland Guardians.

On May 9th, the Guardians were trailing the White Sox 8-2 heading into the 9th inning. They scored six runs to tie the game, and then won it in 11 innings, with Josh Naylor being the hero. He belted a grand slam in the ninth to tie it and won it in the 11th with a three run blast.

It was Cleveland’s eighth victory in the last 10 games, and they headed into the Windy City after a very good series against Toronto, taking three out of four.

The next night, the Guards ran into a nemesis in Lucas Giolito, a pitcher the team has little success against, and they lost 4-1. That started a losing slide of nine losses in the last 13 games, and Cleveland now sits seven games out of first.

We are sure a lot of fans would have thought the huge comeback would be a springboard to more success for the Guardians, but after the loss to Giolito, the coaching staff came down with COVID, as did Naylor, the hottest Cleveland hitter at that point.

Naylor is back, but the offense has lost momentum and is the main culprit for the losing ways in the last twelve. In the nine losses, the Guardians have scored three runs or less in seven of them, the exceptions being a 12-8 loss at Minnesota in which the team was way down after the Twins scored nine in an inning, and 5-4 loss to the Reds at Progressive Field, in which they had just two going into the 9th until Owen Miller hit a two-run homer.

For the most part, the pitching staff has been fine. They’ve allowed more than four runs just three times, so the Guards have been in games, which makes the losing even more frustrating.

Adding to the angst is the schedule. Cleveland is in the midst of a period in which they play 20 of 23 games against the Reds, Tigers, Royals, Orioles, Rangers, and A’s. Not exactly a group of pennant contenders. The best record in that group is Texas’ 21-23 mark.

Unfortunately, the Guardians have started out 2-4 against this group, and they also lost two of three to Houston, one of the best teams in the AL.

Lately it seems the entire burden of the offense is on Jose Ramirez, who leads the American League with 48 RBIs. If the Guardians can climb back in the post-season race, Ramirez should be a leading candidate for the league MVP.

He’s had that kind of season.

However, if Terry Francona’s squad comes close to losing 90 games, we fear Ramirez’ season will lost in a statistical morass.

That would be a shame.

Naylor has stepped up in clutch spots and provided some pop at the plate, but frankly, that Franmil Reyes has been missing in action for much of the year, is a huge hinderance on the offense.

Reyes has just five extra base hits on the season, the same number as reserve catcher Luke Maile, and one less than starting catcher Austin Hedges. That’s simply mind boggling.

The Guardians need someone with some pop. Perhaps that player can be Oscar Gonzalez, who has started his big-league career with four hits in eight at bats, including two doubles.

If Cleveland can’t make some hay over the next three weeks, it figures to be a long season, If they can hit, they will be fine. Just hoping Ramirez gets some help.