https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp Baseball The Way It Never Was Thu, 23 Jul 2020 16:04:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 178681366 https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp/2020/06/22/spring-training-preview-san-francisco/ Mon, 22 Jun 2020 16:16:52 +0000 https://wbl.dmlco.com/wp/?p=361

The final rotation spot is up for grabs between Carlos Carrasco, Cy Falkenberg, Bump Hadley, and James Shields.

• Only Shields has moved out of contention–and all 4 of the established SPs have held on as well.
  • The SP continues to be fantastic. Hadley has been sent to AAA, but everyone is still in contention. Falkenberg has yet to allow a run, but Shields may be the strongest performer yet. A lot is riding on the final appearances for those 2, Eckersley, and Charlie Root.

The 4 pitchers at the top of the bulpen are set, but their roles are not, other than Chad Bradford in a setup role. Spring performances will sort out what Rod Beck, Ken Howell, and Huston Street are tasked with.

• Street has had a rough start, allowing Beck and Howell to nail down their roles, along with Rollie Fingers, who has been fantastic. Dennis Eckersley has been excellent, but whether he ends up in the rotation or the bullpen is still up for grabs.
  • Roles are still in flux, with only Danny Frisella–who is headed to AAA–set. Street is in danger of not making the final roster as well. Jim Hughes has been recalled as an extra bullpen arm.

C is up for grabs between Mickey Cochrane and Gene Oliver.

• Oliver has a slight edge. Cy Perkins has been called up as well.
  • Oliver has been good, Cochrane abysmal.

In all likelihood, only 2 of Jack Clark, Jason Giambi, and Mark McGwire will make the team.

• Right now, that’s Clark and Giambi. Clark has been fantastic, Giambi decent, and McGwire miserable.
  • There are 8 players in camp who can play 1B, so something will give here. Clark, Beckwith, and Giambi have been the best of the likely 1B, with Jimmie Foxx and McGwire in danger of missing the cut.

2B is open as well, with Jimmy Bloodworth, Dick Green, and Ron Hunt all in the mix. John Beckwith is trying to make the team as well, and his ability to play (albeit poorly) both 2B and 3B may move him ahead of Charlie Reilly on the depth chart.

• Bloodworth has had a hard time of it, but little else is settled: Beckwith can hit, Green can field, and Hunt is somewhere in the middle. Over at 3B, neither Reilly nor Sal Bando has shown much.
  • Reilly has picked up the pace; the rest is unchanged.

At most, 3 out of Rickey Henderson, Wally Moon, Tony Armas, and Reggie Jackson will be on the opening day roster.

• This has been complicated by Pedro Guerrero‘s struggles, and by none of the above really taking off.
  • Moon has been the best performing OF, with Guerrero, Jackson, and Eddie Murphy all in danger of missing the cut.

Eddie Joost looks to be the opening day SS, with the competition between Eddie Miller and Bert Campaneris perhaps being settled by Campy’s greater flexibility.

	Near Definite	Likely	Possible	Long Shot
Starting Pitchers	Jim Devlin Lefty Grove	Eddie Plank	Charlie Root Carlos Carrasco Cy Falkenberg James Shields Dennis Eckersley
Middle Relievers			Ron Robinson	Jim Hughes
Setup		Chad Bradford Ken Howell Rollie Fingers		Huston Street
Closer	Rod Beck
C		Gene Oliver	Mickey Cochrane	Cy Perkins
1B		Jason Giambi Jack Clark	Jimmie Foxx	Mark McGwire
2B			Dick Green Ron Hunt John Beckwith	Jimmy Bloodworth
3B		Charlie Reilly	Sal Bando
SS	Eddie Joost	Bert Campaneris	Eddie Miller
OF	Pete Browning	Rickey Henderson Wally Moon	Tony Armas Pedro Guerrero Reggie Jackson	Eddie Murphy

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