2023 Game Thread

[Erick]

Marlins getting breaks and the Panthers can’t buy one (as always in the playoffs).

I’d rather be lucky, it’s more fun.

[fish16]

Marlins getting breaks and the Panthers can’t buy one (as always in the playoffs).

I’d rather be lucky, it’s more fun.

It’s easier to get luckier when you have more talent than last year. Puk is a huge addition, the bullpen has been good, soler has been ridiculously clutch and just generally good, and Arraez is unbelievable. Panthers aren’t all that talented like they were last year. Half the players look like they skate with ankle weights on

[rmc523]

Watching the panthers game but let’s go puk finish this off.

They were unlucky throughout the game. And then just ran out of gas.

[rmc523]

The feel of the club with skip here is so much better than Donny. Maybe they just needed a change, but the in game decisions have been so much better too. The team feels more lively

Well it feels like he hasn't given up and thrown in the towel in the 1st inning, unlike Don who was checked out a few games into the season.

[fish16]

Well it feels like he hasn't given up and thrown in the towel in the 1st inning, unlike Don who was checked out a few games into the season.

skip is also doing this revolutionary thing where he doesnt pitch hit for his best hitters in the 6th inning of games. Also does this other revolutionary thing where in big spots he pinch hits our best hitters getting off days for the worst hitters in our lineup like Soler for Hampson last night. The bullpen is better, but it also feels like the bullpen usage has improved. theres little things i havent liked that might not always pan out, like putting tanner scott in a 1 run game to close it out, but overall, it feels like the team feels livelier and has a positive vibe as opposed to what felt like it got stale with mattingly. I was saying for years, mattingly is a tremendous manager for a rebuilding team, but as an actual in game manager for a team trying to take that next step and win, he was awful. He's the perfect bench coach. Terrible manager.

[fish16]

Soler's baseball savant page is absolutely ridiculous. 99 percentile average exit velocity. 98 max exit velocity. 90 percentile hard hit percentage. 94 XWOBA. 89 XBA. 98 XSLG. 99 barrel percentage. If he has one of his good years and keeps this up (probably falls off slightly as this is ridiculous so far), they might be able to stay in it. They really need 1 more quality hitter at RF or SS though.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savan...-r-hitting-mlb

[rmc523]

skip is also doing this revolutionary thing where he doesnt pitch hit for his best hitters in the 6th inning of games. Also does this other revolutionary thing where in big spots he pinch hits our best hitters getting off days for the worst hitters in our lineup like Soler for Hampson last night. The bullpen is better, but it also feels like the bullpen usage has improved. theres little things i havent liked that might not always pan out, like putting tanner scott in a 1 run game to close it out, but overall, it feels like the team feels livelier and has a positive vibe as opposed to what felt like it got stale with mattingly. I was saying for years, mattingly is a tremendous manager for a rebuilding team, but as an actual in game manager for a team trying to take that next step and win, he was awful. He's the perfect bench coach. Terrible manager.

I never understood that at all.

Yeah, there's a reason the Dodgers let him go.

[fish16]

I never understood that at all.

Yeah, there's a reason the Dodgers let him go.

It’s one thing to do it in the 9th inning for a matchup, but he was doing it so early in games that it was blatantly obvious that jazzs spot would come up again

[Lee Stone]

I believe that every hit off Luzardo was on a 97 mph four-seamer right down the middle and above the belt. Giants couldn't touch any other pitch, but he threw a bunch of those.

[rmc523]

I believe that every hit off Luzardo was on a 97 mph four-seamer right down the middle and above the belt. Giants couldn't touch any other pitch, but he threw a bunch of those.

I'm pretty sure I specifically recall at least 1 hit off the top of my head being off a slider up in the zone that didn't break.

[lou]

skip is also doing this revolutionary thing where he doesnt pitch hit for his best hitters in the 6th inning of games. Also does this other revolutionary thing where in big spots he pinch hits our best hitters getting off days for the worst hitters in our lineup like Soler for Hampson last night. The bullpen is better, but it also feels like the bullpen usage has improved. theres little things i havent liked that might not always pan out, like putting tanner scott in a 1 run game to close it out, but overall, it feels like the team feels livelier and has a positive vibe as opposed to what felt like it got stale with mattingly. I was saying for years, mattingly is a tremendous manager for a rebuilding team, but as an actual in game manager for a team trying to take that next step and win, he was awful. He's the perfect bench coach. Terrible manager.

Do we know if this is Skip or is the FO sending down the calls - or strong recommendations? Because I agree. Obvious moves are being made Don would not do. The only quib I'd have is Puk is being reserved too much for the 9th. Any threatening situation needs to be Puk/Floro first if available, and then scale back from there. I think Scott's usage has been fine.

Also Scott is the 5th most used reliever on the team, and would be 6th if Chargois wasn't hurt. So he is down the pecking order a bit. Nardi has a xFIP of 3.60 and seems to have jumped him, which I did not see coming at all. Yes SSS, but Nardi has a 13.3% K/9 for his career (22 innings). I mean, you can't luck into that even with a small sample. 13.3 K/9 is a top 10 rate in baseball if that keeps up, and even if loses 2 whiffs per 9, that's still a top 60 rate in baseball. That's all starters and relievers. Highly encouraging. To mention, Scott, Nance, Brazoban(!), Luzardo, and Okert all had exceptional K rates top 75 or better last year - as well as Brigham(!). The Marlins certainly have a type here. We might be underselling the bullpen. Which begs the question.... Smeltzer?

[lou]

I believe that every hit off Luzardo was on a 97 mph four-seamer right down the middle and above the belt. Giants couldn't touch any other pitch, but he threw a bunch of those.

He actually had a pretty solid game and just got unlucky with some softer contact hits - https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/gamef...ate=2023-04-17

A lot of swings and misses. He's going to have a monster year if he stays healthy.

[Erick]

Do we know if this is Skip or is the FO sending down the calls - or strong recommendations? Because I agree. Obvious moves are being made Don would not do. The only quib I'd have is Puk is being reserved too much for the 9th. Any threatening situation needs to be Puk/Floro first if available, and then scale back from there. I think Scott's usage has been fine.

Also Scott is the 5th most used reliever on the team, and would be 6th if Chargois wasn't hurt. So he is down the pecking order a bit. Nardi has a xFIP of 3.60 and seems to have jumped him, which I did not see coming at all. Yes SSS, but Nardi has a 13.3% K/9 for his career (22 innings). I mean, you can't luck into that even with a small sample. 13.3 K/9 is a top 10 rate in baseball if that keeps up, and even if loses 2 whiffs per 9, that's still a top 60 rate in baseball. That's all starters and relievers. Highly encouraging. To mention, Scott, Nance, Brazoban(!), Luzardo, and Okert all had exceptional K rates top 75 or better last year - as well as Brigham(!). The Marlins certainly have a type here. We might be underselling the bullpen. Which begs the question.... Smeltzer?

Enright might be a part of the bullpen mix at some point too.

Also, Sixto will be a part of it too. By 2026.

[lou]

Enright might be a part of the bullpen mix at some point too.

Also, Sixto will be a part of it too. By 2026.

Yes, the good news is someone is always hurt so Enright will probably have a spot waiting for him. But practically speaking, one could argue all of these guys should be on MLB teams. Only issue for the Marlins is, this may be half backend bullpen guys and missing a top high leverage guy, etc.

Floro, Chargois, Barnes, Brazoban, Nance, and maybe Enright, Soriano, and Sixto
Puk, Scott, Okert, Nardi, and maybe Smeltzer and Castano

This may be a sum of all parts production scenario. They are missing those 1-2 killer guys at the top, but relievers 6-12 are a lot better than most teams. Especially if Cabrera or Garrett is effectively "kicked to the pen" when Cueto is back.

I'm cautiously optimistic here. But I have no idea why they guaranteed Smeltzer's contract but you have to trust them with the arms.


Sixto is also OOO next year! Spring training next year is it for him!

[fish16]

Do we know if this is Skip or is the FO sending down the calls - or strong recommendations? Because I agree. Obvious moves are being made Don would not do. The only quib I'd have is Puk is being reserved too much for the 9th. Any threatening situation needs to be Puk/Floro first if available, and then scale back from there. I think Scott's usage has been fine.

Also Scott is the 5th most used reliever on the team, and would be 6th if Chargois wasn't hurt. So he is down the pecking order a bit. Nardi has a xFIP of 3.60 and seems to have jumped him, which I did not see coming at all. Yes SSS, but Nardi has a 13.3% K/9 for his career (22 innings). I mean, you can't luck into that even with a small sample. 13.3 K/9 is a top 10 rate in baseball if that keeps up, and even if loses 2 whiffs per 9, that's still a top 60 rate in baseball. That's all starters and relievers. Highly encouraging. To mention, Scott, Nance, Brazoban(!), Luzardo, and Okert all had exceptional K rates top 75 or better last year - as well as Brigham(!). The Marlins certainly have a type here. We might be underselling the bullpen. Which begs the question.... Smeltzer?

i mean it's common sense not to take out your best players early in the game, so regardless of who it came from, it's a big improvement in the in game management of the team. We all saw it last year, the team wasnt good, but the managing in game made them even worse.

I agree on Puk, given his history as a starter, i wouldnt mind seeing him earlier in the game in the 8th in certain situations for an extended save. I just wouldnt tempt fate with scott in close games much. He has 0 control. Floro has been great. Barnes has been good (bleier has been predictably horrific btw so good trade there), brazoban has been great, not sure how long that continues for though.

Nardi to me has been the biggest development. He went from looking like a AAAA player to looking like a legitimate bullpen piece moving forward. Not sure what clicked, but he has looked really good. Soriano only pitched that one game but he looked like he belonged too. And that's the biggest thing to me. Every team will have to bring guys from the minors up, but to me the difference this year is it looks like the guys we are bringing up can actually be competent major leaguers as opposed to years passed when there have been more smeltzers than nardi's. Not everyone can be a bullpen difference maker, but having that depth to be able to sustain injuries with competent arms makes an impact. Maybe not on a day to day level, but definitely over the course of the year.

If sixto can come back and when eury reaches his innings limits he comes out of the bullpen up here, we could be talking about a fairly dominant pen. In august/september, i'd love to see a pen of Puk, Barnes, Floro, Sixto, Nardi, Eury, Scott, Chargois, Brazoban.