GDT 8/16/22: Braves vs Mutts - Let the Revenge Continue

chop2chip said:
Let’s not try to smell too much blood in the water, the Mets can still go

Max
JDG
Bassit
Peterson
Megill (he’s back soon)

Obviously a very strong rotation and CC and Walker will be back in September (against an extremely easy one schedule).

Ideally the Braves put enough pressure on the Mets that either we win the division outright or the Mets have to push Max and DeGrom hard before the playoffs.
Click to expand...

Yeah, this idea that the Mets are just going to magically falter down the stretch if we take this series is a silly one.
 
Feels like a good time to point out how AA made it a point to give guys extra rest early in the season (remember the 6 man rotation?) and throughout the year and very few if any other teams did that. I'm not saying there is definitely a correlation, but the Braves rotation has managed to stay very healthy all year. Mets have been the opposite.
 
Enscheff said:
We haven’t talked about 2 games in a row with Contreras at DH. If TDA is the DH tomorrow I think that means Ozuna is benched for a bit.
Click to expand...

Rosario at DH, Grossman in LF.

Has Ozuna been relegated to DH PAs only when Conteras is catching and the Braves are facing a LHP? Ouch...
 
Enscheff said:
Rosario at DH, Grossman in LF.

Has Ozuna been relegated to DH PAs only when Conteras is catching and the Braves are facing a LHP? Ouch...
Click to expand...

Ozuna’s complete inability to play the outfield essentially makes him a useless player unless he’s hitting at an above average level. It’s hard to fathom how AA felt justified giving him four years before the DH was a certainty. (And a poor use of resources if he was signed for 4 years to be a DH)
 
Last edited:
chop2chip said:
Ozuna’s complete inability to play the outfield essentially makes him a useless player unless he’s hitting at an above average level. It’s hard to fathom how AA felt justified giving him four years before the DH was a certainty. (And a poor use of resources if he was signed for 4 years to be a DH)
Click to expand...

You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that disliked the deal when it was signed.
 
chop2chip said:
Ozuna’s complete inability to play the outfield essentially makes him a useless player unless he’s hitting at an above average level. It’s hard to fathom how AA felt justified giving him four years before the DH was a certainty. (And a poor use of resources if he was signed for 4 years to be a DH)
Click to expand...

Not really. If you expected Freeman to finish his career here and watched Ozuna hit during the COVID season, the signing made plenty of sense. At the time of that contract signing...

1.) The other LF candidates were Schwarber, Brantley, Joc, Duvall, and Rosario. Exactly ONE RH option to "protect" Freddie.
2.) Ozuna was coming off of a 39 game stretch as a DH where he hit .362 with 14 HRs, 7 2Bs, and 40 RBI.
3.) He was actually a big part of the good clubhouse.

While we can technically say the DH wasn't a "certainty" at that point, it's awfully hard to find many people who actually believed it wasn't a given that it was coming. What's hard to fathom is how Alex could have foreseen him getting into it with his wife and having to miss an entire season when he was in the middle of possibly the best offensive stretch of his career. More bad luck for Alex than an actual mistake IMO.

I can remember folks complaining about the length of the deal - and justifiably so - but most were begrudgingly OK with it because they expected to be able to at least hide his defense while he was still hitting.
 
Enscheff said:
You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that disliked the deal when it was signed.
Click to expand...
Guilty as charged (it was hard not to be excited after the year he had after years of excellent statcast data).

So, yes, benefit of hindsight obviously resigning Ozuna sucked. But there were plenty of red flags if you could look past the 1.000 OPS.
 
Hudson2 said:
If we beat both Scherzer and deGrom would that break their spirit for the division? I could see them spiral a little bit (still take the top WC spot) with their other rotation guys hurt.
Click to expand...

Nah, Mets have a much much more favorable schedule the rest of the season than we do. Their September schedule is mostly vs teams below .500, they'll be fine. To have a shot at the division we probably gotta win these next 2 imo.
 
chop2chip said:
Ozuna’s complete inability to play the outfield essentially makes him a useless player unless he’s hitting at an above average level. It’s hard to fathom how AA felt justified giving him four years before the DH was a certainty. (And a poor use of resources if he was signed for 4 years to be a DH)
Click to expand...

Nuh. What had happened was, Ozuna forgot how to hit. I remember in his monster Covid year being very impressed with the way he was using the whole field, going to right center, squaring up balls. Now he's trying to jerk everything, he's rolling over and punching out and his sub-.700 OPS despite 20 bombs shows it.

It's a fallacy that Ozuna is a poor defensive outfielder. He can play the outfield. He cannot throw, not at all, and that makes him tough to play.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top