WestEddy

I brought up Schultz as an example of a different way of ramping up a pitcher. It wasn't hard to understand. Schultz's and Crochet's programs are different. They're different pitchers with different issues. Crochet pitched 54+ innings 3 of 4 years, then was drafted. I would imagine if he hit 100 innings in June/July, they'd ramp him down to 3 inning opener on a 5 day program, or something less. Or pull him once through the lineup with tougher lineups. I don't know. I would think Getz would be calling Grifol into his office as soon as he lets Crochet throw a 120 pitch complete game. Grifol is a horrible communicator, let the clubhouse get completely out of hand, but I think it presses the edge of credibility to think that he's going to kill a pitcher trying to go 21-50 instead of 20-51. That's great that most of the board is concerned about Crochet. I don't think that concern is reflected in making up insane counter-arguments to just dig in and argue a faulty point.

Okay, Baghdad Southsider. LOL. All your rehab inning are belong to us!

If I want to have an intelligent and fact based discussion, you're probably not on the list.

And I'm pretty much saying the same thing over and over, to correct the BS strawmen that keep coming up.

I keep coming back to wondering why you even root for this team. If they're such colossal failures, why are you named after them? Are you one, too?

Different pitchers are different situations. I would be more concerned if they had a cookie cutter response to every pitcher in the organization. You would too. Crochet just went through a full year of rehab. Schultz had been "pitching" at high school for about 3 years.

The difference in what? At this point, I'm really not interested in going around with a person who is merely arguing just to argue. Seems like you're now admitting that Crochet actually threw baseball to live hitters in game play more than the 25 innings he threw between the majors and minors last season. You could have done that 4 pages ago.

You're right. You're not watching me twist myself into a pretzel.

Defend? I guess I defend because I don't see the point of the senseless attacks. I asked before, and CWS dude tried to derail it, do you feel they're bringing Noah Schultz along responsibly? Sounds like that's the exact program they're doing with him. So I don't see how you would have no confidence in the Sox pitching department when they're doing the very thing you describe on a young, inexperienced prospect, hitting the pros right out of high school. So the guys who you must feel are bringing Schultz along responsibly, have made a different decision in regards to Crochet, and you have no confidence in them to make that decision? I don't get it. The clock's ticking on Crochet. They have 3 years to develop him as a starter. Dropping him back down to AAA for a season might not sit well with the union or agent, regardless of what Crochet said he'd do.

What name did I call you? Perhaps you want to be called "Baghdad Balta", and you're sad because you don't warrant the attention? I am stating that you are ridiculous person. You can't concede any part of any argument, either. Because you need to win, you will not admit that Crochet threw any baseballs outside of game play between his TJS and spring training of this year. It would be easy enough to just toss off a "sure, he's probably been on a comprehensive, monitored throwing program..." but that is a bridge too far. He has thrown zero pitches, and for anybody to even suggest that he's thrown in games that aren't indicated on the back of his baseball card is now a conspiracy theory. If you don't find that notion ridiculous, you're just proving my point. And now that your silly argument is emitting smell of death, you switch to tedious claims of being called a name when you weren't. Crochet will either be injured this year, or he won't. If he is, you can crow about it and high five all the other nay-sayers and claim you were right. If he doesn't, you'll still claim to be right and call it lucky. The chances are that Crochet will get injured, because he's gotten injured every single season he's pitched. If he's so fragile as you're afraid he is, he should probably break down during his second start. If not, maybe the problem all along is that he wasn't being used enough. Who knows? I'm pretty sure you don't.

I have read the 90-100 innings. I don't remember where. I don't see the issue with him pitching half a season as a starter, then getting ramped down, or whatnot. I believe he's been injured every season he's pitched. So if he gets injured again, it's not going to be some great "AHA! I told you so!!" moment. Just letting Crochet pitch in any capacity is "just asking for trouble". Crochet has stated, and maybe the team agrees with him, that he'd do better with a regular 5-day program of throwing instead of the chaotic up and down as a bullpen reliever. So if they're going to do the unthinkable, and allow him to continue to pitch, why not do so in a more orderly fashion. He would throw just as hard in minor league games as he would in major league games. Nobody has been able to explain why, if you have a very good pitcher like Crochet, why you'd want to bury him in the minor leagues and not let him pitch because he might get injured. Every single pitcher might get injured while pitching. And Crochet threw as many pitches as he did in his final spring training game.

I suppose when your entire waking hours are spent spouting pearl-clutching nonsense, you have to make up quotes to give some semblance of cred to it. You know what? You're right. No baseball player should throw a baseball until 4 full years after his TJS. You are a ridiculous person.

Okay, here we go with the name-calling. And the BS lies. I never said some secret location. I said that he logged innings in complex games that don't show up in the stats. You countered that other pitchers throw on the side, so that means that Crochet didn't actually throw any extra innings than what you can read on the back of his baseball card. That's you, digging in on nonsense, just to not to concede any part of any point. You're shadow boxing, here. I seriously hope you find this "Baghdad Bob" guy and prove him wrong. As far as our discussion, I'm not sure what you're even doing, at this point. Nobody on this board has argued that Crochet should throw 180 innings (a full starter's load) this year. I've repeatedly said I thought they'd shut/ramp him down at 90-100 IP. So it seems that I'm agreeing with "White Sox professionals". I hope you enjoy your trip to Baghdad.

I'm not sure where you're going with this. You're saying they should have cut Fedde for Smith-Njigba? I'm not sure how Fedde, a starting pitcher, enters the conversation about a AAA outfielder. I think the White Sox position is that they're more comfortable with DeLoach, Colas and Fletcher than cutting one of 3 AAA relievers for Njigba, although I think Jared Schuster would pass through waivers pretty easily. I think it's more an issue that the 8 worst record teams from last year don't like S-N, rather than 8 front offices being really stupid. I share your interest in him. I'm not quite ready to elevate him to mythical ballplayer status, yet.

What if I said, "No s%*#, sherlock!"? What if I said you have no idea what kind of conditioning program Crochet was on, or how many actual innings he threw that weren't logged on the back of his baseball card? But no, you're a doctor of reading B-R.com, and you can see the number "12", and that's not "198", so...bad. You've spent pages just arguing nonsense, and not stating anything. You don't believe that any throwing outside of pitching in major league games is "conditioning". You have argued that bullpens, and complex games, and any other throwing programs are meaningless because other pitchers do them, too, so that, somehow, takes all of that away from Crochet. I'm not angry. You're too busy trying to disprove any sentence I write with nonsense, instead of having an actual point.

I'd start Sheets over Eloy, and Nicky over DeJong.

Oh, now you're switching to innings limits? You're going to pretend you were arguing what I was saying all along? Too funny. I'm not going to go back and read the whole string, but I'm pretty sure you have no idea how conditioned Crochet is. I don't remember where, but I read they're going to get him to 90-100 IP. You seem to think that any throwing outside of major league games is useless in building up arm strength, and it doesn't matter because all other pitchers do the same, if not more, so somehow, other pitchers throwing take innings away from Crochet. We're to the point where I can tell you that you are a sentient, oxygen breathing life form, and you'll argue against that.

I am arguing that Crochet is most probably conditioned to throw 90-100 starter innings this season. Your question is confusing. I'm really not understanding why everybody is digging in on this. He is literally starting major league baseball games despite dudes yelling random stats off the back of his baseball card. I watch the TeeVee, and I have opinions, too, but professional trainers and doctors have overseen his rehab, and have cleared him to pitch. I know that's not as good as some guy sitting in his La-Z Boy opining, but it'll just have to do.

I'm just going to go ahead and say you don't know this. We're entering "my math proves that bumble bees can't fly" territory.

You've crossed over into funny-land. You get an A+ for being able to read the back of a baseball card. I'll just keep saying this: Crochet threw 6 innings. He said his arm felt good. I'm sure the club will adjust accordingly if something changes. I'm also sure a big part of his between start protocol is for a coach to keep yelling at him, "Do you realize you only pitched 73 major league innings before this year?!?!?"

...And this is the third time that Canaan Smith-Njigba has passed through waivers, and 8 teams with worse 2023 records than the Pirates have passed on him. I have previously said that Fangraphs doesn't seem to like him, and suggested he may eventually wind up in Korea. Oh well. Another spring crush romance dies... https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2024/03/pirates-outright-canaan-smith-njigba-ali-sanchez.html

Always signing or keeping the wrong brother.

Shewmake profiles more as a utility infielder. Good glove, he hasn't really hit at AA or AAA for the Braves. But hey, it'd be great to see him suddenly figure it out and rake. That was me. Leone looked shaky yesterday, but Brebbia and Wilson had clean innings. I think they could still be a good unit.

Do you even read the comments here?

Most of AAA was minor league contracts, last year (as opposed to guys in the system who are under control for X years), so I think they had to sign a bunch of guys just to fill the roster, again.