Cedar Chips 2042.8 - Do I care about AAA no-hitters?
Posted: Fri May 15, 2020 2:19 pm
"Hey-ya Chuck," he says as he pulls up a chair at my desk. Eduardo Gomez is a personable guy. The 52 year olds' smile props up a mustache that was once a lot darker than its current gunmetal grey. It's still a finely manicured accent piece to the pearly whites he flashes with each big grin.
"Morning Ed," I reply. "It's that day of the week already?" We sit down to talk about the state of the minors each week. I keep tabs on the real prospects pretty well myself, but Ed likes routine. Usually the routine consists entirely of Ed's ten thousand reasons we should call up so and so.
"It sure is. Did you watch the video yet? This kid, man is that pitch something." Ed is unfailingly positive, but today he's near bursting with enthusiasm.
"I haven't had a chance, sorry. A no-hitter though. AAA but still. All the more exciting when its one of your top prospects." Ed's been pestering me at least once every couple hours to check out the recap our video department put together on Joe D'Antonio's no-hitter last week.
"Almost like he's trying to tell you something, Chuck."
Ed's also been on my case about promoting the kid. Maybe he thinks the no hitter will push D'Antonio's case over the top for me. 109 innings of sub-three ERA ball in AAA Victoria this year already told me everything I need to know. The kid is legit. He's a big part of my plans for next year. Next year though. That's the point. We're doing just fine without him right now, and I don't need to lump high stress innings on our top prospect's arm for no real reason right now.
I won't lie and say it's not also about not starting his clock, but that's not the whole story. He still gives up the long ball a bit much for my liking, and in the power happy UMEBA that could be a death sentence. D'Antonio may never get over that hurdle though. Part of the problem with being a knuckleballer. When you spin a bad one, well, it's gonna find the seats more often than you'd like. I'll being him up next spring, and that's that. Now to convince Ed ...
"C'mon Chuck, what else does this kid have to prove in AAA? We're in first now! He could be huge for us in the playoffs!"
"I know, Ed, but I've told you, I'm worried about all those innings with a guy that should play that big of a part of our future. Do we really want to risk our chance of seeing years of performances like this for a marginal upgrade in our chance to win a few games? How many years of great performances could we miss out on. I wonder how many knuckleball no-hitter's have ever been thrown?"
Ed's eyes light up. He wasn't buying it until that last bit. Ed can be relentless, until he gets distracted by baseball trivia.
"I don't know Chuck. I think I'm gonna find out. I'll get back to you."
That should keep him busy for a bit. He'll figure out the number of games fairly quickly, but the rabbit hole it takes him down should buy me a few days, maybe even a week.
I hear Ed's voice through my door as it closes, "Watch that video, Chuck!"
"Morning Ed," I reply. "It's that day of the week already?" We sit down to talk about the state of the minors each week. I keep tabs on the real prospects pretty well myself, but Ed likes routine. Usually the routine consists entirely of Ed's ten thousand reasons we should call up so and so.
"It sure is. Did you watch the video yet? This kid, man is that pitch something." Ed is unfailingly positive, but today he's near bursting with enthusiasm.
"I haven't had a chance, sorry. A no-hitter though. AAA but still. All the more exciting when its one of your top prospects." Ed's been pestering me at least once every couple hours to check out the recap our video department put together on Joe D'Antonio's no-hitter last week.
"Almost like he's trying to tell you something, Chuck."
Ed's also been on my case about promoting the kid. Maybe he thinks the no hitter will push D'Antonio's case over the top for me. 109 innings of sub-three ERA ball in AAA Victoria this year already told me everything I need to know. The kid is legit. He's a big part of my plans for next year. Next year though. That's the point. We're doing just fine without him right now, and I don't need to lump high stress innings on our top prospect's arm for no real reason right now.
I won't lie and say it's not also about not starting his clock, but that's not the whole story. He still gives up the long ball a bit much for my liking, and in the power happy UMEBA that could be a death sentence. D'Antonio may never get over that hurdle though. Part of the problem with being a knuckleballer. When you spin a bad one, well, it's gonna find the seats more often than you'd like. I'll being him up next spring, and that's that. Now to convince Ed ...
"C'mon Chuck, what else does this kid have to prove in AAA? We're in first now! He could be huge for us in the playoffs!"
"I know, Ed, but I've told you, I'm worried about all those innings with a guy that should play that big of a part of our future. Do we really want to risk our chance of seeing years of performances like this for a marginal upgrade in our chance to win a few games? How many years of great performances could we miss out on. I wonder how many knuckleball no-hitter's have ever been thrown?"
Ed's eyes light up. He wasn't buying it until that last bit. Ed can be relentless, until he gets distracted by baseball trivia.
"I don't know Chuck. I think I'm gonna find out. I'll get back to you."
That should keep him busy for a bit. He'll figure out the number of games fairly quickly, but the rabbit hole it takes him down should buy me a few days, maybe even a week.
I hear Ed's voice through my door as it closes, "Watch that video, Chuck!"