A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

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A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

Post by recte44 » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:31 am

A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

The Nashville Bluebirds had a great month of April, surprising the league by going 16-10. How did they do it? Read on and find out!

POSITION PLAYERS- 0.5 WAR OR HIGHER

- Kidane Ata, the center fielder! Ata struggled as a pitcher this month (7.58 ERA in 19 innings) but was a star in the field. His 1 WAR as a position player set the pace for his counterparts despite only getting 46 at-bats. He slashed .391/.462/.870/1.331 with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 5 homers and 13 RBI and also stole 3 bases. Ata is playing more in the field this year...could that be affecting his pitching numbers?

- Nashville traded for Gipper Kengos last season because they wanted a true leadoff hitter. Kengos has been just that, pacing the Bluebirds in runs (21), hits (37), doubles (12), triples (tied with 2) and steals (tied with 6) for 0.7 WAR in April.

- Scouts were looking for catcher Alberto Rodriguez to make a second-year jump, and he's done just that by slashing .300/.345/.537/.882, earning 0.5 WAR in the process.

- The big free agent signing was William Wood, and he has been everything the Bluebirds thought he'd be. Wood led the Bluebirds with 9 homers and posted a .992 OPS en route to a 0.5 WAR.

POSITION PLAYERS- ADDITIONAL KUDOS

- Even though they didn't hit the half WAR mark, kudos must be given to Alonso Olvere (.916 OPS, 6 HR, team leading 24 RBI) and rookie Sixto Mejia (.340/.354/.585/.939, 5 homers, 19 RBI).

- J.J. McQuade was signed to be the short half of the shortstop platoon and in nine games he posted 0.4 WAR in an incredible slash line (.435/.435/.739/1.174).

POSITION PLAYERS- WHO NEEDS TO STEP IT UP?

- Ernesto Sousa still hasn't broken out, and Nashville is looking for it to happen soon. He batted .256 with just 2 homers and 6 RBI and earned -0.1 WAR.

- Even if the Bluebirds did want to look elsewhere at first base, their alternative was even worse. Mario Deortez batted .185 with a .241 OBP and "earned" -0.2 WAR.

- Was it a mistake to give Jerome Delage a four year deal in free agency? There have been more than a few whispers that the rope isn't long for Delage despite his contract. He did hit 5 homers, but batted just .216 with a .296 OBP and 0.2 WAR (primarily from solid third base defense).

PITCHERS- 0.5 WAR OR HIGHER

- Eru Likiliki started strong with a 4-0 record, 4.46 ERA, 1.28 WHIP and 35 strikeouts in 6 starts (38.1 innings). He set the pace for Nashville's pitchers with a 0.8 WAR.

- Despite a horrible first two starts, Chin Kim managed to right the ship and earn 0.6 WAR. He's 2-1 in 6 starts (37 IP) with a 4.14 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 29 strikeouts. Walking 13 batters is unlike Kim and the club must help him right the ship with his control.

- Then there's Jose Rangel. Take away his one disastrous start (0.1 IP, 8 ER- yowza!) and he was filthy as the Bluebirds' closer. Even with that start in, he earned 0.5 WAR and saved 8 games. Rangel has not allowed a home run in 12 games (13.1 IP).

PITCHERS- ADDITIONAL KUDOS

- With apologies to Wood, the Bluebirds most important free agent signing may just turn out to be Ta-heng Hor. After pitching well in four relief appearances, Hor was promoted to the starting rotation. Kept on a low pitch count for his two starts in April he pitched well enough to stick in the rotation.

- The bullpen will sink or swim with the work of Ata and lefty Lorenzo de' Medici. While Ata's pitching numbers look bad on the surface (7.58 ERA, 1.58 WHIP) he was victim of a bloated BABIP of .385, and therefore actually earned a positive 0.3 WAR, fourth among Nashville pitchers. de' Medici was really good, pitching in 11 games (second to only Rangel) with a 3-1 record, 1 save, 2.95 ERA, 28 strikeouts in 18.1 innings (though walked 8) and 0.2 WAR.

PITCHERS- WHO NEEDS TO STEP IT UP?

- Well, Elliot Buckland is hurt again, out for the season. While a blow, the Bluebirds had Hyun-sik Chang coming back from his own injury so it seemed they would be in good shape with that switch. Unfortunately, Chang isn't bouncing back quickly. In 2 starts he's 0-1 with a 15.88 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP (-0.3 WAR).

- Nashville gave Bob Ramirez a rotation spot out of Spring Training, and it only took him two starts to lose it. After pitching two more games in relief he was finally shipped to AAA Orlando, leaving him with this stinker of a line: 0-2, 4 G, 2 GS, 9.1 IP, 17 H, 12 R, 9 ER, 4 HR, 9 BB, 9 K, 8.68 ERA, 2.79 WHIP, -0.4 WAR.

TRANSACTION NEWS AND NOTES

- Nashville GM Matt Rectenwald is no stranger to sifting through the league castoffs to find players who can contribute. That's especially important with a Nashville team that is in the early stages of his purview. When the Bluebirds signed lefty reliever Esteban Velasquez to a split minor league deal, some around the league may have chuckled. Even Nashville fans raised a questioning eyebrow when shortly after signing him, Rectenwald promoted him to the big league roster without even pitching in a single minor league game. The move looks good so far. He's not the dominant closer he once was, but as a LOOGY he is getting the job done (4 G, 2.2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 0.00 ERA).

- With reliever Manuel Orozco back (for now) from his latest injury, the Bluebirds optioned rookie left-hander Gerald Abbott to AAA Orlando to get regular rotation work. Abbott fared well in his first BBA action, posting a 5.06 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 8 relief outings (16 IP).

- Nashville claimed super-utility player Robert Franklin off waivers from Brooklyn, and assigned him to AAA Orlando for now. He's expected to join the big club in a week or so.

- Finally, on April 30th the Bluebirds were awarded three pitchers on waiver claims. Jose Hernanez (from California) is expected to get first crack at the Nashville bullpen, while Marko Efremov (Boise) and Guus Alberink (California) will have their fates determined in the next week to ten days.

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Re: A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

Post by shoeless.db » Wed Jan 15, 2020 8:38 am

I would have preferred to keep both Hernandez and Alberink in the California organization, but the old option-years monster got me...

I wish them well (outside of when they're playing Cali..)
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Re: A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

Post by Fat Nige » Wed Jan 15, 2020 12:06 pm

You'll soon have Nashville purring as well as you had the Hustlers
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Re: A Flock of Bluebirds 2041.7- April in Review

Post by RonCo » Wed Jan 15, 2020 3:32 pm

I grabbed no idea how I would manage the Ata conundrum.
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