2052.5: What to do with the Bottom Two?

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2052.5: What to do with the Bottom Two?

Post by Rubaboo » Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:14 am

Mexico City's win in the Double Day against the Atlantic City Gamblers was, in many ways, a proof of concept. The offense was good, their star players showed up when it mattered, Corfield looked like Corfield. Everything went according to plan. Ish. If the plan involved coming back from a 3-1 deficit, there probably should have been a different plan. The ugly underside of the Aztecs' Doubleday win was evident in some of their pitching numbers. Their #3 and #4 starters, Mauro Mendoza and John Avery, were handled by the Gamblers. Mendoza started two games, pitching 9.2 innings, allowing 11 earned runs and walking 8 against only 4 strikeouts. He looked truly awful. Avery got a single start, in game 4, but allowed 6 earned runs on 5 hits across 5 innings of work.

Avery's struggles could be attributed to the fact that his control is always going to lend itself to some variation in results. When he's not placing his pitches he's gonna have a bad time. Add in a small sample against a team that was in the midst of a three game winning streak and you have the potential for some bad numbers. Mendoza, in a bigger sample, was arguably worse. The offense bailed him out in a Game 7 start but there was no saving him during his game 3 meltdown. The team will need to look hard at his role for the Cartwright against another dangerous offense in Las Vegas.

If the Aztecs wanted to make a change, they have no shortage of qualified candidates waiting in the wings. Michael Sullivan struggled in the rotation for the first half of the season, to the tune of a 5.01 ERA in 17 starts, but has been excellent in the bullpen since having his role shifted, putting up a 1.79 in 24 relief appearances. He's currently as hot as any pitcher in baseball. Does the rotation need another lefty though? Vegas is a righty heavy lineup, would someone like Carlos Olivas make more sense? His numbers in the regular season don't necessarily inspire confidence but would a lefty that management doesn't completely trust be better? Arthur Dunn? Like Sullivan, he wasn't exceptional in the rotation but was good in the bullpen. Voermans? He hasn't been a starter since 2046 in El Paso but has been a very effective reliever since coming to Mexico City, could the Aztecs try to throw a curveball to the Hustlers by sticking him in the rotation? Could they blow the dust off of Hoskin or Takahashi in an attempt to catch Vegas off balance? Seems unlikely, but you never really know.

The playoffs are overthinking season, and the Aztecs are firmly in overthinking mode. The smartest thing to do would probably to be trusting what got them here and sticking with the guys they trust, which probably means continuing to roll with Corfield, Zorba, Mendoza and Avery. Unless........
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Re: 2052.5: What to do with the Bottom Two?

Post by Jwalk100 » Mon Nov 07, 2022 12:57 pm

Corfield had a nice bounce back after last season's 'blip'.
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