This is why Josh Tomlin should have been in the Tribe’s rotation from day one.
Tomlin has never had the ceiling of Carlos Carrasco, but he is the ideal fifth starter. He doesn’t overpower anyone, but he’s a virtual lock to go six or seven innings and give you a chance to win every fifth day.
In his second start of the year since being called up from Columbus, Tomlin tossed six innings, allowing two runs, scattering six hits and not walking a single batter.
Through two starts this season, Tomlin has gone 12 1/3 innings and handed out just one free pass. It’s that type of efficiency that allows Tomlin to consistently pitch deep into games, saving the bullpen for when guys like Masterson collapse in the 4th.
Other thoughts and notes on the game…
- I really wish Terry Francona would move Michael Bourn down in the order while he works through his issues. Nyjer Morgan went 3-4 today with a home run and continues to be red hot. In the short term, he’d be an easy replacement.
- I love the closer by committee approach. Francona executed it perfectly today. Allen is the bullpen ace, so he came in to put out the fire started by Scrabble in the 8th. Then he handed the 9th over to Shaw.
- The Tribe has won five of their last six and head to Toronto to wrap up this road trip. It’s be nice to keep this hot streak going before heading home for a tough six game stretch with Oakland and Detroit.
“…saving the bullpen for when guys like Masterson collapse in the 4th.”
Nice continued digs at Masterson. Not at all accurate, with the exception of two bad starts at the beginning of the season, but hey, keep selling that narrative.
There’s no doubt that so far in this short season, Tomlin has done better than Salazar and Carrasco in the starting rotation.
The obsession with “stuff” that “overpowers” hitters is just macho posturing, as far as I’m concerned. What matters is getting people out and going deep into the game. The people with the best stuff on the team are not currently our best pitchers.
Is there a metric for “stuff”? If so, it would be interesting to see how it correlates with pitching success metrics (ERA, quality starts, ??). It seems that with the Tribe, for example, it’s frequently the soft throwing, wily types with good command(like Tomlin, so far) that give our hitters fits. Major league hitters are pretty damn good at hitting fastballs. There is no substitute for mixing it up and hitting your spots.
I would say that Corey Kluber has the best stuff (Matt Underwood would agree) and that he is also the best pitcher on the staff.
Well, I agree that *right now* Kluber is closer to being our “ace” than Masterson (and I like Masterson a lot). But it sounds like we’re going to have a semantic debate on what “stuff” means, which is probably not worthwhile. I’m using it entirely to mean raw biomechanics leading to velocity (plus maybe movement). In this regard, I’ve heard many people say that Salazar and Carrasco have the outstanding stuff. When I hear people talk about Kluber, they talk a lot about his intangibles (like his competitiveness, being calm under pressure, not cracking when guys get on base), and that makes sense to me because those are exactly the things Carrasco lacks (and that we hope Salazar develops).
That’s a good point. Look at all the soft-tossers, especially lefties, who have dominated the Indians this year with location and speed changes. Last year, the Indians completely owned power pitchers and former Cy Young winners. The best rotations are the ones that offer a good mix of right/left, fast/slow pitchers, keeping the opposing team off-balance. Stuff alone might get through a lineup once (Carrasco had better hope so), but after that the hitters will adjust and you had better be smart and change speeds and locations (things Carrasco doesn’t do). Salazar is another one. He will not have sustained success throwing only fastballs up in the zone and on the outer half of the plate. McAllister throws mostly fastballs, but he uses both sides of the plate and changes eye level high and low, and has at least an average secondary pitch as a threat.
I understand why coaches emphasize the fastball, because it’s sort of the foundation around which a successful pitching attack is built. So, you need a decent fastball. But “decent” can mean 90 mph. As you point out with McAllister, then they have to learn to change levels with it, and even change speeds slightly with it. And then you need at least one other pitch mixed in. During the last TB game, someone mentioned that the Rays insist that every pitcher they bring up develop a good change-up.
How many times have see seen Salazar throwing gas and get rocked? Stuff alone simply doesn’t cut it.
The deal with both Carrasco and Salazar is command. No pitcher, including Aroldis Chapman, can live in the middle of the plate. MLB hitters are just too good. We have seen Salazar throw 96 with movement and still give up about 1 HR per start. And Carrasco gives up more hard-hit balls than any pitcher I’ve seen since the Brett Meyers Experiment (which, granted, was just last year, but, man was that horrible). Even Masterson, with his filthy slider and a fastball that moves more than most pitchers’ curveballs, gets crushed when his placement is bad. But pitchers that don’t have that same stuff, the Mark Buerhles of the world, have to have pin-point command. One inch off and they get crushed. Look at the heat maps on fan graphs from Buerhle vs. Scherzer or Fernandez or Hernandez. You’ll see what “stuff” gets you. Just that little extra bit of room for error.
Tomlin, I believe, is better than a 5th starter for just the reasons you mention. He gives the team 6+ innings, works quickly, and doesn’t walk too many batters.
This was a game that feels good as a win and would have felt awful as a loss. I’ll take the positive and say that its a good win. I also like Nyjer Morgan, he’s pretty great.
I was ready to write this team off after that 6 game losing streak. Finally they are showing signs of life and looks like it will be another exciting season. 2 players are looking like last years mark reynolds. 1. Brantley is a rbi machine. 2. Swisher looking like hes done. Lets hope MB can keep it up and that swisher figures it out. Tribe in 1st place by memorial day!
“I really wish Terry Francona would move Michael Bourn down in the order while he works through his issues.”
i’m loathe to keep flogging my personal dead horse, but i think michael bourn’s “issues” are that he’s michael bourn. his OBP over the full season last year was a hideous .316, and his BB:K ratio is absolutely atrocious for a leadoff hitter (or any hitter with zero power, really).
i know he’s not going away any time soon, but I sure wish he was. as insane as this sounds, i’d honestly rather have drew stubbs on the team than bourn. bourn should have been batting 8th or 9th last year, and this season isn’t any different.
one could very easily make an argument that he’s our worst hitter, which if francona had the slightest understanding of lineup construction, means bourn should be batting 9th.
I was so happy to see Aviles leading off Saturday (but he went 0 for 4). I don’t know if he can maintain it over the season, but I’d like Morgan in the leadoff spot. So far he seems like the kind of player that makes things happen. He’s as much of a “dirt bag” as Kipnis, and among the first to run out to congratulate people when they do something good. Oh, and he’s hitting .341 with an OPS of .848 (lifetime .282 and .708).
at this point i’m pretty much in the “anyone but bourn” camp, so i was OK with seeing aviles bat leadoff for a game – but his career .304 OBP leaves a lot to be desired. you more or less know what you’re going to get with aviles, which is a .260 average with hardly any walks.
Another very nice thing about the season so far is that it looks like 2014 Yan Gomes isn’t too far off from Yan’s 2013 breakout effort, at least at the plate. A lot of people were thinking he would have a steep drop off, but he is proving to be a solid guy in the lineup.