Out of left field is an occasional and informal post where we’ll chat about a few topics that don’t necessarily need 900 words of analysis, but are worth addressing briefly – in no particular order:
First, an apology for not posting here as frequently as I’d like over the 2021 season. My gig at Pinstripe Alley is more of a time commitment than I was expecting (which is not a complaint, I’m having a blast), so usually when I’m done with those posts I need to address non-baseball aspects of my life. Ongoing, I’m going to try to post here on My Baseball Page more regularly, at least once per week, hopefully more.
Don’t give up on Jameson Taillon yet. He’s on pace to make about 30 starts this season, which if I told you that in March, you would’ve signed on for it in a heartbeat. With a much better than average bullpen behind him, and a juggernaut offense (or so we thought at the time) supporting him, simply getting out there every fifth day would be fine. It can’t be said enough that he went basically two years without pitching and he’s changed his throwing motion, so it’s going to take some time for him to get his command back. And as I wrote about here, there are more reasons to be optimistic about his future performance and health than Corey Kluber’s.
With Chris Gittens on the team, I’m very surprised the Rougned Odor experiment hasn’t ended. Gittens isn’t a sure thing by any means but there’s reason for optimism with him. Coming into this season, Odor posted a 77 OPS+ from 2017 – 2020 which was the lowest in the AL over that span (minimum 1,900 PA), so there was absolutely no reason for optimism in 2021. Since becoming a Yankee, he’s posted a 78 OPS+ (at least you can say he’s consistent.) Memo to Aaron Boone: Gittens at first, DJ at second – every day until Voit returns.
In case you missed my chat with Ron Blomberg about his new book, you can read my review and interview here (and the link to the book is on the right side of this page). Ron’s a good dude, give him a follow on social media and check the book out – Amazon usually allows you to download a sample for free so you can check it out first.
Did I miss something? Let me know…
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