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Letterman [265]
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Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 8:14 PM
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First of all I think Gordon is a good pitcher. But, I do have concerns about his closer role in close games due to his tendency to give up home runs. While he does have great stuff, he gives up more home runs than anybody else on the staff. That was a problem for him last year. So it makes me a little nervous going into the ninth with just a one run lead. Anybody else has the same concerns?
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All-In [48541]
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Re: Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 8:23 PM
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Well, we've seen them all come in and give up dingers. Huges, Joe, Reid, malstadt,
I think he's the best closer we have. It would be nice to have a pitcher that gets a lot of k's. But most of our pitching staff either out for year or still on injured reserves.
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CU Medallion [53891]
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That was my exact thought!!***
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Apr 6, 2024, 8:25 PM
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All-TigerNet [14034]
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Re: Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 8:52 PM
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whatever the case, the coach is making it work so far....... I've been one to cite I don't understand the pitching changes.... but at the end of the day we are 27-3.
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CU Medallion [57338]
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Re: Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 8:57 PM
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On a 0-2 pitch, to boot.
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CU Guru [1926]
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Re: Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 11:05 PM
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So you’re onto something there…. I had the same thoughts but so far he’s winning so I’ll take it. We have to find some role for him. He’s too valuable as he showed last season
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Asst Coach [735]
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Re: Gordon as closer
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Apr 6, 2024, 11:13 PM
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Looks brilliant so far. He’s got great stuff but wasn’t working out as a starter this year. In the 1-2 innings at the end he has been stellar. That was a good pitch today. Sometimes the batter wins. It appears to me.. at least so far, that this might be his best role.
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CU Guru [1413]
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I don't mind that much
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Apr 7, 2024, 1:03 AM
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I think he's been good as closer. He's been brought out of the bullpen 4 times so far this season, each in a save opportunity. All of his other appearances have been starts. He hasn't blown a single save yet, and he's 4 for 4 in those save opportunities. In those 4 appearances (5.1 innings pitched total), he's only given up 3 hits and 2 earned runs (no unearned runs). 2 of the hits were solo homers, which account for both of the earned runs, 1 against SC and 1 against ND. The other hit was a single against Miami. He's also only walked 1 batter in all 4 of those outings.
Admittedly, the homers do cause some concern. But I think part of that is just the price you pay for good situational pitching. AG knew he had a 2-run lead in both of the situations in which he gave up solo homers. The thing you want to do in those situations is pitch aggressively and force the batters to beat you because a solo homer still doesn't tie the game. What will get you in trouble is putting runners on base by walking batters and then giving the other team the opportunity to drive them in with a big hit. Giving up the solo shots is the risk you take when pitching more aggressively, but, as seen in both the SC game and the ND game, it was a risk worth taking because AG was able to get the final out without surrendering any more hits or runs. In short, I'm ok with him giving up a solo homer now and then because most of the time, that won't kill you. And I think that drawback is still well worth it when you consider how he doesn't walk people, which is the far worse thing to do.
What bothers me more about Gordon is that he hasn't worked out as a starter this year. If he can be a good closer that's fine, and that way he's still filling a valuable role for the team at least. But we expected him to be the best starter this season, so seeing him regress to the point where he can't even hold down a starting role is disappointing because he'd still be far more valuable as starter if he was at his best. Oh well, maybe he can get more stretched out as the season progresses. And the Tigers have proven to have good pitching depth and plenty of capable starting options this year, so maybe it won't hurt them.
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