News and Notes for Saturday, June 21st, 2025
The Guardians lost to a bad Oakland team last night, 5-1.
Tanner Bibee went eight innings but wasn’t great. Jose Ramirez made back-to-back errors to set up a run in the second, which was a sad revisiting of his difficult defensive start to the season. But, Bibee surrendered 11 hits, including a two-run bomb to Nick Kurtz, causing several Guardians Twitter folks to run victory laps that “they always knew he was the best bat and the Guardians should have picked him.” Strangely, those same folks didn’t seem to think Kurtz’s strikeout in the next inning was as telling.
Anyway, Bibee wasn’t good but it’s the offense that is the huge, glaring problem. Jeffrey Springs isn’t good, but he looked good against Guardians hitters. Lefty mashers Lane Thomas and David Fry cannot hit the broad side of a barn. It’s dire. Thomas, outsidd of last September and the ALDS, has a wRC+ of about 27 here. Fry, outside of April-May last year and some playoff heroics is at 82 wRC+. I’m not sure how long they give these two, but there are no clear replacements as right-handed hitters go, so I guess the whole season given no one will want to trade for Thomas. Sigh. They need to give Manzardo more reps against LHP. And probably Schneemann. Let your best hitters hit and go down with your best shot
Johnathan Rodriguez chased a pitch to strikeout that was in the other batter’s box. Chase DeLauter wouldn’t do that. Call him up, you cowards.