I think this was the most civil, engaging, and some other positive words I can't think of message board I have read in a long time. I was convinced every which way the entire time. Great job to all. Carm was a Cock for a few years. Bubs was almost a Tiger. Palmetto state pitch off. I'm excited to see how it plays out.
Going back and talking to his agency, not the best look for Carmen. He's arb eligible next year, and not a free agent until 2030. He could certainly take the Pirates to a hearing over the winter if he chose. Just shut down the talk Carmen and do one helluva job in whatever you are asked to do.....He'll get paid, and possibly could make things uncomfortable with the F.O. by threatening an arb hearing. His agent would have a field day, if he's successful the remainder of the season. Rooting for him big time.
Was listening to Matt Clement on the afternoon FAN show (thankfully Mueller was doing most of the interview). Clement suggested the ideal thing for the Pirates to try with Mlod is to make him Andrew Miller.
Miller made $96 million over 16 years. Which would be a lot more today. And he was known to every baseball fan as a key guy. There was no stigma attached to him.
That's a role that I think Carm could see himself in if he's got to go to the pen. I don't know if he can do it like Miller, but if you're not gonna be the closer, what better role is there in the pen?
The Pirates are pretty conservative at not over-using their starting pitchers. I expected them to break in Jared Jones slowly the same way they did with Johan Oviedo. Then use a tandem starter or have a piggy back reliever until they felt pretty confident on Jones and Bubba being able to throw 5 consistently.
I’m on Carmey’s side. That was not a tantrum. He’s pissed, gave level headed non-answers. Sounds like the org handled this poorly. This is a win now team. Them keeping Bubs in the rotation over him is something I could easily and reasonably seeing him being upset over. Bubs is losing the team games and Carmey is helping them win. It’s a disservice to the team to remove the more effective starter from the rotation.
The odd thing here is some saying Carm is having a tantrum (he's not), but no one said a peep when Bubba suggested he'll fix things because he "has 20 more of these to go". What makes this guy think he's guaranteed another 20 games if he continues to pitch like this? Is that a "team first" comment?
I don't know that I understand your take here. Bubba has been one of the most team-oriented pitchers on the club, continually placing blame upon himself and wanting to do better for the team. By saying he has 20 more of these to go, I don't think he's saying that he's due these because of his talent (and I don't even know that he's implying he has 20 more starts to go, though maybe he is). He's rather saying that he will continue to improve over those appearances.
His self talk at least in post game interviews is a red flag to me. No matter how well he performs he's soo self critical that I wonder if that is negatively impacting his performance. He's so talented and I do believe he's going to figure it out but I just think that perfectionism doesn't play well at this level. He's gotta let that go.
Boy are some of you out in LF about Mlod’s answers to the media’s questions. I, for one, would like to applaud CM for honestly responding to these difficult questions without throwing a tantrum, as some on here have suggested.
If he had given some BS answer like, “I’m happy to do what’s best for the team,” then he would be hammered for being less than truthful by many of us.
Why is it wrong for him to make it clear he’s not happy about being the guy left without a chair right now? I like it that he’s got a problem with it. I want my players to believe they’re studs and deserve to be treated as such.
Not to mention he’s not the 5th worst SP on this team this season by any common ways SP are measured.
I’m going to try to find a middle ground here. I have no problem with Mlod being upset and not trying to hide it. But the whole “I’m going to consult with my people” angle is over the top. As someone mentioned below, that suggests that he doesn’t consider himself part of the team due to this decision. That is too much considering the clear need the Pirates have for someone to step up and stabilize the bullpen.
My sense is that people who think Chandler should be in the rotation are interpreting his answers as whiny and those who think Mlod should be in the rotation are interpreting his answers as honest and defensible.
Perhaps then the argument should mainly be about his place in the rotation. I would argue that Chandler should be in there above Mlod, not necessarily because he's performed better but more because Mlod can upgrade our bullpen immediately which is currently our Achilles heel.
Put yourself in Carm's shoes... he sees himself being demoted even though he's done everything asked of him, has performed better than the guy he's competing with for a spot, and, because he's also proven himself as having a value elsewhere that the other guy doesn't have, it's like a double whammy. Simply put, he's being demoted for being good at two things when the other guy isn't even good at one.
I understand his side, I really do. He is in nearly the exact same circumstance as O'Hearn at the beginning of the year. He likes 1B more and may have even been signed with more of an expectation that he was to play there and DH. But, due to roster construction and the limitations of other guys, he accepted his role in RF and didn't complain. Mlod decidedly did not do that.
I wish we would have moved everyone's start back a day, give Jones his debut, and then do some creative work with some bullpen demotion and call up for a few days ala historical Dodgers to make things work and give us time.
He will surely get more starts, as it's almos impossible our rotation goes w/o injuries or Innings limit. But also, CM has already pitched 55 Innings, and the most he's pitched in a season is 99! So, in other words, it's a looong season, and pitching opportuntities will be there!
I’m a big fan of Mlodzinski and live where he grew up, but it would seem to me that he has higher value as a Swiss Army Knife pitcher who can cover any role in the bullpen and be a solid 5th starter, than being a back of the rotation starter. I mean valuable on the market as well as to the Pirates. Do it all bulk guys who can fill in as starters get multi-year contracts in the $15-20M range as free agents, while #5 starters don’t even get offered arbitration. For that reason it seems that it will make a lot more financial sense for Mlodzinski to embrace the role as opposed to being a back end starter with a reputation of complaining if he is asked to pitch out of the pen.
Tyler Mahle, Chris Basset, Nick Martinez, and Dustin May all got single year deals between $12m-$18m.
Mlod has an argument for being as good or better of a starter than those dudes. He *could* get as much if he turns into a high-end reliever, sure, but there's very obviously still a ton of money in the market for backend starters.
Yes. High-quality backend relievers make a lot more than 5th starters. Mlod has the ability to be a high-end bullpen pitcher or a mediocre starter. The former makes more money and is more important, as we have seen this year. He should embrace this as an opportunity to show his best.
Look at his body of work as a reliever. 94 appearances, 135 strikeouts, 2.7 k/w, 8.7 k/innings, 2.63 era, 114 hits in 140.1 innings, .223 ba against, 1.169 whip. As a reliever he misses bats, induces soft contact and is hard to hit or score against. His problem as a starter occurs the second and third time through the lineup. The article was analyzing his work this year as a starter where he goes through the lineup several times.
He has no issues going a lineup a 2nd time. As a SP, he's been the same this year whether first or second time thru the lineup. As the bulk guy after an opener, he's been better the second time thru than the first.
Not quite true, although he has improved over last year. This year first time through his BAA is .254, second time .297, third time .387. So, totally agree with you as to the third time through. Since he is likely to be a bulk guy often, the fact that he has improved the second time through is a good thing and he makes him more likely to be very successful as a Swiss Army knife pitcher. It is highly unlikely that he will face hitters a third time in his new role.
No. Carlos Estevez was one of the best backend relievers in the baseball over the past half decade, and he hasn't missed a bat since high school. The greatest relief pitcher of the modern era, Mariano Rivera, didn't miss many bats (but he broke a lot of them).
Also, Mlod is deliberately not missing many bats at this point, because he has learned how to use his stuff as a starter and has a plan for pitching to contact. He could miss more bats in short outings with a different plan.
Mlod's plan as a starter reminds me a lot of how Priester finally found his way. He will work his fastball on the edges around the middle of the plate (a high-risk strategy no doubt) to set up splitters and sliders low to get groundballs. So long as keeps the fastball off the middle of the plate, it is very effective.
As a reliever, I think he will use his four-seamer up in the zone more like he did before and get more Ks on the splitter and slider. His BB/9 will probably come down too, since he can throw the splitter and slider for strikes more often rather than using them as chase pitches to generate groundballs.
Sour feeling with Mlod getting bumped from the rotation. I hope this move stabilizes the bullpen somewhat and he adjusts to his new role. I think Bubba should have been the one to be replaced, but that is me and what do I know.
No need for a tantrum, but I'd be pissed if I'm him. We view it about team. He and his people view it about him, because it's his career and his PAY. He has more value as a starter. A move to the pen potentially hurts his value and his earning power, and he is outperforming Chandler.
I think it is more than just a paycheck. I think most of us have had our job changed at work at least once in a way we didn't agree with. We are a) pissed because of all the work we put in for something is getting taken away and b) feel a little disrespected for the hard work we put in.
I think Carmen's reaction is a normal feeling, but wish P-G didn't interview him and wish he didn't answer.
Sounds like he's adopted a bit of a victim mentality, that this is something happening to him rather than something that is happening as a result of his own actions. If he had pitched well enough to make this a harder decision for the Pirates, then I could see his side a bit more. Three things are nearly indisputably true:
1. He is and has been our fifth starter who, despite maintaining a streak of quality innings has pitched his best games with an opener.
2. If he, Chandler, and Jones were to each be dangled as trade bait for other teams, there is no question that Mlod would have the lightest return. The market, more than anything, shows his true value and it is less than both Jones and Chandler.
3. Airing this out in public, even as it shows his emotion, also shows his immaturity and lack of self-awareness. His feelings are completely justifiable and he should have every outlet to work through them. The one outlet you shouldn't use, though, is the media, social or otherwise. This is why Cutch's drama made me lose sympathy for him, too.
Not sure exactly which part you're referring to, but I'll say that I admittedly have little sympathy for him even though I can understand *why* he feels the way he does. It must be frustrating to be on a team that has a rotation that is good enough that he's unable to break into the top five. He would be in many other team's starting five and I'm sure that's frustrating. Regardless of understanding why he feels this, though, the reason I don't have much sympathy for him is because of how he has chosen to communicate his dissatisfaction, here and in various previous statements he's made over the years. If he had backed up his dissatisfaction with a performance that would make it easier to take his side, then I guess I could come around to giving him the latitude to voice that frustration to the media the way he does. But the fact is, he hasn't. He's been fine. Look at his savant page--he's average or below in nearly everything. He's been better than I expected, frankly, but I would wager that nearly everyone but him thinks that he will be more impactful for us in the bullpen than he is in the rotation.
Also, he's not just learning about this decision in front of cameras. He had time to process it away from the media. And he's in a business where you need to be more media-savvy than he has been. The media (and by extension the fans) doesn't need to know that you're going to talk to your agent about this. They don't need to speculate over talking to "people in your corner" which implies that your team and your teammates are not in your corner. This is why I think this shows immaturity on his part. But I admit, I have little patience for folks who don't seem to have a team-first mentality, particularly on teams that can be successful if everyone was rowing in the same direction.
hey if your argument is shut up and play then fine.
But he's the "fifth starter" in name only since golden boy bubba is being coddled in his rotation slot.
And Seth Hernandez would also fetch more in a trade but that obviously doesn't mean shit about the 2026 rotation.
The only "baseball argument" for this move is that Cherington built a dogshit bullpen and is willing to trade current rotation performance for what Bubba may become some day. None of that is on Mudge.
You want him to shut up and play, which is fine, but don't make it look like you don't know ball in order to justify it.
That's fair. I can see that. I would say that there is also an argument that Mlod has legitimately performed better in the bullpen and in relief than as a starter. He may have performed better as a starter than Chandler but that doesn't necessarily mean he should stay in the rotation. The best move could be moving Mlod to the pen, Chandler to AAA, and moving Dotel to the rotation or giving Barco a shot.
The whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. Chandler will face a reckoning at some point if he doesn’t find the plate more often. And Mlod will be back in the rotation soon enough because baseball happens. Tantrum not called for.
“I’m just still communicating with the organization, and people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what’s next.”
You're going to go to the pen where you are probably needed most. That's what's going to happen. Get used to it. Put the team first, do your job, earn your $800K salary which will jump up next season. If you don't like it then quit. The FO will put you on the restricted list without pay and you can go home and flock sheep.
This franchise has enough trouble attracting and retaining talent already. How you’re suggesting this matter be handled will only exacerbate the problem.
I really don't care what Carm says right now. If I were him, I probably would've "no comment" or just ducked the press altogether.
What matters is what the team in general thinks. And I have to believe at this point that the team believes it has a better chance to win with Carm than with Bubba on the bump every 5th day. I happen to agree with that.
Now, if Carm lost his role because we signed a better pitcher from another team, that's different. But losing this spot to Bubba is not in the spirit of trying to win this year. At least not at this point. And I want ALL the players to believe their teammates AND the FO are doing everything they can to win this year, because it's obvious they can with a couple of tweaks.
This is not the first time that he has pushed back, I read an article in PG of him reacting the same way when he was moved to the pen in, also remember reading an article about him resisting changes to his overall pitching. Not saying this is bad, I like people that believe in themselves and do not hesitate to advocate for themselves, just saying this is his normal behavior.
I'm sure many coaches and GM's like the "piss n vinegar" of pitchers who believe they can start. They also dislike the ones who put themselves before the team which is what Mlod is doing.
I think this was the most civil, engaging, and some other positive words I can't think of message board I have read in a long time. I was convinced every which way the entire time. Great job to all. Carm was a Cock for a few years. Bubs was almost a Tiger. Palmetto state pitch off. I'm excited to see how it plays out.
Going back and talking to his agency, not the best look for Carmen. He's arb eligible next year, and not a free agent until 2030. He could certainly take the Pirates to a hearing over the winter if he chose. Just shut down the talk Carmen and do one helluva job in whatever you are asked to do.....He'll get paid, and possibly could make things uncomfortable with the F.O. by threatening an arb hearing. His agent would have a field day, if he's successful the remainder of the season. Rooting for him big time.
Was listening to Matt Clement on the afternoon FAN show (thankfully Mueller was doing most of the interview). Clement suggested the ideal thing for the Pirates to try with Mlod is to make him Andrew Miller.
Miller made $96 million over 16 years. Which would be a lot more today. And he was known to every baseball fan as a key guy. There was no stigma attached to him.
That's a role that I think Carm could see himself in if he's got to go to the pen. I don't know if he can do it like Miller, but if you're not gonna be the closer, what better role is there in the pen?
The Pirates are pretty conservative at not over-using their starting pitchers. I expected them to break in Jared Jones slowly the same way they did with Johan Oviedo. Then use a tandem starter or have a piggy back reliever until they felt pretty confident on Jones and Bubba being able to throw 5 consistently.
I’m on Carmey’s side. That was not a tantrum. He’s pissed, gave level headed non-answers. Sounds like the org handled this poorly. This is a win now team. Them keeping Bubs in the rotation over him is something I could easily and reasonably seeing him being upset over. Bubs is losing the team games and Carmey is helping them win. It’s a disservice to the team to remove the more effective starter from the rotation.
The odd thing here is some saying Carm is having a tantrum (he's not), but no one said a peep when Bubba suggested he'll fix things because he "has 20 more of these to go". What makes this guy think he's guaranteed another 20 games if he continues to pitch like this? Is that a "team first" comment?
I don't know that I understand your take here. Bubba has been one of the most team-oriented pitchers on the club, continually placing blame upon himself and wanting to do better for the team. By saying he has 20 more of these to go, I don't think he's saying that he's due these because of his talent (and I don't even know that he's implying he has 20 more starts to go, though maybe he is). He's rather saying that he will continue to improve over those appearances.
Bubba has an incredible attitude and wants to win so badly that it’s borderline counterproductive. No way should he be dinged for attitude problems.
His self talk at least in post game interviews is a red flag to me. No matter how well he performs he's soo self critical that I wonder if that is negatively impacting his performance. He's so talented and I do believe he's going to figure it out but I just think that perfectionism doesn't play well at this level. He's gotta let that go.
Boy are some of you out in LF about Mlod’s answers to the media’s questions. I, for one, would like to applaud CM for honestly responding to these difficult questions without throwing a tantrum, as some on here have suggested.
If he had given some BS answer like, “I’m happy to do what’s best for the team,” then he would be hammered for being less than truthful by many of us.
Why is it wrong for him to make it clear he’s not happy about being the guy left without a chair right now? I like it that he’s got a problem with it. I want my players to believe they’re studs and deserve to be treated as such.
Not to mention he’s not the 5th worst SP on this team this season by any common ways SP are measured.
I’m going to try to find a middle ground here. I have no problem with Mlod being upset and not trying to hide it. But the whole “I’m going to consult with my people” angle is over the top. As someone mentioned below, that suggests that he doesn’t consider himself part of the team due to this decision. That is too much considering the clear need the Pirates have for someone to step up and stabilize the bullpen.
My sense is that people who think Chandler should be in the rotation are interpreting his answers as whiny and those who think Mlod should be in the rotation are interpreting his answers as honest and defensible.
Perhaps then the argument should mainly be about his place in the rotation. I would argue that Chandler should be in there above Mlod, not necessarily because he's performed better but more because Mlod can upgrade our bullpen immediately which is currently our Achilles heel.
Put yourself in Carm's shoes... he sees himself being demoted even though he's done everything asked of him, has performed better than the guy he's competing with for a spot, and, because he's also proven himself as having a value elsewhere that the other guy doesn't have, it's like a double whammy. Simply put, he's being demoted for being good at two things when the other guy isn't even good at one.
I understand his side, I really do. He is in nearly the exact same circumstance as O'Hearn at the beginning of the year. He likes 1B more and may have even been signed with more of an expectation that he was to play there and DH. But, due to roster construction and the limitations of other guys, he accepted his role in RF and didn't complain. Mlod decidedly did not do that.
O'Hearn has zero concerns about how his role will affect his earnings in arbitration or future free agency.
RF has a higher injury risk (as can be seen in his IL stint) and can greatly affect his defensive metrics. I'm sure he does.
I wish we would have moved everyone's start back a day, give Jones his debut, and then do some creative work with some bullpen demotion and call up for a few days ala historical Dodgers to make things work and give us time.
I thought that would’ve been the plan as well, go with a 6 for a few turns. But a descent arm in the pen is such a need.
He will surely get more starts, as it's almos impossible our rotation goes w/o injuries or Innings limit. But also, CM has already pitched 55 Innings, and the most he's pitched in a season is 99! So, in other words, it's a looong season, and pitching opportuntities will be there!
It's actually 114 IP, but who's counting.
I’m a big fan of Mlodzinski and live where he grew up, but it would seem to me that he has higher value as a Swiss Army Knife pitcher who can cover any role in the bullpen and be a solid 5th starter, than being a back of the rotation starter. I mean valuable on the market as well as to the Pirates. Do it all bulk guys who can fill in as starters get multi-year contracts in the $15-20M range as free agents, while #5 starters don’t even get offered arbitration. For that reason it seems that it will make a lot more financial sense for Mlodzinski to embrace the role as opposed to being a back end starter with a reputation of complaining if he is asked to pitch out of the pen.
Way, wayyyy overplayed this point.
Merril Kelley is 37 yo and just got a 2/$40m.
Adrian Houser is 33 and got 2/$22m
Tyler Mahle, Chris Basset, Nick Martinez, and Dustin May all got single year deals between $12m-$18m.
Mlod has an argument for being as good or better of a starter than those dudes. He *could* get as much if he turns into a high-end reliever, sure, but there's very obviously still a ton of money in the market for backend starters.
Yes. High-quality backend relievers make a lot more than 5th starters. Mlod has the ability to be a high-end bullpen pitcher or a mediocre starter. The former makes more money and is more important, as we have seen this year. He should embrace this as an opportunity to show his best.
Mlod is not a back end bullpen guy. He doesn’t miss enough bats to ever be a Closer.
No way he makes enough as a bulk inning RP than he does as a #4/#5 SP over the course of his career.
Furthermore, he’s ascending as a SP. It would be a bit premature to say what we’ve seen so far is his ceiling.
Maybe it's still too raw but Clay Holmes comes to mind.
The article states that he doesn’t miss bats, you kind of have to do that to be a good backend reliever, no?
Look at his body of work as a reliever. 94 appearances, 135 strikeouts, 2.7 k/w, 8.7 k/innings, 2.63 era, 114 hits in 140.1 innings, .223 ba against, 1.169 whip. As a reliever he misses bats, induces soft contact and is hard to hit or score against. His problem as a starter occurs the second and third time through the lineup. The article was analyzing his work this year as a starter where he goes through the lineup several times.
He has no issues going a lineup a 2nd time. As a SP, he's been the same this year whether first or second time thru the lineup. As the bulk guy after an opener, he's been better the second time thru than the first.
His problems are third time and beyond.
Not quite true, although he has improved over last year. This year first time through his BAA is .254, second time .297, third time .387. So, totally agree with you as to the third time through. Since he is likely to be a bulk guy often, the fact that he has improved the second time through is a good thing and he makes him more likely to be very successful as a Swiss Army knife pitcher. It is highly unlikely that he will face hitters a third time in his new role.
No. Carlos Estevez was one of the best backend relievers in the baseball over the past half decade, and he hasn't missed a bat since high school. The greatest relief pitcher of the modern era, Mariano Rivera, didn't miss many bats (but he broke a lot of them).
Also, Mlod is deliberately not missing many bats at this point, because he has learned how to use his stuff as a starter and has a plan for pitching to contact. He could miss more bats in short outings with a different plan.
Great point. He will use his stuff and strategize differently as a reliever, which explains his good strikeout numbers as a reliever.
Mlod's plan as a starter reminds me a lot of how Priester finally found his way. He will work his fastball on the edges around the middle of the plate (a high-risk strategy no doubt) to set up splitters and sliders low to get groundballs. So long as keeps the fastball off the middle of the plate, it is very effective.
As a reliever, I think he will use his four-seamer up in the zone more like he did before and get more Ks on the splitter and slider. His BB/9 will probably come down too, since he can throw the splitter and slider for strikes more often rather than using them as chase pitches to generate groundballs.
When people look at relievers relative to other relievers, most probably just look at ERA and WAR. WAR is always going to favor the strikeout guy.
Melancon wasn't a big K guy. Neither was Watson. Both averaged fewer Ks than Rivera during their peak years.
I look at WHIP, BB/9 and HR/9. For relievers, I also look at groundball rate, and K/9. The first can be a substitute for the second.
Biggest thing for a reliever in my opinion is have 2 plus pitches that he can control and a 3rd pitch that he can throw for strikes.
Here's a fun fact for the day. Mason Miller is 12th in WHIP among RPs. Gregory Soto is 11th.
In 10th is... Colin Holderman. Who is also much better than other two in BB/9
Did we eff up with that guy or what?
Sour feeling with Mlod getting bumped from the rotation. I hope this move stabilizes the bullpen somewhat and he adjusts to his new role. I think Bubba should have been the one to be replaced, but that is me and what do I know.
No need for a tantrum, but I'd be pissed if I'm him. We view it about team. He and his people view it about him, because it's his career and his PAY. He has more value as a starter. A move to the pen potentially hurts his value and his earning power, and he is outperforming Chandler.
This is how I see it, too.
Well stated.
Not unexpected to get some blowback when you start messing with a man’s paycheck.
I think it is more than just a paycheck. I think most of us have had our job changed at work at least once in a way we didn't agree with. We are a) pissed because of all the work we put in for something is getting taken away and b) feel a little disrespected for the hard work we put in.
I think Carmen's reaction is a normal feeling, but wish P-G didn't interview him and wish he didn't answer.
Sounds like he's adopted a bit of a victim mentality, that this is something happening to him rather than something that is happening as a result of his own actions. If he had pitched well enough to make this a harder decision for the Pirates, then I could see his side a bit more. Three things are nearly indisputably true:
1. He is and has been our fifth starter who, despite maintaining a streak of quality innings has pitched his best games with an opener.
2. If he, Chandler, and Jones were to each be dangled as trade bait for other teams, there is no question that Mlod would have the lightest return. The market, more than anything, shows his true value and it is less than both Jones and Chandler.
3. Airing this out in public, even as it shows his emotion, also shows his immaturity and lack of self-awareness. His feelings are completely justifiable and he should have every outlet to work through them. The one outlet you shouldn't use, though, is the media, social or otherwise. This is why Cutch's drama made me lose sympathy for him, too.
weird argument.
Not sure exactly which part you're referring to, but I'll say that I admittedly have little sympathy for him even though I can understand *why* he feels the way he does. It must be frustrating to be on a team that has a rotation that is good enough that he's unable to break into the top five. He would be in many other team's starting five and I'm sure that's frustrating. Regardless of understanding why he feels this, though, the reason I don't have much sympathy for him is because of how he has chosen to communicate his dissatisfaction, here and in various previous statements he's made over the years. If he had backed up his dissatisfaction with a performance that would make it easier to take his side, then I guess I could come around to giving him the latitude to voice that frustration to the media the way he does. But the fact is, he hasn't. He's been fine. Look at his savant page--he's average or below in nearly everything. He's been better than I expected, frankly, but I would wager that nearly everyone but him thinks that he will be more impactful for us in the bullpen than he is in the rotation.
Also, he's not just learning about this decision in front of cameras. He had time to process it away from the media. And he's in a business where you need to be more media-savvy than he has been. The media (and by extension the fans) doesn't need to know that you're going to talk to your agent about this. They don't need to speculate over talking to "people in your corner" which implies that your team and your teammates are not in your corner. This is why I think this shows immaturity on his part. But I admit, I have little patience for folks who don't seem to have a team-first mentality, particularly on teams that can be successful if everyone was rowing in the same direction.
hey if your argument is shut up and play then fine.
But he's the "fifth starter" in name only since golden boy bubba is being coddled in his rotation slot.
And Seth Hernandez would also fetch more in a trade but that obviously doesn't mean shit about the 2026 rotation.
The only "baseball argument" for this move is that Cherington built a dogshit bullpen and is willing to trade current rotation performance for what Bubba may become some day. None of that is on Mudge.
You want him to shut up and play, which is fine, but don't make it look like you don't know ball in order to justify it.
That's fair. I can see that. I would say that there is also an argument that Mlod has legitimately performed better in the bullpen and in relief than as a starter. He may have performed better as a starter than Chandler but that doesn't necessarily mean he should stay in the rotation. The best move could be moving Mlod to the pen, Chandler to AAA, and moving Dotel to the rotation or giving Barco a shot.
The whole thing is a tempest in a teapot. Chandler will face a reckoning at some point if he doesn’t find the plate more often. And Mlod will be back in the rotation soon enough because baseball happens. Tantrum not called for.
“I’m just still communicating with the organization, and people in my corner, whether that’s my family or my agency, about what’s next.”
You're going to go to the pen where you are probably needed most. That's what's going to happen. Get used to it. Put the team first, do your job, earn your $800K salary which will jump up next season. If you don't like it then quit. The FO will put you on the restricted list without pay and you can go home and flock sheep.
I miss the 1980’s too, but those days are done.
This franchise has enough trouble attracting and retaining talent already. How you’re suggesting this matter be handled will only exacerbate the problem.
I really don't care what Carm says right now. If I were him, I probably would've "no comment" or just ducked the press altogether.
What matters is what the team in general thinks. And I have to believe at this point that the team believes it has a better chance to win with Carm than with Bubba on the bump every 5th day. I happen to agree with that.
Now, if Carm lost his role because we signed a better pitcher from another team, that's different. But losing this spot to Bubba is not in the spirit of trying to win this year. At least not at this point. And I want ALL the players to believe their teammates AND the FO are doing everything they can to win this year, because it's obvious they can with a couple of tweaks.
I don’t agree with that. Bubba Ked 11 his last start and walked only 2. The upside and trend are significantly better than Carmen.
This is not the first time that he has pushed back, I read an article in PG of him reacting the same way when he was moved to the pen in, also remember reading an article about him resisting changes to his overall pitching. Not saying this is bad, I like people that believe in themselves and do not hesitate to advocate for themselves, just saying this is his normal behavior.
I'm sure many coaches and GM's like the "piss n vinegar" of pitchers who believe they can start. They also dislike the ones who put themselves before the team which is what Mlod is doing.