Many of you know that our very own Joe Vasile is a broadcaster. He works for the Hi-A Hudson Valley Renegades and recently they had a trip to Greensboro, where Metsense and I were able to catch up with him, both before and during the game. The three of us had done this once before, when in 2014 we saw Robert Gsellman and the Savannah Mets play in Hickory. Back then Joe was the announcer for the Fayetteville Swampdogs, a summer collegiate team in the same league as mine.
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It’s been a year of crazy splits for Adrian Houser. He’s got a 3.62 ERA while limiting opposing hitters to a .613 OPS at Citi Field, while his road numbers show an 8.22 ERA, with opposing hitters posting a .917 OPS against him. And there’s the 8.55 ERA/.850 OPS/1.782 WHIP as a starter, compared to a 1.35 ERA/.573 OPS/1.163 WHIP as a reliever. And there’s one more split that no one’s talking about:
Split A: 17.0 IP, 2.12 ERA/.515 OPS/1.176 WHIP
Split B: 17.1 IP, 7.79 ERA/.831 OPS/1.788 WHIP
Split C: 16.0 IP, 9.00 ERA/.884 OPS/1.688 WHIP
Those are what he’s done with various catchers – in order Francisco Alvarez, Omar Narvaez and Tomas Nido. We know Alvarez has had a huge positive influence on starters Sean Manaea and Jose Quintana. And we can add Houser to the list, too. If Alvarez doesn’t get hurt, does Houser pitch well enough to remain in the rotation? It’s a possibility we have to acknowledge.
He’s been very valuable pitching out of the bullpen and this should not be interpreted as a plea to have Houser back in the rotation.
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And while you may know that Joe was a broadcaster, he recently revealed a different side of himself. Seems that in his younger years, Joe was a theatre kid. And he recently combined those two loves, as you can see below:
Nice! However, I was hoping to see you and Metsense doing background vocals, with maybe a little choreography, ala The Pips.
Couldn’t get the video to work. Would have loved to have been a broadcaster, but I talked to myself added a bit thinking I couldn’t really make a living. I probably could have now we are all armchair, broadcasters, thinking right along or ahead of the color commentators and some of us wish we were actually doing it. So kudos to you, Joe.
Houser should never leave the bullpen and return to being a starter. And clearly Alvarez is a star in the making both behind the plate and back. It will be nice to have a fixture on that lineup for years to come.