Latest news with #rotation
New York Times
3 days ago
- Business
- New York Times
Guardians need one of their patented, dominant rotations, and they might soon have one
NEW YORK — People have been asking about the vaunted Cleveland pitching factory. They've been wondering if it's still functioning, if grizzled coaches are still studying arm slots and crafting arsenals, if quarter zip-wearing data hounds are still clutching onto iPads that spit out spin rates and movement profiles. They've been concerned that the assembly line that, for years, churned out proficient big-league pitchers has ceased production. They've been worried that a once-buzzing workplace, the one envied by nearly every other team, has shuttered. Advertisement On Wednesday night, Luis Ortiz absorbed a few celebratory pounds to the chest from third baseman José Ramírez, handed manager Stephen Vogt the baseball and retreated to the visitors' dugout at Yankee Stadium. Along his way, he raised his cap to acknowledge his wife and 16 other friends and family members in attendance. He had completed another assignment in which his 98 mph heat zipped through the strike zone and his winding slider evaded bats. He took another step toward cementing himself as a force in a rotation that seems desperate to announce its presence. This is no revelatory declaration, but the Guardians' best chance to reach the postseason is to ride a robust rotation through the summer, the sort of roster backbone the organization became known for, but has lacked in recent years. This group has flashed hints of a forthcoming breakout. 'It's there, for sure,' said Tanner Bibee, the anchor of Cleveland's rotation. 'Everyone sees it.' A clicking rotation alleviates everything else. 'You can always win games (that way),' Bibee said. It preserves a top-heavy bullpen that the club has been careful not to overwork. It makes life easier on an underperforming lineup and buys the team brass time to figure out the ideal nine. So, do the Guardians have the horses to stampede their way to the postseason? They're certainly trending in the right direction. April: 4.84 ERA, 27th in MLB May: 3.60 ERA, 13th in MLB June: 1.45 ERA (in an admittedly tiny sample size of three games) Gavin Williams carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning against the Angels on Sunday, as he stymied hitters with an array of looping curveballs and careening cutters. Bibee conquered the Yankees on Tuesday until he made two seventh-inning mistakes. Ortiz silenced the Yankees for 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday. Advertisement Bibee was steaming after his start in the Bronx, which he admitted is a reflection of the lofty expectations he places upon himself. 'We've gone through one-third of the season,' he said, 'and I feel like a lot of us would say we have not pitched to the standard we hold ourselves to.' Perhaps that's changing. Ortiz seems like the perfect test subject. The Guardians acquired him in November, a classic case of the organization identifying a pitcher with traits they coveted, and others they thought they could enhance. 'I can't speak for other organizations,' said pitching coach Carl Willis, '(but) I think one of the things we do is we don't put guys in boxes. 'He's a right-hander. Here's his arsenal. Here's what he should do.' It's more of, 'This is how he moves. This is where his slot is.' (The key) is allowing the guy to be the best version of what he naturally does, with some adjustments, as opposed to trying to rebuild an entire building. 'They gain confidence in knowing the foundation is their way, but there may need to be a little bit of an adjustment somewhere along the chain that's going to help them be more efficient.' In Ortiz's case, his whiff rate, strikeout rate and ground-ball rate have soared since joining the Guardians. By no means does he resemble a polished, finished product, but his outing on Wednesday could be the right blueprint to examine. He induced 14 whiffs, topped out at 99.1 mph and threw more sliders than any other pitch. There were rocky days in spring training when Ortiz was yanked mid-inning and then returned to start the next. That carried into the regular season, but over his last five starts, Ortiz owns a 2.28 ERA. His walk rate remains a bit high — that's a fact for many of Cleveland's hurlers — but he has surrendered only two home runs in those five outings. Advertisement He spearheaded Cleveland's first shutout at Yankee Stadium since Aug. 9, 2014, a game started by Corey Kluber, who was zooming to the finish line of his first Cy Young campaign. Last season, the Guardians won in spite of their rotation. Outside of Bibee and Ben Lively — who underwent elbow reconstruction surgery on Wednesday in Dallas — the club didn't have much to cling to in its rotation. Carlos Carrasco finished third on the team in innings, Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie proved unreliable and Williams spent much of the season on the shelf. Remember when Spencer Howard started a game at Comerica Park? Yeah, that happened. By the time the playoffs arrived, the Guardians were leaning on a couple of midsummer pickups in Matthew Boyd, Alex Cobb and Bibee, who even pitched on short rest. To advance to the ALCS, they squeezed every ounce of juice out of their top four relievers. The formula could be different this year. 'It's been a really good few weeks,' Vogt said. … 'We're continuing to see these guys grow and learn and get better.' That should also take some pressure off the guy in line to rejoin the rotation in a few weeks, a guy with a Cy Young Award in his living room and a guy who was a member of some of those vintage Cleveland rotations. Shane Bieber, barring any setbacks, should be able to submit about a half-season's worth of starts, ample opportunity for him to shed any remaining rust following a 15-month gap between big-league outings. A healthy Bieber and a fully functioning Bibee, Williams and Ortiz would be formidable against any opposing lineup. It would also afford the team some flexibility (and depth) as Allen and Slade Cecconi attempt to prove up to the task, and with Joey Cantillo and Parker Messick waiting for their chance at Triple-A Columbus. On top of that, sprinkle in a bit of Kluber's expertise in his new role as special assistant, and maybe the pitching factory will be humming again this summer. (Top photo of Guardians starter Luis Ortiz pitching against the Yankees on Wednesday: Jim McIsaac / Getty Images)
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Why 'Sell In May' Is Costing You Alpha—And What To Do Instead
Don't Sell in May—Rotate and Win While Others Run getty 'Sell in May and go away.' It's catchy. It rhymes. And it's wrong. Every year, investors consistently repeat this worn-out mantra, as though calendar-based investing still holds a place in the market. But markets don't respond to folklore; they respond to positioning, liquidity, and catalysts. Smart investors don't retreat; they rotate. This strategy is particularly effective when the market appears dull. Dullness conceals value, while catalysts incentivize discipline. At The Edge, we don't trade seasonality; we track triggers. Spinoffs, insider activity, and management shifts don't care what month it is. And in quieter markets, they often go unnoticed... until they don't. Such behavior isn't about timing the market. It's about sharpening focus while others lose theirs. That's how real edge is built. It may be one of the most overused phrases in market folklore, but its staying power says more about investor psychology than performance. Originating in 1930s London, the strategy leans on seasonal averages showing the Dow historically performed better from November to April. Yet those averages mask the nuance. The phrase ignores the real forces that drive markets: liquidity shifts, monetary policy, valuation resets, and shifting narratives. The idea that investors can rely on a calendar cliché is dangerously simplistic. Markets don't move because it's May; they move because positioning, catalysts, and context align. The phrase may rhyme, but it won't build alpha. Slogans don't earn you money. You receive compensation for recognizing their falsehoods. The mantra assumes weakness where there may be none. Yes, May–October have underperformed on average, but averages mask what matters. Often, what looks like a 'sell in May' underperformance is simply lower volatility, not worse returns. And in the post-2009 QE era, the historical basis for the event has weakened dramatically. Since 2020, some of the strongest rallies have occurred during this so-called off-season. The truth is, 'sell in May' thinking ignores how much market structure has changed. In today's environment, dominated by AI-driven narratives, rate path uncertainty, and geopolitical crosswinds, the calendar has never been less predictive. Smart money isn't rushing to sell in May. It's rotating, repricing, and positioning for what's next. Here, some of our best catalyst-driven returns came precisely when the herd leaned on seasonal complacency. 'Sell in May' might be the mantra for the passive crowd, but seasoned investors know better. When others retreat, smart capital rotates, not out, but into opportunities with identifiable catalysts. These include upcoming spinoffs that prompt forced index rebalancing, insider buying that signals internal conviction, activist campaigns pushing for value unlocks, and overlooked restructurings or leadership changes. None of these are seasonal; they're structural. 'Sell in May' thinking misses the mark entirely. At my company, we track these moments obsessively. While the headlines slow in May, the filings don't. One of our most profitable calls emerged during a quiet summer: a spinoff buried in fatigue, which we captured for a 40% return in just two months. That's the power of conviction over the calendar. 'Sell in May' might tell you to wait it out, but our results show the edge comes from leaning in when others step back. You don't need movement in the S&P to make money. You need movement in business. The phrase endures because it's simple, and simplicity is comforting. But markets are anything but simple. This saying survives not because it works, but because it offers a shortcut in a world where shortcuts rarely pay. Investors cling to it like a seasonal ritual, hoping an old rhyme will shield them from complexity. But the truth? Calendar-based exits aren't a sign of discipline. They're a sign of impatience. Here, we've spent over two decades ignoring market folklore like 'sell in May' and instead tracking real business catalysts, spinoffs, restructurings, insider buying, and corporate change. These drivers of value don't care what month it is. They unfold in filings, not in headlines. Relying on seasonal maxims to protect capital isn't risk management; it's superstition disguised as strategy. If you are committed to achieving returns, it would be beneficial to prioritize conviction over the calendar. I tighten my focus. While others switch off, I screen for underfollowed spinoffs, track insider buying during thin-volume weeks, and hunt for structural dislocations the market isn't pricing in. May isn't a warning; it's a filter. It strips out the noise and reveals where the edge lives. Last summer, we flagged a forgotten industrial spinoff—trading below net cash, underowned, and ignored. A minor operational shift flipped the story. We captured a 40% return in under 90 days. That's what happens when you act on catalysts, not calendars. 'Sell in May' assumes nothing worthwhile happens in the quiet. But here, we've built our process around quiet moments, where filings still flow, but headlines don't. This process isn't about market timing. It's about business timing. If May makes you nervous, you're watching the wrong signals. But if you're tracking what the business is doing, May isn't a risk. May presents an opportunity. 'Sell in May' might sell headlines, but it rarely builds portfolios. Markets today aren't seasonal; they're situational. The true advantage is in identifying business changes ahead of the crowd, rather than waiting for a calendar queue. At The Edge, we don't guess; we follow the process. While others chase noise or switch off in May, we go deeper: into filings, restructurings, and overlooked spinoffs that quietly reprise risk and reward. Some of our best returns came when the market looked dull. If you feel that May is quiet, that's a positive sign—it indicates that opportunity is knocking, albeit softly. If you're still selling in May, you're not managing risk; you're avoiding strategy. Let's fix that. Let's talk.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘He's a freak' Ben Davis on Kyle Schwarber and the Phillies' offensive spark
What does Ranger Suarez's return mean for Phillies rotation? Rob Thomson said Ranger Suarez will start Sunday for the Phillies following Wednesday night's win over the Nationals. Ben Davis weighs in on what this means for the Phillies' rotation moving does Ranger Suarez's return mean for Phillies rotation? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia 1:56 Now Playing Paused Ad Playing
