These post game wrap ups are going to start writing themselves pretty soon. I am going to just copy and past the following into each one of the posts.
"The bullpen once again wasted a quality start from the starting pitcher."
Last night was no exception. Following a stellar effort by Glavine (you can't expect much more than 6 1/3 shutout innings from a 42 year old) the bullpen once again managed to serve up a fat pitch to the best hitter in the opponents line up.
This is becoming a disturbing trend. I know I urged everyone to step off of the ledge just a few days ago but since then Soriano tried to blow a save on Sunday before being rescued by a tremendous defensive play from Tex and Blaine Boyer failed to protect a 1-0 lead in the 8th last night. It is really not the fact the Boyer blew the lead that is most concerning but the way in which he did it. After giving up a well hit double to Troy Tulowitski Boyer grooved a low 90's fastball down the center of the plate. With Holliday being the "professional hitter of leisure" that he is he punished the ball over the CF wall. Hitters like Holliday ARE going to make you pay when you serve one up on a platter.
If the poor bullpen play continues over the course of the next 7-10 games it might still be too early to jump off of a ledge but it will be time to start taking the elevator to the top floor.
I know many Braves' fans are relying on the return of Mike Gonzalez to bolster the pen but it would be a mistake to solely rely on someone returning from TJ surgery to ensure the team is able to make a playoff run.
However, Jon Rauch of the Nats would be the perfect fit for this bullpen. Checking in a 6'11" tall and 260 lbs he could also play part time for the Hawks. All kidding aside, as seen below Rauch is available and his 98+ mph heater could do wonders for the 8th innings of the future.
Tim Dierkes, over at MLB Trade Rumors, informs us that Rauch is not the only reliever on the market. Just this past week Dierkes outlined a cacophany of "available" relievers who could step in and help the pen immediately. You can find the article here but I will provide Dierkes' list of available bodies below.
Jon Rauch and Luis Ayala of the Nationals. As I've written, Rauch is the one to chase. John Perrotto says the Tigers have "strong interest" in him. But with Chad Cordero in questionable health, will Jim Bowden weaken his pen in the short term?
Ron Mahay and Yasuhiko Yabuta of the Royals. Neither free agent signee will be traded anytime soon. But the Royals' pen might have the depth to overcome the loss of one of them in July, and desperate teams always overpay for relievers near the deadline. Something to monitor later in the season.
Kevin Gregg of the Marlins. Gregg had his ERA wrecked early by a bad appearance at the tail end of a blowout at the hands of the Mets. He's affordable, decent, and even comes with the closer tag.
Joaquin Benoit of the Rangers. He's signed through '09 and was quietly solid last year.
Mike Wuertz of the Cubs. It's been said that the Cubs would only include Wuertz in a major deal. Maybe so, but he's pretty far down on the depth chart given his abilities.
Brad Hennessey, Tyler Walker of the Giants. Hennessey is a pitch-to-contact type who's given up an astounding 12 hits in three innings so far. He's not exactly at peak value.
Alan Embree, Huston Street of the A's. Billy Beane is expected to extract a huge bounty for Street later this summer if he does trade him. Street's allowed runs in his first three appearances though.
Chad Bradford, Jamie Walker, George Sherrill of the Orioles. Right now the O's are just enjoying first place. In a couple of months they might have the best trove of available relievers.
Brian Fuentes of the Rockies. They can't spare him.
Damaso Marte, John Grabow of the Pirates. Marte's last appearance was encouraging; he'll have to continue building up value.
Jose Valverde, Doug Brocail of the Astros. Richard Justice wonders whether Drayton McLane could order a roster teardown if things are looking bleak a few months from now. Valverde could fetch a couple of quality prospects.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Frank Wren to Jon Rauch - "Can you hear me now?"
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2 comments:
Blaine got nailed last night, but I'm not sure if the blame is completely attributable to the pen. The starters have pitched well so far this year, but they haven't made it very far. Since Huddy on opening day, the longest a starter has gone in a game has been 6 1/3.
Also, when Hampton got hurt, it basically became a bullpen game and there was the 12 inning affair as well. Acquiring a quality arm is never a bad thing, but I'm not sure if some of the names you've listed are really worth making a move for at this point.
I hear you Glenn.
Hampton going down definitely hurt as it forced Bennett to pitch 4 innings out of the pen thus elinating his usage for multiple days.
I also agree with you on your point about the starters not lasting very long but with Glavine, Jurrjens, and James/Reyes making up 3/5 of the rotation the pullpen better get used to pitching 3+ innings a night as those guys are not going to make it to the 7th consistently (or at all).
At the end of the day you still have to score runs and you honestly can't "expect" to win at Coors if you only score 1 run but it is still the job of the pen to get outs.
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