Bee Wheezy’s Gone: Who is his Successor?
The Giants have a deep bullpen and for that you can thank Brian Sabean. I questioned his off season moves to keep both Lopez and Affeldt thinking the better move would be too pool all the extra dough into an offer for Beltran. But Sabean picked up 2 outfielders instead (Melky and Pagan) and kept the bullpen in tact which now appears to have been a critical move. With Bee Wheezy down for the count we now turn to our stacked bullpen to somehow find a replacement for The Bearded One.
Remember, if you turn one of the current guys into a closer that creates a hole in another part of the bullpen. I’m sure Bochy doesn’t want to disrupt the roles those guys have down there. There are guys down there he trusts but probably none who stand out.
So it’s not an easy decision for Bochy. Or me. I had Wilson on 2 of my NFBC teams and I’ll be reluctantly kicking him to the curb later today. In those leagues, you have $1000 free agent dollars to spend for the year. You bid once a week (Sunday at 5pm) on any available free agents who you want to acquire. When a closer job opens up the cost can be huge. As an example, Jordan Walden (more on him later) went for $342 the week that Scioscia decided to replace the ineffective Fernando Rodney with the young rookie from AAA. Last week, I bought Hector Santiago for $222 because I was desperate for a closer in that league. The 2nd bid was $60 so I had a little buyers remorse at the time but have since decided it was a sound purchase….
Anyway, there is no clear cut decision in fantasy or real life for who the next closer will ultimately be. The early favorites seem to be Casilla or Romo. Casilla just walks too many people, I can’t see him holding the job for long. And Romo has a balky elbow, I don’t think the Giants would run him out there as often as a closer sometimes has to work.
Affeldt or Lopez? Maybe a spot save or two if the match ups worked but I can’t see either of them getting the job long term.
Otero? He’s the guy with all the minor league closer experience. He’s got good control but his *stuff* isn’t as electric as you’d like to see for a major league closer. I suppose there’s a chance the job could default down to him but it doesn’t look or sound like that will happen…….
Heath Hembree? The electricity is there. I’m not sure if he knows where the ball is going or if he would be confident enough to roll with the big boys at this level.
Last year, the Angels made a bold move by anointing Walden the closer to replace the beleaguered and bedraggled Fernando Rodney. He was 23, the same age as Hembree. He had pitched 6 games for the Angels in 2010 and he had more minor league experience than Hembree. But Hembree has 43 minor league saves to Walden’s 9. Plus, Hembree had a handful of saves in college (unlike Walden who didn’t go to college).
Anyway, Walden had a nice season last year saving 32 games for the Angels. I wonder if the Giants would consider Hembree at some point this year……
None of these 6 guys seem worth purchasing to me, and they are all on my waiver wire at the NFBC. Romo and Casilla will probably both go for north of $200 this evening. I could probably buy Hembree for a few bucks since he’s not going to get the gig until and if others fail before him. Still, he can chill on my bench and wait for his turn. Either that, or he never gets called up and I will have wasted a few bucks on a long shot. No big deal…….
I’ve gotten texts from several non-Giant fan friends (who are also huge into fantasy baseball) wanting to know who I think will be our next closer. I’m telling everyone the same thing: I’ve got no idea. I think the safest and best plan is to stay out of the bidding for Casilla and Romo and take a shot on the cheap with one of the under-the-radar guys. Bruce Bochy doesn’t have the same luxury, he has to deal with real baseball. I don’t envy his position…….
A Place To Talk About Giants Baseball 
Flav, very well written. I especially liked how you mixed fantasy baseball, with our own Giants reality. Bochy said he’ll go with a closer-by-committee, at least initially, with Santiago Casilla, Sergio Romo and Javier Lopez as the main options. I get Romo and Casilla, but was surprised to hear him mention Lopez (his control sucks, albeit, he is a lefty). I doubt he comes on top when everything is sorted out.
Romo was lights out as the team’s main setup option last season, with 48 shutdown innings. However, as you indicated he has elbow issues. Casilla was almost as good, but the 25 walks in 51.2 innings is a red flag to me (as you also pointed out) and his strikeout rate isn’t as good as Romo.
Hembree may be a factor later this season, but right now, I think he needs more seasoning. That’s not to say that he wont be called up soon, but if he is – they will initially give him less than stressful relief assignments.
In any event, no one can know for sure how this plays out long term. Either the closer in place is the shits (your Walden and Rodney example, as well as Toronto and the Mets last year) or gets injured (Madson, Wilson, and Farnsworth this year).
Casilla had the job end of last year, right? He throws very hard and has great breaking ball. Usually his own worst enemy–tough to hit, tough to catch too. Romo could do the job, imo, if he was thrown in there, but probably better as set up guy. Enough depth in the PS it shouldn’t matter.
Meanwhile, our “curiosity” continues to confound skeptics, which includes me for sure, with more than “acceptable #5” outings. Lost in all the scoring is the fact that even before last night SF had 3 out of 4 games with excellent games from the SPs not named Lincecum. Vogs goes today.
Only thing bothered me about last night was how many times SF batters hit the ball on the ground with a guy on third…even melk’s last AB, with burriss on third and no outs, anything medium deep in the air and the game is over. Melk could easily have had a GIDP. His first time up after Pagan singled and stole second he hit the ball in the air to LF, not getting the runner moved over for Sando. Nate sprayed two hits to LF and he and Burriss had rbis.
Good summary. However, you left out Hensley, who is more likely than Otero to get some saves. Think he’ll take the 7th inning spot vacated by Santiago.
Think they have no choice but to hold their breath and go with Casilla and Affeldt primarily because of Romo’s elbow and Lopez is more lefty spec.
They will definitely be keeping a close eye on Hembree’s development.
First, Burriss forced the game ending error, he had a *very* good night, and his celebration after scoring the game winner was well within the bounds of walk off behavior…nobody, including the Bucs, is upset about it, except the Menace..
The closer? I’ve been back and forth.. Casilla is now my choice. Hembree? Casilla was basically the 7th inning RHer, not the pressure of either the closer or the set up guy. Bring him up and let him audition there.
If I’m pitching for the Pirates today, I’d knock Burriss on his ass. But that’s just me.
I thought you might be interested to see Joe Maddon’s lineup today.
Jennings CF, Pena 1B, Longoria 3B, Keppinger 2B, Zobrist RF, Scott DH, Rodriguez SS, Joyce LF, Gimenez C, (Moore P)
I really dig that guy.
Don’t the Rays have a blog, Menace?
I’m sure you’ll consider anything 1 inch inside a knockdown pitch, BTW.
Circumstances can change this a bit (workload in particular), but generally, the team has relievers to pitch when the team is ahead or tied, and those for when they’re ahead. I’m posting this now to try to stave off the inevitable bitching when a “B” list reliever comes into a game when we’re one down and gives uo 2 or 3 runs. The major reason in having the A and B guys is so the A relievers still have an arm left at the end of the year.
Our “B” guys are now Mota, Otero, and Affeldt and Hensley are sort of swing guys. “A” list is Lopez, Casilla, Romo. Depending on who they bring up, Affeldt or Hensley would become an “A”. Forgetting Hembree for now, let’s say we are ahead by one or two after six and Bochy decides to go to the pen because Zito has thrown 212 pitches.You’d most likely see Hensley in the seventh with Affeldt available as the loogy. You get Romo for the 8th, hopefully not needing help. Then in the ninth we have Casilla to close and both loogies available- or certainly Lopez for sure. That’s the ideal Bochy scenario, Bullpen 101.
I’m interested to hear James’ perspective on who the next closer will be 🙂
I think he’s going with “whoever”.
Me too. I happen to agree with him that closer is overrated–I realize not everyone might be cut out for the role and getting last 3 outs are tough but most teams win high pct of games when they are ahead late. Just imo, and I realize there is a lot of disagreement on this topic. But there really is only one M Rivera.
Casilla, according to chron today, was 6 for 6 in save opps last year, and romo is a very reliable reliever. But James, like everyone here, is more than capable of defending his own viewpoints.
St.. I thought about Hensley I just can’t see them going that route. I do think they’d go *Otero* before Hensley but he’s obviously way down the list too. Our season would probably already be fucked if Bochy works his way all the way down to Otero or Hensley for the closer role…..
I was curious to see how many “blown saves” the team had last year, so I looked it up. The team had 14 last year. That was 6th best in the majors. Philly (8) and Washington (27) were first and last respectively. I dare say that last year’s 14 creeps closer to a 27 than to an 8 this year.
Supporting the over rated heory are studies that show that the rate that teams win a game with a lead going to the 9th (1, 2, or 3 runs, a save situation), have remained virtually the same for a hundred years. During their 14 year run of popstseason play, the Braves used 10 different guys as their primary closer. But face it, MLB will not be scrapping the closer role and some pitchers ARE better than others. So that’s why I’m going with Casilla over “whoever”…
“me too” is in reply to flav’s post of “james perspective”, not on “whoever” for closer, which I doubt any fan here is thinking of going with . Casilla was good enough last year, and seems best option. I don’t think this will hurt the team.
Pagan CF, Cabrera LF, Sandoval 3B, Posey C, Schierholtz RF, Belt 1B, Crawford SS, Burriss 2B, (Vogelsong P)
Casilla is really the best option right now.He was Ok down the stretch last year,though his tendency to give up walks,will start “tourturing” many Flappers in the critcal 9th save slot.
If he starts to cause “celebral hemmoraging” to Boch and Rags, im sure they will keep a close eye on Hembree,though he could use more seasoning,he had good control at Richmond last year 13 BB’s in 28IP with 34K’s to go along with 96-98 gas and a cutter at 89.Hembree’s the future might as well “Unleash Hell” early.
Liking that lineup/batting order. Should be productive. Interesting pitching matchup today with that pair of SF developed starters in Correia and Vogelsong. Hoping the Giants smell blood on the water and that after today Pittsburgh gets their act together at home and starts winning quite a few games.
T.F.: Your analysis of Casilla in the 9th with the two loogies as backstays looks pretty close. Some games only one would be available. Little doubt that Hembree will be virtually force-fed save opportunities in Fresno games. He could be pretty ready by July, but might be a bit dodgy early on.
Flav: Got the same impression as you about Sabean springing the big $ for that pair of loogies. He musta had a pretty good notion that Wilson was already more than slightly iffy.
Nice to see Pagan heating up last night. Ditto Burriss. Also sweet that Theriot finally came through in the clutch with that P.H. in the 9th. Most all the parts on this team seem functional now, with the possible exception of who’s on first. Maybe we learn more today.
I’m not a big fan of the “closer by committee” thing. Never have been. Reminds me a little of the NCAA coaches who alternate QBs on every other series or quarter. “If you have two quarterbacks, you have none.” Well, “if you have three or four closers, you have none.”
But given the current circumstances I fully understand Bochy’s decision. Given his options, I would probably do the same thing. No. I take that back. I’d give Romo a chance. His numbers were dominant last year. He was murder on RH batters, and lefties didn’t fair much better hitting only .229. I just like it when relievers know their roles. I think it makes everyone feel more at ease. And Casilla just walks too many hitters for my liking.
Closer by committee was essentially how it was for 8 decades, and ninth inning leads were as safe then as now. Closer by committee is simply putting the best pitcher for a situation in the game; it results in saves being distributed across a larger number of individuals.
Wait, if they go by the old closer by committee, how will my buddy Dennis know if they bring in a closer in a non save situation?
OK, I’m kidding. I jest. It was a joke. Who opened up that can of worms? Oh yeah, never mind…
I haven’t stopped laughing since I read your comment.
Cheers.
Just wondering, So does Bochy talk first with “Congress House Committees”before deciding on his “Closer by Committe?
Back in the day, starters used to routinely throw complete games. Maybe Bochy stays with the starter longer now.
I like closer by committee but fear the modern game does not allow it. In theory, you should be able to throw out the best pitcher for the situation, accounting for innings and pitches thrown and all that stuff. But this ain’t 1958. The closer is not only a tactical (or is itstrategic?? I get so confused ever since John McCain whined about Obama allegedly misusing those words in a debate) position, it’s an emotional position. The modern game seems to require its definitive nature. Look how we drifted in the Matt Herges Era. All of which leaves me terribly unsettled. BTW, hoping to see our boys in person at Citi — first in-person game for me and the Giants since The Knothole viewing of Game 1, WS, 2010.
I’ll be there Saturday.
let’s talk
Pittsburgh entered today’s game with a team OPS of just .475.
That’s even worse than having 9 NO Whitey’s in your lineup.
Well with 17 Straight Losing Seasons,the Pirates have had many Whitey Hitters and Wellenmeyer Pitchers througout their streak.
I thought I answered the
Yet they’re one of the most profitable teams in baseball due to not putting their revenue sharing bucks back into payroll..For teams like the Bucs, revenue sharing has created a disincentive to win.
the question earlier by suggesting there would be no negative impact from BW’s absence, if the rest of the bullpen is as good as it was last year.
Pablo caught that line drive with his eyes closed. Pretty nifty trick.
Pablo “Steve Sax” Sandoval. This is a major problem.
PAV thinks his extra body weight is hindering his defense (and not his offense). I don’t feel the same way. He’s carrying more weight than he did last year but he’s a long way away from the out-of-hand weight he carried in 2010……..
I never even considered his throwing issues to be weight related. I think it’s mostly mechanical and maybe somewhat mental. It’s all about getting his feet set, hips squared and the proper balance. Is his weight hindering those facts? I can’t say for sure, but I don’t think so.
are you talking about that ball he threw away last inning? Dude, he can’t set him feet, square shoulders, proper balance in that situation—the throw has to be thrown off balance to have a chance of getting the runner……
Actually, it was fill-in Carl Steward who made the Pablo comments on Pav’s blog.
Of course not, but that’s a play that still has to be made. The play I had in mind was the throw to the plate that was wide and pulled Buster’s foot off the plate.
there was nothing wrong with that throw………
Rally Time!!!
Hanrahan giving us a chance here.
Pablo may perform well, but being 5’11 240, most of which is fat, will catch up with him, hopefully later than sooner
Pfffft. Well, can’t score 4 or more every game.
and likely won’t tomorrow with Halladay going……..
Well, they usually have (0-2, 7+ ERA.) Plus 1-1 with ERA over 4 in the postseason.
It was a difficult play that few 3rd basemen would make…(today’s). The one that Menace has in mind, Buster was never on the plate. The problem with the play today was that they had him playing deep, that’s a coach issue.
There’s a BIG difference in not making the play and not recording the out at first, and not making the playing and throwing the ball away and allowing runners to advance. There’s no denying the fact that Pablo’s defense has been shoddy at best.
Better than your blogging, pal.
I hear ya. It’s pretty tough for a throw to pull a guy off the plate when the guy was never on it to begin with….
The only moderately questionable defensive play you could attribute to Pablo’s weight would be the ball that skipped under his glove the other day. And i think he just biscuited that one. He usually always stays down….
If one must have goats, Melky, Buster, and Nate all had horrendo ABs, and Pagan should have scored on the infield grounder. But really, they just lost, about 65 more to go.
The good news far out weighed the significance of one loss and Sandoval’s defense- Vogelsong’s outing was huge.
And as Kuip is correctly pointing out on the postgame show, WTF didn’t Pagan go home on Melky’s grounder with no outs? The Bucs were conceding the run. Bad base running.
Dennis, I really don’t want to trash all your posts, but you are so damn wrong most of the time. There really isn’t the BFD you make everything out to be. Prime example is the bullshit about Manny’s little celebration after scoring the game winner. Absolutely nobody in the fucking world had a problem with it except you.
Wrong just “most of the time?” Shit. Coming from you I ought to take that as a compliment.
But Burriss is way down on my list on those in need of plunking. Still atop the charts is the fucking rodeo clown, Cody Ross for when he flipped his bat when he homered vs The Horse. Fuck him. Ever since then I see a huge bulls eye on his ass when he comes up to bat. Cody’s got one coming.
I cut Cody a little slack for winning us the fuckin’ pennant…
Denny, you’ve got a problem with Cody Ross? Or is this joke just not coming through? He was one of half a dozen guys who won you the World Series……
And I praised Cody many a times during our WS run for his heroics. But that doesn’t negate the fact he committed a baseball and has yet to be punished for it. I’m a big believer in punishment. He’s got one coming.
The Dodgers just won again in the B9 on a GW single by Dee Gordon.
The Dodgers are on pace to win a 146 games this year. It’s gonna be rough.
“The Dodgers are on pace to win a 146 games this year..”
What’s sad is that you’re not joking.
His statement is 100% accurate (rounding up from 145.8). Maybe you should re-read it…
technicality. He probably does believe it. The rub is that I never can tell when Denny is joking or not. Does he really think it’s “gonna be rough” this year with the Dodgers in the same division? Or was that a joke about having to be in a division with a team that wins 146 games this year? Honestly, I can never tell. And Twin usually goes after every single one of his posts so if something is funny (or was intended to be) it’s lost in a series of 5-6 posts between Denny and Twin that have, frankly, gotten boring and old…….
No, I should just re-phrase my statement. His comment is typical of the imbeciles who start with the “on pace” bullshit in the 3rd inning of game 2.
So when will you grant permission to use the term “on pace”?
There are periods where I do go after all of his dumb posts. I’ve also tried ignoring them. On Chuckie’s blog I quit posting during games because of him. It makes no fucking difference. If you were home all day or at a PC at work, you’d want to do to him what he’s wants to do to Alex. Believe that.
He does more frigging play-by-play than Kuiper.
Yeah after the Padres bunted into a triple play in the top of the 9th.
the Dodgers are winning because Kemp is playing out of his mind and they play the fucking Padres every game. Jesus, the panic and paranoia is off the charts with you, dude…….
Opening O/U on tomorrow night’s Hallady/Lincecum showdown is 6. With the way we’ve hit Doc in the past, and the way Timmy has currently been throwing…I’m thinking OVER. You know what that means if I like the OVER…go back up the truck and bet the UNDER.
Good luck.
Amazing Doctor has to be Ortopedic Specialst James Andrews who willbe doing the surgery on Wilson.This dude was doing his magic back in the mid 60’s on Sandy Koufax ferchrissakes.Man I figured he had to be in his 80’s by now,but he is only 70!
Meaning he was cutting on Koufax when he was 24 years old,Sure must of had a fantastic resume already to do that.Also had the time to bang his wife,to he tune of 6 kids along the way.This guy is a true “Gamer”.
24? Per Answers.com, “It typically takes four years of undergraduate school to obtain your Bachelor’s, followed by an additional 4 years of medical school and several years of internship before you can use the title of M.D.”
Dude must have been a prodigy.
1. I’ve concluded that ‘Song’s pitching pace is maddeningly slow; not Bob Gibson-give-me-the-ball rhythm.
2. It seems unrelated to 1 but might not be: our hitters were as flat as Patti Smith today. (Reading her “Just Kids” bio.)
Getting back to this game- as I said, Vogelsong’s performance was far more significant than the loss- as I’ve ppsted before, he just may be the key player on the team this year. If Tim starightens out ( and I think he will) and Vogelsong is even close to last year’s performance, they’re in ( the play offs)…. Belt had three good at bats, wonder what that earns him?
On this Ross nonsense, I’ve said this before- MLB players are total pussies on this “showing up” bit. “Ooohhh, he flipped his bat, Mommy. We should have someone hit him in the head with a 90 MPH fastball! That’ll teach him for that cheeky attitude. Btw, I’m pretty sure I saw Hanrahan smirk after the last out. Get him!”
Blade, Pawlie, Kat… thank YOU!
De nada . . . umm . . . what did I do now (gulity look on my face)?
Just for joining the blog this evening.
Yeah, it is a bit and a half early to get fretted about the LaBumbos. Not only is Kemp “playing outta his mind”, but so, pretty much is Ethier. Any time a team gets a good one-two punch going they are going to get a bunch of W’s. It also has a ripple effect on team-mates. Except for a bit of a symbiosis between Melky and Pablo the Giants are yet to experience one or more of their guys getting hot and carrying the team. BTW: Kershaw didn’t pitch much past mid-game, giving up three in one inning to the Pads. Billingsley may also be chucking a bit over his head right lately against so-so opposition. Bums will flutter back to earth. Not a bad third place team because of 2-4 outstanding players, but not built for a 162 game run.
IMO Kemp should be playing the way he is playing. It’s expected. Ethier though is the surprise. I doubt that you will see a redux of his 30-plus-homer season ala’ 2009. However, he might get 20-25 homers this year.
I’ve got a $150 espn lg that has kemp and ethier on it– also Pablo, Longo, Reyes, and andrus (10 team lg). I will be destroying that lg this yr
What’s the payoff at the end of the season?
this one is a buddy league so we do our own payouts. $20 for winning each end of season category. All star pay out of $150/$100/$50 and and end of year pay out of $500/$250/$150/$100….
it’s the only 10 team league I’m in and you can stack your roster with all stars but the key is to pick up pitching very late.
I’m not diggin’ the new ESPN baseball game crew. It was never clear to me why they got rid of Miller and Morgan. And these new guys are even worse than Valentine and Herschiser.
Zumie, On April 21, 2010 it was announced that Morgan is returning to the Reds in the role of “special advisor to baseball operations.” Morgan will work in both the baseball side and community outreach side for the Reds. This might be the official reason. However, Morgan’s announcing work with ESPN inspired the title of firejoemorgan.com, a sports blog that updated regularly from 2005 to 2008. Considered one of the most influential sports blogs of the decade, the blog criticized sports journalism, particularly in baseball. While Morgan himself was a frequent target not only because of his journalism style, but also because he hated sabermetrics. The blog often was critical of other opponents of sabermetrics, as well as sports journalists who misstated or misrepresented the concepts of the book Moneyball by Michael Lewis.
By the by, that was taken from Wiki . . . forgot the quotes. Sorry.
The greatest “showing up” of all time might be the Bonds Pirouette against the Bums. As recounted by LA Times writer Bill Plaschke, it haunted them for ten years…
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/jul/31/sports/sp-plaschke31
This is quite relevant for one reason – the columnist is Bill Plaschke and he is “plugged into” all sports in LaLa land. In short, if he says this is what pisses off Bum fans, then he is probably right. LOL . . . I love it.
Everyone here seems to be taking the Wilson injury very well. Personally I think we’re quite fucked from it. The main reason nobody (including me) isn’t too devastated is because we finally got our title.
I disagree Loo. I wont question that Wilson is important, but as Mike and James pointed out, the bullpen is our strength and we have reserves to plug into his spot (actually multiple relievers that possibly can perform that function). I would be worried if our top 3 pitchers were injured. We have literally no one to replace them.
No, it’s because we have an excellent relief corps. I won’t pretend to speak for everyubody else, as we all have different takes on it. Personally, I don’t get *devasted* over how well or poorly closers fare, but the improved offense will mean fewer save opportunties, so any downturn should be negated.
I’m in the camp that’s not that worried about No Bee-Wheezy. It wasn’t a problem last year when he went down in August.
Interesting evening at the free agent waiver wire in my bid leagues. I picked up Casilla for $111 (2nd bid $88) in my less expensive league. But in my 15 team Big Boy league things went a little crazy. I bid $187 for Casilla in that one after hours of thoughtful consideration (I went from $88 to $288 over the course of the weekend). Casilla ended up going for $455 in that league with a 2nd bid of $300. Romo (who I didn’t bid on because of his elbow) went for $555! with a 2nd bid of $377. Everyone has $1000 free agent dollars to spend on the entire season so I hope it’s worth it for those guys…….
Your underestimating it. Think of what Wilson meant in 2010 or Lidge a few years ago. Sometimes bullpens look deep, but you never know with a lot of these guys.
I totally could be underestimating it. Saves and wins are two things I have a lot of problems with in fantasy baseball. But that’s how I feel until something otherwise unfolds……..
Loo….My money is on Hembree.Within the month he will be up,Otero down.They might start him out in the seventh inning to start,but he will be the closer soon after a few starts after the BP by Committee craters.This guy is built like Cain,country strong,throws gas with a cutter.Throws more strikes then Casilla,and that is one we need.Boch just needs to “Unless Hell” and go with Hembree
Loo is over estimating it. Even in 2010, his greatest year, Wilson’s WAR was 2.6. In essence that means that he was worth 3 more wins than, say, Brad Hennessey( I’m rounding it high). 5 position players were more valuable. None of this is a knock on Wilson, I’ve always been his number 1 supporter.In 2006 I said he was the future closer. It’s just that closers are overrated period. Clearly the most important attribute for a successful closer is his hair, facial or otherwise There’s where we’ll miss Wilson, somebody has to really step up. I’m just not certain that Sergio’s will do it, it’s certainly not worth those 2.6 wins.Keep in mind though, in 2011 his WAR was just 0.6, so replacing that Wilson shouldn’t even require a kid who shaves.
This look should definitely do it for Sergio,though. I’d rate it a 45 save look.
Wilson’s injury isnt a big deal. I feel bad for him because he was an integral part of the 2010 run and maybe after all is said and done he sacrificed his zombie tendons at the alter of victory but I don’t think it’s a devastating loss for the club this year. The one part of the roster that can obsorb such a loss in the bullpen. Bochy manages the relievers and match ups well and it is also Sabean’s strength. I think they’ll find the solution in house with another arm possibly getting picked up to fill out the back end.
Regardless of who closes, the quality of the SPs over the course of the season will be tantamount to success. Zito and Cain have already thrown complete game shutouts, and in the last two days zito and vogs went 7 strong at the back end of the rotation. Bum had no hit stuff for quite a while vs. Rox too after their big blowout W. If this can continue, bochy won’t have to use the pen near as much as other teams, a tremendous advantage.
Another reason (beside short commute) I don’t listen to talk radio: this morning on lurie show two callers almost back to back said SF closers should be: cain and lincecum .
Based on Wlson’s numbers last yr, it shouldn’t be viewed as a big loss. Might actually be a blessing, because they would have stuck with a mediocre Wilson too long.
Nothing like finding a mistake after your POTD is up. Anyway, that’s “devastated”, of course. I don’t know what to even call those, I skip letters, repeat words, etc. It’s getting to be more of a chore than it’s worth to edit all my fuck ups. No, don’t get excited, I’m not leaving quite yet, you’ll just get the posts unedited.
‘Night
My POTD isn’t good anyway, just give it to Loo everyday.
I’m sure this won’t go over very well, but I think the Jackie Robinson tribute of having everyone wear #42 is absurd. A patch on the sleeve would’ve sufficed. If I bought a program today, I would’ve demanded a refund. You think Larry Doby had it any easier than Robinson? His ML debut was only about 10 weeks after Jackie’s…
overdone, like everything selig touches. Next baseball book i want to read is “summer of ’68”. I still can’t get over all the die hards that keep multiple blogs/twitter feeds going as reported in pawlie’s book. Pretty neat reading about all these people; one of those books so interesting you finish it too fast.
It was pretty funny when someone would get up in the Pittsburgh bullpen, and it would take Fleming 10 minutes and 3 wrong guesses to figure out who the hell it was . . . Then there’s the conference on the mound later. What does the ump say? Hey 42! Get back to all your positions and the dugout!