Here Comes the Bullpen
Thu, Apr 20, 2006
by Geoff Young
Don’t look now, but the Padres have the lowest bullpen ERA in the big leagues:
| IP | ERA | H/9 | HR/9 | BB/9 | SO/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49.0 | 2.94 | 8.08 | 0.73 | 3.31 | 7.53 | Stats through April 19, 2006; courtesy ESPN. |
Alan Embree, Scott Cassidy, Scott Linebrink, and Trevor Hoffman have allowed three runs among them in over 26 innings of work. Heck, even Dewon Brazelton threw two scoreless innings on Wednesday. Isn’t April fun?
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April 20, 2006 at 8:02 am
Now if the pads could get the same production out of thier bench they would be in good shape
April 20, 2006 at 8:30 am
Those new guys see Hoffy and Linebrick and know they got to improve their game. I’m sure there is a lot of pride in the bully, that when they get the call, they do the job, especially the padre bully which has performed well for a while.
April 20, 2006 at 8:38 am
I know we had a horrid pen a few years ago a (I remember Jeremy Fikac giving up bomb after bomb). I checked ESPN for historical stats, and it went back to 2002; in ‘02 and ‘03 the pen was not that great. However, Towers amazes me in finding retreads that blossom in the pen. Think Jay Witasik; traded him to NYY when he had a 1.00 ERA, but he sucked elsewhere. Or Herges; I think we got Hensley from SF for trading Herges to the SF, and we signed Herges as a free agent. Or Scott (?) Reed, who we traded to NYM for Jason Bay (yikes) because he was pitching so well. Another free agent signing. Or Saenez last year. Or Hammond. Or getting Linebrink off the waiver wire. Not as much magic picking offense, or, for that matter, starters, but he seems to be able to pick up some gems from the pen and is willing to deal them when their value is the highest.
April 20, 2006 at 9:47 am
I like what we’ve seen from Alan Embree so far. he’s been looking well and there was a story in the Union Tribune today about that and the bone chip surgery he had last year.
Also I’ve seen these signs before but is it “You have been PEEEEEEEAVED” or what is the ongoing letter on those signs?
April 20, 2006 at 12:10 pm
Towers does seem to do well with the bullpen. I wonder how much credit goes to Balsley? Says on the website he replace Booker at the beginning of the 2003 season, which roughly corresponds to the beginning of the success Jay talks about. Seems like Darren does a pretty good job, too.
April 20, 2006 at 12:16 pm
Embree has surprised the heck out of me, particularly with his velocity: generally 93-96 mph with the fastball. Didn’t expect him to have that much left in the tank based on his recent performances.
Pat, I’m a big fan of Balsley. He was Peavy’s pitching coach at Elsinore and seemed to relate well to the younger pitchers.
On an unrelated note, here’s a nice preview of the upcoming series from a Mets perspective:
http://www.metsgeek.com/articl.....itchers-2/
April 20, 2006 at 1:07 pm
Embree was a great pickup. He always threw hard until he had the bone chip problem, it makes sense that he’s revitalized after having them removed. I guess no one else wanted to take a chance since he’s 36. Seems like a perfect candidate to be flipped later in the year, he’s a veteran with playoff experience. I bet the Red Sox come calling for him in a couple months.
April 20, 2006 at 1:26 pm
Geoff:
Where’s the IGD entry? Aren’t we going to get some more of your man love for Xavier Nady? I have a prediction about his performance against the Padres this series, and that prediction is: PAIN.
April 20, 2006 at 1:48 pm
So whos going to AAA on sat when the pads bring Cameron off of the DL?
April 20, 2006 at 2:16 pm
TF: Glad you asked. The IGD will be up at 6 p.m. I’m trying real hard not to talk about Nady until around August or so. (Hint: I don’t even refer to him by name in the IGD.)
April 20, 2006 at 2:30 pm
My money is on Mirabelli going on the DL to rehab his back (which will leave us with 2 catchers again). Next on my list would be Belhorn.
April 20, 2006 at 2:34 pm
Ranger, that’s not a bad idea but I was thinking Adkins might head back down even though Boch needs the extra arm in the pen. but I wouldn’t be suprised if Mirabelli went to the DL. I’m guessing he could have got the start Wed too but Bowen was in there. Mirabelli didn’t get good hacks either when he pinch hit tues night
April 20, 2006 at 2:51 pm
Yahoo’s got a game preview article up …
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/pr.....=260420125
… with these comments about tonight’s Met’s pitcher …
Trachsel will make his first career appearance at Petco Park on Thursday, and hasn’t faced the Padres since a 10-3 loss Aug. 26, 2004. The right-hander has struggled in his last five starts against San Diego, going 1-4 with a 10.17 ERA.
Trachsel (1-1, 4.09 ERA) allowed four runs and nine hits in five innings in Saturday’s 8-2 loss to Milwaukee. The 14-year veteran was much better in his only other start this year, giving up a run and three hits as he struck out six in six innings of a 9-3 win over Florida on April 7.
… go get ‘em, boys!
April 20, 2006 at 3:07 pm
We don’t need 12 pitchers. Nobody needs 12 pitchers, not when 4 of them are Adkins, Sweeney, Cassidy, and Brazelton.
I don’t much like 3 catchers, either, but at least it’s not the normal 3 catcher situation, 1 starter and 2 offensive ciphers.
April 20, 2006 at 3:17 pm
With the way its set up I dont mind the three catchers, I hate the 12 pitchers and I would like to see Belhorn and Blum off the roster and Leone on the roster
April 20, 2006 at 3:25 pm
to my way of thinking, we could get along very well without mirabelli. mirabelli didnt seem to do very well for braz..in fact, mirabelli isnt even a very good defensive catcher. thats why he never got a job as the starting catcher anywhere. he hits decent enough for a catcher but cant catch.
April 20, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Can we blame Brazelton’s struggles on Mirabelli? He caught him in ST when Brazelton did well, and outside of ST Brazelton has always stunk. Seems to me that Dewon’s problems start and end with Dewon. Getting another few good innings in relief might do wonders for his confidence.
April 20, 2006 at 3:34 pm
to me Mirabelli is probably one of the better hitting backup catchers out there, he is good for right handed power off the bench and will not kill the lineup when Piazza has a day off (he can replace Piazza in the 4 hole), adding Bowen is nice because it allows the padres to have a defensive replacement late in games (who can make a throw to 2nd without one hopping it) when the pads are ahead. I think it works well all around.
Whats killing me is the lack of production from Blum and Belhorn, if either has tom play for an extened perod of time it will be a big hit to the pads.
April 20, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Must read … http://tinyurl.com/ehc4j … especially if you’re a “fantasy baseball” player
April 20, 2006 at 4:48 pm
Mirabelli won’t be going anywhere (except maybe the DL), otherwise KT has nothing to show for Loretta. Brazelton just needs to relax and pitch, he’s thinking too much. Maybe he needs an “Annie Malloy” to help him relax (the flower goes on the front-right?).
As far as Belhorn, he’s shown me nothing. Blum, to me, as a switch-hitter is a little more versatile than Belhorm.
April 20, 2006 at 4:49 pm
Oops, not Annie Malloy…Annie Savoy…d’oh!
April 20, 2006 at 5:35 pm
Sorry, Geoff, I haven’t been following the game day threads too much here, but I’ll check to see what you call him. My guess is . . . My Precious, no wait, how about, He Who Bochy Shafted, no, how about, Presumed-He-Was-A-Starter-But-Hit-RHP-Like-A-Scrub?