Survivor: Bullpen

Sprowl

mikey lowell of the sandbox
Dope
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2006
34,437
Haiku
The team's top three relievers, Kimbrel, Uehara and Smith, are all on the DL. Here's who survived the epidemic, and their likely roles:

Barnes, right-handed generalist -- hitting 98 mph with regularity, Barnes may yet be a Killer B. Barnes has a traditional split in 2016, but a reverse split during prior years.

Buchholz, human white flag -- nobody trusts a rodent.

Hembree, right-handed specialist -- with an enormous traditional split in 2016, Heath should face no LHB except with a ten-run lead.

Layne, left-handed specialist -- no strong splits in 2016, but OPS vs LHB/RHB in 2013-2015: .494/.931

Ramirez, human white flag -- with his arm slot, he ought to be tough on RHB, but so far, so bad:

Ross, left-handed generalist -- with a strong split this year, but minimal split over 2013-2015, Ross is one of the few pitchers that Farrell can use against anybody.

Tazawa, set up -- no strong splits, lots of experience, good command, but vulnerable to the gopherball (especially in the Skydome).

Ziegler, closer -- prior experience as closer, no strong splits, excellent control, and most AL batters are unfamiliar with him.


Farrell's bullpen management has been one of his weak spots, and will be under the spotlight until Kimbrel and Uehara return. Joe Madden would turn this collection of limited specialists into a killer bullpen, but can the Jaw go to war with the army he's got?
 

moondog80

heart is two sizes two small
SoSH Member
Sep 20, 2005
8,091
Joe Kelly has a prime opportunity to grab a major role, Remy and O'Brien were talking about him even stepping up as closer last night when Uehara left the game.
 

Sprowl

mikey lowell of the sandbox
Dope
SoSH Member
Jun 27, 2006
34,437
Haiku
Joe Kelly has a prime opportunity to grab a major role, Remy and O'Brien were talking about him even stepping up as closer last night when Uehara left the game.
I heard that discussion, and thought they had both gone crazy. I wouldn't trust Kelly to locate his fastball to save his life, and he has repeatedly failed in his efforts to grab a starting role. Ziegler seems like the obvious candidate for closer until Kimbrel or Uehara return.

I'd certainly rather see Kelly on the major-league roster than Ramirez, though.
 

moondog80

heart is two sizes two small
SoSH Member
Sep 20, 2005
8,091
I heard that discussion, and thought they had both gone crazy. I wouldn't trust Kelly to locate his fastball to save his life, and he has repeatedly failed in his efforts to grab a starting role. Ziegler seems like the obvious candidate for closer until Kimbrel or Uehara return.

I'd certainly rather see Kelly on the major-league roster than Ramirez, though.
Agree that closer is a bridge too far (for now), but failed starter with good stuff to kick ass set up guy is a somewhat common transition so I'm hopeful he can step up.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
I think they have enough good relievers who are good enough. But, as alwyas, the issue will be whether the starters go long enough to prevent their burnout. I also think there's a hesitation to use Ross on either consectutive days or after sitting in the dugout, which hamstrings things a bit.
 

Rasputin

Will outlive SeanBerry
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 4, 2001
29,419
Not here
I think it's pretty clear they don't want to bring Kelly up until he's going to come up to stay and that means some roster machinations, and that probably means waiting for the trade deadline.

Like others, I think he's ultimately going to end up taking Buchholz' spot, but they want to get a little something for Buchholz first.

It completely sucks donkey balls. Kimbrell, Smith, Koji, Taz all on the DL at the same time. If we can just get through a few days until Taz comes back I think we'll be okay with Ziegler, Taz, Ross, Hembree, Layne, and Barnes.

Other than a top four of Kimbrell, Ziegler, Koji, Taz, and two lefties, I don't know how the machinations are going to work out.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,344
Noe instead of Joe until Taz is back.
Joe up when Clay is waived.
Ziegler closes. Barnes will get the 8th. Taz takes the 8th when he's back. Koji and Zieggy (plays guitar) split closing duties until Kimbrell proves he's healthy and returned after some AAA dominance.

Assuming all are healthy for the stretch run:
Kimbrell-9th
Koji/Zieggy-8th
Barnes/Taz-7th
Kelly/Layne/Ross/Hembree (one or two of these guys won't be here along with Ramirez)
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
Noe instead of Joe until Taz is back.
Joe up when Clay is waived.
Ziegler closes. Barnes will get the 8th. Taz takes the 8th when he's back. Koji and Zieggy (plays guitar) split closing duties until Kimbrell proves he's healthy and returned after some AAA dominance.

Assuming all are healthy for the stretch run:
Kimbrell-9th
Koji/Zieggy-8th
Barnes/Taz-7th
Kelly/Layne/Ross/Hembree (one or two of these guys won't be here along with Ramirez)
Not being an A-hole, but I'm curious as to your definition of stretch run and with so many injuries why we might assume everyone is healthy. I think Kimbrell is back closer to 6 weeks than 4 and I have serious concerns about Koji's inconsistency over the past 2 seasons. I'm praying that Ziggy can keep healthy and can close things out while we wait on the others and that Kelly is able to do what we hope he can do.
 

Sandy Leon Trotsky

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 11, 2007
6,344
Assuming we can keep pace with the O's and Jays with bullpen as it is through August then getting those two back after they both show a weeks worth of success in AAA for September. A hole!!!
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
Thanks for the answer douchebag. I was curious because we often hear about "the stretch" but I suspect that means different thing to different folks. I realize there is more than 1/3 of the season left, but given the fact that only 1.5 games separates Baltimore, Boston and Toronto, given the injuries, given the the remaining road games compared to home games and the fact that The Sox have one day off in the next 42 I'm thinking that we might be entering "the stretch" now.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
Thanks for the answer douchebag. I was curious because we often hear about "the stretch" but I suspect that means different thing to different folks. I realize there is more than 1/3 of the season left, but given the fact that only 1.5 games separates Baltimore, Boston and Toronto, given the injuries, given the the remaining road games compared to home games and the fact that The Sox have one day off in the next 42 I'm thinking that we might be entering "the stretch" now.
My marker is the August 15th off day. From that day forward its ride'em hard and put'em away wet. Especially because reinforcements come aboard on 9/1.


I think people are overlooking the shitpile that is the Orioles rotation. And not a lot of offdays there either. Toronto, OTOH, has better pitching and fewer games.
 

nvalvo

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
21,478
Rogers Park
Assuming we can keep pace with the O's and Jays with bullpen as it is through August then getting those two back after they both show a weeks worth of success in AAA for September. A hole!!!
Two things: A) the schedule is brutal *starting now,* with 20 games, many on the west coast, before our next off day, and then 23 before the off day after that; and B) the AAA season ends the first week of September. So...
 

alwyn96

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 24, 2005
1,351
I like to think of this situation as the baseball gods giving us a happy parallel to the 2013 team losing their top three relievers (Hanrahan, Bailey, and Miller) and that working out ok. It would be great if someone could step up and be the 2013 Uehara for this team, although I'd settle for the backend guys being able to eat some innings without putting the team in a hole.
 
Last edited:

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
Two things: A) the schedule is brutal *starting now,* with 20 games, many on the west coast, before our next off day, and then 23 before the off day after that; and B) the AAA season ends the first week of September. So...
I understand that West Coast trips can be, in and of themselves, difficult. And there's that brutal piece with the makeup game in Cleveland, but there is some silver lining in that neither Seattle nor LAA (nor Oakland or SD on the next trip) are especially good. I know they have to play the games, but they do have some pretty bad teams sprinkled in -- LAA, Minn, AZ, Oak, and SD -- that might help ease the suffering. The back to back iron -- lots of Tor and BAL -- doesn't really hit until after a 9/8 offday. Also other than the DET afternoon, LAA next night, they seem to have offdays for the real shitty travel (8/8 after LAD and 9/8 after SD). Even the makeup game means BOS-CLE-BAL in 3 days. Not optimal, but all in same time zone.

So while the schedule does them no favors, it could be a whole lot worse.
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
My marker is the August 15th off day. From that day forward its ride'em hard and put'em away wet. Especially because reinforcements come aboard on 9/1.


I think people are overlooking the shitpile that is the Orioles rotation. And not a lot of offdays there either. Toronto, OTOH, has better pitching and fewer games.
Normally I'm looking at "the stretch" to be the last 6-8 weeks of the season, but as you say I'm worried they may already be hard and wet before that 6 week mark. Totally agree about the O's rotation, but somehow they're hanging on to the top spot and I'm hoping that Toronto's fewer games left than the Sox works against them. Extra days off, but hopefully extra games to make up in the standings come September.
 

Merkle's Boner

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 24, 2011
3,756
I really want and expect Barnes to step up and solidify himself as the 8th inn set up guy. His velocity has had such a step up and I feel much more comfortable with him than Taz at this point.
 

DeadlySplitter

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 20, 2015
33,247
I'm ready to DFA Layne for Kelly after tonight. Layne can't even get lefties out reliably, he's nothing.
 

Lowrielicious

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 19, 2011
4,328
Buchholz, human white flag -- nobody trusts a rodent.
It's a new role for him and he has sucked out loud as a starter, but the brief stint in the bullpen last month went:

Tor: 1 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 BB, 1K
Bal: 3.1 IP, 3 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), 4 BB, 1 K (started with two clean innings then ran into trouble in the third although could have got out of that a lot cheaper also : BB, BB, error (double play ball), single, FC, groundout, flyout)
Tor: 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 Runs, 0 BB, 1K
Minn: 1 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 2 BB, 0 K
Bal: 3 IP, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 4 Ks

There are definite signs of potential there. If he gets the double play rather than an error in that one inning that's a very nice string of outings against legit lineups.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
Is there any chance Buchholz not pitching tonight was a sign of an impending trade? If he didn't come in tonight, why is he on the team? Only possibilities I can see: 1. Trade coming. 2. It's been so long since he pitched, Farrell wants his next outing to be a truly meaningless situation. 3. There's a potential problem with a starter and they may need Clay for a spot start before O'Sullivan is off the DL.

i guess maybe the answer is that once Barnes went two innings, he was used up for the next couple of days anyway so might as well keep Clay fresh since he can't pitch every day.
 

Rasputin

Will outlive SeanBerry
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Oct 4, 2001
29,419
Not here
It's worth noting that while the Sox have too few off days and too many road games, they have the easiest schedule in the division going forward.

Decent pitching + hammer the ball = win!
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
Is there any chance Buchholz not pitching tonight was a sign of an impending trade? If he didn't come in tonight, why is he on the team? Only possibilities I can see: 1. Trade coming. 2. It's been so long since he pitched, Farrell wants his next outing to be a truly meaningless situation. 3. There's a potential problem with a starter and they may need Clay for a spot start before O'Sullivan is off the DL.

i guess maybe the answer is that once Barnes went two innings, he was used up for the next couple of days anyway so might as well keep Clay fresh since he can't pitch every day.
I was curious about the same thing. From what we know his role is "long guy" or "multiple innings guy". The starter throws 3 complete innings and then faces what, 7 batters in the fourth and can't get a single one out? Logically isn't this Clay's spot? Hopefully can go at least 3-4 innings and save the pen going into this horrendous stretch of the schedule or is he to the point where he's can't be trusted with a 3 run lead? If this is the case why is he taking a roster spot?
 

pjheff

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2003
1,296
I was curious about the same thing. From what we know his role is "long guy" or "multiple innings guy". The starter throws 3 complete innings and then faces what, 7 batters in the fourth and can't get a single one out? Logically isn't this Clay's spot? Hopefully can go at least 3-4 innings and save the pen going into this horrendous stretch of the schedule or is he to the point where he's can't be trusted with a 3 run lead? If this is the case why is he taking a roster spot?
I think that Clay has a roster spot in the hopes of obtaining something of value for him at the trade deadline coupled with insurance for the rotation. Until then, I don't think we'll see him coming out of the bullpen in a game in which we have a lead unless it's as a last resort.
 

twibnotes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
20,232
I think that Clay has a roster spot in the hopes of obtaining something of value for him at the trade deadline coupled with insurance for the rotation. Until then, I don't think we'll see him coming out of the bullpen in a game in which we have a lead unless it's as a last resort.

Tonight could be a last resort situation if Wright doesn't go 6 or 7. Someone needs to come in and eat some innings, and it may need to be Clay.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
The last few games, Wright has seemed to completely lose it all at once. Fortunately, a couple of times, it happened in the later innings. If it happens early tonight, Farrell may not have a choice but to let him try to pitch through it.
 

Buzzkill Pauley

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 30, 2006
10,569
It may just be the Twins, but I think a move needs to be made before Tazawa's activated tomorrow.

Specifically, it doesn't make any sense to carry all three of Hembree, Noe, and Clay on the staff. Especially when Barnes is shelved until Friday or Saturday, and each of Layne, Ross, and Ziegler have each pitched both of the last two days.

Of the only three relievers on staff who are remotely fresh, Hembree's the only one Farrell trusts even a little, and he's been more lucky than good.

So if there's organizational resistance to calling up RHRP Joe Kelly, the Sox should bring back either Cuevas or Light for one night in place of Noe until swapped out for Taz. Or just DFA somebody useless and add Kyle Martin to the 40-man, because the Sox need to have another live body behind the RF fence.
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
I think that Clay has a roster spot in the hopes of obtaining something of value for him at the trade deadline coupled with insurance for the rotation. Until then, I don't think we'll see him coming out of the bullpen in a game in which we have a lead unless it's as a last resort.
I agree with your first sentence. If there is any hope of moving him he's got to be on the roster, but the deadline is 11 days away (12 from last night's game). Having him sit there in long relief/multiple innings situations is IMO wasting a roster spot. If (huge if, but if) he comes in and tosses 4-5 solid innings last night he contributes in a big way and perhaps gets the attention of other teams.
 

Tyrone Biggums

nfl meets tri-annually at a secret country mansion
SoSH Member
Aug 15, 2006
6,424
The one thing I wish Ben did was trade Koji in 2014. His value had to be insanely high at that time. Probably could have traded him to Baltimore for Eduardo and then either traded Miller or give him the QO. Revisionist history but regardless Koji should have been dealt in 2014. He's been hurt the last two years. Granted last year was a really freak injury.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
On one hand I expected Buchholz last night. On the other, Farrell probably just doesn't trust him with a 3run lead. I can't really blame him. (Merloni was tiresome on the radio last night, caterwauling about "Buchholz is the long guy, you'd think he'd be in like "Bosh (long 'o')" went to Suarez." Lou never mentioned two things: 1) whatever you want to call his "role," Buchholz has great difficulty retiring major league batters; and 2) Suarez kind of sucked last night.
 

pjheff

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2003
1,296
If (huge if, but if) he comes in and tosses 4-5 solid innings last night he contributes in a big way and perhaps gets the attention of other teams.
Or he sucks and we lose. I don't think that Farrell is managing to improve Buch's trade value. He was trying to give the offense a chance to win the game.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
Having him sit there in long relief/multiple innings situations is IMO wasting a roster spot.
I guess having him on the roster gives us some insurance if we need a spot start. Other than the current 5 starters, there's nobody. I think the next man up if we were to need a starter is Owens. Perhaps Kelly, but he's been pitching so likely won't have adequate rest. With Kimbrel, Koji, and Taz all out of commission, there is a decent chance, or at least possibility, that a starter is going to need to pitch out of the bullpen, which I guess would be ERod if not Clay. Maybe Clay isn't the right guy, given his warmup times. Or maybe keeping him in reserve preserves optimal flexibility and so, given that he's the only guy we seem to have that we could get a start out of we need it, Farrell is only going to use him and burn him if the choice is between that and a position player in a winnable game. Once Sully is off the DL, we have more flexibility.

I don't think using a roster spot for starter insurance -- since Clay can't be sent down -- is all that much of a problem at the moment. Noe Ramirez is already up. Whomever would take the spot would really be scraping the bottom of the barrel.
 

YTF

Member
SoSH Member
Or he sucks and we lose. I don't think that Farrell is managing to improve Buch's trade value. He was trying to give the offense a chance to win the game.
Nor do I, that would be a side benefit to any success that Buchholz might have. And IMO IF "or he sucks and we lose" is part of the mentality for not using him in these situations then they should just DFA him because that's going to be a fear anytime you put him in a game unless The Sox are already behind 12-0.
 

pjheff

Member
SoSH Member
Jan 4, 2003
1,296
And IMO IF "or he sucks and we lose" is part of the mentality for not using him in these situations then they should just DFA him because that's going to be a fear anytime you put him in a game unless The Sox are already behind 12-0.
It's just the nature of leverage situations coupled with injury ravaged depth. Farrell doesn't trust Buch right now and only seems prepared to use him as an emergency starter or long man in the event of a blowout. For instance, if we were down 5-0 instead of up 8-5, I think that you'd have seen Buch last night. And if Wright melts down tonight, I suspect that Farrell would bring in someone like Noe to try to put out the fire and then let Buch start a clean inning. I imagine that he will continue to be in that role until the trade deadline.
 

czar

fanboy
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
4,312
Ann Arbor
Or he sucks and we lose. I don't think that Farrell is managing to improve Buch's trade value. He was trying to give the offense a chance to win the game.
Well, this argument might hold water if two of the guys Farrell used last night in lieu of Buchholz (Layne/Hembree) didn't give up 6 baserunners while only recording 1 out. I mean, Clay Buchholz is pretty bad, but I'd take my chances on an 18.0 WHIP.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
Well, this argument might hold water if two of the guys Farrell used last night in lieu of Buchholz (Layne/Hembree) didn't give up 6 baserunners while only recording 1 out. I mean, Clay Buchholz is pretty bad, but I'd take my chances on an 18.0 WHIP.
I hope that if Farrell knew in advance that Hembree and Layne would each have their worst games in weeks, that he wouldn't have put them in.
 

czar

fanboy
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
4,312
Ann Arbor
I hope that if Farrell knew in advance that Hembree and Layne would each have their worst games in weeks, that he wouldn't have put them in.
My point being is that if the argument is "we can't use Buchholz because we'll definitely lose the game, let's use other mediocre bullpen arms instead" then there really is no reason for him to be on this roster.
 

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,236
My point being is that if the argument is "we can't use Buchholz because we'll definitely lose the game, let's use other mediocre bullpen arms instead" then there really is no reason for him to be on this roster.
Buchholz is close to being there ("why is he here"). But can you really blame Farrell if the truth serum revelaed, "I'm happy to put Clay in there as the long man if we're getting pounded so he can throw 75 pitches and save the bullpen, but he hasn't pitched nearly well enough to be entrusted with a 3 run lead." I think that was the rub last night. Obviously, Farrell won't have that luxury tonight if Wright is gone early.

I think "defnitely lose" is hyperbole, but Farrell can;t possibly trust Buchholz much.
 

Merkle's Boner

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 24, 2011
3,756
Buchholz is close to being there ("why is he here"). But can you really blame Farrell if the truth serum revelaed, "I'm happy to put Clay in there as the long man if we're getting pounded so he can throw 75 pitches and save the bullpen, but he hasn't pitched nearly well enough to be entrusted with a 3 run lead." I think that was the rub last night. Obviously, Farrell won't have that luxury tonight if Wright is gone early.

I think "defnitely lose" is hyperbole, but Farrell can;t possibly trust Buchholz much.
This is pretty much what Farrell just said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More Farrell on Clay Buchholz: &quot;I don&#39;t want to say purgatory, but it&#39;s a difficult spot.&quot;</p>&mdash; Ryan Hannable (@RyanHannable) <a href="">July 21, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 

czar

fanboy
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
4,312
Ann Arbor

It's unfathomable to me that this team is keeping him around "if they are losing early." If Farrell really thinks he is that bad that he's pretty much unusable, get rid of him. It certainly isn't helping his trade value by hiding him in the back of the bullpen, so that can't be it. And if you don't trust the guy to come in after your SP gave up like 7 consecutive baserunners in the 4th inning then you can't make a straight-faced argument that he's "starting pitching depth," either. If he's purely there to soak up innings once every 2 weeks, there are plenty of semi-interesting guys in Pawtucket who could do that and maybe have a glimmer of a chance of being a long-term option in some fashion.

I have always felt Buchholz got a bad rap around these parts but at this point the team just needs to move on. It seems like it's lose-lose-lose that he's still on the roster.
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH

It's unfathomable to me that this team is keeping him around "if they are losing early." If Farrell really thinks he is that bad that he's pretty much unusable, get rid of him. It certainly isn't helping his trade value by hiding him in the back of the bullpen, so that can't be it. And if you don't trust the guy to come in after your SP gave up like 7 consecutive baserunners in the 4th inning then you can't make a straight-faced argument that he's "starting pitching depth," either. If he's purely there to soak up innings once every 2 weeks, there are plenty of semi-interesting guys in Pawtucket who could do that and maybe have a glimmer of a chance of being a long-term option in some fashion.

I have always felt Buchholz got a bad rap around these parts but at this point the team just needs to move on. It seems like it's lose-lose-lose that he's still on the roster.
Who do you want to replace him with? That's kind of the issue right now, with our top four relievers on the DL. When they start coming back, I fully expect him to be DFAed (those that think he has any kind of trade value I think are kidding themselves; the only way someone gives something up for him at this point would be to avoid having to risk losing him on the waiver wires and even then, it would be with full ticket paid, IMO), but in the meantime, when your pen is already strained, I don't see any issue with carrying a guy solely for the purpose of absorbing innings in a blowout. It's bubble gum and duck tape out there right now, any possible leverage should be saved.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
It's really hard to judge context from tweets, but whatever the questions were here there were a lot of answers that Farrell could have given that are different from that one. This can't just be about pitching. Clay must be in the doghouse for attitude or something else.

Farrell isn't really a bus-thrower-underer. A high 5 ERA is not good, but it's also not pitch-every-21-days awful for a team with as many holes as this one has. Clay has a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings from the bullpen. His stats alone don't justify this treatment. There's something else going on.
 

czar

fanboy
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
4,312
Ann Arbor
Who do you want to replace him with? That's kind of the issue right now, with our top four relievers on the DL. When they start coming back, I fully expect him to be DFAed (those that think he has any kind of trade value I think are kidding themselves; the only way someone gives something up for him at this point would be to avoid having to risk losing him on the waiver wires and even then, it would be with full ticket paid, IMO), but in the meantime, when your pen is already strained, I don't see any issue with carrying a guy solely for the purpose of absorbing innings in a blowout. It's bubble gum and duck tape out there right now, any possible leverage should be saved.
If Buchholz is trusted so little that his sole job is merely to absorb innings in the event of an absolute blowout, there are a bunch of cheap Pawtucket arms that I'd rather see introduced to low-leverage spots in the big leagues since they actually could be on this team in the future.
 

rembrat

Member
SoSH Member
May 26, 2006
36,345
It's really hard to judge context from tweets, but whatever the questions were here there were a lot of answers that Farrell could have given that are different from that one. This can't just be about pitching. Clay must be in the doghouse for attitude or something else.

Farrell isn't really a bus-thrower-underer. A high 5 ERA is not good, but it's also not pitch-every-21-days awful for a team with as many holes as this one has. Clay has a 2.89 ERA in 9.1 innings from the bullpen. His stats alone don't justify this treatment. There's something else going on.
I kinda feel like there aren't though. Do you want to take a stab at it?
 

Papelbon's Poutine

Homeland Security
SoSH Member
Dec 4, 2005
19,615
Portsmouth, NH
If Buchholz is trusted so little that his sole job is merely to absorb innings in the event of an absolute blowout, there are a bunch of cheap Pawtucket arms that I'd rather see introduced to low-leverage spots in the big leagues since they actually could be on this team in the future.
I disagree. They're paying for him either way, so I don't see what the difference is with cheap AAA arms. And if they want a roster spot at the moment for this, it's not a very common occurrence, so rather than have a young guy who might have a future sit around and wait to pitch maybe once a week or less, I'd rather he's getting run at AAA on a more regular basis. I don't see the benefit of having Elias or Owens come up and sit on the bench when they could be building their innings and actually working on stuff. There's a time for those guys to get experience in this method and it's in September when their season is already over.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
SoSH Member
Sep 9, 2008
42,271
AZ
I kinda feel like there aren't though. Do you want to take a stab at it?
I don't know -- managers say bullshit all the time. Something like: Clay was available last night, but he takes a while to stretch out and he hasn't pitched in a while. Obviously, we wanted Layne and Hembree to go longer but it all played out pretty quickly and Clay couldn't have been ready. Matt came in after the 6th and 7th and said he felt strong, so we decided to stick with the hot hand, but we're stretched pretty thin and may need Clay."