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The bullpen, again this year, will be the weakest part of the team -- and that's really saying something. Yikes.
I doubt the bullpen will be worse only because the 2011 pen set the bar very low.
Can someone explain why TR gave up a 1st round pick to sign a closer on a likely 70 win team???? Oh yeah, its because Capps is a NICE GUY! What a way to run a franchise.
I'm actually looking for Swarzak to step up into the righty-setup role. While he sits in the low 90's as a starter or when asked to throw multiple innings, he can ramp it up some in short stints. Much like Perkins last year, if they just pen him in as a reliever and leave him there, we should see better "stuff". Whether that translates to better #'s, who knows, but I like his chances as good as anyone else's here if he's not asked to start games.
You may get the last laugh Nelson regarding the bullpen, so we will have to hear about how the Twins should have paid a couple million out to a bunch of washed up guys that will improve the team a total of .5 wins over the course of the year... BUT, Gray, Maloney, Burton & Co have looked good so far. There was a lot of hate from the BLOG O SPHERE about the pickups. When it comes to the bullpen people react too much for something that matters so little in MLB.
It wouldn't completely surprise me if the Twins' bully ranked in the top third in the AL in team ERA this season. That's how fickle things can be. And think of the surplus of arms in Rochester, all of them only slightly "worse" candidates: Gutierrez, Guerra, Burnett, Waldrop, Slama, Fien, Manship, Robertson, Oliveros...
I hope they are sellers (for prospects only) at the trade deadline. Frankly, I'd "dangle" the whole 40-man roster to see if someone will overpay for something...
+1 dangle. I'd cover Capps with leeches and troll him past every GM in baseball.Quote:
Originally Posted by birdwatcher
It's probably asking too much, but it would be nice if Ryan would remember that the "proven closer" label is one of the most meaningless in baseball, and yet something that some organization is willing to overpay for, in terms of money or talent, or both.
There were a wide variety of available pitchers in a saturated market. Is Francisco Cordero washed up?
I think relief pitching and defense were the 2 biggest reasons for last season's disaster.
Unfortunately, I don't we did enough in those areas to make us a threat.
I actually think the rotation will be fine, and I think we'll be able to score runs.
But with pitchers on strict pitch counts these days, so many games are won and lost in middle relief. There seems to be a lot of anxiety over Capps saving games, but I'm more worried about the ability of the 6th/7th/8th inning guys to get the ball to Capps with the lead in tact.
And if the defense is giving the opposition extra outs every game like they were last year, it's going to make things that much more difficult.
Bullpens are always the hardest to predict since relief pitchers seem to put up the most inconsistent performances from year to year. However, even the most die-hard Twins fan has to be a little concerned that the group the Twins are running out there this year has a lot of similarity to the guys they ran out last year and that was simply a disaster. We have 1 player (Perkins) out of 7 that you can have some level of confidence in performing well based upon past performance. Just 1!!. We all hope Capps pitches better, but even at his best, he's simply average. The rest of these guys are all a crap shoot. Things may not turn out as poorly as last year, but there is certainly a chance of sorts that it does. If so, we have no one to blame but Ryan. Quite simply put - I don't think there is another team in the AL that would willing sway bullpens with the Twins at this point. If you think there is name it and give me a comparison of why you think the Twins are better. The only one that I could think of is perhaps the Orioles. I hope these guys all find themselves this year and are successful, but I have serious doubts that even 1/2 them will do that.
This is the first comment I've seen by "Twinswon1991" on this entire blog that is remotely positive, and it's still not 100% constructive - if you are so negative on the Twins, without anything positive/constructive to add please keep your comments to yourself.Quote:
Originally Posted by twinswon1991
Don't get me wrong, I appreciate your ability to call out B.S., that is needed from time to time, but try to sprinkle in some positive posts as well!