This bullpen is bad

[DaveW]

And it's all on Terry Ryan.

Jepsen isn't bad, but he isn't the "shutdown 8th inning" guy you need in 2016 MLB.

 

Fien? Sucks.

 

May? Good, but should be a starter anyways.

Pressley? Promise for sure.

Perkins? TBD

 

 

 

 

 

The Bullepn is just reason number 30,000 to fire Terry Ryan.

[Primetime82]

 

And it's all on Terry Ryan.

Jepsen isn't bad, but he isn't the "shutdown 8th inning" guy you need in 2016 MLB.

 

Fien? Sucks.

 

May? Good, but should be a starter anyways.

Pressley? Promise for sure.

Perkins? TBD

 

 

 

 

 

The Bullepn is just reason number 30,000 to fire Terry Ryan.

Perkins will never be elite again. Book it!

 

This has been a pathetic start to the season. We got a guy on 2nd with no outs and he didn't even advance to 3rd?! Santana strikes out on pitches that bounce 2 feet in front of the plate! Molitor should have pinch hit Arcia. Why bring in Rosario, guy swings at anything and they have there best reliever pitching, yuck! 

 

 

[bluechipper]

I don't really mind TR taking his chances with Jepsen and Co. and wait for the bullpen cavalry to come than to spend $35M on Darren O'Day or trade for Chapman and his baggage.

 

I wouldn't have complained if they made a move like that, but I think the strategy of doing nothing in this area is defensible.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Just Terry Ryan things...built a terrible bullpen. Great team effort and one guys blows it. Pathetic.

[jimmer]

 

 

I wouldn't have complained if they made a move like that, but I think the strategy of doing nothing in this area is defensible.

Ryan himself said the bullpen was the team's #1 priority in the offseason.  Standing pat is indefensible.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

Perkins will never be elite again. Book it!

 

This has been a pathetic start to the season. We got a guy on 2nd with no outs and he didn't even advance to 3rd?! Santana strikes out on pitches that bounce 2 feet in front of the plate! Molitor should have pinch hit Arcia. Why bring in Rosario, guys swings at anything and they have best reliever out there, yuck! 

Yeah why the F*CK would you not pinch hit Santana?? He was 0-4

[Kwak]

So, I guess we will be bombarded this year also after every Twins loss with half-baked rants about how someone failed an assignment--and doom is here courtesy of management. 

 

The Twins finally score 3!!  Whee!!  I didn't check the base-runners wasted for tonight's game--but I'm convinced the Twins were dismal in hitting with someone on base.  Whoops, I forgot--that leads to the damned RBI statistic--and those are meaningless and verboten.

 

Park hit a HR tonight!  I guess the Twins have a right for some performance after spending all that $$$ to acquire him and force Sano to play in the field.  Is that why Miquel is struggling?

[alarp33]

The only thing that sucks more than the bullpen right now is the manager.

[Primetime82]

 

Ryan himself said the bullpen was the team's #1 priority in the offseason.  Standing pat is indefensible.

 Exactly!!!

 

I think what bothers us all the most is the fact that the Twins can easily spend another 30/40 million but they would rather pocket the money. Worst owners in Minnesota Sports.......

[Seth Stohs]

 

I don't really mind TR taking his chances with Jepsen and Co. and wait for the bullpen cavalry to come than to spend $35M on Darren O'Day or trade for Chapman and his baggage.

 

I wouldn't have complained if they made a move like that, but I think the strategy of doing nothing in this area is defensible.

 

Absolutely the right move. 

 

Jepsen will be fine. May will be fine. Pressly will be fine. Fien will be fine. Tonkin will probably be alright. Perkins will be fine. 

 

It would just be nice for the offense to score a few runs, not strike out so much, and get a win or two so we all relax a little. 

[Rosterman]

The games have still been fairly close. It has been one or two pitches that have lost it, basically, for the Twins.

 

But ALL those strikeouts. No runner advancement. The feelings that the batters get. It has to be demoralizing.

 

Where is Tonkin, Perkins or Arcia four games into the season. Okay, the games are close, but still. 

 

Man, those strikeouts are mind-boggling!

 

[Squirrel]

Moderator Note: Losses suck. Period. And yes, plenty of finger pointing to go around. But if all you are going to do is go on and on saying nothing more than 'this sucks', 'he sucks,' 'so and so should be fired' and the like, don't post. That is not at all critique nor constructive nor discussion. Wallow all you want, but this is not the STrib's comment section bitch fest. If I see that kind of low level continuation of posting, I'll be closing this thread.

[jokin]

 

I don't really mind TR taking his chances with Jepsen and Co. and wait for the bullpen cavalry to come than to spend $35M on Darren O'Day or trade for Chapman and his baggage.

 

I wouldn't have complained if they made a move like that, but I think the strategy of doing nothing in this area is defensible.

 

How many losses directly attributable to the bullpen will make the strategy of doing nothing become indefensible?

 

I'm sorry, but a young and improving team that just missed the playoffs- and with plenty of cash to spend- needed two quality RP acquisitions to all but assure a shot at going deep in the post-season-

 

The kiddie corps fireballers might come to the rescue, or maybe not. Not to address that obvious need coming out of the chute in April seems to be penny wise and pound foolish, and may very well prove to be what costs the Twins a postseason berth if the current trend continues for a few more weeks.

[NoCal]

Many "pundits" pointed out that the Twins outplayed their statistically dictated level last year, and attributed that to "luck", or more precisely, timing their hits to coincide with men being on base. The idea is that hitting with men on base is not a particular skill, and that its occurrence will normalize over time. The more interesting issue in this early going is the extraordinary amount of strikeouts that the Twins are producing. Both tendencies - not producing with men on base, and prolific strikeouts - are frustrating for fans. But think of it this way: if you don't have the periods of frustration, you will not enjoy the cycles of success nearly as much. Just wait - it will be boring to be a Cubs fan soon.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

Absolutely the right move. 

 

Jepsen will be fine. May will be fine. Pressly will be fine. Fien will be fine. Tonkin will probably be alright. Perkins will be fine. 

 

It would just be nice for the offense to score a few runs, not strike out so much, and get a win or two so we all relax a little. 

Jepsen has been fine yeah.. so has Fien..not

Take off the Twins glasses and look at reality 

[bluechipper]

 

How many losses directly attributable to the bullpen will make the strategy of doing nothing become indefensible?

 

I'm sorry, but a young and improving team that just missed the playoffs- and with plenty of cash to spend- needed two quality RP acquisitions to all but assure a shot at going deep in the post-season-

 

The kiddie corps fireballers might come to the rescue, or maybe not. Not to address that obvious need coming out of the chute in April seems to be penny wise and pound foolish, and may very well prove to be what costs the Twins a postseason berth if the current trend continues for a few more weeks.

Jepsen has been bad...in 2 games, but the offense has cost this team games. 2 and 3 runs isn't going to get it done, especially when factoring in the mediocre pitching that the Twins have faced so far.

 

And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?

[bluechipper]

 

Ryan himself said the bullpen was the team's #1 priority in the offseason.  Standing pat is indefensible.

I would have been happy with an upgrade, but having the best set of relief prospects of any team is a big factor in making this a defensible move. May, Jepsen, and Perkins isn't a horrible back end. It's mediocre, but not a glaring need.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

Jepsen has been bad...in 2 games, but the offense has cost this team games. 2 and 3 runs isn't going to get it done, especially when factoring in the mediocre pitching that the Twins have faced so far.

 

And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?

lol Clippard is a huge upgrade over Jepsen

[bluechipper]

 

Jepsen has been fine yeah.. so has Fien..not

Take off the Twins glasses and look at reality 

When your team has scored 2, 2, 2, and 3 runs in their first four games against mediocre pitcing, with 500 strikeouts, whining about the bullpen should be low on the list.

[bluechipper]

 

lol Clippard is a huge upgrade over Jepsen

Um...not really. Clippard has a career 3.72 FIP compared to Jepsen's 3.24. Clippard has a better career ERA, but I wouldn't expect Clippard to be a "huge" upgrade over Jepsen.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

 

Um...not really. Clippard has a career 3.72 FIP compared to Jepsen's 3.24. Clippard has a better career ERA, but I wouldn't expect Clippard to be a "huge" upgrade over Jepsen.

So you would rather have Jepsen pitching in crunch time than Tyler Clippard...ok bud lol you gotta take off the twins glasses as well

[jazzagechoir]

 

 

 

 

"And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?"

 

To say that Clippard isn't an improvement over Jepsen is ridiculous, Clippard is a 2 time All-Star. And to call Bastardo mediocre is crazy too. He was one of the best lefty relievers in all of MLB last season. This team would have benefitted so much from either of them. 

[bluechipper]

 

"And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?"

 

To say that Clippard isn't an improvement over Jepsen is ridiculous, Clippard is a 2 time All-Star. And to call Bastardo mediocre is crazy too. He was one of the best lefty relievers in all of MLB last season. This team would have benefitted so much from either of them. 

Clippard might be better than Jepsen, but the difference isn't all that great in my opinion.

 

Bastardo is pretty inconsistent year to year. He could be really good this year, or maybe Fernando Abad out-pitches him. Who knows?

[bluechipper]

 

So you would rather have Jepsen pitching in crunch time than Tyler Clippard...ok bud lol you gotta take off the twins glasses as well

Both are second tier setup guys, and right now, I'd be ok with either pitching in crunch time.

 

By the way, I think you can cut down your condescending posts a little.

[jokin]

 

So you would rather have Jepsen pitching in crunch time than Tyler Clippard...ok bud lol you gotta take off the twins glasses as well

 

"And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?"

 

To say that Clippard isn't an improvement over Jepsen is ridiculous, Clippard is a 2 time All-Star. And to call Bastardo mediocre is crazy too. He was one of the best lefty relievers in all of MLB last season. This team would have benefitted so much from either of them. 

 

Thanks, guys. I don't want to get in a pissing contest with a poster that I respect, but really, there were literally at least a dozen guys that the Twins could have acquired via trade or free agency that would have been major upgrades over Fien and Jepsen, and quite possibly in some cases, Perkins, as well. Besides boatloads of excess cash, the Twins had a very expendable Plouffe and Hicks, plus a couple dozen prospects to dangle at 29 teams in order to pry loose two first-rates RPs.

[rghrbek]

 

Absolutely the right move. 

 

Jepsen will be fine. May will be fine. Pressly will be fine. Fien will be fine. Tonkin will probably be alright. Perkins will be fine. 

 

It would just be nice for the offense to score a few runs, not strike out so much, and get a win or two so we all relax a little. 

 

I'm not in panic mode...yet.   Things are not good and not likely to get better, against the Royals, but Seth to say Fien will be ok?   What is that based on the last 2+ years?   Even I have to flinch at that statement.    Regardless we will only know more about this team as they get past 4 or I would even surmise 10 games, right?    The strikeouts, even for this team are alarming, especially after last year Molly made that a specific point to address....

[KirbyDome89]

 

Absolutely the right move. 

 

Jepsen will be fine. May will be fine. Pressly will be fine. Fien will be fine. Tonkin will probably be alright. Perkins will be fine. 

 

It would just be nice for the offense to score a few runs, not strike out so much, and get a win or two so we all relax a little. 

Overall I pretty much agree. I don't mind the decision to hold off on bringing in a ton of bullpen help if the prospects are on their way soon. However, I do think TR put himself in a tough spot by not bringing in one maybe two guys as FAs. There definitely was room for a solid arm to be added via free agency without blocking arms coming up through the minors. 

 

Most of the guys listed should be fine. Jepsen isn't a real concern. He hasn't looked great but a couple appearances isn't exactly a large sample size. What I'm worried about is everybody counting on him repeating last years performance. 2015 was by far his best year as a pro. Even if he regresses back to the Jepsen of old, much like phil hughes last season, he's still a good bullpen arm. The question is whether he's the guy you want pitching late in the ballgame. 

 

I wasn't crazy about Fien being tendered his contract this offseason. He has been sliding downhill the over the last few seasons and last year was more of a free fall than a slide. Like I said 4 games isn't anything to go crazy about but Fien has been trending the wrong way for a while now. I would say he's the one guy we should be concerned about right now.

 

That last point basically sums it up. If the Twins score a couple more runs and are 2-2 right now I think the panic level about the bullpen is pretty mild. The bullpen hasn't been great so far, and probably won't be moving forward (did we really expect it to be?) but they haven't exactly imploded either.  

[glunn]

Moderator note -- bickering and condescending posts violate TD posting policy and will result in suspensions if it happens again in this thread.

[AlwaysinModeration]

Having a thread entitled "this bullpen sucks" doesn't lend itself to a very TD comment-policy-friendly discussion.

 

But I'll try. This bullpen doesn't seem to me to be constructed as well as it could be. I think the job of the GM is to upgrade every possible way you can, up and down the roster. I get that there is a tension between locking yourself in to multi-year deals vs allowing young players to emerge. But the last two times Ryan had opportunities to upgrade the bullpen, he went for Jepsen and Abad as the upgrades. Jepsen fared well last year, but neither player was anywhere near considered the best upgrade at the time. And that's a pattern we have seen time and again.

 

If you aim for mediocrity, you have a good chance of succeeding.

[The Wise One]

"And who are those 2 relief pitchers that you would want? O'Day would be an upgrade, but for $35M? Tyler Clippard isn't much of an upgrade over Jepsen. Chapman? Or mediocre guys like Bastardo or Sipp on multi year deals?"

 

To say that Clippard isn't an improvement over Jepsen is ridiculous, Clippard is a 2 time All-Star. And to call Bastardo mediocre is crazy too. He was one of the best lefty relievers in all of MLB last season. This team would have benefitted so much from either of them.

Yup Clippard was an All Star, so wasn't Mauer. Jepsen versus Clippard. One has 17 wn saves in 391 games, the other has 53 blown saves in 490 games. Sorry, Jepsen blows less.