Howry = Howry

[DivineBovine]

Lets just hope we don't see Bob Howry in any playoff games unless were winning by alot.

 

 

 

That's the time he's most dangerous. Nobody blows a 4 run lead as easily as Howry. We don't need that in the playoffs. I'm shocked and disappointed.

[cubsfan26]

Lets just hope we don't see Bob Howry in any playoff games unless were winning by alot.

 

 

 

That's the time he's most dangerous. Nobody blows a 4 run lead as easily as Howry. We don't need that in the playoffs. I'm shocked and disappointed.

 

 

 

True, but at least he doesn't walk anybody. So if Howry comes in a game and gives up a few hits. Hopefully Piniella will see he has nothing and will pull him really fast. I'm not really surprised Howry made the team though. The fact that Lou kept using him even after he struggled, should have been a pretty big sign that he was going to make the roster. Plus with Gaudin and Guzman sucking so much the last two weeks, there isn't really a better option to replace him right now.

 

 

 

For how bad Howry has pitched at times, it's kinda surprising his era is only at 5.17 in 69.2 IP. His era is bad, but for the amount of innings Howry pitches in and with how much he has sucked at times, you would think his era would be closer to 6 right now. Howry making the postseason roster, kinda reminds me of Alfonseca making the roster in 2003.

[Illini Iceman]

Chances are Lou will put Howry on the playoff roster. I'm just happy the guy is a FA and probably won't be here next year.

Not to beat a horse that has been dead quite some time, but why the hell did they choose to DFA Eyre instead of Howry? Eyre is only sporting a 221 ERA+ since his arrival in Philly. I swear to God, if Eyre ends up screwing us sometime this playoffs...

 

It was very clear from Lou's quotes throughout the season that he respected Howry's work ethic and attitude and did not feel the same way about Eyre. If you remember, one of the reason Eyre came here was that Dusty was the manager and I think he said something along the lines of liking Dusty because he didn't make him run during spring training.

 

If Lou doesn't like a guy, history shows that he will get his way and that guy will be out the door sooner or later. I think it wound up being later since Eyre was so effective the second half of '07 into the start of '08 when he came back from the DL. Once he started pitching like Howry (word editor), starting with the Crawford grand slam in TB, Lou wasted no time in showing him the exit.

It is, in other words, a detailed example of why major league managers are really bad at their jobs compared to people in other 7 figure a year positions.

 

I don't know about that. Managers in all industries will give employees with a good attitudes that work hard a bit more leeway than a guy that might be slightly better at his job but is a screw off and doesn't follow the rules. It's not like Eyre was a Marmol level talent and they let him walk. At best he was about equivalent to Cotts and really couldn't be trusted in any important situations. Let's not use revisionist history and act like Eyre was some lights out reliever that everyone here loved and got a raw deal. Depending how he pitched he may have not made the playoff roster anyway over Cotts and Marshall and at least the Cubs got a marginal prospect for him instead of cutting him lose after the season for nothing.

[Jehrico]

Chances are Lou will put Howry on the playoff roster. I'm just happy the guy is a FA and probably won't be here next year.

Not to beat a horse that has been dead quite some time, but why the hell did they choose to DFA Eyre instead of Howry? Eyre is only sporting a 221 ERA+ since his arrival in Philly. I swear to God, if Eyre ends up screwing us sometime this playoffs...

 

It was very clear from Lou's quotes throughout the season that he respected Howry's work ethic and attitude and did not feel the same way about Eyre. If you remember, one of the reason Eyre came here was that Dusty was the manager and I think he said something along the lines of liking Dusty because he didn't make him run during spring training.

 

If Lou doesn't like a guy, history shows that he will get his way and that guy will be out the door sooner or later. I think it wound up being later since Eyre was so effective the second half of '07 into the start of '08 when he came back from the DL. Once he started pitching like Howry (word editor), starting with the Crawford grand slam in TB, Lou wasted no time in showing him the exit.

It is, in other words, a detailed example of why major league managers are really bad at their jobs compared to people in other 7 figure a year positions.

I think that's a rather myopic point of view. He encourages people to work hard to be their best, and he rewards guys who do. Dusty never did that, and it shows itself in two different ways. Guys who are physically fit don't get injured as much, and we haven't had near the injuries under Lou that we had under Dusty. Also, we've gotten production from several players that exceeded expectations. I can't recall other than a couple of isolated cases where someone really notably exceeded expectations under Dusty.

 

That attitude has lead to one discernable case where a guy is going to be on the roster that shouldn't be. Howry's role isn't that important, I don't mind one or two spots on the 25 man going to those guys who bust their butts and deserve it based on those roles. It sets a good standard for the other better players to maintain. Lou certainly deserves criticism for his use of Howry, but I don't mind one spot on the 25 man going to someone who really works hard and deserves it, as it has a positive carry over affect to both the other guys on the roster, as well as kids who want to earn a spot on the roster next year, as they see that hard work gets rewarded. Baseball is one of those funny sports where you don't have to look to far to find someone who excels despite not working very hard (i.e. fat elvis), and the younger kids can pick up on bad examples easily (like we saw with Dusty).