Cubs Sign BJ Ryan (P. 3); Cubs Release Ryan (P. 6)

[ISUCubsFan]

I know there's a good chance he'll suck, but the cost to get him is basically zero and he isn't going to take a roster spot from anyone useful. As unimpressive as the Cubs pen has been this year it's worth a free shot.

 

It's not free. At some point, you have to give him major-league innings to find out anything useful. Those aren't free.

 

Yes, that's why I was against getting Edmonds, it took potentially valuable PA's away from Pie. I don't feel the same about taking innings away from the back end of the bullpen. If he's pitching when Marshall and Guzman should be, there's a problem. If he's taking time from the likes of Stevens and Patton, like he should if he ever makes it to Chicago, the potential for damage is limited greatly.

[Rob]

It's pretty obvious he's not fully healthy. I see no problem with sticking him in AAA for a month or so to see if his arm strengthens up enough to make him useful.

 

Low-risk, high-reward.

[Clem Fandango]

Yeah he doesn't have the same velocity but as someone pointed out he's been pretty good over the last month

 

1.68 WHIP, 8 BB 3 K over his last month

 

3.00 WHIP, 8 BB, 1 K over his last 7 games

 

I don't really get where the "he's been pretty good over the past month or so" stuff is coming from. He's been terrible

 

You should do some more research before making that conclusion. He had one game in July where he had pitche 0.2 innings and gave up 3 ER and walked 2 good for a 40.50 ERA and 4.5 WHIP which appears to have come off a 3 run homer.

 

His previous 11 appearances before that in June... 8.2 IP 1.04 ERA 1ER 6BB 1.35WHIP. The WHIP and walk rate isn't that spectacular, but he was fairly lights out in June

Edited July 17, 2009 by The Logan

[dew1679666265]

On the bright side of Ryan's numbers are his stats vs lefties this year:

 

.250/.378/.389/.767

 

7 walks in 45 PAs while allowing just 9 hits

 

He's walked too many, obviously, but he's not getting hit by lefties much at all.

[inari]

I like it because there's no real risk, but I'm not sure where he fits into the bullpen exactly. Who is he going to replace? I mean he can go on the roster instead of Samardija or Stevens, sure, but I'm fairly comfortable with our high leverage guys right now.

[dew1679666265]

I like it because there's no real risk, but I'm not sure where he fits into the bullpen exactly. Who is he going to replace? I mean he can go on the roster instead of Samardija or Stevens, sure, but I'm fairly comfortable with our high leverage guys right now.

 

My thinking is, assuming he reaches the majors and is effective, he replaces Marshall as the loogy in the pen (Shark or Stevens heads back to the minors - is Stevens even up?).

 

Marshall then moves to the rotation, likely as an injury replacement for either Dempster or Harden. If no spot is open in the rotation, then Marshall remains in the pen in a to be determined role.

[TruffleShuffle]

this year's team has played kinda tight; hopefully everyone can loosen up now the that cubs have gotten a b.j.

[JonJayCutler]

Good move. This guy is dominant when healthy. Toronto gave up on him early if you ask me. 33 isn't that old for a pitcher.

[RedFlash]

this year's team has played kinda tight; hopefully everyone can loosen up now the that cubs have gotten a b.j.

 

Why'd you have to do that with Robert Victor's name? What did Robert Victor Ryan ever do to you, Truffle? :D

[UMFan83]

Yeah Toronto did give up on him too early I guess. Considering the team isn't really in contention, how much does it hurt to give him innings and hope that he comes back to form? I mean they've invested $15 million in the guy either way.

 

I was looking at his stats today, and defintely forgot how dominant he was just a few years back.

 

Look at this 3 year stretch:

 

04: 87.0 IP, 2.28 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 12.6 K/9

05: 70.1 IP, 2.43 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 12.8 K/9

06: 72.1 IP, 1.37 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 10.7 K/9

 

Heck even last year he had a 2.95 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP in 58 IP (his K/9 dropped to 9.0 though).

 

The worries are obvious though with his declining velocity and control issues. I do wonder if he is a PED suspect considering his numbers spiked randomly at his age 27 year and started declining sharply at age 33.

[Keener98]

I like the move. His numbers vs leftys in his career are sick. We dont need him to come in here and close, we just need him to be a situational lefty so we can either move Marshall back to the rotation, or use Marshall as a full inning or 2 guy in the pen. Basically it pushes Heilman out of any important role, and gives us a back 4 in the pen of Marshall, Guzman, Marmol, and Gregg with Ryan as a loogy. That is a pretty damn good backend of the pen. Honestly with those 4 you can shorten the game to about the 6innings and feel very comfortable with those guys to finish a game.

[wvcbxl]

Cubs.com says it's a minor league contract. That makes it a good move, imho: no risk - possible upside later this year.

It's not like the Cubs have many other lefty options (realistically) available to call up.

[Jehrico]

Do we have an opening on the 40 man? If not, who gets exposed when they try to add him?

[wvcbxl]

Do we have an opening on the 40 man?

 

Two, apparently.

And there's also the possibility of moving Chad Fox to the 60-day DL.

[Jehrico]

Do we have an opening on the 40 man?

 

Two, apparently.

And there's also the possibility of moving Chad Fox to the 60-day DL.

Ahhh, Chad Fox. I almost blocked him out of memory. Forget the 60 day, he could just be dropped. No one else is going to claim him. No one. But since we have two slots open already, it's a moot point.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Do we have an opening on the 40 man?

 

Two, apparently.

And there's also the possibility of moving Chad Fox to the 60-day DL.

Ahhh, Chad Fox. I almost blocked him out of memory. Forget the 60 day, he could just be dropped. No one else is going to claim him. No one. But since we have two slots open already, it's a moot point.

 

Seriously, they did this last year knowing he would pitch again. If they love the guy so much, give him a job as a minor league pitching coach but he has no business taking up a40 man spot.

[CubColtPacer]

Do we have an opening on the 40 man?

 

Two, apparently.

And there's also the possibility of moving Chad Fox to the 60-day DL.

Ahhh, Chad Fox. I almost blocked him out of memory. Forget the 60 day, he could just be dropped. No one else is going to claim him. No one. But since we have two slots open already, it's a moot point.

 

Moving him to the 60 day is much preferable to dropping him.

 

As long as Fox stays on the DL, that means the Cubs have a playoff roster exemption with him. Basically, it means the Cubs can replace him with anybody on the 40 man roster when it comes time for the playoff roster.

 

So if a pitcher or hitter comes up as a September callup and has a big month, that means the Cubs have the flexibility to add them to the playoff roster as a replacement for the "injured" Chad Fox. Without any DL'd players, any player who was not on the 25 man roster on August 31st would be ineligible for the playoffs.

 

Fox is serving an important role with this team as long as he doesn't come back.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

His previous 11 appearances before that in June... 8.2 IP 1.04 ERA 1ER 6BB 1.35WHIP. The WHIP and walk rate isn't that spectacular, but he was fairly lights out in June

 

 

The old "He was good except when he wasn't" argument.

 

8.2 IP, 6 BB, 1 HR, 3 K just means that he had a lot of balls hit at fielders to keep his ERA that low. It was a BABIP fluke.

[kjfoster 1553]

this year's team has played kinda tight; hopefully everyone can loosen up now the that cubs have gotten a b.j.

 

:-))

 

I just saw this... lol

[Clem Fandango]

His previous 11 appearances before that in June... 8.2 IP 1.04 ERA 1ER 6BB 1.35WHIP. The WHIP and walk rate isn't that spectacular, but he was fairly lights out in June

 

 

The old "He was good except when he wasn't" argument.

 

8.2 IP, 6 BB, 1 HR, 3 K just means that he had a lot of balls hit at fielders to keep his ERA that low. It was a BABIP fluke.

 

So he can't just be good for a stretch, he has to be 100% terrible with fluky flashes of decency? Nevermind the fact that his ERA+ over his last 5 full seasons was 198, he must be 100% trash now? There's no way that his good month was due to his ability as a pitcher?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

His previous 11 appearances before that in June... 8.2 IP 1.04 ERA 1ER 6BB 1.35WHIP. The WHIP and walk rate isn't that spectacular, but he was fairly lights out in June

 

 

The old "He was good except when he wasn't" argument.

 

8.2 IP, 6 BB, 1 HR, 3 K just means that he had a lot of balls hit at fielders to keep his ERA that low. It was a BABIP fluke.

 

So he can't just be good for a stretch, he has to be 100% terrible with fluky flashes of decency? Nevermind the fact that his ERA+ over his last 5 full seasons was 198, he must be 100% trash now? There's no way that his good month was due to his ability as a pitcher?

 

With three strikeouts and six walks, the good ERA for a cherrypicked stretch was not because of his good pitching. It was a fluke.

 

His ERA+ for the last five full seasons was when he was a completely different pitcher:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=168&position=P#pitchtype

 

He's lost 2.5-3 mph off his fastball and is forced to rely on his slider way too much now. He's a broken, bad pitcher at this point in his career, and I highly suspect the Cubs will waste some innings and at least one or two games in 2009 relearning that lesson.

[RynoRules]

this year's team has played kinda tight; hopefully everyone can loosen up now the that cubs have gotten a b.j.

 

http://instantrimshot.com/

[dew1679666265]

His previous 11 appearances before that in June... 8.2 IP 1.04 ERA 1ER 6BB 1.35WHIP. The WHIP and walk rate isn't that spectacular, but he was fairly lights out in June

 

 

The old "He was good except when he wasn't" argument.

 

8.2 IP, 6 BB, 1 HR, 3 K just means that he had a lot of balls hit at fielders to keep his ERA that low. It was a BABIP fluke.

 

So he can't just be good for a stretch, he has to be 100% terrible with fluky flashes of decency? Nevermind the fact that his ERA+ over his last 5 full seasons was 198, he must be 100% trash now? There's no way that his good month was due to his ability as a pitcher?

 

With three strikeouts and six walks, the good ERA for a cherrypicked stretch was not because of his good pitching. It was a fluke.

 

His ERA+ for the last five full seasons was when he was a completely different pitcher:

 

http://www.fangraphs.com/statss.aspx?playerid=168&position=P#pitchtype

 

He's lost 2.5-3 mph off his fastball and is forced to rely on his slider way too much now. He's a broken, bad pitcher at this point in his career, and I highly suspect the Cubs will waste some innings and at least one or two games in 2009 relearning that lesson.

 

You don't think there's a chance he can continue to be effective against lefties?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

You don't think there's a chance he can continue to be effective against lefties?

 

There's always a chance. I don't see why his chance is any different than dozens of other washed up pitchers floating around the majors and minors.

[dew1679666265]

You don't think there's a chance he can continue to be effective against lefties?

 

There's always a chance. I don't see why his chance is any different than dozens of other washed up pitchers floating around the majors and minors.

 

That he's been effective to this point this season would be one reason.

 

This is what I posted earlier: .250/.378/.389/.767 (this season vs lefties)

 

7 walks in 45 PAs while allowing just 9 hits

 

Again, too many walks for sure, but guys aren't hitting him all that well.