Bullpen Grievance Thread

[RynoRules]

I hate bullpens for reasons that have been well-documented here over the years. I hate that relievers are for the most part inconsistent and unreliable. I hate that managers stubbornly refuse to use their best ones in high-leverage situations. I hate that most people think lefties should only face left-handed hitters. I hate that there's largely no point in trying to upgrade your bullpen because relievers are inherently unpredictable.

 

I mainly hate when they cough-up leads against good teams or rivals. Like last night. Thanks a lot Pedro and Zac. And 10 days or so ago I was thinking the same thing during the SD series.

 

We've spent a lot of time here worrying about Bryant (freaking guy will be fine; he walked FOUR times last night and had a hit; he saw 34 PITCHES; CHILL), Russell, Baez, etc. What about the pen? IMO, its the preverbal "weak link" on this team so far. Would getting The Thing (Grimm) and Ramirez back solve the problem?

 

Maybe, but in the meantime I think having a depository for frustration over bullpens is a healthy thing.

[Burt Macklin, FBI]

5th in the majors in FIP

7th in the majors in WAR

8th in the majors in K%

5th in the majors in BB%

 

Everyone is frustrated after last night but the bullpen will be fine, especially when Grimm is back and if Ramirez is alive.

[George Hayduke]

We've spent a lot of time here worrying about Bryant (freaking guy will be fine; he walked FOUR times last night and had a hit; he saw 34 PITCHES; CHILL), Russell, Baez, etc.

I don't think anyone has been particularly worried about either Bryant or Russell.

[Guest]

Is this like a festivus thing?

[SouthSideRyan]

5th in the majors in FIP

7th in the majors in WAR

8th in the majors in K%

5th in the majors in BB%

 

Everyone is frustrated after last night but the bullpen will be fine, especially when Grimm is back and if Ramirez is alive.

 

I'm pretty sure Ramirez is dead. As long as Grimm, Strop, Rondon stay healthy and we pick up a lefty, I'm not worried.

[Sammy Sofa]

Have there been any Ramirez sightings?

[Guest]

Have there been any Ramirez sightings?

 

Carrie Muskat ‏@CarrieMuskat 16h16 hours ago

Update on #Cubs Neil Ramirez: He's still rehabbing in AZ and throwing off flat ground. Close to a bullpen session

[sontensei]

5th in the majors in FIP

7th in the majors in WAR

8th in the majors in K%

5th in the majors in BB%

 

Everyone is frustrated after last night but the bullpen will be fine, especially when Grimm is back and if Ramirez is alive.

 

I think in our wins the bullpen did good but when we needed middle relief in the 6th its been very bad. overall since we have 13 wins the stats look good, but the 6th and 7th inning is pretty bad. yeah 8th and 9th is solid

[SouthSideRyan]

Seems most of our team has performed worse in our losses. We should look to remedy that.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Seems most of our team has performed worse in our losses. We should look to remedy that.

They seem to do much better in the wins so maybe they could try some of that?

[sontensei]

na when we need to bring in a reliever early we have a good chance to lose, the starters need to go at least 6 deep if not 7 until our pen gets beefed up.

[SouthSideRyan]

When our starters do poorly and we have to use our worst relievers, we seem to do worse.

[sneakypower]

i [expletive] hate Phil Coke

i [expletive] hate Jason Motte

 

let's replace both please

[Guest]

i [expletive] hate Phil Coke

i [expletive] hate Jason Motte

 

let's replace both please

 

motte doesn't bother me that much for some reason

 

he hasn't been very good so far. i've thought he has "looked" decent, though.

 

if he were like the 4th guy who throws 95+ on the totem pole (say, after strop, grimm, rondon, ramirez - RIP), i'd be pretty fine with him there.

[sneakypower]

don't come crying to me when that 5.41 xFIP comes home to roost

[RynoRules]

We have a fatalism thread, and melt-downs like last night's game make me unhappy. I am just getting a bit more specific.

 

If the bullpen is as sterling as some think then this will make its way into the cyber dumpster and I will eat crow. If not...well like I said, we might need a place to deposit the frustration and potential solutions.

 

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

Edited May 5, 2015 by RynoRules

[RynoRules]

We've spent a lot of time here worrying about Bryant (freaking guy will be fine; he walked FOUR times last night and had a hit; he saw 34 PITCHES; CHILL), Russell, Baez, etc.

I don't think anyone has been particularly worried about either Bryant or Russell.

 

Check the other threads

 

PS: You're missing the point

[sontensei]

I dont mind Motte as the cleanup man on a blowout loss honestly but not in a close game.

Also since he is a vet they can use him against other vets that he has owned over the years as a one batter type of reliever.

 

Germen

Coke

These guys gotta go.

 

Ejax i think they should just eat the money and let him go or pay his entire contract for a AAA pitcher

[sneakypower]

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

Coke has a low FIP and it doesn't really matter because he's the most hittable pitcher in baseball and has been ever since leaving the Yankees

[sontensei]

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

Coke has a low FIP and it doesn't really matter because he's the most hittable pitcher in baseball and has been ever since leaving the Yankees

 

the injuries killed us and our weakness in the minors being pitching talent is showing its ugly face, i hope they dfa some guys and give some other AAA guys like russell or wada a shot, i mean it cant be much worse.

[Burt Macklin, FBI]

 

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

 

 

Because their BABIPs are literally .500 and no predictive statistic could possibly expect that to continue?

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

i gotta lotta problems with this bullpen and they're gonna hear about em!

[sneakypower]

 

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

Because their BABIPs are literally .500 and no predictive statistic could possibly expect that to continue?

Coke's BABIP for the last 4 years is .360, worst in baseball

 

no predictive statistic could expect 9.39 K/9 and 0 HR/9 to continue, either

[Burt Macklin, FBI]

 

And Motte, German, and Coke have mostly stunk. I don't understand how Coke and German can have such low FIP's.

Because their BABIPs are literally .500 and no predictive statistic could possibly expect that to continue?

Coke's BABIP for the last 4 years is .360, worst in baseball

 

no predictive statistic could expect 9.39 K/9 and 0 HR/9 to continue, either

 

I have no intention of dying on the Phil-Coke-is-good hill, but even if you believe he's going to get hit harder than usual (which there's probably some truth to) and stick around .360, he's STILL 140 points higher than that right now. Even if we go back to his career numbers of 7 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9, you're looking at a 3.7 FIP, which is just fine for the 7th or 8th best guy in your bullpen.

[Derwood]

Yes, let's get rid of all of them because we have dozens of better options in the minors.

 

News flash: every team's bullpens suck