The Bull Pen

[YearofDaCubs]

I wouldn't mind one free agent pickup. Who should they target?? BJ Ryan would be great, but this is the Cubs and they'll get outbid. Is Guillermo Mota a FA??

 

Mota has another year before free agency. Maybe they can take advantage of small market teams with arby eligible middle relievers. David Riske, come on down.

 

I agree that is the way to go. BJ Ryan looks good but the Cubs recent track record with FA relievers (i.e.- Hawkins, Remlinger) makes me a little nervous about giving big bucks to another one.

First off, I think that Dempster has done a wonderful job and would like to see him back here as closer. That said, Hendry dropped the ball on relief pitchers because he signs the setup men to top dollar instead of closers.

[TheDude]

What's wrong with a Pen that features Dempster as closer with Ohman, Novoa and Wuertz? We'd need two more guys. One long, one short. Maybe one of the two a lefty. Options on the current roster, off the top of my head, Rusch, Williamson, Williams, Leicester, Wellemeyer, Hill, Mitre, JVB. I'd ignore FAs but wouldn't rule out a trade.

 

(edit to limit to one topic)

 

I think it's the difference between wanting an avg. pen and a great pen.

 

Say you get Ryan and Sauerbeck, the pen likely becomes one of the top 5 in MLB.

Relief pitching at the major league level has proven time and again that it doesn't work this way. A team can acquire a reliever that was top 5 at the time of acquisition, but does not mean that reliever will continue that level in the new home. Chicago has several examples in recent years.

 

Meanwhile, teams every year will gamble on a reliever that was cut by another team, or struggled starting, etc., and the guy will dominate for the new team. Chicago also has several examples in recent years.

 

I am not saying that someone like Ryan isn't worth the gamble - but don't immediately assume an acquisition like that makes the pen great. Make sure to spend the big money on a lower risk aspect of the game first.

[Diffusion]

Novoa, Wuertz, Van Buren, Ohman, Hill, Williamson, Dempster, please.

 

I actually really quite like our bullpen, though because we employ a lot of inexperienced pitchers and rehabbers there, there's a learning/recovery curve that often means pain before the gain. That's why this year was a good chance to get as much of the pain out of the way, get the kids the experience they need.

 

The Cubs have managed that with Ohman, Novoa and Wuertz. While I'm a bit disappointed by the fact that Ohman's given up 4 home runs to lefties this year (Hideki Matsui, Adam LaRoche, Luis Gonzalez and Jim Edmonds), and that needs to come down, and while all three of them desperately need to show better control, I love their dominant stuff and the fine strikeout and hits allowed rates that are the result of that. I don't have that much concern about Novoa and Wuertz's control long-term, Ohman, hmm, he's been wild all his life. But a lot of lefties are. Anyway, I do like these three.

 

I think Hill's fastball-curve combination is perfect for the bullpen. He's pretty much refused to throw his cutter or change in the majors, and he's not going to make it as a starter without them. Hanging around in the minors isn't going to do him any good either, I don't think. So stick him in the bullpen and use him as a LOOGY, and force him to work on his secondary stuff there. He could end up being a BJ Ryan-like reliever is he can find a way of getting righties out regularly enough.

 

Big JVB fan. He's got the stuff and he's done with the minors. Give him a shot, and I think he can be up there with Wuertz.

 

Williamson's the wild card gamble, but when healthy he's probably the best of all of these seven relievers, and I think that actually says something.

 

And Dempster. I have no idea what he's going to be asking for, but while I'm not a huge fan of his, I don't see a better option at the same kind of price that's not called Kyle Farnsworth, and I think we all know that that's just not going to happen. Besides, he's been alright for us out of the bullpen.

 

There are two issues with this bullpen. One, control, walks. Two, outfield defence. What to do about the first I'm not sure, besides fine them every time they throw a ball four. About the second, because a lot of these pitchers are flyball-ish (all of them apart from Ohman and Dempster), we need a good defensive CF, someone with a lot of range. Not Hairston in other words.

[LoneStarCubFan]

I'd just like to see a six-man bullpen for a change.

[CuseCubFan69]

I'd just like to see a six-man bullpen for a change.

 

You won't with this manager. How many pitchers did the Braves and Cards have on their rosters before September 1st?