Transmogrified Tiger

Hoffpauir is a player without a position, and the bullpen needs a fresh arm. Not a big deal.

6 guys with more Runs Created than him and he's not in the Top 20 in GPA.

Cardinals in the first: Barton gets hit by a pitch. With one out Barton runs, Pujols taps back to the pitcher(a miracle since he has a 2.200+ OPS against Perez), Perez throws to second. Not in time. Whatever National is at short then drops it, and doesn't get Pujols. Ludwick dumps a single into left center, Langerhans watches the ball bounce past his face, run scores easily and it's second and third with 1 out. Molina hits a HR. 4-0 Cards

Lou occasionally does PBP on Raisin's radio The one built into his teeth? Lucky, I can only pick up the FBI lunch menu.

The thing to keep in mind is that when you implement this it's not like each starter could go 100 pitches if they wanted, they'll be throwing fewer pitches less often, like a more important long reliever. In any case, the situation will dictate when the change is made, how well he is pitching, how close he is to tiring, at what point he comes up, and how many runs the offense is scored all play a part in making that decision.

I got banned at WSI for saying that I didn't care if Podsednik tried to steal off Zambrano. Then they highlighted all the krazy troll things I said in red. Good stuff.

Maybe? He's 9. I'm sure you did the best you could and that's a tough situation. But if I heard you say that to my kid, I'd be really pissed. At 9, the game should be about having fun. I can understand the logic. There's a decent chance one of the reasons he's afraid to go up there is that he doesn't want to fail and lose the game for the team. Pointing out what happens if he doesn't go up there might give him the perspective to step in the box.

I think "Luckiest" better defines Wellemeyer in '06. He's got solid peripherals this year though, too bad no one realizes that if you don't swing at the sliders they won't be strikes, leaving you with something straight(fastball or change) to hit.

I saw a link from a Mets blog about how they might be set up well for a 3-3 rotation(which is outlined in Tango's book I believe), and it got me thinking that the Cubs could possibly benefit from this as well. Here's all our starters and mini-starters: Zambrano Lilly Dempster Hill Marquis Gallagher Marshall Lieber The concept of the 3-3 rotation is that you have 3 starters who go on regular rest, and 3 starters that combine to pitch the other two starts. For example, let's make Z, Lilly, and Hill, our best 3 starters when Hill returns, our regular rest guys. They occupy the 1st, 2nd, and 4th spots in the rotation. Let's make Dempster, Marshall, and Gallagher the other 3(this leaves no roster space for Lieber or Marquis, a practical impossibility, but let's assume Marquis tore something and Lieber gets DFA'ed and sent to Iowa as a reserve mini-starter for the sake of the example). So you have Z pitch, then Lilly, then Dempster, Marshall, and Gallagher each throw around 30-50 pitches, or in other words, don't let them bat(this has a side benefit of improving the offense). Zambrano would make a useful 1st pinch hitter as to not make the bench too short. I put the 3 mini-starters in that order because it allows for contrasting styles every time there's a change. Dempster's sinker to Marshall's LH hook to Gallagher's sinker. The next game Hill starts, then the following game the 3 mini-starters go again, with an emphasis on getting work for the one or two that got less work in the first go round. Then it's back to Z and the process repeats itself. The benefits to such a plan? Guys like Gallagher, Marshall, and Dempster have IP thresholds they haven't passed ever, or without injury. This keeps them fresh. The three are more likely to be effective, as most pitchers run into problems the 2nd and 3rd time through the order. It would also be more difficult for opposing lineups to be stacked against a starter(especially important for Dempster and Gallagher, to a lesser extent Marshall). The bullpen wouldn't be needed for much on 2 of 5 games, allowing a built-in rest to protect against over use. On the downside? It makes it more difficult for young pitchers(like Gallagher or Marshall) to gain the endurance/experience necessary to step up into that role of a "full time starter". Also, the long man role that Lieber currently occupies would be eliminated. It wouldn't matter for 40% of the games, but it puts a little more strain on the pen when one of your top 3 starters bombs a start(since they're your top 3, that hopefully doesn't happen all that often). Now obviously, Lou or Hendry isn't going to be receptive to something like this, so it's more of a thought exercise than anything, but I was curious what people thought about an arrangement like this. I haven't read Tango's book that outlines this plan, anyone else who has have something to add about it that I might've missed?

Josh Duncan is an interesting name. He would seem like a smart 2nd round selection, he could really be useful as a big man that can pick and pop.

Not really, when you consider that pinch hitters are used after a certain point. I guess there's a couple extra at bats the pitcher may get as the last hitter of an inning in the 5th/6th/7th, but I think that's a small enough amount to be nullified by the additional baserunners you'll have on for the top of the order.

Yep, Ledezma is a lefty.

Maybe if Wuertz were being inserted into a 1 run game that quote would make sense, but in that situation last night it's rash and unnecessary.

A Lowblow sighting! I think it's a combination of home field advantage being up this year(Hardball Times had a recent article on it), as well as this year's edition of the Cubs being a very good team.

Yea I dont understand how Lou constantly talks about overworking Marmol, but yet, continues to do it. Hell last week he talked about not using Marmol anymore for 2 innings, and yet, uses him for 2 innings in a 4 run game. Where is Scott Eyre? Last year when Eyre sucked at the beginning of the year, Lou couldnt use him enough, but so far this year hes getting very very sporadic work. It is simple, Lou is greedy and wants to win every ballgame possible. Personally, I like that in a manager. Lou has been around long enough to know when Wuertz has his good stuff and when he doesn't. I don't buy that at all. He was clearly pissed that Wuertz had walked two guys and yanked him. If he was giving thought to whether he had good stuff or not, then he would've(definitely should have) considered the situation(1 out, 4 run lead, bottom of a terrible lineup, pitcher's paradise) before doing something so reactionary.

I know we haven't had many long outings from the starters and there have been a lot of small leads to protect, but Marmol was getting worked just as much when the bullpen wasn't under such duress. I guess Howry and Wuertz are better now, but that didn't stop Lou from stamping his feet and not letting Wuertz work out of a little trouble against the bottom of the worst lineup in baseball, in a huge pitcher's park, with a 4 run lead, and one out already in the inning.

It's the same thing as Westbrook. The Indians don't want quantity because they have that, and they won't get quality because teams dealing for Sabathia need it to contend. The Tribe are caught in between, and since they aren't that far out and Shapiro is smart enough to value compensation picks, I don't see Sabathia getting dealt.

When did Marmol fall apart late in the season? It certainly wasn't last year. Didn't he get rocked in the playoffs? I don't think that's necessarily a good argument for "Marmol's arm is going to wear down", but I think that's the reference.

I have to wonder that in a game where we needed 4 IP out of the bullpen, and had used 4 relievers yesterday(and Marmol and Wood had both thrown in 5 of 8 games), why Eyre, who has thrown less than 30 pitches in the past week, wasn't used.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/pi/psplit.cgi?n1=wuertmi01#situa-clutc Wuertz is at his best in Close and Late situations.

yay its Wuertz Thank goodness he and Howry were awesome in May, otherwise Marmol could start picking his rehab destination of choice

They used Ankiel to start the inning, so all they had on the bench was Kennedy, Ryan, and LaRue. They were kinda hosed no matter what.

punt or kick either really, although depending on that and the type of ball it makes it a little more tricky

what do I look like, a guy who's not lazy

watching Z book it to third is hilarious on so many levels