Thus far, as the Astros’ bullpen goes, so goes the Astros

Good friend of this blog and commenter deluxe, Mr. Bill, recently said “…as goes Jose Altuve, so goes the Astros”.  This is often the case over the last few years, but frankly through the first 10 games of the season, perhaps he should have said “…as goes the bullpen, so goes the Astros”.

Through those first 10 games of the season, the starting pitching had been very solid with only Mike Fiers five run hiccup in the 10th game a truly poor outing. The offense had been consistently poor until the last two games of that first decade of outings.

But if you want to get a good idea of the pulse of the team, take a look at how the bullpen has performed through the 6-4 start.

  • In the 6 wins, the bullpen has thrown 21.2 IP with a sparkling 1.66 ERA, 3 wins and 2 saves.
  • In the 4 losses, the ‘pen has tossed 12 IP and has been lit up for a 9.00 ERA, 2 losses and 1 blown save.
  • Brad Peacock is tied for the team lead with 2 wins and a 0.00 ERA in 4 games.
  • Chris Devenski has contributed to two wins with two 5 IP outings that saved his fellow relievers arms and sparked the team with his 1.13 ERA.
  • Will Harris (0.00 ERA in 4 games) and Michael Feliz (2.08 ERA in 3 games) have been solid contributors.
  • Ken Giles has been a schizophrenic reliever in 4 outings, with 2 saves, one loss and one outing that made an easy win difficult and a deserved 9.00 ERA.
  • Luke Gregerson has had 5 excellent outings with no runs allowed, but gave up 6 runs in his other game which was a loss and raised his ERA to 10.13.
  • Both Jandel Gustave and Tony Sipp have struggled with control issues, but both gave the Astros important support in their recent 10-5 win.

The Astros have gotten more positives than negatives from their bullpen to date and this as much as anything has led to their 6-4 start to the season.

Here at Chipalatta we wish our good friends out there a wonderful and blessed Easter weekend.

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114 responses to “Thus far, as the Astros’ bullpen goes, so goes the Astros”

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  2. Altuve is just amazing – looks totally lost – grounding into DPs left and right and then pokes a few the other way and suddenly unstoppable.

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  4. A blessed Easter to you, Dan, and all here. Again, I want to thank you for the work you do on this blog, and for the cordial and conciliatory tone you so wisely introduce when needed. Little wonder Chip trusted you with his baby.

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    • Thanks Diane – it is after all only sports and as fanatic as we are we still need to appreciate each other even when we don’t agree. You have a great and blessed weekend!

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  5. I guess I am going to judge the bullpen by the standings. The Angels are 6-5 and their bullpen is 5-0. The Astros are 7-4 and their bullpen is 3-2.
    The ebb and flow of relief pitchers is like the waves on the shore. I like our bullpen. I wish Giles and Feliz’s fastball had some movement. I wish Jandel had better control. I wish Sipp could be reliable and I wish we had starting pitchers who could dominate all the time.
    But over the long haul of a 162 game schedule, I like our bullpen and think we can win with it.
    I am ecstatic that Hinch chose not to send Devo back out to pitch the ninth inning last night, because the Astros’ half of the ninth lasted a half an hour. Feliz got to come in and close out a game and got some experience he needed. Feliz is not a complete pitcher, as of yet, but he has good stuff that he is learning to command and confidence is an important part of that.

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  6. Doesn’t it seem like something is way off when a manager pulls his starter after 5 innings and 74 pitches in a 1-1 tie? This was a Friday night game at home against a division rival. What is Melvin not telling us about Graveman?
    Suddenly, having Keuchel on the mound seems like having a safety net under our high wire artists.
    Harris, Gregerson and Giles are rested.
    Peacock has pitched for Oakland and Houston. Seems he would like to get a chance to shine this weekend.
    Nori Aoki was a stick of dynamite for the Astros last night.
    Guys like Marcus Siemien leading off, make our leadoff guy seem decent. After all, you want to get a guy hitting .229, with a .288 OBP, and 0 stolen bases as many at bats as possible.
    If only we had a guy with a a .326 BA, 3 SBs and a .420 OBP to lead off. But, how many teams have that kind of a player?
    Our leadoff hitter has scored only 7 runs. 5 of those came on his own home runs. It’s not working.

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  7. Pitching has been stellar overall.

    IF defense? Work in progress trying to turn DP’s, etc.

    Baserunning? No threat of stealing, but opportunistic. More bad decisions and not watching base coaches.

    Offense coming around. Astros first in MLB in hits (103), fourth in batting average (.267) and fifth in OBP (.339). 7-4 start is tied for third in baseball.

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  8. Gov, seems we were just getting into an interesting conversation when Dan changed the topic. ( I think he does that on purpose when it looks like a couple of us are heading south). Anyway, what was it that had you a tad distressed? Maybe I can explain further and make you more/less distressed.

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    • Goes back to chron days, Dave… you have your whipping boys and I have mine. My thing is there are 9 players at a time, and 25 on a team. Invariably it’s the same guy(s) you pick out to then highlight when they have a poorer stat night (“not Marwin’s fault he’s starting”, c’mon?)

      I do the same in hopes it resonates with collective movements, coaching moves etc. But we’re just armchair guys trying to translate what we project after yrs of seeing what “it’s supposed to look like.” With you and Marwin, it’s perpetually about the lefty/righty matchup. Last year, you questioned Hinch, writing that Reed is just as good a defender at 1B. You also wrote that Tucker would have a better 2016. None of these are true, in addition to last night’s selection to play him based on a lifetime OPS.

      You see a ground ball or bad AB waiting to happen. I see a year-by-year improved, potential breakout, if not consistent player.

      Neither of us will have our way though because Jeff Luhnow loves Gonzales and Bregman.

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      • One thing for certain Gov, you’ve got a much better memory than I do, or at least more time to go back and read things I might have written at one point.
        Did I really say that Tucker would have a better 2016? That one surprises me because I’ve quietly remained unimpressed with the guy since seeing him play in CC years ago. His ML ceiling is left handed DH. Maybe. I’m a bit surprised you did not nail me on Nate Freeman though. I was high on the guy.

        But certainly, Marwin, while a guy of significant value to a bad team or even a pretty good team, does not not impress me. We’ve got a deep club now. I just don’t think he’s as valuable as he one was. So I’m guilty as charged. He plays a whole bunch of positions, but none very well. He’s not a guy that can pinch run for you. And his best hitting comes from the right side of the plate. So I’ll bring up that .680 lefthanded OPS again. A lifetime stat going back to 2012 is a pretty good sample. What I’m saying is that I’d like to see Gurriel play eveyday until it’s clear he’s not the answer. Because we’ve got other guys in Fresno. For all we know, he might be the answer. And if I’ve got a struggling 45 million dollar bat with seven hits in his last three games, he’s starting the next one.

        And Gov, you are certainly right about you and me both. We’re just a couple of guys with our opinions. Heck, I’d be shocked if Marwin turns into a breakout ball player. And I’d be the first guy to say I was dead wrong. And you’re right about Bregman too. I see an excellent ball player one day soon, a fine hitter, and at some point, a better than average third baseman as long as he’s over there playing out of position. I think if anyone got hurt by the WBBC, it was Bregman. He needed live reps at third this spring. And he needed to hit against live pitching everyday.

        So what’s cool about our 2017 club besides being in first place, is that you and I can continue to banter back and forth about your Marwin and my Bregman.

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      • Yep, you’ve definitely mellowed over the years, and become a fine diplomat. You’ve called me out on mistakes too, but as the good book says, a wise man loves instruction.

        The only thing I’d differ in your description is, “not playing any position very well.” I think he plays solid in the dirt, and less than average in the OF. He’s certainly a more polished infielder than Alex Bregman, but there’s time to learn.

        “Breakout” in the projection sense, as I think he’s on a Jose Vizcaino trajectory, which means he has another 5-8 yrs in the tank. In 2018, we’ll have all the utility guys we need in White, Brignac, Moran and Kemp. Trying to find a super utility in one guy isn’t quite apparent yet, though.

        I’m on record being very high on Gurriel. His swing comparable to Julio Franco (Blummer), that “grasshopper chopper”doesn’t happen without that amazing swing plane. He’s by far the most solid 3B we have. I’d rather have him in the game any night, than Marwin. But it’s a long season, Gonzales is hot too, Bregman needs the work and YULI is still trying to get his legs under him.

        The real issue nobody has given credit to Hinch on is trying to keep everyone happy, involved and productive. Until we pare down to 12 pitchers, the position guys are a little bunched up…

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    • Without getting too much into how we make sausage around here – I only control when I write posts but not when they get posted – that is done by Chip alone. When I finish one I send him an email – he formats it, fixes up my proposed headline and adds a picture. Normally it appears a 1/2 day later though occasionally longer depending on whether Chip is busy or traveling.
      So though once in a while I would like the conversation to move on – I have no way of making that happen.

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  10. Here are a few watching like hawks for an injury, or chance to swoop in!

    Tony Kemp, 2B: 2-for-5
    Derek Fisher, LF: 1-for-3, 2 BB
    Tyler White, 3B: 3-for-4, R
    Jon Kemmer, RF: 1-for-4, R, 3B, RBI
    Reid Brignac, SS: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
    Edison Frias, (not so much)
    Tyson Perez, RHP: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
    Jordan Jankowski, RHP: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K

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  13. Russell, I wonder why we had that serve and volley Thurs, then Fri over Correa’s extension?

    It was almost like Correa and agent spoke too quickly without understanding the implications to the rest of the team. Either that, or Beltran told him to adjust his language?

    Immediately after it was announced, and Diane’s cheese Louise comment, I looked at our SS’s ETA (Sierra 2019, Nova 2021), and the draft potential. It didn’t dawn on me, then, Bregman’s playing out of position.

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  14. I’m thinking about taking Mr. Bill’s approach to not watching games. Seeing as how we win 4, drop 3, then go for 4 in a row again. If it’s like clockwork, I’ll just meet you all at the playoffs, try and get some work done this season in the meantime..

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  15. I probably talk more about the Rangers misfortunes this season than I do about the Astros, but the irony in how their season has played out so far is just too sweet not to mention. The Rangers currently have a +8 run differential, which, if you recall was their final run differential at the end of the 2016 season. Despite only having a +8 RD last year they finished with 95 wins. However, so far this season, the +8 RD has resulted in being 2 games below .500. I am enjoying their regression as much as I am enjoying this nice start by our favorite team. It is poetic justice, so far.

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    • Profar, Gomez and (your boy HaHa!) Napoli are stinkin’ up the joint, but Mazara and Andrus are super hot.

      It was funny listening to their telecast yesterday, saying Gomez is, “bound to start hitting again.”

      The DL maybe!

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  18. LMJ was so hacked off to get out of a bases loaded no out jam by striking out the last A three times – once on a non- foul tip that the ump missed by more than the hitter, second by a solid pitch on the outside corner and finally on a curve in the dirt.

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    • Somebody spiked his Gatorade today bc he was all jacked up. Was Lance actually upset at Gattis after the 2nd inning, as Blummer and Kalas said re: pitch selection? I don’t get it. Evan is reading his wristband.

      And another thing … I used to get upset going back a few yrs ago (maybe before Strom) when we’d get 2 strikes and give up an immediate hit, instead of picking at corners. Now it seems like the extreme opposite. 0-2 goes to 3-2 so often. It wreaks of a lack of fastball command!

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      • LMJ was over-wired today – Evan went out a couple times to go over signs in 2nd and then LMJ was yelling about something with Stron afterward. Maybe he gets along better with McCann??

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      • That’s what they were saying, but I mean, I didn’t see anything Gattis did wrong. The ump’s strike zone early allowed everything outside against us, and twitter lit up with how the ump was screwing us.

        And anyway, unless Strom told Lance pregame not to shake him off, that’s the pitchers call usually..

        I’ll be interested in post game explanation.

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      • Lance simply did not have a good outing. Everything was up. At least for yesterday, he forgot how to throw a ground ball consistently. But he is tough and he kept the team in the game when it could have gotten out of hand.

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  28. This was one BIZARRE game! Manea leaves with the bases loaded, while pitching a no hitter. How in the HECK do you do that??!!! This team really HAS left 2016 in their rear view mirror! All I can say is *WOW*!!! Thank the Lord we have our current 3rd baseman is a natural SS, and the guy manning 1st base is really a 3rd baseman! So Correa can heal without leaving us with a black hole at short! Man….these guys are FUN to watch!!!

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  29. Today is an amazing day to be an Astros fan.
    It has to be a lousy day to be an A’s fan but, honestly, after what this team has been through the last five years, I couldn’t care less about the other guys.
    Amazing!

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  31. The Astros have the best record in the AL, at 8-4 and tied with the Reds for the best in MLB.
    Houston is the fifth best team in baseball in not striking out.
    Houston is the third best team in baseball in OBP.
    They are fifth in runs scored.
    Their team BA is .266 and the batting average against Astros pitching is .224.
    They are suddenly fourth in stolen bases.
    They are fourth in drawing walks.
    The Astros pitchers are fourth in Ks.
    The pitchers are 7th in ERA and 5th in WHIP.

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  32. I have enjoyed the wins so far, but these games have been gifts from A’s and Mariners bullpens. And right now the Angels and Rangers appear to have similar problems.

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    • And if Fiers and McCann entered the Big Head races in Oakland they would finish 4th and 5th. The only reason that Fiers scored was McCann was slower getting thrown out at 3rd.

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    • The benefit of playing two teams who did not execute well. The Royals were a different story, and likely represents much more solid teams. I left thinking yesterday that the West is the weakest division in the AL. We have our work cut out, but the “fight back” this team is showing is encouraging!

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    • I think good teams create their own gifts. The Astros patience at the plate and not swinging wildly at pitches out of the zone is the reason the other teams bullpen is melting down.

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      • Exactly Blummer’s point yesterday just before Manaea was pulled.

        It was my off-season key too based on comments I’d read from Drew Ferguson about Astros’ system hitting, strike zone discipline. And the same for Gattis, who has dramatically changed his swing selection.

        Beltran, now that’s a different story lately. And yesterday in the 7th with ducks on pond, 3-0 count Correa literally took and had no intention of swinging, then strikes out on a dirt ball. Small sample compared to the team, but those two are supposed to be doing damage, not walking.

        Overall, plate discipline is on the rise!

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  33. I thought Fiers scored because Aoki hit a two-out, two-strike single to right center field.
    I also have the opinion that the Astros’ lineup is better than the other team’s bullpen.

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  34. For those of you that have better things to do than follow Tim on twitter, he posted a photo of a very nice young lady, sitting in the stands, wearing a Rangers jersey and crying her eyes out. Cold and heartless.

    I loved it.

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      • I’ll be happy if you break that photo out again in September. Maybe by then there’ll be many more unsuspecting sobbers?!

        I also saw you questioned why Feliz and not Luke. They did actually pitch Luke though, huh? That was a good decision, but the guy that’s concerning me lately is Gustave not finding the plate on 3-2 counts over &I over again!

        On the plus side, Tony Sipp has looked actually very good retiring Cano Cruz Seager 1-2-3 and two scoreless since! I’ll definitely eat crow if he comes around..

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  35. Put these tidbits in the” I didn’t see that coming” file. After 12 games:
    Nori Aoki leads the team in BA at .375.
    Jake Marisnick leads the team in OPS at .976 and OBP at .438.
    Evan Gattis has five BBs and only 3 Ks.
    Beltran would have more Ks than Springer.
    The Astros leadoff man is tied for the Major league lead in HRs with six, but is only hitting .231.
    Marwin Gonzalez would outhomer Carlos Correa by 3 to 1.
    The team has no triples.
    The bullpen and the rotation have the same number of wins.
    The league is hitting .116 against Dallas Keuchel.
    Brad Peacock has a WHIP of 0.53.
    Ken Giles has an ERA of 9.00.
    Thus far, Alex Bregman has yet to turn a double play, but has hit into two of them.

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  36. daveb7, lately it seems you call the game and then toddle off to bed, or something like that. Seeing as how your predictions have been hitting, why don’t you just declare us WS champs and let us have a stress-free spring and summer?

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    • Yeah, Dave, and while you’re at it, please don a .300 BA for Marwin, put a gold glove on Alex, and lay hands on Correa? We could use your blessing🐰

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  37. They said that the Astros had not made up a 5-0 deficit since 2008 and then they did it twice in three games.
    Whenever the Astros have had a big year it seems like they had this comeback ability.
    The biggest concern I have is still the starting rotation – not Keuchel of course but this was not a good outing by LMJ and he is going to have to be more mature when things don’t go his way. Let’s hope the bottom three put up good outings this time around.

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    • Agreed on maturity – I can’t forget the time Wojo came in and blew it emotionally, and we never looked back again. Peacock showed the same signs before, when balls/strikes didnt go our way, so he decided to start pitching like a stud instead of complain.

      It certainly doesn’t help when the ump misses calls as badly as yesterday’s.

      My take is Lance has put a lot of pressure on himself, knowing he has the health and the stuff (oh, and since he was the lead talker about how our rotation when healthy is good enough without an acquisition).

      What I’ve noticed is a lot of “takes” on his 0-2 counts precisely because he’s trying to nibble, deliberately not throwing a cookie. An Ace has the 80 grade fastball that elevates within the arsenal, and all I see is diving, or lateral movement. Those no calls are really pushing him over the edge – you can see it. Hopefully, Strom McCann Gattis can all get this straightened out bc the stuff is there. Calm down and pitch to contact, instead of trying to wipe everybody out.

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    • Dan, agreed that comeback ability is huge for a successful season, but my best sense over 55 years of Astros baseball is that their best success comes when they score early in games and get out to leads. Plus, it helps Dave sleep better, no doubt.

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  38. They asked JJ Cooper once who’d be a better player of prospects Andrew Benintendi, or Kyle Tucker. He said similar.

    Kyle had 7 RBI last night, is -2.5 years younger than his league at Buies Creek at age 20; while, Benintendi was 1.1 yrs younger at the same age in NYPL in Lowell.

    It looks like Cooper and Ken Law have been spot-on about our prospects.

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  39. No predictions from me today. I’m already pleased enough with the two wins to let the official baseball gods determine today’s outcome. But I do have a feeling our’s will be a loose happy group and will hit some basebsllls today.

    I tend to toddle off to bed as I’m in the Atlantic time zone, same as EST this time of year. But today, I will be sitting on the beach under sn umbrella watching our guys live on my iPad. It’s a shame some of you have a hard time with cable access back in Houston and I can watch every game 3000 miles away.

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  41. Well I didn’t want them to have the day off on Thursday for fear of losing the momentum of winning the last two games against the M’s….but the guys came back out and won two big ones on Friday and Saturday. So, hopefully they will not lose the mojo by not playing today.
    The bullpen was again interesting over the last two games.
    – Friday Keuchel did the yeoman work over 7 innings, Devo threw a shutout frame and Feliz gave up a “who cares” run back in the 9th when they had a 7-1 lead.
    – Saturday they threw 4.2 IP (more than the starter) and gave up 1 run – that run after the Astros had scored 8 straight runs for the 8-5 lead.
    – Sipp has put together two straight good appearances and it would be a welcome shot in the arm and a relief to the pocket book if he could get back to some of that excellent pitching he gave them in 2015.
    – Giles gave up the 1 run and continues to not give them clean outings. Not critical with a 3 run lead, but critical in the long run. Will he ever be a shutdown reliever or will he be a guy whom sometimes is unhittable and sometimes very hittable.

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  43. And the Rangers lose yet another 1-run game. Oh, that regression monster can be so mean. They are now 0-4 in 1-run games this season.

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  45. Can we hear an Amen for *K A R M A*!!! I picked up the game in the 9th, and did a happy dance when the M’S walked off!
    Daveb…..I hope a crab bites your toe for that smart a$$ remark about the fact that you can see the Astros and I can’t!* BRAT*!

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    • Very good at picking up used sesame seeds with a tweezers and is Springer’s personal base running coach. Coaches Aoki how to play the left field corner. Shifts the outfield out of position in the late innings. Handles Mike Fier’s off day mini sock drawer. Now is in charge of getting Carlos Correa a pair of boxing/batting gloves.

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  47. What exactly is the state of the Astros Bullpen?
    Ken Giles has lost his etched-in-stone closer’s job to a “sorta-closer” role.
    Luke Gregerson has joined into the “sorta-closer” role, as his numbers are scewed by one horrendous outing.
    Michael Feliz’s role is not established, as he has been shaky.
    Will Harris has been lights out, but Hinch is afraid to use him in a “sorta-closer” role because of last year.
    Chris Devenski needs to be used four four innings in every game. Unfortunately, he’s a human being who is just imitating a robot.
    Tony Sipp is is a major league pitcher who has been imitating a rich college pitcher for over a year.
    Brad Peacock is a pitcher who has pitched well but who’s manager doesn’t believe it.
    Gustave is the hand-picked adopted son of the manager who has now joined a fraternity and doesn’t do what he’s supposed to do
    Framber Valder is in a tandem system in Buies Creek and is being wasted. He relieved all spring, but has been starting at BC.
    Reymin Guduan was the closer in last night’s Fresno loss in which he came into the ninth inning leading 4-2 and did this:
    Single
    Flyout
    Walk
    Single
    Throwing error on pickoff attempt by pitcher
    Wild pitch
    Strikes out Nolan Fontana
    Walkoff Balk
    McCurry is supended for Meth
    Hoyt got to sit in the Fresno bullpen and watch Guduan
    Jankowski gave up like three dozen runs the other night
    Corpus, Buies Creek, and Quad Cities are in the Tandem, sorta, so no closers are being groomed there. Guys like Hector Perez are working on four inning saves, but just half the time. The other half of the time, they are starting.

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    • The Astros’ minor league pitching philosophy is: Let’s get as many good arms as we possibly can and then screw with their heads.

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    • Op
      Do you think that this inability to develop a closer (or inaction) is due to this nerdimatrics view of three outs in the 9th inning are no different than any other 3 outs?
      Of course robots and computers do not feel the stress level difference between any old inning and the last inning.

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  48. Recently finished a new biography Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty by Charles Leerhsen. Very interesting in that the author seeks to expose as myth many of the stories surrounding Cobb. I especially like to be reminded about how different the game was then: crappy fields and equipment, close interactions with fans, baseballs layered with tobacco juice and who knows what else that might be in play for innings at a time. Most of the games Cobb played had only one or 2 umpires. And the times of games (one of my pet peeves with current baseball): sheesh! Here’s one example:
    http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/DET/DET192310070.shtml
    13 runs, 21 hits, 12 walks, all wrapped up in a nice tidy hour and 10 minutes. Those pitchers knew how to pitch to contact. Some things about the good old days really were good!

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  49. No. I believe that the problem comes from their thinking that, if you have the arms, things will work out like you wish them to.
    They do not have the knowledge to take these arms and develop them to fit the needs of their system. They do not have the correct baseball knowledge to develop a system to provide the major leagues with the arms and heads they need to dominate at the major league level. So they have to buy pitchers from outside.
    Look at Musgrove. They tell him they love him, they bring him to the majors, he proves he can do it and then they make him compete in ST against a lousy Mike Fiers, who they paid over $3 million dollars to and has no options. Fiers couldn’t lose and Musgrove can”t win. Messing with the Kid’s head!
    They have Michael Feliz and LMJ who are young and struggling and have never had to face AAA batters. Feliz was a starter(Tandem?) his entire minor league career and now is a MLB reliever who has never even relieved in AAA! How dumb is that!
    Paulino-How’s that for a head case? Traded to the Astros, has to pitch in a tandem system, comes out of the tandem and dominates in AA and then gets suspended in AAA, where he only throws 14 innings, all as a starter, and then gets promoted to the majors. He makes one start, pitches like a zombie, and then gets thrown into the bullpen. He’s on the DL for three weeks, so far, for a freakin’ bruise.
    Mark Appel- OMG, a head case long before the Astros drafted him.
    Brady Aiken-a Barbie Doll with a bad arm and a tiara in his head! No, not on his head, in his head!
    OMG, David Martinez starting in Fresno. What?
    OMG, Cy Sneed starting in Fresno. What? Whoops, he started for Fresno and is now in Tri-City, who’s season won’t start for another two months.
    OMG, Brian Holmes starting in Fresno. What?
    OMG, Edison Frias starting in Fresno. What?
    OMG, Ashur Tolliver, Dayan Diaz, and Jared Mortensen are in the Fresno bullpen. What the hell happened to the dozens of pitchers Luhnow drafted in the last five years? What the hell did Albert Minnis do last year to merit being in Fresno’s bullpen this year. What?

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      • I don’t think so. If a guy hasn’t learned in 5.5 years how to develop pitchers, I don’t see him getting any better at it. Look at that Fresno roster.
        Even at Quad Cities they don’t have a clue what they’re doing. They have nine different pitchers who have started games and their best pitchers are having to wait seven or more days before they pitch. They only have five pitchers out of 14 who are relievers. It is no wonder that team is 4-6 when they don’t even have a rotation that pitches their best pitchers. They screw with pitcher’s heads all the way from rookie ball up to AAA.

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  50. I am watching Comer. He and Hoyt – and hopefully one day Riley Farrell – look like our best shots to replace the present bullpen arms. Guduan and Tolliver just can’t seem to throw strikes consistently. Jankowski is way too inconsistent – and when he gets hit, which is about every third outing he gets absolutely murdered and loses any semblance of command or control [oh wait, the same could be said about Kenny Giles!]. Mortensen has been getting massacred. Diaz just needs to pitch – and pitch alot – to see if he can develop consistency to go with his stuff.

    I am sure glad we have the guys we have now, and that Sipp and Peacock have actually done better than expected. I am just not sure if Gustave or Giles will ever calm down to a point where they can consistently handle the 9th inning. Mariano Rivera they are not.

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