OT: Pirates...
- Thread starter NNFAN
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Never trust a bullpen/reliever, they're literally impossible to predict. It makes what Mariano did even more remarkable.
It's my #1 worry every single season. Right now the main culprits are Melancon and Liz. The others have either been very good (Hughes) or pretty damn good with some really bad luck (Bastardo).
It's my #1 worry every single season. Right now the main culprits are Melancon and Liz. The others have either been very good (Hughes) or pretty damn good with some really bad luck (Bastardo).
Don't worry, if Mark hasn't worked through his things by, oh, mid-May then I'm sure Clint will slowly remove Melancon from the role and have a new (non-lefty!) closer installed by the end of June.
Exciting game to watch and super early... My two cents..
Pedro would have had the bouncer to third... Melancon is not a closer..anymore !
The buccos will be fine. It is a long season. But that was a frustrating loss. The entire bullpen struggled and I have a feeling it is going to be that way for a lot of teams when playing the Cubs. They have a ton of young talent.
Not sure which bouncer you're talking about (Castro's that went over Harrison's head or the bleeder that Harrison just couldn't corral) but I agree. Then again, Pedro always had really good range ratings at 3B....it was the throwing after he got the ball that did him in.
He looks good at 1B, though. That position is a legitimate strength if he comes close to sustaining his current pace and continues to be among the league leaders in hard-hit rate.
Cubs have had some really nice luck in the early going. Pirates are up there with Cleveland in terms of bad luck in the early going. It is a long season and so there's no need to panic, but I do believe there is legitimate concern over Melancon and his being featured in a prominent role in the bullpen. 3-4 MPH of lost velocity is a big deal and they have 4-5 other relievers performing very well (in terms of their peripherals) in the early going.
Castro's bouncer in the ninth and if not playing for the double play, routine out.
I agree Pedro looks good at first and can't complain on his at bats.
Melancin makes me nervous and think batters will be calling late time outs to frazzle him. A couple more lack luster outings.. Who knows..
Melacon's start to the season and velocity drop are worrisome, but taking shots at Hurdle or doubting the current management team is a baseless argument. Even with the recent shaky outings, no MLB manager would have stripped a "healthy" closer of his job when he had converted 26 of his past 27 save opportunities. As scary as it seems to us fans, such closers earn a extra chances to turn it around. This administration has shown they will promptly bail on struggling veteran pitchers regardless of money or past career successes (i.e.- Grilli/Frieri, Wandy, J.Sanchez, Hammer, J.Wilson, Gomez). Most of the time it worked for the best, with the horrible Grilli for Frieri trade outcome being an exception.
To clarify, I think current management is great. I think Hurdle is a constant victim of Holtzman's Folly, though.
I don't think Melancon should be let go, maybe the velocity comes back as the weather warms, but he shouldn't be part of their high leverage relief corps until it does. Caminero, Bastardo, Watson, and Hughes have all been significantly better.
Is it my opinion only or does Melancon look like he's spending too much time lifting weights ?
I don't think anyone has advocated letting Melancon go. And God forbid we question Hurdle. We should limit our comments to praise only. What the hell, has Pirate baseball become a religion where doubt is a mortal sin? Melancon has an ERA of 8.53, obviously the worst on the team. The 2 saves he has so far were against the pitiful Braves. Incidentally, discounting the Braves, the Bucs have only one win.
His fastball is in the 80's, his slider is getting crushed when it is near the strike zone, and he has turned to his average curve for strikes. He is having major problems. If Ray Searage can't help him, I don't know who can.
If he has not improved through his next outing, a stint on the disabled list might give him an opportunity to salvage his game. The Pirates need him. I wish him well and hope that he can return to the effective closer that he was last year.
But,I do know that we cannot throw games away in April and May in the hope that he will somehow work things out in June or July.
His fastball is in the 80's, his slider is getting crushed when it is near the strike zone, and he has turned to his average curve for strikes. He is having major problems. If Ray Searage can't help him, I don't know who can.
If he has not improved through his next outing, a stint on the disabled list might give him an opportunity to salvage his game. The Pirates need him. I wish him well and hope that he can return to the effective closer that he was last year.
But,I do know that we cannot throw games away in April and May in the hope that he will somehow work things out in June or July.
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Overall the management team and Clint Hurdle has done a fantastic job in turning a hopeless cause into something really nice for the city. That being said Hurdle does a lot of things with his pitching staff that at times infuriate me. Particularly when he takes a starter out who is completely handcuffing the opposition simply because it is the 7th inning and turns the game over to a reliever who you have no idea how effective he might be. That being said Hurdle might know more than I do about his team
As far as Melancon they had better keep a close eye on him. As proven by Hanrahan and Grilli lights out closers can lose their effectiveness over night and I can't see letting Melancon go very long throwing big fat meatballs up there when we have guys like Hughes and Caminero in the pen and Holdzcom down on the farm. To be fair he did have some bad bounces go against him last night
Never liked how Hurdle handled his pitchers---and Melancon is looking bad---not sure how you can keep parading him out there game after game---I think Burnett has only given up 2 runs in 2 starts but they lost both games because of the bull pen
One of Hurdle's 2 major faults is that he's so attached to the closer concept/title. He will manage his bullpen with the ultimate goal of getting his closer a save (which is the basis of what's known as Holtzman's Folly) rather than managing to win or making optimum decisions.
He isn't quick to yank guys out of the role, and he's insistent that there actually needs to be a "closer" role. Optimal strategy should dictate that you use your best reliever in the most difficult situations. Logically, I would much rather have my best reliever face the 3-4-5 hitters in the 8th instead of using an inferior reliever to face the heart of the order solely so that my best guy can face the weaker 6-7-8 guys in the 9th and accumulate a meaningless statistic.
If he could/would optimally use a combination of Watson, Bastardo, Hughes, and Caminero to navigate through the 7th, 8th, and 9th innings you'd be looking at the best bullpen in the division. If Melancon's velocity comes back (and it very well may) then you can essentially shorten the game to a 5 or 6 inning contest.
But, if he leaves Melancon in the role and his velocity magically comes back, I worry that the narrative will be that the velocity is back because "he stuck with his guy and it paid off" rather than pointing out that relievers shouldn't have set roles to begin with and Hurdle continuing to pitch him at less than 100% was a major detriment in the time it took for the velocity to come back.
