Craig - 21hawk
New member
matchpenalty said:What does the bullpen look like this season. I know Neshek is out for the season. How does it breakdown after Nathan. Also, is rotation pretty mush set with Lirano, Baker, Blackburn, Perkins, Slowey set in stone.
Rotation will be Baker-Liriano-Slowey-Perkins-Blackburn according to Rick Anderson.
As for the bullpen, we are currently looking at Guerrier, Crain, Ayala, and long man from the right side (Boof? Humber? Jones? Other?), and Breslow and Mijares from the left. If Gardy decides to go with 11 pitchers there won't be a spot for a long man. They are also investigating picking up Juan Cruz, but all reports I've heard say that may be a tough road to hoe with needing to agree to a contract and a trade with AZ. If Cruz is added, I would guess that Ayala is out of luck (it is my understanding that his contract is a minor league one, could be wrong though).
I expect the bullpen to be better than last year, but probably not as good as years prior. At the beginning of last season the young starters were being protected and Crain was being proteted as well. This caused Guerrier to be seriously over worked and he tired down the stretch. That shouldn't be an issue this year with the starters all having a full year under their belts and Crain not being restricted any more. Additionally, Mijares is a step up from Reyes in that he will get more than one out per appearance. If we are able to add Cruz, the pen will be good.
Craig