Friday, March 18, 2005
No Clarity
Split squad D-Backs games yesterday:
-- A win over the Rockies, highlighted by a strong outing by Mike Gosling, further complicating any decisions on the #5 rotation spot
-- A win over the Brewers, in which Brandon Webb pitched OK, and I'm most pleased with the fact that he just 1 walk but 5 K's)
More articles on the solidification of the bullpen are appearing, and here's the problem with the use of Spring Training stats. Here are the ERAs and innings pitched of the 6 most-likely bullpen pitchers (let's assume Halsey or Gosling get the #5 rotation spot):
Aquino 0.00, 1.0
Koplove 9.00, 3.0
Choate 5.40, 3.1
Lyon 0.00, 5.0
Villarreal 9.53, 5.2
Valverde 30.00, 3.0
One of these things is not like the other. Really, what are we to make of Valverde's 4 outings? I can certainly look at Cormier (3.52, 7.2), Bruney (3.60, 5.0), or Nance (2.25, 4.0), and make a plausible case for any one of them over Valverde. But at a distance (and waaaay outside the loop), I have no way of knowing what else the staff is looking at. It is less than opaque, to be certain.
******************
Other items of note:
-- An interesting story concerning Luis Gonzalez, Tony LaRussa, and Tino Martinez
-- A look at the D-Backs' new Double-A squad and manager
-- I didn't see any of the steroids hearings yesterday, and have avoided the subject like the plague (or haven't you noticed?), so why should I change now? My one comment? With every week this goes on, I increasingly think of Bud Selig as Colonel Jessup in "A Few Good Men" -- "you can't handle the truth!" In any case, for more complete thoughts, check out Will Carroll's blogs on the hearings.
-- A win over the Rockies, highlighted by a strong outing by Mike Gosling, further complicating any decisions on the #5 rotation spot
-- A win over the Brewers, in which Brandon Webb pitched OK, and I'm most pleased with the fact that he just 1 walk but 5 K's)
More articles on the solidification of the bullpen are appearing, and here's the problem with the use of Spring Training stats. Here are the ERAs and innings pitched of the 6 most-likely bullpen pitchers (let's assume Halsey or Gosling get the #5 rotation spot):
Aquino 0.00, 1.0
Koplove 9.00, 3.0
Choate 5.40, 3.1
Lyon 0.00, 5.0
Villarreal 9.53, 5.2
Valverde 30.00, 3.0
One of these things is not like the other. Really, what are we to make of Valverde's 4 outings? I can certainly look at Cormier (3.52, 7.2), Bruney (3.60, 5.0), or Nance (2.25, 4.0), and make a plausible case for any one of them over Valverde. But at a distance (and waaaay outside the loop), I have no way of knowing what else the staff is looking at. It is less than opaque, to be certain.
******************
Other items of note:
-- An interesting story concerning Luis Gonzalez, Tony LaRussa, and Tino Martinez
-- A look at the D-Backs' new Double-A squad and manager
-- I didn't see any of the steroids hearings yesterday, and have avoided the subject like the plague (or haven't you noticed?), so why should I change now? My one comment? With every week this goes on, I increasingly think of Bud Selig as Colonel Jessup in "A Few Good Men" -- "you can't handle the truth!" In any case, for more complete thoughts, check out Will Carroll's blogs on the hearings.
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