Somehow this wasn't as big a problem last year even though we basically had four starters plus Johnson and Velazquez--and later Eovaldi. This year we were supposed to begin with 5 starters--Sale, Price, ERod, Porcello, and Eovaldi but never came close to that.
Now it's a pretty steady 4--all but Eovaldi--except when Price or someone gets shelled early. But the subs like Johnson and others have rarely gone 5 innings.
The pen had a lot of work in the last few days and goes into the Twins series after being taxed. I hope our starters can go 6 or more in the next 3 games.
Is Cody Allen worth a look?
https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2019/...ody-allen.html
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Moonslav, there is no way to sugar coat it. The pen sucks. This is a case where the numbers are misleading. Other than Barnes (yes, I said it!) do you really trust anyone else? Barnes is starting to look overworked due to the lack of a 5th starter. 1 run lead, going in to the 9th.....you really feel comfortable? I think youre lying to yourself if you answer yes.
I've been calling for a trade for a solid pen arm or two all year and all last winter.
I don't have faith in our pen. I like Barnes a lot... as a set-up man. Hembree, Workman and maybe Walden are okay as 6th & 7th inning guys. Brasier is a tough call.
My point was about what what our pen has done to date. Like em or not, on the edge of your seat or not, our pen has won more games for us thatn our SP'ers and they have lost less games than our SP'ers, too.
It's not about the numbers. I went back and looked at every win and loss our team had over the first 59 games, and it was crystal clear our pen was way better than our rotation.
They have slipped since then, and our starters have improved, but not by enough to swing the pen into negative territory.
You can argue they did it with magic, with luck, with both, and I'd be fine with that, but they have- some how- some way- gotten the job done more than our starters have.
Going forward is another thing. I'm not willing to bet this continues. I still want a solid trade or two, and the sooner the better.
Those are two separate issues.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
I did.
I got bored.
I was glad to see a post that did not really misrepresent my position.
On your point about our crappy 5th starter, one could argue having to fill in for Eovaldi not only took a long relief pitcher from our pen, but it also taxed the pen by forcing "pen games" way too often.
My position remains unchanged. We need pen help for the rest of the season... like yesterday, but our pen has been a plus, so far this year. To me, it's beyond debate. They have added wins and lessened losses when compared to our rotation up to now.
When you say it's gonna happen now
When exactly do you mean?
Funny thing after this winning streak, we only gained 1 game in the loss column to the Yanks. Went from 9 to 8.