Simple Solution to Bullpen Woes

[Chuck]

First, release Kevin Jepsen. He's pretty worthless. Demote Frieri to take Jepsen's spot in the bullpen order until he figures shit out. Salas and Frieri are guys to come in the 5th or 6th if needed, as is Maronde. 

 

Promote Michael Morin, RJ Alvarez or Cam Bedrosian and have either one take the 7th inning spot in the bullpen. Kohn can take the 8th inning and Joe Smith closes shit out. After seeing two innings of fireballers, Smith is even tougher to hit in the 9th. 

 

GET. IT. DONE! 

[jshep]

They'll promote the likes of Josh Wall again instead.

[OregonLAA]

Or leave Frieri as closer like Scioscia just stated

[nando714]

Or Barry Enright

[Quinlanforthewin]

I like it.  It will never happen.  But I like it.  

[Quinlanforthewin]

Or leave Frieri as closer like Scioscia just stated

 

"Ernesto-eeeeeee just has a few things to figure out I liked the way the ball was coming out of his hand"

[rafibomb]

Or leave Frieri as closer like Scioscia just stated

[bloodbrother]

Agreed with this. Try something new. I want to see them show some urgency rather than sticking with the same old shit

 

bring up some of these young guys

 

9th inning - Joe Smith

8th inning - Michael Kohn

7th inning - Bedrock, Alvarez or Morin

6th inning/mop-up - Salas/Frieri

[Quinlanforthewin]

Or leave Frieri as closer like Scioscia just stated

 

Eh, it's why he will be fired at the end of the year.  Decisions like this.  No sense of urgency.  And why should he have any? He's been here forever.  

[full circle]

Or leave Frieri as closer like Scioscia just stated

Seriously?

[greginpsca]

The thing Frieri needs to figure out is that he has only 1 pitch. And hitters are on to him. They spit on anything other than a fastball. He should be demoted until he can get other pitches over for strikes. Until then, we will have this recurring theme of blowing games in the late innings. And , please, just release Jepson. He doesn't belong in a mlb uniform.

[beatlesrule]

I did not get to see the game.  Just heard bits and pieces on the radio and checking my phone.  Why was Weaver removed?  He only had thrown 86 pitches I think it was.  That means that Kohn had to be used.  I don't blame Salas for not being able to send it to extras.  Scioscia should have realized that he doesn't do well with inherited runners on.  Same thing happened when we had J.C. Romero.  He was lights out against lefties but not very good vs righties yet Scioscia continued to use him against righties.  Even if Salas gets out of the inning, now we have our bad RP for extra innings.  If Weaver goes 7, it means we still have Kohn for extras after the blown save.  This loss is on Frieri and Scioscia IMO.

[Chuck]

So frustrating to have your starting pitcher and other bullpen arms hold the lead, only for ONE GUY to come in an blow it and ruin all the work that was put forth the previous 8 innings.

[Diaz15]

The Bedrock, Alvarez & Morin move makes too much sense. Therefore, it won't happen.

[Ludwig Von Mises]

Not sure I'd want to subject the next crop of young relievers to what I think is clearly inferior instruction.

I've had a golf coach who could detect the flaw in my swing in a few minutes and suggest solutions that had my swing back in short order.

I've also had more than one coach who "guesses" and sends me on a wild goose chase from hell trying to fix things that aren't broken while missing the single flaw.

Different sport and different situation, so that analogy might not hold water, but I am quite certain that there is a huge difference between a good coach and a bad one. Maybe Butcher really is a good coach and my conclusion is based on insufficient information but I don't think so. Compared to his peers within the division, especially Maddux and Young, I think he falls short.

[AngelsLakersFan]

Why not give Jarrett Grube a shot, or bring back Matt Shoemaker? I know they are starting pitching depth but they should be effective relievers as well. 

 

There is no reason to put up with this cluster ****.

[mancini79]

I did not get to see the game.  Just heard bits and pieces on the radio and checking my phone.  Why was Weaver removed?  He only had thrown 86 pitches I think it was.  That means that Kohn had to be used.  I don't blame Salas for not being able to send it to extras.  Scioscia should have realized that he doesn't do well with inherited runners on.  Same thing happened when we had J.C. Romero.  He was lights out against lefties but not very good vs righties yet Scioscia continued to use him against righties.  Even if Salas gets out of the inning, now we have our bad RP for extra innings.  If Weaver goes 7, it means we still have Kohn for extras after the blown save.  This loss is on Frieri and Scioscia IMO.

 

It's the joys of playing by the NL non DH rules. Angels had a runner on 3rd with 1 out and Weaver due to bat. At the time the Angels were only leading 2-1. So Stewart hit for Weaver.

[Docwaukee]

oh it will happen.  at some point.  maybe it will be in time.  maybe it won't.  but that's kind of the point.  They've already pissed away a few winnable games and here we are 20+ games in and near the end of april and having bullpen tryouts. Again.  For the fourth year in a row.  Nothing is insurmountable at this point, but damn it just so painful to watch this happen. 

[Angels_Make_Me_Drink]

JeDi needs to step in and get rid of Mike's toys. Make some BP call ups, trade Frieri if you can even get anything for him.

[ukyah]

no, you don't trade frieri. we need him. we just need him in a different role, as has always been the case.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Looking to hear from the guys on here who are of the really smart / know stats / scouting reports etc bsckground.

Do we have ANYONE in the minors today who looks like they can come up and improve what we have? Im as anxious as anyone to call one of the young guys we keep talkimg about and have them give us a shot in the arm. But are any of those guys ready, or are we just desperate (as fans) to call up guys who arent ready who are having a good start in the minors?

Again, to clarify, im all for bringing up one or all of the guys whonare ready and can actually improve us. So just looking for some of you guys who really follow the minors to say who you think is ready / who should it be?

[HeavenlyHalos]

When I saw the opening day bullpen, I thought we were f**ked unless a few minor leaguers could step up and take the place of Jepsen, Salas, Maronde, and Kohn. Kohn has been a pleasant surprise so far, and hopefully can be a fixture in the 7th inning, and we also have a number of minor leaguers that could make an impact at the ML level: Bedrosian, Morin, Alvarez, and Sisk all look to have great potential. We could also give Rasmus another look, although he was pretty bad last season when he was called up. Add Lyon to that list too, but the point is we have to give these guys chances sooner rather than later. There is very little reason to wait at this point. Service time shouldn't be a consideration at all since 6 years is a long time for a relief pitcher. I suppose, you could argue that you potentially hurt their development by promoting them too early, but it's not like we are talking about top 100 prospects here. At the very very very least, Jepsen should be released and Rasmus or Lyon should be called up as there is nothing more for them to gain in the minors. I really hope we see at least one of Alvarez, Morin, Bedrosian soon.  

[ten ocho recon scout]

Agreed with the service time. For a franchise type player thats an issue (or a team that isnt very good). But we actually have a shot this year...

[rafibomb]

Looking to hear from the guys on here who are of the really smart / know stats / scouting reports etc bsckground.

Do we have ANYONE in the minors today who looks like they can come up and improve what we have? Im as anxious as anyone to call one of the young guys we keep talkimg about and have them give us a shot in the arm. But are any of those guys ready, or are we just desperate (as fans) to call up guys who arent ready who are having a good start in the minors?

Again, to clarify, im all for bringing up one or all of the guys whonare ready and can actually improve us. So just looking for some of you guys who really follow the minors to say who you think is ready / who should it be?

 

My guess is that Mike Morin would be the first called up among the three. He has been a closer since college (and was one of the best in the nation at UNC). Over his entire minor league career he has struck out just 9.3 batters per nine innings while showing impeccable command with 1.9 BB per nine innings (these numbers would be a lot better if it were not for a tough first year at Orem). Take away his first outing at AAA and his numbers would be 2.2 IP  5 SO  1.3 WHIP.

 

Bedrosian would be a close second to be called up. Bedrosian's numbers are just too hard to ignore. 24.7 K's per nine innings while only walking 2.3 per nine innings. I read a report of his first putting in Arkansas when he struck out all three batters he faced. He put the ball exactly where it needed to be and his fastball was clocked at 93 mph. It's not like he was relying strictly on velocity. He was "pitching". 

 

The least ready would be R.J. Alvarez due to concern over his control problems. But looking at his numbers (though a small sample size) he looks to have vastly improved in that area. He had an awful 5.0 BB per nine innings last year and so far this year it is down to 1.9... Control was the only thing holding Alvarez back from making the big leagues and if he continues to prove that it is a thing of the past, he will be up here fast. 

 

I am no scout as I am just looking at numbers but I hope this is the case that the numbers speak for themselves.

 

 

Also there is really no one else in the minors that can help out this pen. Berg has been off to a rough start. Michael Brady (who we got off waivers from the Marlins) just got rocked in his first AAA appearance. Cory Rasmus is their best reliever but he looks like the classic case of heart attack appearance. He strikes out hitters but has walked 7 batters so far in 11 innings.

Edited April 24, 2014 by rafibomb

[gurn67]

Two words. Tracy McGrady.

http://www.myfoxhouston.com/story/25322571/tracy-mcgrady-makes-skeeters-opening-day-roster