Season: 43-34
Wrap, Box, Indy Week Story
I’ve always thought that relievers had the easiest job in baseball, if a bit boring. How hard could it be to show up every day, maybe play a little catch, and hang out with the guys chewing sunflower seeds out in the bullpen? Probably not a good thing to be sitting in the bullpen with your iPod plugged in and your head bobbing, or working out your thumbs on Twitter, but otherwise, not a bad job. Every 3 or 4 days you warm up, take a look at the situation (or get told about it by your catcher), and stroll/trot out to the mound and do your thing.
On the road sometimes it’s even easier, since the home team doesn’t even come to bat in the 9th when they’re ahead.
Until you trek up to Ohio and in the first six games three of them go into extra innings (13, 15, and 13). Then you have to go to work.
In the last six games:
- Jason Childers: 3 appearances, 18 batters faced, 5 innings
- Julio DePaula: 3 appearances, 24 batters faced, 6 innings, 1 win, 1 save
- Dale Thayer: 3 appearances, 21 batters faced, 5 innings, 1 save, 2 blown saves
- Joe Bateman: 3 appearances, 28 batters faced, 7 innings, 1 win
- Calvin Medlock: 2 appearances, 14 batters faced, 4 innings
- Jorge Julio: 3 appearances, 21 batters faced, 5 ⅔ innings
- Chad Bradford: 2 appearances, 11 batters faced, 3 ⅓ innings, 1 win
- Dewon Day: 3 appearances, 18 batters faced, 3 innings, 1 loss
Some very complicated math reveals that the starters pitched 28 innings over the last six games and the relievers pitched 39. Which leads me to a picture of what might be going on in the locker room or out on the field prior to today’s game. Something like this.
Relievers to Starters: “Look guys, we’re getting tired and way, way behind on our tweets. Do you think you could last, oh say, 6+ innings or so?”
Starters to Relievers: “We’re doing our job. If you can’t hold them in check it ain’t our problem (OK, maybe Matt DeSalvo isn’t part of that conversation — in two games he’s only lasted a total of 6 ⅔ innings).”
Position players (especially the catchers) to all of them: “Just stop the bleeding guys. Justin can’t save the game every day. How about a full 9 innings of baseball and we go back to the hotel with another win?”
Odds and Ends
- The Bulls are in first place in the South!
- Dan Johnson is playing for the Yokahama BayStars
- Joel Guzman is playing for the Nationals’ AA team in Harrisburg, PA
- Andy Sonnanstine is set to open the Bulls home stand on Thursday.
Posts
Have been told Bateman missing from roster is a clerical error.
ReplyDeleteJoel Guzman can't even get up to AAA with the worst MLB organization? That's bad. Is he hurt, or just playing that poorly?
ReplyDeleteDon't know. After I mentioned a while back about the formidable middle of the order we had last year I tried to chase Johnson and Guzman down. Surprised to see Joel in AA, but got too lazy to find out why. And I couldn't find any stats on Johnson. Click on the weblink and you'll see why.
ReplyDeleteWell, I looked up Joel's stats, and if he is hurt it hasn't kept him out of many games. He has played 63 total games this year, between AAA and AA, but only 12 at AAA. His AAA stats are terrible. Batting .121 (4-33) with all four hits singles. Caught stealing in his only attempt (not that he was ever much of a base stealer). He is hitting .280 with 8 home runs in 51 games in AA.
ReplyDeleteToo bad, he was always one of our favorite Bulls. I don't think I have seen a ball hit further at the DBAP than the monster homerun he hit into the Diamond View construction a few years back.
Thanks for chasing down the Guzman numbers. Certainly not like the player we knew ... and I was always surprised at his RBI numbers. Likely a good example of a player who went professional too young.
ReplyDeleteWould still like to see him this year. Maybe he'll be back in AAA by the time we play Syracuse in August.