Affeldt to the pen...

[mroby85]

Baker just said on the Reds game that they informed Affeldt today that he will be in the pen. That is great news in my opinion, and increases the probability of cueto or volquez making the rotation, who were both spoken highly of by baker!

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe this guarantee's at least volquez OR cueto makes the rotation, if not both.

you have harang, arroyo.

then cueto, volquez, belisle, and fogg trying for spots, so that means at least one gets in, unless im forgetting someone.

[Degenerate39]

I don't know a whole lot about Affeldt but this is both good and bad news to me. Mainly it pretty much means Cueto or Volquez will be in the rotation if not both. But the bad thing is there's one less spot for someone like Salmon. But if he can get some outs then it's by me.

[justincredible]

Baker just said on the Reds game that they informed Affeldt today that he will be in the pen. That is great news in my opinion, and increases the probability of cueto or volquez making the rotation, who were both spoken highly of by baker!

correct me if i'm wrong, but i believe this guarantee's at least volquez OR cueto makes the rotation, if not both.

you have harang, arroyo.

then cueto, volquez, belisle, and fogg trying for spots, so that means at least one gets in, unless im forgetting someone.

You are correct. At least one of Cueto and Volquez will be in the rotation. I have a good feeling that we will see both in there to start the season.

[steig]

I think Belisle will get be in the rotation IF he does well the last two weeks of spring training. If he continues to pitch poorly or even mediocre then I think both Volquez and Cueto will be starters.

[mroby85]

i would much rather us go with the two young guys, in my opinion we know what we're getting with belisle, and it just isn't good enough.

[mlbfan30]

i would much rather us go with the two young guys, in my opinion we know what we're getting with belisle, and it just isn't good enough.

Volquez and Cueto are making it...
That leaves Belisle vs. Fogg. Belisle is younger and has a lot more upside so he should be in.

[Red in Atl]

Volquez and Cueto are making it...
That leaves Belisle vs. Fogg. Belisle is younger and has a lot more upside so he should be in.

Can I be the first to say, "I'm sick of Matt Belisle." Younger, more upside? That's been the book on him for what, the last 4 years. :rolleyes:

Everything I'm reading on Fogg says he should be the 5th starter. If the two kids pitch better than Belisle, then pack Matty-boy off for some prospects.

I've said it before on here, but I'll say it again. If the Braves don't want a pitcher, neither do I. They saw all they needed when they shipped Matt on up here to us.

Just before ST started there was a great article about Matt, how he was ready to step it up and how excited he was that Dusty called him in the off-season to talk to him. What happened to that guy?

[fugowitribe]

Is Affeldt the type of player that sees this move to the Pen as a demotion? Will this affect his performance out there?

[JBChance]

Is Affeldt the type of player that sees this move to the Pen as a demotion? Will this affect his performance out there?

Hopefully he sees it as an opportunity to contribute.

It is the major leagues and he will make a nice salary. Maybe this will light a fire.

Besides, the Reds did what they said they would do; they gave him the opportunity. If they had not run him out there enough or he performed and got pushed out, well then he might have a complaint.

He needs to move past it and get to work keeping a job. We just have to assume that's what he'll do until he says or acts differently.

[BLEEDS]

Can I be the first to say, "I'm sick of Matt Belisle." Younger, more upside? That's been the book on him for what, the last 4 years. :rolleyes:

Everything I'm reading on Fogg says he should be the 5th starter. If the two kids pitch better than Belisle, then pack Matty-boy off for some prospects.

I've said it before on here, but I'll say it again. If the Braves don't want a pitcher, neither do I. They saw all they needed when they shipped Matt on up here to us.

Just before ST started there was a great article about Matt, how he was ready to step it up and how excited he was that Dusty called him in the off-season to talk to him. What happened to that guy?

You can be at least the 2nd. :thumbup:

How about this one "He's UNLUCKY with his BABIP, and his DIPS/xFIP/SLIPPYGRIP ERA is 4.5, so he's a #3 SP, blah blah blah".

The Reason his BABIP is so crappy, is because people are CRUSHING his pitches, instead of slow dribblers to SS.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[sweetsport06]

"I suppose that if stats mongers want to sit at their computers and play with these things all day long, that’s their prerogative. But their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game threatens to undermine most fans’ enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein. People play baseball. Numbers don’t."[35]-Murray Chass

exactly what i think of the last and just about every post.:thumbup:

[mroby85]

"I suppose that if stats mongers want to sit at their computers and play with these things all day long, that’s their prerogative. But their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game threatens to undermine most fans’ enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein. People play baseball. Numbers don’t."[35]-Murray Chass

exactly what i think of the last and just about every post.:thumbup:

that is one of the best posts i've ever seen, i COULD NOT agree with you any more! :thumbup:

[BLEEDS]

"I suppose that if stats mongers want to sit at their computers and play with these things all day long, that’s their prerogative. But their attempt to introduce these new-age statistics into the game threatens to undermine most fans’ enjoyment of baseball and the human factor therein. People play baseball. Numbers don’t."[35]-Murray Chass

exactly what i think of the last and just about every post.:thumbup:


that is one of the best posts i've ever seen, i COULD NOT agree with you any more! :thumbup:

I agree. I don't care what the stats say. Belisle sucks.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[GoReds33]

Stats are the new age of baseball. Baseball has come from when managers made choices by the seat of their pants to when they make decisions by the book. The only thing I see coming from it is less accountability. If a manager makes a decision based on a hunch, and he's wrong, he'll likely be bashed by fans. If a manager makes a decision by the book, and it backfires, you can bet that he'll use the "I played it by the book" excuse.

I see where people can look at the stats and judge that Belisle isn't terrible, but if you watch a game, he's terrible. I think it's time to let his experiment in the rotation go. He's an effective pitcher out of the bullpen, not the rotation.

[Natty Redlocks]

I understand what you guys are saying about the human element and whatnot. But dismissing statistical analysis with a wave of your hand isn't going to change the fact that the information is useful. I agree some people tend to get carried away with it and themselves dismiss anything that can't yet be quantified, but that doesn't mean it's all useless. Baseball is a competitive business and teams that ignore useful information do so at their own peril.

[SMcGavin]

I agree. I don't care what the stats say. Belisle sucks.


Seriously? You always seemed pretty reasonable, and now it's "screw the facts"?

I for one hope the last three are Belisle, Cueto, and Volquez in any order. I liked Belisle's chances for a rebound season in the offseason, and a few bad outings in the spring don't change that. He has reasonable enough stuff (6.3 K/9), he has excellent control. There's no point in going through the BABIP argument that has been rehashed before on here. But my opinion doesn't change because of ten innings in the spring.

[BLEEDS]

Seriously? You always seemed pretty reasonable, and now it's "screw the facts"?

I for one hope the last three are Belisle, Cueto, and Volquez in any order. I liked Belisle's chances for a rebound season in the offseason, and a few bad outings in the spring don't change that. He has reasonable enough stuff (6.3 K/9), he has excellent control. There's no point in going through the BABIP argument that has been rehashed before on here. But my opinion doesn't change because of ten innings in the spring.

I like facts, and I realize he has decent (not great) K/9 and BB/9, however it IS the BABIP that I think doesn't apply in this case. I don't buy into this "He's Unlucky" BS. Some guys just get hit harder than others, and it's because his stuff is too hittable, and moreso flat and straight (down the middle) that they can tee off on it. Hence, he ends up with WHIPS that are astronomical for his "Stuff". The fact that he gives us such few BB is even MORE emphasized because his hits are WAY out of proportion, and those don't always just end up at First Base.

Until his BABIP "trends towards the norm", I'm going with the "He throws very hittable stuff" angle.

PEACE

-BLEEDS

[SMcGavin]

His BB/9 is more than decent, it was seventh best in the NL last year.

As for the BABIP stuff - I'd believe you more if you could show some type of study that finds pitchers can in fact control their BABIP. I haven't done in-depth research into it, but what I've seen says they can't. Furthermore, Belisle's 2006 BABIP was .309, a little higher than normal but significantly lower than what it was last year. If he just goes back down to that, he'd be an under 5.00 ERA guy giving us lots of innings in the back of the rotation. If his stuff was so hittable, I don't think he'd be striking out over six hitters per nine innings.