Bill Bray

[nemesis]

Originally Posted by RedsManRick

Has anybody seen him or heard how his stuff is looking? Small sample numbers against minor leaguers don't mean much...

Per Scrapy Iron...

Bray's throwing low to mid 90's with his FB, but I'm not sure about his slider, which is the key to his success. It's fast (low to mid 80's), but haven't seen the break.

[Captain Hook]

So far this year between LYN and LOU, 9.1 IP, 0 ERA, 14 K, 3 BB, and just 3 hits for a .094 AVG against.I know it's still a small sample size but it's not like Bray hasn't had some success at the big league level when he's been healthy.I think it's safe to say he's healthy or at least as healthy as Bill Bray is ever going to be.What are they waiting on?

[OnBaseMachine]

Bray threw another 1-2-3 inning tonight so his numbers now are: 10.1 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 16 K. I'd like to see him promoted to Cincy in time for the series against the Phillies. The Phillies lineup is stacked with left handed hitters and having another lefty in the bullpen wouldn't hurt.

[fearofpopvol1]

Bray has definitely proven he is ready to come up to the show in my opinion. I thought he was done honestly...but I was wrong.

Who would you replace Bray with?

[mth123]

Originally Posted by fearofpopvol1

Bray has definitely proven he is ready to come up to the show in my opinion. I thought he was done honestly...but I was wrong.

Who would you replace Bray with?

I'd send Lecure down now and activate Bray. Then I'd probably send Smith down after Wednesday and bring Wood up to start the first game in Chicago.

The lefty relief is going to be interesting. Rhodes is a record setter as the top lefty. Bray looks ready. Chapman is in the pen preparing now. When Volquez returns, there really isn't a spot for Maloney or Wood and both may end up in the pen at some point. Danny Rae may be expendable. His numbers aren't horrible, but he seems less effective than the numbers show. I think the NL has caught on to his tricks, but I wonder if he couldn't be a real help to an AL team looking for a boost in the pen. A trade may be in order.

[OnBaseMachine]

Article on Bill Bray from the Louisville Courier-Journal:

"I'm just happy to be playing," the 26-year-old said. "I'm really happy that the team is doing great. We have the opportunity to make the playoffs for the first time in a long time. I'm ecstatic that they're doing that well. There is no frustration on my part. I'm just happy to be healthy and playing."

"I feel like I'm ready," he said. "The past few times I've been out I've felt well. My velocity is starting to pick up again. I feel like I have a pretty good slider. I'm feeling very comfortable out there. I feel good. I feel healthy."

Bats manager Rick Sweet concurs.

"I would say that Bill Bray is ready to go up and help," he said. "It's been a long haul for Billy. He's missed a lot of time. He's ... been very impressive."

http://www.courier-journal.com/artic...+after+surgery

[RED VAN HOT]

I'm curious about others' views of Bray's short stint last night. Good velocity at 91-92. I'd like to see him use the inside of the plate more. It almost looked as if he avoided it for fear he would catch too much of the plate. Dane Sardinha notwithstanding, I don't think he can get by trying to nibble at the outside. My other impression is that besides the fastball, his only other offering seemed to be a slider without late break, the pitch that burned him. Adding a change-up could make him an elite reliever.

[LoganBuck]

Originally Posted by RED VAN HOT

I'm curious about others' views of Bray's short stint last night. Good velocity at 91-92. I'd like to see him use the inside of the plate more. It almost looked as if he avoided it for fear he would catch too much of the plate. Dane Sardinha notwithstanding, I don't think he can get by trying to nibble at the outside. My other impression is that besides the fastball, his only other offering seemed to be a slider without late break, the pitch that burned him. Adding a change-up could make him an elite reliever.

He missed on that homer. You can expect him and Volquez both to miss on occasion. In the minors the hitter may have swung through that. Not at the MLB level. Bray and Volquez will be works in progress for the rest of the season.

[Tom Servo]

I'd continue to put Bray in for low-leverage situations and if he can put up some zeros, start putting him in more important situations.

[nemesis]

They did the right thing by him last night. He threw a pitch and got burned. But with a 6 run lead you wanna guy to throw strikes. He did that. Nerves got the best of him I'm sure. Looking foward to seeing him come out of the pen instead of DRH vs LH's in the early innings.

[Will M]

obviously one inning isn't enought data to evaluate Bray. simply the fact that he has good velocity & did very well in AAA is encouarging to me.

[traderumor]

Originally Posted by nemesis

They did the right thing by him last night. He threw a pitch and got burned. But with a 6 run lead you wanna guy to throw strikes. He did that. Nerves got the best of him I'm sure. Looking foward to seeing him come out of the pen instead of DRH vs LH's in the early innings.

That was the perfect game to bring him in. His ERA can absorb the two run dinger. Hey, he's ahead of Lincoln when asked to protect a 6 run lead.