The Blade- Tom Hall
or
Scott Sullivan
The Blade- Tom Hall
or
Scott Sullivan
Sully was one of the last of the multi inning workhorse relievers - he gets my vote
99% of all numbers only tell 33% of the story so when looking at the numbers remember that numbers is plural...
cumberlandreds (03-19-2020),Ron Madden (03-19-2020),westofyou (03-19-2020)
Pick a Nasty Boy...Can't go wrong with any.
Old school 1983 (03-21-2020)
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
Old school 1983 (03-21-2020)
Ron Madden (03-19-2020)
Sullivan was a middle relief guy who could eat innings better than just about anyone.
That had value. Extreme value for a team as starved for pitching as the Reds of his era were.
But he's not even in my top five set-up men.
5. Rob Murphy
He's long-forgotten by most, but Murphy was consistently good for four years as a set-up guy for John Franco and others. Led the league in appearances in his last season as a Red and ended up with a 151 ERA+.
4. John Franco
Set up Ted Power for a couple of seasons before settling in as a premier closer for almost 20 seasons. Possible HOF candidate, but lack of set-up numbers limit his upside here.
3. Norm Charlton
Could pitch anywhere in any situation. Analytic-minded front office could have probably used him wiser, but Charlton was very good. Gets bonus points for being a part of the Nasty Boys.
2. Arthur Rhodes
He was old and largely out of shape. He's at best a footnote in Cincinnati history, but Rhodes was dominant in his two seasons as a Red. A rare All-Star set-up guy, his career ERA+ as a Red was over 170. And it's not like he did this in just a few innings. He averaged nearly 70 games in his two years.
1. Rob Dibble
He only set up for three years, but Dibble was crazy-good (emphasis on crazy) for those three seasons. No one was more feared. No one was more dominant.
Charlton also bounced between starting and relieving. He started 16 games in 1990, and 37 games in 5 seasons with the Reds. Not only that, he was often a 1+ inning guy, not an 8th inning shutdown guy. Don't get me wrong -- I would love his production in the pen, but given he was more of a swing guy, I think Dibble qualifies better as the setup guy there.
Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves. -- Carl Sagan (Pale Blue Dot)
Clay Carroll did NOT lead The Reds in saves in four of the eight years he pitched for The Reds.
Technically, he was a setup reliever in 69 (150 IP), 70 (104 IP), 74 (100 IP) (8th in Cy Young voting) and 75 (96 IP).
Last edited by Hap; 03-19-2020 at 05:26 PM.
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Hall was awesome for a year or two. So was Rhodes. Sullivan was pretty good too. I'd take Dibble I think. Carroll if not him. He had as many innings as today's starters do. .
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
Pedro Borbon (simply because he doesn't get enough mentions around here).
cumberlandreds (03-19-2020),Mutaman (03-22-2020),RedsBaron (03-21-2020)
Sean Marshall...the one year he was healthy.
Last edited by Big Klu; 03-19-2020 at 08:33 PM.
Eric Stratton, Rush Chairman. Damn glad to meet ya.
Scott Williamson in 2002 put up one of the best seasons I can remember for a Reds setup man (for closer Graves), too bad his shoulder fell apart.
Old school 1983 (03-21-2020)
bill henry set up jim brosnan
will mcenaney set up rawlings eastwick
don nottebart set up ted abernathy
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