I don’t buy this. I recall virtually every “bounce back” guy having meaningful outings. Hard to avoid with 42 outings in two months among them. (And Stephenson missed much of the season injured.)
And as these bounce back guys began to disappear the pen got better and better. It’s no accident.
Let’s face it, Reds spent $ in the off-season but not on the bullpen. Had they added more meaningful bullpen depth before the season the result probably would have been better.
Last edited by Kc61; 09-22-2020 at 04:41 PM.
I mean a guy like De Leon got a "meaningful" appearance last week because the rest of the bullpen was spent, but otherwise he was pitching in lost causes. Yeah sometimes you'll need the bottom tier guys to pitch in close games, it happens.
I guess I'm not entirely sure what your complaint is. The wheat has separated itself from the chaff. Sims and Antone stepped up in a big way. Do you think they should have relied more on Joel Kuhnel and Cody Reed? I can't say I agree with that, they're not much different from your list of scrubs. Strop was probably the biggest disappointment, the would be 3rd or so guy in the pen who gave you just a couple blah innings before getting hurt and apparently looking unimpressive in rehab.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
Ron Madden (09-22-2020)
I am disconsolate, chagrined and lugubrious Jones so much reminded me of Jose Pena, Jon Noreiga and Marcus Moore with a soupcon of Bob Lee Bob Locke and Bill Short,,dont you agree
Brooks Raley has quietly pitched pretty well for the Astros...
Ron Madden (09-22-2020)
If one just reads the list of off-season bullpen acquisitions it’s list of projects. Most of them hadn’t succeeded in some time. Strop was the best of them.
And when some main relievers ran into trouble early - like Lorenzen - there was nowhere to turn.
As some of the young guys, Sims, Antone, did well and they got Bradley, there was then depth and much better performance.
Tom, as you know, the Reds often start off poorly. I think they might have done better if they had more good pen choices early rather than this group of bounce back guys.
I think there's certainly a lot of merit in saying that a Bradley type or two would have been a good additions last offseason, obviously. But while there are some exceptions like a Tampa, most teams don't have these bullpens stacked 8 guys deep with proven talented arms.
And a number of the contenders have relied on bounce back guys and found success. Brad Boxberger with the Marlins, Jake McGee with the Dodgers, Trevor Rosenthal now with the Padres, etc.
“I don’t care,” Votto said of passing his friend and former teammate. “He’s in the past. Bye-bye, Jay.”
redsfandan (09-22-2020),Ron Madden (09-22-2020)
I am crestfallen and doleful that Nate Jones could not outperform Donovan Hand or Jon Moscot o r even the redoubtable Colin Balestar
Fair, but Box, McGee, and Rosenthal seem a cut above the Reds’ bounce back group. At least as I remember those guys.
FWIW, I believe Reds were looking for efficiencies based on the expertise and track record of their pitching coaches.
And I don’t really blame Reds for not spending even more last off-season. But they paid a price on the field with the July-August bullpen IMO.
Last edited by Kc61; 09-22-2020 at 05:23 PM.
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