Wednesday, April 09, 2008

After 9 games
Paul Byrd pitching badly does not bother me so much. At best, he's the fifth starter (albeit a well-paid one).

The Indians somewhat poor hitting doesn't bother me that much. They are streaky; they have been for years.

But there's one thing that is more concerning to me than anything else -- the erratic bullpen.

Joe Borowski blew a save in amazing fashion Monday, giving up a grand slam and a two run lead in the ninth inning to Torri Hunter. That in itself is something we just have to accept will happen from time to time, as long as he's the closer.

But what's more troubling is what happened the inning before, when Rafael Betancourt allowed a solo homer (also to Hunter) that broke a tie.

The bullpen hasn't exactly been great so far this season. Jensen Lewis, one of last season's most dependable relievers, could not hold a deficit at two.

If you don't have hitters, you will be OK if you have great starting pitching. Have subpar starting pitching, that can be helped by a very good bullpen.

But a bad bullpen can negate everything. Remember 2004?

And that's what concerns me.

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1 Comments:

At 6:50 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Remember 2004? Heck, remember 2006 and the failed Fernando Cabrera experiment?

The Tribe's pen sucks. Must be an even-numbered year.

 

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