Quote:
Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins
I never said he was anything approaching a jam reliever. In fact, I said the exact opposite of that. I said that a major limiting part of his value is the fact that he has a very specific, limited role. You don't want him on the field if there are runners on second or third.
He's a niche reliever, like Choate.
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No, Choate's a shit reliever.
This is like calling Matt Cassel a game manager and then trying to equate him with Alex Smith.
Randy Choate is garbage who can't even get lefties out, let alone be asked to face a single righty. His existence on this roster is doing a lot to create the 13 man bullpen that's crippling our bench. He's not a niche reliever, he's just a piece of crap with a long-term contract.
Maness, OTOH, can be used 70+ time/season and to great effect. He's not an elite reliever like Davis but as a guy that can give you 70 high quality innings at the back of your bullpen, he's a damn nice piece to have.
But as a guy that's going to be putting balls in play, I've never agreed with how the Cardinals use him. Sure, if you have a man on 1st and one out, bring him in. But if there's 2 outs, don't bother and if there's not a DP in order (or a key run at 2b) don't bring him in. Live by BABIP, die by BABIP.