Quote:
Originally Posted by Marcellus
Has to be pitching a t this point I would think. They need a starter and some relievers.
|
I'm reluctant to trade for relievers because dammit - we HAVE 3 back-end hammer options. We definitely should not be trading organizational capital for middle-relievers. Especially not when we have a half-dozen guys who can throw 96+ but we can't convince them to trust their stuff.
The Cardinals have the hard part figured out. 7-8-9 is in fine shape come the post-season. What we need are bullet catchers who can keep games close or give the big 3 a blow on occasion (and Faux Ace Flaherty giving us more than 3 innings would sure help there...)
It's becoming a big league development problem at this point, IMO. There is no reason why Oviedo shouldn't be able to fastball/slider his way through 60+ quality relief appearances. Thompson at 97 is freaking vile in relief. Why does Kodi Whitley suck? I've seen this kid pitch, his stuff is exceptional. Woodford should be able to give you some quality middle relief. Rondon is a quality strike thrower who's stuff will play up in the 'pen. Pacheco has nasty stuff so teach him to throw it at the middle of the zone - he's not a kid anymore, 24 and on the 40 man. Jake Walsh is on the 40 and is another kid with really good stuff who just doesn't seem to trust it much.
Why are we struggling to find 4 arms out of that pile of bodies that can be adequate? And frankly, if the recent Oviedo outings and Thompson stuff is legit, you can scratch 2 of those off. So you need to more quality MRs and a swing-man to get to EIGHT usable arms.
Please tell me why this organization can't get that from a combination of Hicks, Whitley, Woodford, Rondon, Pacheco and/or Walsh? Why do we keep sending Naughton, McFarland and Nick Wittgren out there to put games out of reach when they do NOTHING at a big league level. Last I checked Wittgren was leading the team in appearances and he has literally not one single major league skill.
I don't understand this and I think we're far past time to question the competency of Mike Maddux at this point. We have too many quality arms in this system (not elite, but solid) to struggle this bad to find viable depth arms in the bullpen.