Notes on a Scorecard: Bullpen Woes
Good evening… or morning.
I’m up late because I took a nap earlier and now I can’t sleep.
So why not blog? I’ll try to make it quick, then it’s onto bed …
Since April 21st, right around the time that Jason Isringhausen went on the fritz, the Cardinals’ bullpen has been in a steady decline.
The relievers’ ERA since then is 4.68, and they’ve combined to blow 15 saves in 31 attempts.
Moreover, since April 21 the Cardinals’ bullpen has allowed 15 of 37 inherited runners to score, or 44.3 percent.
Overall this season the Cardinals’ pen ranks 13th among 16 teams in preventing inherited runners from scoring (38.1 percent).
Some of this is understandable.
* The bullpen is logging a heavier load of innings during an increasingly helter-skelter time for the starting rotation.
* Rookies have been given more responsibility, and while Kyle McClellan and Chris Perez are talented and impressive, they’ll take some lumps. It’s inevitable and part of their education. McClellan, for example, has suffered two losses in the last week (at home vs. KC, and Wednesday at Detroit). And he’s allowed 34.8 percent of inherited runners to score, the 13th-worst rate among NL relievers. Perez had a bout of wildness Sunday in Boston, and his slider hasn’t been as sharp. But these kids will thrive. They’re good.
* Anytime the closer blows up, it generally leads to chaos in the bullpen… a new world order kicks in, roles change, and the adjustments aren’t easy. (Though it must be pointed out that manager Tony La Russa has kept Ryan Franklin in the closer role after installing him there following Izzy’s detonation. The skipper has tried for stability, but with so many innings being put on the pen, it ain’t easy).
No one is struggling more dramatically than lefty Randy Flores.
For the season, Flores is permitting 39.1 percent of inherited runners to score, the 11th-worst rate in the NL.
But it’s more extreme than that.
Flo’s ERA in his last 15 appearances is 9.72.
In his last five appearances, Flores has faced 14 batters and 10 have reached base. That total includes six walks, with only one K. And in those last five appearances, three of four inherited runners have scored against him. His ERA during the last five times out is 27.00.
Flores hasn’t been good in high leverage situations for a long time, but was usually good when he entered a game with the bases clear. But lately that’s become an issue, too. Flores has just lost it, and the Cardinals have a huge void in their bullpen, because they’re unable to get the best of it in late-inning matchups. Which is the entire reason why La Russa and PC Dave Duncan are carrying two lefthanded relievers.
The other lefty, Ron Villone, has done well when facing LH batters.
They’re only .159 / .278 / .250 against him.
But when La Russa exposes Villone to RH batters … oh my: .349 / .461 / .476.
Back to Flores… let’s talk pitch patterns…
He’s been falling behind in the count, probably because he’s lost his feel for the slider. He throws it on the first pitch to LH batters around 56 percent of the time. When he’s ahead in the count, he throws the slider 72 percent of the time. But when he’s behind in the count, Flores predictably relies on his fastball against LH batters, throwing it about 67 percent of the time. If he isn’t getting ahead, it means that LH hitters can sit on his fastball. Flores has got to fix that slider …
Perhaps the Cardinals can experiment with LH prospect Jaime Garcia, a starter, and use him in relief. But I doubt that will happen. And no LH reliever in their system warrants a big-league look. As for sifting through discards…. please don’t mention old friend Steve Kline. He’s toast.
Bottom line? Unless there’s a dramatic rally soon, GM John Mozeliak is going to have to go shopping for a LH reliever of some quality. Either that, or La Russa will have to abandon his preference for multiple lefties to use as pieces in those late-inning chess matches.
Thanks for reading.
That’ll do it for the late-night shift.
As we sign off, we turn you over to that relentless daytime serial blogger, D. Goold over at Bird Land….
-B
Flo’s ERA in his last 15 appearances is 9.72.
In his last five appearances, Flores has faced 14 batters and 10 have reached base. That total includes six walks, with only one K. And in those last five appearances, three of four inherited runners have scored against him. His ERA during the last five times out is 27.00.
Knowing the above, someone please tell me how an intelligent manager like Tony LaRussa would continue to pitch this guy in crucial situations? I don’t get it. The same goes for Isringhausen, who is obviously not remotely the same effective reliever he was THREE years ago. What a horrible shame to blow this fantastic season by continuing to use these two guys who blow game after game. Call people up from the minors! Make a trade! Do something….but stop using Flores and Izzy, neither of whom can pitch a scoreless inning when needed.
This can’t go on. Either get rid of Flores and bring up someone that might have better control than he does. How many times is Tony going to bring in Kyle McClellan and have him get hit hard? The word is out around the league. He isn’t fooling anyone when he pitches. When the Cardinals were ahead in the 8th why didn’t they bring in Franklin? I don’t get it. Why throw away games you are winning?
You are both morons.
Hey fooser33 get off your mama’s computer and get a life. How about giving
an opinion instead of being a jerk.
Don’t take Garcia yet. Swap Randy for Ron Flores. The Memphis Flores(Randy) has earned a shot. His era has gone up the last couple of weeks but his bb/k ratio(42/19)is outstanding and has been the Memphis closer since Perez flew north! He is Memphis ONLY lefty in the pin. I can’t believe Duncan hasn’t called him up since he keeps the ball “down” which is all that Duncan is worried about regardless of how much movement a ball might have. Just keep it down!
I think the real problem here is age and our injured pitching system. Between this year and last the bullpen has been exposed to too many innings. Short starts lead to long relief outing and everyone is getting taxed, especially the aged veterans.
Instead of looking at the time Irsringhausen departed. I’d be interested in seeing the track of injured starters. What do the numbers look like for starts and relief appearances after Wainwrights departure or the time missed by Wellemeyer etc.? I have a feeling we’re getting even fewer innings out of the entire starting staff with the use of Parisi (I really don’t want to see him at this level ever again) and other spare parts.
Bernie, what is the status of the key pitching pieces? Wainwright, Mulder, Clement, Tyler Johnson, Kinney and to a lesser extent Carpenter. With so many injuries and pitchers seemingly disappearing we’re running on fumes and out of arms. Wouldn’t the pen perform better if we had a normal healthy rotation of Wainwright, Lohse, Pinero, Looper, Wellemeyer. Or say if one of our two “contingency” pitchers - Clement/Mulder actually pushed one of those rotation guys to the pen? Where are Johnson and Kinney at? What about using Clement or Mulder in the pen?
When it boils down, I’m extremely angry at the Clement deal. He is a wasted arm. That money or focus could have been used on signing another quality reliever. I used to angery at the Mulder situation but its almost over. With Clement it seems like a fool me twice shame on me situation. Let me know what you think about the state of pitching decisions in general and the fate of the missing players.
I live far away and this is the first year - thanks to the “Extra Innings” cable TV package, that I have been able to see all the Cardinal games. It’s been inspiring and frustrating, to say the least. I know a few things for sure: 1 - without a solid closer (and a decent eighth-inning setup man), we aren’t going to win another World Series. We may not even make the playoffs, thanks to this brutal bullpen and LaRussa’s love affair with Isringhausen and Flores; 2 - I agree about Mulder and Clement: let ‘em go and move on. Admit you made bad moves getting them and stop wasting time on lost projects; 3 - If Carpenter ever comes back, think about one of these current starters being the closer. One last question to you folks who live in St. Louis and know what’s happening: is the owner of this team EVER going to spend money in the off season to get some big-name pitchers or do we have to struggle each year with no-names and cast-offs? Lord knows what would happen to this franchise if LaRussa and Duncan ever left.
With a 4 a.m. entry — you do more blogging before 5 a.m. than most bloggers do all day! — I’m going to start calling you the cereal blogger.
dg
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Bernie, again you are right on the mark. Sports, like most businesses, are “what have you done for me lately”. If someone is not producing the Cardinals need to explore other options. They cannot continually run out the same performers with the hope they will eventually find their batting stroke or regain their pitching confidence. We’re not good enough as a team to overcome that. We’re nearing the halfway point of the season. If the slumping players have not resolved their problems by now, it probably will not get any better in the second half.
Can anyone explain, what in the world Kennedy was thinking when he tried to field that ground ball at second last night? Outside of being 30ft out of position, why compound the mistake by making a terrible throw.
On a positive note, after watching the lame effort and lack of hustle that Detroit gives, we should have comfort knowing that will never be the case with this Cardinal team. Go Cardinals!
All I know is that I had that dreadful feeling in the ninth inning before it even began. Call it what you want, but when I get that dreadful feeling the game always ends up bad from a Cardinal standpoint.