Great job by Caleb Reed...

[8dog]

that's about all we can ask against a really good hitting team.

 

[8dog]

that's about all we can ask against a really good hitting team.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

[No message]

 

[8dog]

Reed gave up 4 through 6. In the 7th, he got the first guy out. Then he gave up a bloop single, another bloop single that Adkins turned into a double b/c he dove for it like a dumbass. We pulled Reed too early. Jones came in and got ground and then gave up a homer.

We are just terrible. Reed is a bright spot.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

Trying to watch the Dawgs or watch the Cubs.

 

[RobbieRandolph]

nt

 

[rugbdawg]

of Soriano, Lilly, Pinella, and Fukodome. Just start over. None of those guys deserve their salary. Build a bullpen with the money left over.

 

[IBleedMaroonDawg]

At least the Cubs made it interesting before losing because of the pen.

The Dawgs pitching is just awful. Even my wife who knows jack about baseball except for following our son playing said "Dang the Bulldogs can't pitch for crap!"

 

[Buford T. Justice]

He is going to get credited with a lot of runs. However, the homerun given up by Jones hurt, and Reed was just 3-4 pitches away from only giving up 1-2 runs. The grounder back up the middle that he almost fielded and the blooper that was misplayed into a double were killer.

All in all, a much better outing than anything we have been getting on Friday night. Reed definitely deserves another shot next weekend.

 

[Todd4State]

Last year, he was crap. Dropping down was a good move by the coaching staff, and was a good move for him.

This is the kind of guy that we need more of on the team. A guy willing to do what it takes to help the team out. Caleb is a relief pitcher. He knows that. The coaches know that. And yet, he is willing to start on a Fri. night against the other teams ace and he puts up a good outing overall when we really need it because one of our starters is down. I respect a guy like that.

Sometimes his mechanics come apart a little bit, but a lot of that is because he is new to throwing down under. He will get better and more consistent in time.

I really like submarine guys. If I had a team, I would try to carry one on the roster. They're durable, they eat up innings, and they're generally effective. What more could you ask for?

 

[Buford T. Justice]

This is the kind of guy that we need more of on the team. A guy willing to do what it takes to help the team out.

Last week he came into a horrible situation in relief of Graveman (nobody out in the first inning) and pitched the full 8inning complete game (bottom of 9th not played). He ateup the innings so we could save our pitching for theSaturday and Sunday games. He does do what he is asked. He has had relief appearances of less than one inning, and hehas had relief appearances of 4, 5, even 8 innings.Heain't perfect, but he gives you his best.

Also, I agree about sidearmers andsubmariners. They give a batter a totally different look.Definitely worthhaving one on any roster.

On another note, I believe Mississippian Chad Bradford threw over the top, then later switched. It made a huge differenceand he has had a nice Major Leaguecareer.

 

[Todd4State]

I actually remember seeing him pitch when he was at USM. He was a submarine guy by that time. I know he worked with one of Madison Central's pitchers- L J Hollins who is one of the best submarine pitchers in the state.

I'm not sure if Bradford switched at Hinds or USM.

And back to Reed- because of his effort, it saved the bullpen so that we could pick up a key win against South Carolina the next day. Even though Reed didn't play in that game on Sat., he was a big part of that win last Sat.

 

[sparky39762]

Lillly's numbers vs Zambrano's
2007: 15-8, 3.83 / 18-13, 3.95
2008: 17-9, 4.09 / 14-6, 3.91
2009: 12-9, 3.10 / 9-7, 3.77

Lilly is on the last year of a 4yr, $40M contract. Zambrano is in the 3rd year of a 5yr, $92M contract.

If they're gonna dump someone because they're overpaid, it's Zambrano, not Lilly.

Agreed on the others. They signed Soriano too long and Fukudome is a solid player, but he'll never be more than a good platoon guy.</p>

 

[rugbdawg]

He had injury problems last year and is having minor issues already this year. He is 34. But I don't necessarily think keeping him would be a bad thing. He could pitch until he is 70 years old and be better than Silva and Gorzelanny. If he regresses, which I suspect he will to some degree, I just don't want us spending 10 million a year on a 4th or 5th starter. Get a bullpen or get an outfielder that doesn't suck. And please, someone shoot Soriano. He is like a lame horse. He SUUUUUCCCCKKKSSSS.

Zambrano is only 28. Dumping him would be insane. Other than last year, he has won 13 plus games since 2003. Every year he has had an ERA under 4. He will be fine and is still the stopper on the staff.

 

[rugbdawg]

walks COMBINED.

 

[RebelBruiser]

Because I saw a graphic where the Cubs had the fewest bullpen losses in all of the MLB last year, so while their pen was aggravating at times, they were better than most.

This year may be another story.

 

[Buford T. Justice]

I think I remember reading that Bradford switched late in high school or in JUCO. Not sure though.

 

[KurtRambis4]

surprise that he's wrong again.

 

[independencebowlmainstay]

Chad was actually our #3 on our HS team as a senior. He was 78-80 over the top, and pitched mostly against non-division games. Myself and Justin Blackwell pitched division games. Chad signed with Hinds after they missed out on a kid from Clinton(can't remember his name), and was terrible that Fall @ Hinds. He started goofing off with the side arm stuff, and me and Blackwell told him it would work.

Long story short, it worked. He was a dominant starter @ Hinds. Then he went to Southern and was all CUSA as a closer for two years. Been in the bigs leagues since either 98 or 99. Either way, he has had a great MLB career.

I still talk to him a good bit, and he is still a great guy. Lives on alot of land around the Metro area, and is the same guy he was out of HS. Just a good ol' country boy from Terry.

 

[rugbdawg]

were 20th overall on ERA. Right in between Toronto and Houston. The bullpen was CLEARLY in the lower half of the league last year for a supposedly top 10 team. It was the Cubs weakness. I never said the Cubs didn't have a good closer just that they had a bad bullpen.

Edited to Add: Starters were the 5th overall ERA as a staff. Elite staff last year for an supposedly elite team. Crappy bullpen.

I DON"T KNOW HOW I COULD BE ANY MORE RIGHT.

 

[rugbdawg]

nm.

 

[rugbdawg]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/st...8/sort/losses/order/true

It should already be sorted for you for relievers losses. The Cubs bullpen was 21-24 as a staff. The 11th most losses for a bullpen in the major leagues. As for their 21 wins? 22nd most wins for a bullpen. The Bullpen sucked.

 

[sparky39762]

While I think Lilly will be good the next couple of years, being 34, he'll probably be looking to get his last good contract, and he might be overpaid this offseason.

I wouldn't mind keeping Zambrano, but he's at $18M per year. He's just not worth that money. If we could dump him and get 2 pitchers as effective as Ted Lilly (or even close), for ~$10M per year, I'd gladly do it.

We've got Dempster for2 more years, and though he's aging, he spent a few years in the bullpen so his arm should be fresher. He's also been pretty solid starting the past 2 years.

Randy Wells should be there for a while, and I wouldn't be surprised if we spent money on bullpen instead of Lilly next year and put Marshall in the rotation.

I also figure Derrek Lee and Ryan Theriothave just about runtheir course. Lee's aging and his HR numbers have been dropping and Theriot's defense is terrible - he clearly has a second baseman's arm. Also, Starlin Castro is a top prospect at SS in AAA. I wouldn't be surprised if he's called up sometime before September.