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Which one worries you more?


NUKE_CLEVELAND

Which is more troubling right now?  

83 members have voted

  1. 1. Is it the pen or the starters.

    • Starters
      67
    • Pen
      16


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I rarely get the feeling before a game where I think our starter will have an easy game. These 5 guys are getting paid a lot of money to look mediocre. And is it just me or does it seem like every game our starter has close to 100 pitches in the 5th or 6th inning?

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Im not ready to push the panic putton yet but lately the starters have been garbage. Stinking, rotten, slimy, dirty garbage and Im not just saying this because MB got lit up yesterday either. Right now none of them are particularly effective.

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Starters by a country mile, because pen is more easily replaceable both from without and within. It would be hard to justify yanking one of these starters for a virtual rookie (McCarthy) or making a drastic move like a trade which might have a net negative impact on the clubhouse.

 

It appears as though we are probably stuck with these guys, at least through July (and rightfully so, in my opinion), and although I have more faith that Garcia is turning the corner, either Garland or Vazquez better get straightened out quickly or one or both are going to be seeing some long relief time after this month.

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I see a lot on the site here that people think the pen is very shaky but why is that? I wasn't referring to this poll but a lot of posts in other threads talk about it.

 

Im going to leave out Politte because he'll be leaving soon I think.

 

Jenks = MONEY, nuff said

Cotts = Unlike his Politte he still has his 2005 form and his highly effective

Riske = Great pickup. So far he's been very effective.

BMAC = Should be starting IMHO but he's done well as the long reliever

Thornton = Huge positive surprise. Has an almost Jenks-ish fastball, great off speed stuff and has been untouchable lately

Edited by NUKE_CLEVELAND
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We can easily replace Cliff with Montero or Tracey. They can be used for mop up duties and should rarely be used in a tight game. As for the starters I guess we'll just have to hope they can all step it up going forward because I highly doubt KW will make any changes.

 

EDIT: Wow! 1 vote for bullpen. Please explain yourself.

Edited by BigSqwert
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QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 10:04 AM)
In fairness to the starters, we knew thay wouldn't all have '05 years again...

Well that's sad. It would be nice to have a pitcher or two like a Halladay or Santana where we should expect a high level of success year in and year out. I guess Buehrle is the closest we have to that and I wouldn't consider him an elite pitcher.

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QUOTE(Tony82087 @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 09:44 AM)
I really dont think this is that hard of a question.

 

Outside of Cliff, the pen has almost been lights out for the last month. I can't imagine Cliff is going to get that many more chances to prove himself, so unless he really starts to turn it on, he is out of the equation.

The staff has been on and off all season. There really hasnt been a two or three week period that we have seen all of these guys dominate like they all are capable of. It's troublesome to watch, however we saw a guy like Contreras last year just have a brutal 1st half, then become the best pitcher in baseball for the 2nd half of last season. Guys can turn it around during the season, and I believe it will happen with at least one of our starters, maybe more. We have seen them do it before, and they can do it again.

 

What is a brutal first half? I remember Contreras pitching pretty well for the first few months of last season.

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With the acquisition of Riske I am pretty comfortable with 2 solid lefties (Thornton/Cotts) and 3 solid righties (McCarthy/Riske/Jenks) out of the pen. As long as they find a new innings eater in place of Politte, the bullpen looks solid.

 

The starting pitchers have been inconsistent, but their career numbers show that they will rebound over time. They just need to string together some quality starts. I still worry about them more at this point.

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QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 10:04 AM)
In fairness to the starters, we knew thay wouldn't all have '05 years again, that's why the offense was improved.

 

Garland has been pitching better..

 

April: 7.11 (5 starts)

May: 5.40 (5 Starts)

June: 4.50 (5 Starts)

 

Hopefully, he keeps improving

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QUOTE(LosMediasBlancas @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 10:04 AM)
In fairness to the starters, we knew thay wouldn't all have '05 years again, that's why the offense was improved.

 

We did? The only guy that had a career year was Garland, and he's pitched much worse this season than any of his inconsistent years before 2005 (although he's pitched very well in 3 of his last 4 outings). The starting rotation has been a dissapointment to this point. I can't help but wonder if one of Kenny's biggest fears before the season started has come to life: has the wear and tear of last year's title run taken a toll on our starters? It's a legitimate question.

Edited by Jordan4life_2006
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I voted for starters because the one thing they are not doing is pitch inside. I'm also getting really tired of watching the Twins and every other AL central Team go the opposite way on our guys, esp Buehrle, Vazquez and Garland. They nibble at that outside corner instead of jamming some guys in. Vazquez has a great fastball for going inside and Garland can throw that heavy sinker in on the hands as well.

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The 'pen is more of a worry. Buehrle, Count, and Garcia are solid, veteran talent that've gotten it done down the stretch before. Vazquez and Garland have been good back-of-the-rotation-caliber guys (if not more) throughout their careers. We also have B-Mac as an emergency backup.

 

On the other hand, the only relievers that I'm comfortable with are Jenks and B-Mac. Politte's career numbers are mediocre and he's rumored to be injured (and is pitching like it), Hermanson may never pitch again, Thornton is still a huge question mark (despite solid pitching recently), and Montero will be iffy if he's forced to come up again. The other options in the minors (Logan, Tracey, Haeger) aren't ready to pitch in the majors yet.

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QUOTE(WCSox @ Jul 3, 2006 -> 03:04 PM)
The 'pen is more of a worry. Buehrle, Count, and Garcia are solid, veteran talent that've gotten it done down the stretch before. Vazquez and Garland have been good back-of-the-rotation-caliber guys (if not more) throughout their careers. We also have B-Mac as an emergency backup.

 

On the other hand, the only relievers that I'm comfortable with are Jenks and B-Mac. Politte's career numbers are mediocre and he's rumored to be injured (and is pitching like it), Hermanson may never pitch again, Thornton is still a huge question mark (despite solid pitching recently), and Montero will be iffy if he's forced to come up again. The other options in the minors (Logan, Tracey, Haeger) aren't ready to pitch in the majors yet.

You mentioned a guy who shouldn't even be brought up this season in Hermanson, the 6th guy out of the pen in Clifford and the biggest question mark in Thornton. What about Cotts? He has playoff experience and has been pretty damn solid this season. How about Riske? The guy has a ton of previous success on good teams and has pitched well for the Sox thus far.

 

Right now the Sox have 4 guys in the pen who can be counted on at all times (Jenks, BMac, Cotts, Riske) with Thornton knocking on the door. I don't see it as being a huge concern right now.

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seems like our starters feed off each other, good and bad. Like to see count come back and have a strong game tomorrow, followed by Garland and Vazquez. Could give them a nice lift going into the break.

 

There's a legitimate chance of all 5 winning 15 games, and that's pretty impressive.

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