SB Nation User Blog: SQUAD

Gammons - 2009 will celebrate the young player

SQUAD — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:20:58 -0000

Gammons - 2009 will celebrate the young player

He references a Dave Studemund piece in the THT '09 Annual. I haven't had a chance to read it yet, but this is the reason why I have been very much against signing aging veterans (i.e. Randy Johnson.)

BBTF: Johan, Pelfrey, Maine - and Pray for Rain?

SQUAD — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 16:51:56 -0000

BBTF: Johan, Pelfrey, Maine - and Pray for Rain?

Pretty interesting article and then discussion on our rotation, or lack thereof.

MetsBlog.com: Mets trade Schoeneweis to the D’Backs

SQUAD — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:01:47 -0000

MetsBlog.com: Mets trade Schoeneweis to the D’Backs

Another case of addition by subtraction.

Hot Stove Blog: Mets not looking at top-tier starters

SQUAD — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:13:58 -0000

Hot Stove Blog: Mets not looking at top-tier starters

Yeah, not too happy to read this.

ESPN - Jayson Stark: New York Mets now have an amazin' bullpen

SQUAD — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:34:43 -0000

ESPN - Jayson Stark: New York Mets now have an amazin' bullpen

This should crystallize how huge this trade was for this team. Here is the crux of the article:

* If all games had ended after six innings this season, the Mets would have finished the year 11 games ahead of the Phillies (aka, the team that won the World Series).

* If all games had ended after seven innings, the Mets would have finished six games ahead of the Phillies.

* And if all games had even been just eight innings long instead of nine, the Mets would have finished five games ahead of the Phillies.

Mets In Talks For Putz: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

SQUAD — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:12:32 -0000

Mets In Talks For Putz: MLB Rumors - MLBTradeRumors.com

Talk about an 8th/9th combo if Omar could get this thing done.

Johan Santana - A July Gut Check?

SQUAD — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 01:39:24 -0000

Johan Santana - A July Gut Check?

Baseball Prospectus is free this week!

Look, I like Barry Bonds. I don't have to deal with him, but I was always on his side, and I still...

SQUAD — Tue, 27 May 2008 20:22:04 -0000

Look, I like Barry Bonds. I don't have to deal with him, but I was always on his side, and I still am. I don't think he belongs in jail; I think he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Ten years ago, he was playing by the rules as they were enforced ten years ago. It seems self-righteous to me to say now that he was cheating.
- Bill James on Barry Bonds

ESPN.com - Blogs - Rob Neyer Blog

A Modest Proposal

SQUAD — Wed, 07 May 2008 03:58:02 -0000

(I've posted this elsewhere, so if you've seen it, I am not stealing it... just thought you guys would appreciate the idea.)

Does anyone think MLB teams need to seriously re-think how they stock their bullpens? Instead of having a bunch of specialists, why not fill it with guys like Figgy. Pitchers who can't start because they get exploited after 2 turns through the order.

Assuming you carry 7 bullpen guys like the Mets, here is how I would construct a bullpen if I were a GM:

You would have 3 late inning, "shut down" pitchers. For us, this would be Wagner, Sanchez, and Feliciano.

Then you would have 3 "second starters" (or "failed starters" if you must). These slots would be filled by pitchers who are effective for about 3-4 innings at a time, but once a lineup sees them for the 3rd time, they get hit hard. It is due to a lack of a 3rd pitch or just stamina/focus issues. Heilman would be perfect for this role. Figueroa would probably work. Heck, even Lima would be fine (he really was ok for 2-3 innings before imploding).

The last slot you could play with. Maybe you would have a LH specialist, especially if you're the Mets b/c you have the Phils and Braves in division. Otherwise, you could add another 2nd starter or shut down guy, depending on your needs.

My thoughts with splitting the bullpen are like so: with starters lasting roughly 6 innings, this gives you 4 innings per night the pen needs to pitch. If you had 3-4 guys capable of giving you 2-4 innings per appearance, you wouldn't need to throw guys every freaking day.

So, for example: Johan – 6; Heilman – 2; Wagner – 1. Ollie – 5; Heilman – 3; Wagner – 1.

A few more notes on the execution: You wouldn't want to bring your second starters into the middle of an inning if you didn't have to. This is why you have 3 shut down pitchers. Say Ollie is cruising along through 5 when things start to unravel in the 6th. Now he's gone 5.1 innings, and there are men on 1 & 2. You wouldn't want to bring a "second starter" into this situation. This would call for a shutdown pitcher (or what they used to call a fireman). So you would bring in Sanchez.

The problem is, this would require a whole new way of thinking for managers. Imagine Willie bringing Duaner into the game in the 6th inning? I'm not sure he could even make the phone call. This would require a whole lot of "thinking outside the box." (And this would apply to most managers, not just Willie, so I don't mean to pick on him.)

Bonds, Barry Bonds

SQUAD — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:12:53 -0000

We need to sign him and hand him a 1B mitt. Yes there is baggage, but this team has plenty itself after the collapse. The fact is that if this team wants to compete and turn things around they need to improve their lineup. Bonds can still hit, and I'm sure if Ryan Howard can "play" 1B then Bonds can do the same. Cut Delgado and bring up Abreu to backup Bonds at 1B.

Is this somewhat drastic? Perhaps. But I think the lineup would actually go from whimpering to scary real fast with the addition of Bonds.

Reyes SS, Beltran CF, Wright 3B, Bonds 1B, Alou LF, Church RF, Schneider C, Castillo 2B, Pitcher.

Git R done.