Twins: Whom in the rotation would you replace?
Well, it's about a quarter way through the season and a huge chunk of the rotation hasn't performed as expected. Minnesota has this premier left-handed starter currently pitching middle/long relief in the bullpen. What to do? If you are left with this decision by Twins management, who loses a rotation spot, why, and what becomes of that demoted starter?
Background stats....
Carlos Silva: 2-6 8.80 ERA. Has given up a homer about every three innings and to my recollection, has maybe one quality start all season. Has a gb/fb ratio of 1.06 to last year's 1.55. Comments have indicated that his sinker which he relies soley on just isn't sinking. Needs secondary pitch and has been a candidate for regression for some time now.
Kyle Lohse: 2-3 8.33 ERA, about a walk every other inning and plenty of hits. Has limped his way into a few quality outings but hasn't looked effective in those starts either. Has established himself at age 27 as a pilar of mediocrity and is an impending free agent.
Brad Radke: 4-4 7.57 ERA, a home run every four innings. Has to be fine to succeed, but hasn't been. Pitches are up and out over the plate too much and people are jumping on them. His walks aren't high unless you consider exactly how stingy he's been the last five seasons. Is his velocity slipping?
Who comes out for Liriano, if any, and why? What happens to the veteran (realistic situations only. Note that Radke has a statutory no-trade clause by virtue of being a 10/5 man, for instance)?
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11 comments
Comments
Lohse
by Doug on May 15, 2006 11:11 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Lohse
by fiftydrinker on May 15, 2006 11:16 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Based on the numbers....
Silva - 8 games, 2-6, 8.80 era, 13/4 -k/bb, 15 hr 46 inn
Lohse - 7 games, 2-3, 8.33 era, 21/18-k/bb, 6 hr, 35.2 inn
Radke - 8 games, 4-4, 7.57 era, 22/9 - k/bb, 11 hr, 44.0
Baker - 6 games, 1-3, 4.67 era, 24/4- k/bb, 5 hr, 34.2
by ChrisRef19 on May 15, 2006 12:06 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
voted for Silva
Radke's been a bit better lately, and he has the experience & wit, I think, to turn things around, becoming a league-average pitcher.
What I'd do: callup Boof Bonser and give him & Liriano some favorable starts. Look for outings at home, or outings on the road against below-average offenses in pitcher's parks. (Confidence does matter in this game.) In the meantime, don't screw up Santana, Baker & Radke's rest days, but at least begin to work the two of them into the rotation. If unfavorable starts arise, throw Silva or Lohse--whoever--to the wolves.
(By the way, "whom" is the subject of your title sentence; as a noun, wouldn't "who" be the proper usage. I'm no grammatician, so disregard if you grew up in the Canadian school system, in which case I'd clearly be in error.)
by Azteca on May 15, 2006 12:07 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
grammer
ROL! No, I could be in err as another product of the confusing American school of gramatical thought.
;)
by steve johnson on May 15, 2006 1:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Maybe Silva but ...
- Lohse isn't a free agent after this year. He is still in arbitration.
- Lohse is second on the team in quality starts after Santana. Including his last one. Why would you replace him now?
- Radke will likely retire after this year, so if you are ready to put Liriano in the rotation and play for the future, he might well be the logical candidate.
- Silva has struggeled with his sinker and that might be something he can work on better pitching more often out of the bullpen. On the other hand, he had a very good outing before his last one so you also might want to give him another shot before going to plan B.
- Liriano is probably only good for 60-75 pitches. He might make it 5 innings as a starter, but he would have to get outs more efficiently than he has to do that. So you probably are going to need to plan on someone in the bullpen to give you two or three innings to get you to the 8th when you would normally want to plan on turning it over to the bullpen. And there is no guarantee Liriano won't struggle the second time through the order.
by TT on May 15, 2006 12:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Re: Lohse
How about that 8.33 ERA? I voted for Silva but on a team with less candidates worthy of removal from the rotation I'd have no problem yanking Lohse.
by I Love Oakland As on May 15, 2006 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
ERA
It matters if he is on your roto team. Lohse has four awful starts and three good ones. But it doesn't much matter whether you lose 10-2 or 8-2.
by TT on May 15, 2006 4:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
it's silva
by ahalman on May 15, 2006 1:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
While they're at it
by Brickhaus on May 15, 2006 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

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