by Valerie Davies
The Yellow Springs Nine announced today that after multiple attempts to get someone to pick him up off waivers, they had finally released pitcher Richard Bullock.
Bullock, who just turned 35, was signed to a two-year deal (the second being an option year) with the Nine in the off-season, but never found even a semblance of his work in Columbus or San Fernando, pitching to a 3-6 record in 28 game (7 starts) with an abysmal 7.16 ERA and a FIP- of 130. His defenders, which must include his mother and his agent and inexplicably, a lot of people still in Yellow Springs despite how badly he played here, will point to his 5.50 FIP as evidence he was not as bad as he appeared. They might also note the .380 BABIP.
But honestly, the biggest criticism here is that McMonigal didn't let him go sooner. A look at Bullock's stats by month:
April: 1-3, 7.36 ERA
May: 1-1, 6.23 ERA
June 1-0, 4.05 ERA
Okay, so maybe at that point you're seeing improvement. I get that. But then...
July: 0-0, 15.43 ERA
August: 0-2, 8.18 ERA
That's just inexcusable. I asked the general manager why a move wasn't made sooner, and why now, when the season is all but over?
"Valerie, if we really want to use hindsight, I'd obviously never have signed Richard in the first place, ya know?" said McMonigal, starting off with an edge his voice. He continued, "So I don't know that this is helpful. We thought he could help us win games. We thought that he would pick things back up, and for a bit in June, he did just that. When things started falling apart, I did what I could to alleviate the situation, give Richard a chance to catch on elsewhere. We owed that to him. He's a veteran. He's a nice guy. He did everything we asked."
What caused the ultimate release?
"Well, I think as a veteran voice, Bullock wanted to pitch. And that didn't make sense for us anymore, so we thought we'd give him a chance to start trying to find a home for 2064. We really wish him well. It just didn't work out here. That happens sometimes. It's why we used an option on the second year."
That was smart thinking, though it does cost the team $750,000. Still, better than being too far entangled with a player on the downswing.
Whether or not Bullock can keep his career going, at least state-side, is up for debate. His work with the Nine is going to loom large, but there's also that the scouts I talked to have noticed his control taking a hit as well as the quality of his pitches, specifically his split-fingered fastball. Unfortunately for him, it looks like the end of the line is coming soon. I talked to Bullock briefly after his release.
"I don't have much to say right now. I didn't pitch great, but I also only got a few games to prove myself. I don't think I ever got a chance, and when I was given one here at the end of the year by Bill Inkster, they fired him. So what does that tell you?"
It tells me that despite a nice send-off, McMonigal was angry at Inkster for doing that. And it's hard to blame him, given the disaster that was Bullock's final three games (4 earned runs in 3 games).
Circling back to my own published notes at the time, I mentioned I was skeptical about this signing. It looks like I had a right to be. A team like the Nine can't afford to make roster mistakes or stick with them as long as McMonigal did with Bullock. Perhaps this will be a lesson learned. Or just another quickly forgotten footnote in a long string of losing.
Right now, I'm not sure which is the more likely take.
