31 July 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper
We decided to break the bullpen out into its own discussion so as not to contaminate it with icky rotation slime. Things aren't stellar here either, but it's Candyland by comparison.
26yo RH CL Mario Santos
43 G, 5-8, 22 SV (81.5% conversion), 2.92 ERA, 49.1 IP, 2.25 K/BB, 1.36 WHIP, +0.6 WAR
35yo RH setup Brian Groves
33 G, 2-1, 3 SV (60% conversion), 2.48 ERA, 36.1 IP, 2.6 K/BB, 1.02 WHIP, +0.4 WAR
Let's pause here for some good news because this backend is excellent if not elite. Santos has the "Elite" tag and we won't take that from him, but he would be the first to tell you he has lapses of poor numbers at times every season. Groves is an elite setup man, period. He serves as an excellent closer when Santos is unavailable. Ok, back to bad news? Groves is in the last year of his contract and is determined to test free agency. Thank you very much.
35yo LH setup Michel Gautier
24 G, 4-0, 4.76 ERA, 39.2 IP, 2.7 K/BB, 1.51 WHIP, +0.2 WAR
The intended lefty setup man was 36yo lefty Yoriyuki Ine, but he has not been close to as advertised with a 6.03 ERA in 31.1 innings over 25 games. Enter Gautier who has handled the role very well. Both Ine and Gautier return for 2063...when they'll be 36 and 37yo. Awesome.
Middle relief has looked something like this:
Ine
34yo LHP Gerald Rogers (33 G, 5.90 ERA, 0.0 WAR)
33yo RHP Abban 'Eeyore' Layar (30 G, 6.07 ERA, 0.0 WAR)
33yo RHP Doug Eckhoff (14 G, 6.93 ERA, -0.2 WAR)
28yo LHP Bart Crews (14 G, 5.28 ERA, 0.0 WAR)
27yo RHP Baz Badr (7 G, 13.50 ERA, -0.2 WAR)
That's dripping with disappointment, but topping the list is Ine who was brought in to be a solid lefty setup man. Next up is Layar who was specifically brought in to tighten up middle relief after so many struggles the previous two seasons. Badr just should be better (sorry). He has the chops putting up a 3.89 ERA in Atlantic City in '60 and 3.22 in Chicago last year, but nothing has clicked for him...and, yes, he is beyond dominant in AAA when sent down. Eckhoff is on his way to an early retirement having completely fallen apart after being one of the Spuds best starters, and an All-Star, in 2061 and before. That's pretty much it. The good news? It's not the rotation but that is not saying much.
The Spuds have a huge offseason challenge for their entire pitching apparatus. The pipeline is not completely empty with highly regarded 22yo righty Alfredo Morán and 21yo righty Máximo Rivera on the waiting list, but they are just not ML ready yet and not likely to be in 2063. 25yo RHP Jim Toland and 27yo righty Chet Banks are pretty much the end of the "soon" list.[/url]