Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Wow... hmmm... Fat Head? Jeremy Giambi?

Sad to think that by now, we could have had a series win if our bullpen didn't suck last night. I can forgive Gobble (he's had more good than bad outings as a BP pitcher, though not as a starter). I cannot forgive Buddy Bell for giving this game away. With a struggling pitcher, what compels you to bring in Scott Dohmann (who was extra trash thrown in with Shealy; I was for Dohmann getting a chance, but he has shown Jack and Shit), Andrew "meatball sub" Sisco, and then 'the worst blow job I've seen/felt in months" Burgos. Have some pride and bring in (god, i hate to say it) Peralta or Wellemeyer (Bell got smart tonight and did just that! and, WHAT?!, saved the bullpen too? I almost believe that Bell got divine intervention... and I'm an atheist!).

There are so many things to say. First, in an ESPN.com article today, someone went through next years closers and someone else finally agrees with me! Leo Nunez was picked by him, and me, to be next years closer with a 97MPH fastball and pitching well in the minors. He's young and has room to grow, unlike Joe Nelson (who's been above average closing this year and if worst came to worse, I'd be cool with him for awhile next year).

Back to Bell. For awhile I had been advocating Bell for next year, only b/c we'd probably suck again and save lots of money by keeping Baird's crap and let guys play through their contracts (Bell for instance); see earlier post for this discussion. But things in my life, a,nd TKDs smart post, have led me back to the campaign. I am back to saying I may advocate Moore's firing next year if he keeps Bell. Bell clearly does not work well with struggling youngsters and/or trying to win ballgames. Maybe leaving guys in is his way of developing character and ability, but it makes him look like an idiot and makes the players look even worse than they are. Maybe it's his use of them... it's too late in the evening to look at this hypothesis. Players say they like him, he's a players manager. Well, it seems to me that there would be a player's manager out there that can win. Granted, our talent isn't on par with the Marlins, but 2003 and this year's Marlins show that young, above average talent CAN win.

Bell has no attitude. This team flounders under his verbage. Joe Giradi would be an interesting choice. A now, semi-proven coach that seems to maximize youth, something Bell does not. While I am enjoying Moore's trades (they are showing enough promise to make me think he's onto something), I am also enjoying his patience. Let's not sacrifice next year to have shit come out of our potential youth. It would be horrible to have them come up and fail. That pressure from the owner, manager, fans, would probably crush these guys' wills and spirits since EVERYONE and their pussycat know that the BRIGHT future lies with this talent. Well, what happens if they fail... or fail b/c they are rushed? Then we go from a 2-3 year plan to a 5-10 year plan.

That said, it is clear that Moore has gotten enough talent on this team to win some games. Let's not get silly with our hopes and dreams. Next year, they will not be a playoff team. Next year they could be a 70 win team though, with the talent they have. Granted, they'll have to have Teahen playing well again, Sweeney/Shealy hitting the ball hard, Grudz continuing to play well, and Elarton to supplement De La Rosa, Hudson (hoping he's not a 1-year wonder), Perez, and Hernandez (sigh)/Wood/Gobble/Unknown.

They need to figure out their bullpen though. I like that Moore recently said that we need more pitching. I'd like to assume he meant Major League ready and minor league talent. Sisco just isn't cutting it and I would not be sad to see him go. Burgos needs a year in the minors. Wellemeyer, Peralta, Gobble, Wood, Braun, and Nelson may be something to work around. Can there be a more uninteresting team to cheer for though?

Probably not.

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