Offseason Discussion - The Bullpen and How it Will Suck

[Ralph]

o shit me and Ice gon go at it again.

[FishFanInPA]

Ugh, I guess I won't be watching the 7-8-9 innings for my health.

[Metes]

As if you have in the past?

[Ramp]

Gregg was pretty good when he was a Marlin

[m26555]

Troy Renck of The Denver Post seems to think we have offered Gregg the closing job:

The Rockies are still hoping to land right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg, but are not optimistic. Gregg has been offered a closer’s job with the Marlins. He would be a setup guy for the Rockies. The Rockies would love to have him to provide depth and options late. A decision should come this week.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/rockies/...out-on-hudson/

[lou]

Really wonder how much the offer is

[AdamRavs]

I dunno why the Rockies would want him pitching in coors.. would be gopher ball central with Gregg

[m26555]

It looks like former #Brewers RHP Seth McClung is close to a Minor League deal with Marlins w/ camp invite, though club has not confirmed.

http://twitter.com/AdamMcCalvy

[FishFanInPA]

Seth McClung blows.

[Metes]

Wes Helms hit a walkoff against that fella

He will do well here

[AdamRavs]

Looks like were into picking up ex brewer pitching this offseason which isn't really a good thing.

[m26555]

Florida Marlins eyeing Kevin Gregg, Kiko Calero for bullpen

by Joe Capozzi

Marlins baseball operations president Larry Beinfest said recently that the team’s top priority now is shoring up their bullpen with some veteran arms. The team is looking at two familiar faces to accomplish that goal — Kevin Gregg and Kiko Calero.

Now, I’m sure Marlins fans are still very familiar with all of that unwanted drama provided by Gregg in his two seasons in South Florida — 61 saves from 2007-08 but also 13 blown saves. He had 23 saves and seven blown saves in a rocky 2009 season with the Cubs.

But a person with knowledge of the front offices dealings said today that the Marlins are looking at Gregg for the set-up role and the Leo Nunez will be the team’s closer in 2010. Despite Gregg’s inconsistencies, the Marlins still think he can be helpful in that set-up role and, more important, as a veteran to help guide Florida’s young pitchers.

Calero pitched well for the Marlins in 2009 — 2-2 with a 1.95 ERA in 67 games — but the team decided not to make him a free-agent after the season ended.

Last year, Gregg made $4.2 million and Calero made $500,000. The Marlins are hoping that both will be more affordable as spring training approaches.

The person said no offer has been made yet to either player. The person pointed out that Beinfest is on his way back from Iraq, expecting to return some time today. There’s a good chance the Marlins sign anybody until after spring training starts, the source said, pointing to Ross Gload’s April 1, 2009, acquisition as an example.

Gregg is also drawing interest from the Rockies, among other teams. Calero is in negotiations with other teams, too, including the Cubs.

The Marlins also had their eye on Frank Catalanotto for a bench spot, but he signed a minor league deal with the Mets.

http://blogs.palmbeachpost.com/marli...o-for-bullpen/

[Fish and Chips]

The Marlins’ Next Batchby R.J. Anderson - February 1, 2010 - Share this Article

Any ink spilled over the Florida Marlins usually pertains to ownership, fire sales, or (until recently) relocation ideas. Their front office consistently works under a mysterious shroud and probably doesn’t get the due they deserve because of their economic standing. When one references Andrew Friedman or Billy Beane, the usual statement that follows is, “Imagine if they had Brian Cashman’s payroll.” With the Marlins, it’s more like, “Imagine if they had the Rays’ payroll.”

One of the areas the Fish seemingly succeed at – and rightfully so – is finding cheap relievers. Some of the skill is simply adaptation, since the Marlins wear gloves when looking at the more expensive options just to ensure they aren’t forced to purchase the product after a stain or smudge appears. They may as well wear Isotoners. Only three relievers have received more than $2M from the Marlins in one season since 2005. For comparison, the Pittsburgh Pirates had the third lowest payroll in the majors last season, and they had two relievers making more than $2M.

Here’s how the Marlins have ranked in reliever ERA and FIP in each season, with steady improvement noted:

2005: 27th in ERA, 16th in FIP
2006: 24th in ERA, 23rd in FIP
2007: 15th in ERA, 17th in FIP
2008: 12th in ERA, 17th in FIP
2009: 11th in ERA, 10th in FIP

The line of one-and-done relievers since 2005 is startling, with its length making John Calipari blush. First came Todd Jones, then Joe Borowski and Matt Herges, then Joe Nelson, then finally Doug Waechter, Brendan Donnelly, and Kiko Calero. Throw in a few extended stays, like Justin Miller and Kevin Gregg, and the picture becomes clear.

Even with rumors of Gregg potentially returning, the Marlins have added a few arms who look like the next junkyard rental. First came Scott Strickland, who’s pitched well since flaming out with the Houston Astros in 2005. Then Clay Hensley, technically a re-signing who spent most of his 2009 starting with the Marlins Triple-A affiliate. A pair of power arms followed, with Jose Veras and Derrick Turnbow also signing on this week.

Veras split last year between the Indians and Yankees. His fastball routinely touches over 95 MPH, although his contact rate is essentially league average. Issues with walks and longballs left him on the outside looking in. Turnbow is similar, with an extra dosage of Steve Blass’ disease. He’s thrown 30 innings in MLB and Triple-A over the last two seasons and walked 63 while doing so.

In other words, look forward to those two leading the N.L. in reliever ERA come next July.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index...ins-next-batch

[wanks1212]

Adding Calero and Gregg to Nunez at the back end, along with competition from Sanches, Badenhop, Turnbow/Veras/McClung and all the other AAA guys for middle relief roles, would make the bullpen close to sexy.

So it's probably too good to be true.

[lou]

Adding Calero and Gregg to Nunez at the back end, along with competition from Sanches, Badenhop, Turnbow/Veras/McClung and all the other AAA guys for middle relief roles, would make the bullpen close to sexy.

So it's probably too good to be true.

Think about the levels just with reliever options for the MLB level.

MLB - Nunez, Pinto, Sanches, Meyer, Vanden Hurk
MLB/AAA - Badenhop, Leroux, Wood, H. Jones, Tank, Penn, Hensley, Strickland, McClung, Turnbow, Veras
AAA - Tucker, Sinkbiel, Voss, Buente, Parcell, C. Martinez
AA - Ceda, Mharinez, Jennings, Cishek, Harvey

And I'm sure forgetting someone(s). You add Gregg and/or Calero on top of this, fuck the heck? We're barely going to have space to give proper innings to everyone. All of the young guys are pretty legit in their own way and are going to need their innings to see if we got something. I've never seen a collection of this many hard throwing maybe relievers. There has got to be 7 already in this group, but the more the merrier.