Note: This section will not cover closer Trevor Hoffman, that will be covered in tomorrow's final preview post.
If there is one thing the Padres have an abundance of, it's arms in the bullpen. Both Kevin Cameron and Justin Hampson proved to be pleasant surprises and with another strong showing by Cla Meredith, I am confident middle relief will be covered, no matter who else fills out the pen.
The setup role should be pretty well set too as Heath Bell had an outstanding year last year and seemed to fill in well once Scott Linebrink was traded. Bell should be the closer of the future, but unless he develops Hoffman-like consistency, his effectiveness may run out before he gets a chance.
If the starters can get deep into games with leads, the pen will hold onto most of them. If there is one thing I am not worried heading into this season, it's the pen.
Showing posts with label Cla Meredith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cla Meredith. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Saturday, October 27, 2007
2007 recaps: Relief pitching
Alright, back to our (somewhat) regularly scheduled programming and on with the recap of 2007.
Along with the starting pitching, the pen was considered a strong point coming into the season and it started out as such. But as the season wore on, it was apparent Bud Black favored certain pitchers in certain situations and sometimes that came back to bite the Padres.
With the exceptions of Trevor Hoffman, Doug Brocail and Scott Linebrink (who finished the season in Milwaukee), the pen was a relatively young group that still had plenty to prove. During the first two months of the season most of those guys came off as unhittable but they couldn't keep the torrid pace up all season.
There are definitely some good parts in the pen. Heath Bell proved to be a steal of a deal, Cla Meredith is a solid situational guy that induces ground balls and new guys and Justin Hampson and Kevin Cameron showed a lot of promise. It will be interesting to see what, if any, pieces are added here in 2008. With all of the guys acquired late in the season, including the Linebrink deal, this could just be a maturation process we are waiting for instead of adding any other pieces.
Heading into the 2008 it appears SD has plenty of pieces in place to make another run at the playoffs but it will take a couple of key additions all around the board to make it a success instead of the near miss it was in '07.
What players/pieces are we in need of? That's what we have the entire offseason to discuss.
Along with the starting pitching, the pen was considered a strong point coming into the season and it started out as such. But as the season wore on, it was apparent Bud Black favored certain pitchers in certain situations and sometimes that came back to bite the Padres.
With the exceptions of Trevor Hoffman, Doug Brocail and Scott Linebrink (who finished the season in Milwaukee), the pen was a relatively young group that still had plenty to prove. During the first two months of the season most of those guys came off as unhittable but they couldn't keep the torrid pace up all season.
There are definitely some good parts in the pen. Heath Bell proved to be a steal of a deal, Cla Meredith is a solid situational guy that induces ground balls and new guys and Justin Hampson and Kevin Cameron showed a lot of promise. It will be interesting to see what, if any, pieces are added here in 2008. With all of the guys acquired late in the season, including the Linebrink deal, this could just be a maturation process we are waiting for instead of adding any other pieces.
Heading into the 2008 it appears SD has plenty of pieces in place to make another run at the playoffs but it will take a couple of key additions all around the board to make it a success instead of the near miss it was in '07.
What players/pieces are we in need of? That's what we have the entire offseason to discuss.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Hanging on
Scoring 6 runs in the fourth inning, good.
Giving up 4 runs in the last two innings, not so good.
The Padres had a little too much excitement Friday night when after they had a 7-2 lead the Dodgers were able to creep back into the game. Luckily Trevor Hoffman only gave up one run in the ninth (can you sense the sarcasm in that sentence).
Cla Meredith seems to still be struggling. He pitched a scoreless seventh but then left him in the game and he gave up 2 runs in the eighth. Chris Young had another solid performance and seems to be quietly establishing himself as a great front-of-the-rotation starter.
Which brings us to tonight's game and the No. 1 starter, Jake Peavy. Even though his ERA is above 2.00 for the first time since he gave up four runs in fourth start of the season (April 19 at home against Arizona).
Peavy's last start against the Dodgers wasn't any better than that start against Arizona as he gave up four runs in a no decision. But take the numbers out to his last five starts against LA and Peavy is 3-0 with a 3.03 ERA and 26 K's in 32 2/3 innings.
LA counters with Brad Penny, who in his last five against SD is 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings (and average of about 5 innings per start). Lets hope the Padres can keep that success up again tonight. We'll need it considering Penny is having as good of a 2007 as Peavy is with his 10-1 record and 2.04 ERA.
Giving up 4 runs in the last two innings, not so good.
The Padres had a little too much excitement Friday night when after they had a 7-2 lead the Dodgers were able to creep back into the game. Luckily Trevor Hoffman only gave up one run in the ninth (can you sense the sarcasm in that sentence).
Cla Meredith seems to still be struggling. He pitched a scoreless seventh but then left him in the game and he gave up 2 runs in the eighth. Chris Young had another solid performance and seems to be quietly establishing himself as a great front-of-the-rotation starter.
Which brings us to tonight's game and the No. 1 starter, Jake Peavy. Even though his ERA is above 2.00 for the first time since he gave up four runs in fourth start of the season (April 19 at home against Arizona).
Peavy's last start against the Dodgers wasn't any better than that start against Arizona as he gave up four runs in a no decision. But take the numbers out to his last five starts against LA and Peavy is 3-0 with a 3.03 ERA and 26 K's in 32 2/3 innings.
LA counters with Brad Penny, who in his last five against SD is 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA in 26 innings (and average of about 5 innings per start). Lets hope the Padres can keep that success up again tonight. We'll need it considering Penny is having as good of a 2007 as Peavy is with his 10-1 record and 2.04 ERA.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
There's no place like the NL
I think one thing has been established during this disastrous four game losing streak - the Padres are definitely in the right league.
It looked like the Padres were finally going to get some luck going their way and then the bullpen imploded. You could see the smoke from Tampa. I, for one, will be glad when this interleague garbage is over so that SD can go back to being the team it was when they swept the Dodgers.
It looked like Greg Maddux pitched decent enough to win last night - not necessarily anything special, but good enough - and should not have had to worry when the pen came to the rescue. However, Cla Meredith has been downright bad of late and another game we should have won got away. In his 4 1/3 innings pitched in June, Meredith has given up 5 runs - 3 of them earned - and 10 hits. He has been responsible for three losses and his ERA continues to climb towards 4.00.
Meanwhile, as Gaslamp Ball pointed out after the game, the Padres have two guys with ERA's under 1.00 that are rotting on the bench.
Whatever the reason is, Bud Black has got to change his strategy or this will be the worst road trip of the season. Let's hope they can get to tonight's pitcher Edwin Jackson and his 7.39 ERA. Of course, most of the AL pitchers SD has faced recently have had juicy ERA's just begging to be blown up more and look how that has turned out. At least Jake Peavy will be able to get us to the eighth without need of the pen.
It looked like the Padres were finally going to get some luck going their way and then the bullpen imploded. You could see the smoke from Tampa. I, for one, will be glad when this interleague garbage is over so that SD can go back to being the team it was when they swept the Dodgers.
It looked like Greg Maddux pitched decent enough to win last night - not necessarily anything special, but good enough - and should not have had to worry when the pen came to the rescue. However, Cla Meredith has been downright bad of late and another game we should have won got away. In his 4 1/3 innings pitched in June, Meredith has given up 5 runs - 3 of them earned - and 10 hits. He has been responsible for three losses and his ERA continues to climb towards 4.00.
Meanwhile, as Gaslamp Ball pointed out after the game, the Padres have two guys with ERA's under 1.00 that are rotting on the bench.
Whatever the reason is, Bud Black has got to change his strategy or this will be the worst road trip of the season. Let's hope they can get to tonight's pitcher Edwin Jackson and his 7.39 ERA. Of course, most of the AL pitchers SD has faced recently have had juicy ERA's just begging to be blown up more and look how that has turned out. At least Jake Peavy will be able to get us to the eighth without need of the pen.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Strange Brew
Two games against the team with the best record in the bigs and two wins for the Padres. So while this team has been maddeningly inconsistent and unable to sweep a series, at least we got two from the Brew Crew at home.
And with Jake Peavy scheduled to take the hill Sunday, we will either be treated to a 16 K no decision the Padres eventually lose in extra innings or we will actually sweep a series tomorrow.
Justin Germano pitched a good game and continues to make his case for remaining in the starting rotation while the pen once again made things interesting. It seems Doug Brocail could be in trouble of losing his effectiveness. After giving up only seven hits in April, he has already given up six hits in his last four appearances and this time he got touched up for three runs.
It seems San Diego has the same problem with Cla Meredith. After being a mystery to hitters in April and giving up no runs, Meredith has given up nine runs in nine innings pitched in May.
Hopefully these types of outings don't become the norm, but I think it is something to keep an eye on since the team prides itself on having one of, it not the, best pens in the league.
And with Jake Peavy scheduled to take the hill Sunday, we will either be treated to a 16 K no decision the Padres eventually lose in extra innings or we will actually sweep a series tomorrow.
Justin Germano pitched a good game and continues to make his case for remaining in the starting rotation while the pen once again made things interesting. It seems Doug Brocail could be in trouble of losing his effectiveness. After giving up only seven hits in April, he has already given up six hits in his last four appearances and this time he got touched up for three runs.
It seems San Diego has the same problem with Cla Meredith. After being a mystery to hitters in April and giving up no runs, Meredith has given up nine runs in nine innings pitched in May.
Hopefully these types of outings don't become the norm, but I think it is something to keep an eye on since the team prides itself on having one of, it not the, best pens in the league.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Do the Peavy
Chris Young tried his hardest to do a good Jake Peavy impersonation last night and for the first three innings it was spot on. Of Young's 10 K's last night, six of them came in the first three innings as he kept the Cubs off the base paths.
Unfortunately, in a 1-1 game, Bud Black left reliever Cla Meredith in a little too long and the Cubs scored two more runs in the 9th to win 3-1. I know that as a former pitcher Black knows what it feels like to be pulled when you feel like you can get out of jam, but for two consecutive nights, he left his pitchers in a little long in tight situations. He got lucky with David Wells Wednesday, but no so much with Meredith on Thursday.
One of the great things about the Padres playing the Cubs, Braves, Nationals and every few years the Orioles is that living in the DC area, I can actually watch those games when those teams televise the games. On Wednesday, the Cubs announcers were talking about why most managers seem to be former catchers and how a lot of former pitchers have a tough time as a manager and this series proved why.
The most difficult decision has to be when do you pull a pitcher and if you have been in the situation yourself, you are more likely to let him work out of his own jam. Now I'm not criticizing Black or his managing - he does have us at 25-21 despite an inconsistent offense and a terrific pen - but not everyone comes through in tense situations and in a tight game you have to have a quick hook. Meredith was great in the eighth, Heath Bell probably should have pitched the entire ninth.
But hopefully Meredith learned something from this and will not get rattled so easily next time. Our pen, no matter how great it is, will not come through every time but if it can learn as the season goes, we should be able to avoid losses like Thursday's.
Unfortunately, in a 1-1 game, Bud Black left reliever Cla Meredith in a little too long and the Cubs scored two more runs in the 9th to win 3-1. I know that as a former pitcher Black knows what it feels like to be pulled when you feel like you can get out of jam, but for two consecutive nights, he left his pitchers in a little long in tight situations. He got lucky with David Wells Wednesday, but no so much with Meredith on Thursday.
One of the great things about the Padres playing the Cubs, Braves, Nationals and every few years the Orioles is that living in the DC area, I can actually watch those games when those teams televise the games. On Wednesday, the Cubs announcers were talking about why most managers seem to be former catchers and how a lot of former pitchers have a tough time as a manager and this series proved why.
The most difficult decision has to be when do you pull a pitcher and if you have been in the situation yourself, you are more likely to let him work out of his own jam. Now I'm not criticizing Black or his managing - he does have us at 25-21 despite an inconsistent offense and a terrific pen - but not everyone comes through in tense situations and in a tight game you have to have a quick hook. Meredith was great in the eighth, Heath Bell probably should have pitched the entire ninth.
But hopefully Meredith learned something from this and will not get rattled so easily next time. Our pen, no matter how great it is, will not come through every time but if it can learn as the season goes, we should be able to avoid losses like Thursday's.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Domination
Finally, the Padres make use of a 10 K day by Jake Peavy. Who would have guessed the Friars could lose 16 and 10 K games before finally taking down the Fish on Sunday on Peavy's third straight double-digit strike out performance.
This has got to be one of the great runs - at least by a Padres pitcher - in a long time and it's performances like these are keeping the Padres in the NL West race early on. It was also nice to see Cla Meredith bounce back after his tough performance Saturday, and if the starters and pen can keep things going, this may be a team that can find some postseason success.
The pieces seem to be here, the only problem is they haven't all been clicking at the same time. It's a good thing this is happening early this season though so that maybe by September they will figure out how to put it all together.
Let's hope Chris Young can keep this thing going against the Braves tomorrow.
This has got to be one of the great runs - at least by a Padres pitcher - in a long time and it's performances like these are keeping the Padres in the NL West race early on. It was also nice to see Cla Meredith bounce back after his tough performance Saturday, and if the starters and pen can keep things going, this may be a team that can find some postseason success.
The pieces seem to be here, the only problem is they haven't all been clicking at the same time. It's a good thing this is happening early this season though so that maybe by September they will figure out how to put it all together.
Let's hope Chris Young can keep this thing going against the Braves tomorrow.
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