Posts Tagged ‘Dan Runzler’

Bullpen Woes: San Francisco Giants in Need of Major Bullpen Overhaul

July 28th, 2010

The San Francisco Giants have been playing some great baseball over the month of July. And while they still may seek an offensive addition at the trade deadline, they clearly have a more pressing issue.

San Francisco must fix the bridge to closer Brian Wilson.

It's not just a maybe, it is a must fix problem or this current happy go-ride Giants fans are hoping ends in the postseason will completely fall apart.

Not only are the two (at times) intimidating southpaws in the San Francisco pen both on the DL for an extended period of time but two of the remaining righties are nothing but terrible journeyman relievers with zero clue of where the ball is going after they release a pitch.

Without the services of Jeremy Affeldt and Dan Runzler to face big-time left-handed batters like Andre Ethier, James Loney, and Adrian Gonzalez (to name a few the Giants face in the NL West) the Giants have a bullpen with 100% right-handed relievers.

And of those seven relievers, the only ones proving to the fan base that they are reliable this season are closer Brian Wilson and crafty right-hander Sergio Romo.

After that, the bullpen gets shaky and fast.

Midseason acquisition Chris Ray is a former closer for the Baltimore Orioles, but since coming over from Texas in the Bengie Molina trade, has been rather inconsistent.

He has walked four in 8 1/3 innings since the trade and just hasn't been able to lock down a particular role in the pen.

Then there is Guillermo Mota who has been impressive in spurts but the overall numbers of a 3.58 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, and .249 BAA aren't anything special.

So, at this point the Giants have four relievers, all of whom are right handed. Two are quality, two are average.

Everything is fine, an average bullpen so far.

But now here comes the point where the pen simply bottoms out.

Joe Martinez is the rookie spot starter long reliever who has been up and down a few times this season but has been called on for just three appearances, one of which was in starting action.

He could have been adequately used by the Giants all year long as an ideal long reliever (which for the most part they have not had at all) but since he has barely been used, he is essentially nowhere near ready to handle critical innings down the stretch.

Of course a 1.89 WHIP in nine innings doesn't help his cause for more innings but how can you judge a kid on just nine innings ranging from a single start (Jun 19) to two relief appearances (Jun 23, Jul 10)?

That said, you can't trust Martinez.

Nor can you trust the walk machines that are the final two pitchers in the Giants pen in Santiago Casilla and Denny Bautista.

Between the two of them, they have pitched a combined 52 1/3 innings for the Giants.

To be fair, they both have ERA's under 3.50, but with relievers, you have to look much closer to gauge their production or lack there of.

And one major problem is that in those 52 1/3 innings, they have combined for 40 BBs!

That is correct, 40 walks in 52 2/3 innings.

In other words, per every nine innings pitched between the two of them, they walk nearly seven hitters.

Keep in mind that a quality WHIP mark for a reliever is 1.25, and Bautista is sporting a 1.43 mark and Casilla is a on a total new level of bad at 1.75.

These two have been with the Giants for most of the season now, and they have both been down right awful and hideous to watch at times.

Combine them with Martinez and the Giants have three relievers out of seven that they simply cannot trust to get the job done.

Wilson and Romo are excellent, Mota and Ray are solid but the Giants need more than that with Affeldt and Runzler on the shelf.

If San Francisco GM Brian Sabean knows what is best for his ball club, he will at the very least trade for one left handed reliever, and call up a lefty from Triple-A Fresno like Geno Espinelli, and send Casilla and Bautista back to the minors.

In an ideal world, the Giants would be able to trade for two established relievers, but at least one is a must-get before Saturday's trade deadline.

While Affeldt and Runzler will be back eventually, the Giants cannot afford to let their bullpen rot with zero lefties and awful journeyman with no sense of the strike-zone.

Neither Bautista no Casilla belong in the major leagues.

Both need to be shown the exit from the 25 man roster if the Giants are smart. Could they make the playoffs with them continuing to walk hitter after hitter? Sure, but they would have a whole heck of a lot better chance with some new blood in the pen.

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Three Up, Three Down: San Francisco Giants Stock at the Break

July 13th, 2010
San Francisco fans, put your feet up, your rally caps down, and exhale. The Giants started the arduous last leg of their journey to the All-Star Break almost three weeks ago, and if the players can take a break, then so can the fans. This past trip held a whirlwind of activity, from the humiliating sweep at home by the Dodgers to the exploding sweep of the Brewers at Miller Park, from the Bengie Molina trade to the Buster Posey eruption, from Dan Runzler going down to Madison Bumgarner picking the whole pitching staff up. And now they're sitting in fourth place in the National League West, but only four games back of first-place San Diego, and only two games back of both Los Angeles and Colorado. This last stretch was almost the season in a nutshell, as the Giants looked terrible against the Rockies, took off to Milwaukee and had an offensive explosion, got shut down by Stephen Strasburg, and then flexed some unexpected muscle to end the trip on a winning note. This first half has definitely had its ups and downs, so let's get right into the top three and bottom three players on the Giants roster so far this year.

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Giants LHP Runzler to DL due to first AB (AP)

July 9th, 2010
San Francisco Giants reliever Dan Runzler has been placed on the 15-day disabled list after dislocating his left knee cap during his first major league at-bat. To replace him on the roster Friday, the Giants are recalling right-hander Joe Martinez from Triple-A Fresno. Runzler was injured in the seventh inning of San Francisco's 9-3 victory at the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, when he swung...

Fantasy Baseball Free Agent Pool: 2010 Strikeout Kings Volume Six

July 8th, 2010

Some reasonably available players to assist you in the Strikeouts category.  Realize that some of these will come with high ERA and WHIP, because if a pitcher has low numbers in those categories and a good K total, they’re already spoken for.

 

Brandon Morrow, Toronto Blue Jays

Morrow continues to surface on this list. In the past 15 days, he had 23 K in 20 innings (10.4 K/9), while going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. On the year, he’s 5-6 with 107 Ks (10 K/9), a 4.69 ERA, and a 1.42 WHIP. Morrow is owned in 22.8 percent of ESPN and 74 percent of CBS leagues.

 

Vincente Padilla, Los Angeles Dodgers

Padilla had 21 Ks in 20.2 innings (9.1 K/9) over the past 15 days, while going 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP. On the year, he’s 3-2 with 48 Ks (9.1 K/9), a 4.72 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP. Padilla is owned in 5.1 percent of ESPN and 31 percent of CBS leagues.

 

Jonathon Niese, New York Mets

Niese had 21 K in 20.2 innings (9.1 K/9) over the past 15 days, while going 2-1 with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. On the year, he’s 6-3 with 73 K (7.3 K/9), a 3.61 ERA, and a 1.36 WHIP. Niese is owned in 25.1 percent of ESPN and 65 percent of CBS leagues.

 

Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado Rockies

Chacin had 20 K in 15 innings (12 K/9) over the past 15 days, while going 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. On the year, he’s 8-7 with 79 K (9.4 K/9), a 3.93 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. Chacin is owned in 4.8 percent of ESPN and 28 percent of CBS leagues.

 

Jason Hammel, Colorado Rockies

Hammel had 16 K in 17 innings (8.5 K/9) over the past 15 days, while going 1-0 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. On the year, he’s 6-3 with 68 K (7.3 K/9), a 4.18 ERA, and a 1.36 WHIP. Hammel is owned in 22 percent of ESPN and 48 percent of CBS leagues.

 

Manny Parra, Milwaukee Brewers

Parra had 16 K in 16.1 innings (8.8 K/9) over the past 15 days, while going 2-0 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP. On the year, he’s 3-5 with 66 K (9.2 K/9), a 4.45 ERA, and a 1.65 WHIP. Parra is owned in 1.1 percent of ESPN and 11 percent of CBS leagues.

 

H igh Strikeout Middle Relievers (stats over past 15 days)

Joaquin Benoit, TB:  12 K in 7.2 IP, 1.17 ERA, 0.39 WHIP
David Hernandez, BAL:  12 K in 6.2 IP, Win, 2.70 ERA, 0.90 WHIP
Jose Veras, FL:  11 K in nine IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.56 WHIP
Miguel Batista, WAS:  10 K in six IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP
Jeremy Affeldt, SF:  10 K in 8.1 IP, 2.16 ERA, 1.44 WHIP
Hong-Chih Kuo, LAD:  10 K in 5.1 IP, Win, Save, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
Sean Marshall, CHC:  10 K in 9.2 IP, 2.79 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
Sergio Romo, SF:  10 K in 7.1 IP, 1.23 ERA, 1.09 WHIP
Bobby Parnell, NYM:  10 K in eight IP, 2.25 ERA, 1.63 WHIP
Dan Runzler, SF:  10 K in 5.2 IP, 1.59 ERA, 1.59 WHIP


Also check out:
- Fantasy Baseball Box Score Breakouts 7/7/10
- Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitcher Option for 7/8/10

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Fantasy Baseball Box Score Breakouts: 7/5/10

July 6th, 2010

Here’s a look at the unheralded players who played well yesterday.

 

Carlos Guillen, Detroit Tigers
Guillen went 3-for-4 with a run and three RBI (25). He’s hitting .294.

 

Derek Lowe, Atlanta Braves
Lowe gave up two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in seven innings but fell victim to a Roy Halladay gem. Lowe is 9-7 with a 4.40 ERA.

 

Gavin Floyd, Chicago White Sox (pictured)
Floyd gave up one run on five hits in seven innings to improve to 4-7 with a 4.43 ERA. He is rolling, going 2-1 with a 1.27 ERA in his past six starts.

 

Eric Patterson, Boston Red Sox
Patterson went 3-for-5 with a pair of homeruns (6), but he’s hitting just .220.

 

Javier Vazquez, New York Yankees
Vazquez evened his record at 7-7 and now has a 4.81 ERA after allowing one run on three hits over seven innings. He’s 4-2 with a 2.93 ERA in his past seven starts.

 

Potent Middle Relievers
David Hernandez, BAL:  1.2 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Ks (46 Ks, 57.1 IP)
Dan Runzler, SF:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (31 Ks, 29.1 IP)
Sean Marshall, CHC:  1.2 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Ks (47 Ks, 40 IP)
Chad Qualls, ARI:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (29 Ks, 29.1 IP)
Daniel Bard, BOS:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (44 Ks, 40.2 IP)
Dan Wheeler, TB:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (29 Ks, 25.1 IP)
Joaquin Benoit, TB:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (36 Ks, 24.2 IP)
Joe Smith, CLE:  Win, 1.2 IP, 3 Ks (13 Ks, 14 IP)
Joba Chamberlain, NYY:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (40 Ks, 35.1 IP)
Robinson Tejada, KC:  1 IP, 0 Runs, 2 Ks (38 Ks, 39.2 IP)

Also check out:
Fantasy Baseball Streaming Pitcher Options for 7/6/10

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com