General Manager Neal Huntington has always been skilled at one thing: putting together a bullpen. Usually, that means picking free agents up off of the scrap heap and squeezing every last ounce of talent out of them. This year, he took a different approach. He re-signed Jason Grilli, traded incumbent closer Joel Hanrahan in a deal that brought back former closer Mark Melancon and acquired some long-men in Jeanmar Gomez and Vin Mazzaro, who also double as rotation depth.
So far, so good. No, really good. Pirates relievers are second in majors with a 1.89 ERA. This is particularly impressive as they've had to pitch a lot of innings to pick up the Pirates starters, who currently rank 11th in the NL in ERA. Grilli is 7-for-7 in save opportunities. Melancon has given up only 1 run in 11 innings with no walks and 10 strikeouts working as the eighth-inning set-up man. The back end of the bullpen looks just like Huntington hoped when he dreamed it up. But, it takes more than two relievers to fill out a bullpen.
For the first time in his tenure as manager, Clint Hurdle has two reliable lefties at his disposal out of the pen. Rookie Justin Wilson joins Tony Watson to create dream match-ups for their skipper. Neither is a LOOGY, though. Both of these guys can go multiple innings if need-be and can get both righties and lefties out.
The true brilliance of Huntington's plan, though, comes in the form of the easily-forgotten long men: Gomez and Mazzaro. Remember that starting pitcher ERA problem? After A.J. Burnett and Wandy Rodriguez, the starting pitching has been a mess. James McDonald, Jeff Locke and Jonathan Sanchez have been hit-or-miss...mostly miss. This has led to some awfully short outings out of the rotation.
That's where Gomez and Mazzaro come in. Having two reliable long-men in the pen (guys who can have a lot of success going once through the opposing team's lineup) is a huge asset to this club. It allows Hurdle to have an early hook with his starters and prevents games from getting out of hand early. In Sunday's victory over the Braves, for example, starter Jonathan Sanchez managed to slog through three ugly innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks, somehow lowering his ERA to 11.12. Out came the hook and in came Gomez, who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings. He was followed by Wilson, Hughes and Watson, whose scoreless work set up Grilli's seventh save in as many opportunities.
This is a recipe for success. Obviously, the starters need to start pulling their weight or the pen will get overworked (indeed Melancon has already been pitching more innings than you'd like to see). Still, the bullpen construction continues to be a strength for the Huntington-led Pirates and this one may be his best yet. The next time Hurdle makes a call down to the "Shark Tank" (as they lovingly call themselves), you can bet they'll be up to the challenge.
Showing posts with label Jason Grilli. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jason Grilli. Show all posts
Monday, April 22, 2013
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Can Pirates fans do more to help?
There's been a lot of criticism lately by members of the Pittsburgh media regarding attendance at Pirates games. With the Pirates in the thick of the playoff hunt in September for the first time in 20 years, it's easy to see why certain members of the media would be concerned about the somewhat lackluster attendance at PNC Park in recent weeks. TV viewership is up, though, and weekend attendance has been strong.
I experienced the latter this past weekend when I attended the Cubs-Pirates contest Saturday night. The announced attendance exceeded 32,000 and the place was packed with folks of all ages. Here's the catch: it was fireworks night. For those who don't know, Pittsburghers love fireworks. They will go to great lengths to see them. The Pirates have frequently sold out their fireworks nights, even when the team was well out of playoff contention and in the midst of their epic streak of losing seasons.
So, to some degree, it could be considered a mild surprise that the game wasn't totally sold out. Furthermore, the size of the crowd is not the only determining factor when considering fan support. How many of those folks were there to see the fireworks? How many came as part of a bachelor party? How many came because they literally couldn't think of anything else to do? I do understand that those groups comprise parts of many fan bases, but in this case it seemed like they made up the majority of those in attendance. There was a moment late in the game that painfully illustrated this for me.
It was the top of the 8th inning with two on and two outs. The game was tied. Pirates reliever Jason Grilli was on the mound. You may remember that I recently wrote about Grilli being the linchpin in the Pirates bullpen. His season has, in many ways, been historically great. In what was a critical moment, in an important game, in the middle of a playoff race, the fans at PNC Park figured it was an appropriate time to start the wave. Now, I'm not just talking about a few distracted kids. I'm talking about 25,000+ "fans" enthusiastically standing and whooping for about eight straight minutes; meanwhile on the field, their best reliever was trying to concentrate on ending the inning and getting the team to their at-bats with the game still tied. Now, I'm not trying to say people can't do the wave, but there is a time and a place for it and this was not it.
Grilli began fidgeting on the mound and stepped off the rubber several times as he tried to maintain composure. The wave would come around to behind home plate just about every time Grilli was set to pitch. And it kept going. And going. Grilli promptly gave up a single which drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run. Now, the "fans" stopped doing the wave and began booing loudly. Whether they were booing the umpire who called the runner safe on a somewhat close play at home or were booing their erstwhile hero Jason Grilli, I cannot be sure. But it felt wrong. All of it.
Now, Grilli is a professional. He's been in the league a long time and should be able to block out distractions; but in this case, why should he have to? After all, these are his home fans. The batter didn't have to worry so much about it. He had a nice backdrop of the batter's eye in center. But Grilli had it all around him and in front of him. And the fans didn't get it. I actually think some of them were booing not about the ump or about Grilli giving up the hit, but rather booing the fact that their epic wave had died. There was one fan sitting behind me who kept shouting about how exciting the wave was and would yell at his neighbors to join in, castigating those who refused. It was disheartening. The Pirates were 1.5 games out of their first potential playoff spot since I was 12 years old. It was a tie game. A loss would mean handing the series to the lowly Cubs and giving them the chance at an eventual series sweep. And the majority of the 32,000+ at PNC Park were fixated not on the batter, nor the struggling pitcher, nor the potential winning run dancing off of second base. No, they were caught up in the wave. I'm sure they enjoyed the fireworks.
I experienced the latter this past weekend when I attended the Cubs-Pirates contest Saturday night. The announced attendance exceeded 32,000 and the place was packed with folks of all ages. Here's the catch: it was fireworks night. For those who don't know, Pittsburghers love fireworks. They will go to great lengths to see them. The Pirates have frequently sold out their fireworks nights, even when the team was well out of playoff contention and in the midst of their epic streak of losing seasons.
So, to some degree, it could be considered a mild surprise that the game wasn't totally sold out. Furthermore, the size of the crowd is not the only determining factor when considering fan support. How many of those folks were there to see the fireworks? How many came as part of a bachelor party? How many came because they literally couldn't think of anything else to do? I do understand that those groups comprise parts of many fan bases, but in this case it seemed like they made up the majority of those in attendance. There was a moment late in the game that painfully illustrated this for me.
It was the top of the 8th inning with two on and two outs. The game was tied. Pirates reliever Jason Grilli was on the mound. You may remember that I recently wrote about Grilli being the linchpin in the Pirates bullpen. His season has, in many ways, been historically great. In what was a critical moment, in an important game, in the middle of a playoff race, the fans at PNC Park figured it was an appropriate time to start the wave. Now, I'm not just talking about a few distracted kids. I'm talking about 25,000+ "fans" enthusiastically standing and whooping for about eight straight minutes; meanwhile on the field, their best reliever was trying to concentrate on ending the inning and getting the team to their at-bats with the game still tied. Now, I'm not trying to say people can't do the wave, but there is a time and a place for it and this was not it.
Grilli began fidgeting on the mound and stepped off the rubber several times as he tried to maintain composure. The wave would come around to behind home plate just about every time Grilli was set to pitch. And it kept going. And going. Grilli promptly gave up a single which drove in what turned out to be the game-winning run. Now, the "fans" stopped doing the wave and began booing loudly. Whether they were booing the umpire who called the runner safe on a somewhat close play at home or were booing their erstwhile hero Jason Grilli, I cannot be sure. But it felt wrong. All of it.
Now, Grilli is a professional. He's been in the league a long time and should be able to block out distractions; but in this case, why should he have to? After all, these are his home fans. The batter didn't have to worry so much about it. He had a nice backdrop of the batter's eye in center. But Grilli had it all around him and in front of him. And the fans didn't get it. I actually think some of them were booing not about the ump or about Grilli giving up the hit, but rather booing the fact that their epic wave had died. There was one fan sitting behind me who kept shouting about how exciting the wave was and would yell at his neighbors to join in, castigating those who refused. It was disheartening. The Pirates were 1.5 games out of their first potential playoff spot since I was 12 years old. It was a tie game. A loss would mean handing the series to the lowly Cubs and giving them the chance at an eventual series sweep. And the majority of the 32,000+ at PNC Park were fixated not on the batter, nor the struggling pitcher, nor the potential winning run dancing off of second base. No, they were caught up in the wave. I'm sure they enjoyed the fireworks.
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Is Jason Grilli the key to the Pirates 'pen?
13.78
It's one of the most surprising numbers associated with the Pirates bullpen this season. That's the K/9 rate of 35-year-old set-up man Jason Grilli, fourth best among all qualified relievers in MLB. His other numbers are pretty great, too: a 2.20 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a .180 BA against and a 4.41 K/BB ratio. He's been a 1.2 WAR player. By comparison, NL saves leader Joel Hanrahan has a WAR of 0.2.
There's no question Grilli has been a key cog in one of the National League's best bullpens. He has nailed down an 8th-inning role that was in flux for much of last season. The Pirates have lost only one game this season when leading after seven innings, a .984 winning percentage. There's a reason why fans clamor for Grilli to enter the game in any high-leverage situation. It's not a stretch to say he's the best set-up man in the league.
If the Pirates are going to make the playoffs, it's going to be on the back of their bullpen. Look at last night's game against the Cardinals, for example. If you get the game to the bullpen with a lead after six innings, the guys in the 'pen will take care of the rest. The Pirates trail only Cincinnati in terms of bullpen ERA this season. And the key to the pen, the stabilizing factor between the starters and the closer, has been Grilli.
It's one of the most surprising numbers associated with the Pirates bullpen this season. That's the K/9 rate of 35-year-old set-up man Jason Grilli, fourth best among all qualified relievers in MLB. His other numbers are pretty great, too: a 2.20 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, a .180 BA against and a 4.41 K/BB ratio. He's been a 1.2 WAR player. By comparison, NL saves leader Joel Hanrahan has a WAR of 0.2.
There's no question Grilli has been a key cog in one of the National League's best bullpens. He has nailed down an 8th-inning role that was in flux for much of last season. The Pirates have lost only one game this season when leading after seven innings, a .984 winning percentage. There's a reason why fans clamor for Grilli to enter the game in any high-leverage situation. It's not a stretch to say he's the best set-up man in the league.
If the Pirates are going to make the playoffs, it's going to be on the back of their bullpen. Look at last night's game against the Cardinals, for example. If you get the game to the bullpen with a lead after six innings, the guys in the 'pen will take care of the rest. The Pirates trail only Cincinnati in terms of bullpen ERA this season. And the key to the pen, the stabilizing factor between the starters and the closer, has been Grilli.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)