Rockies trade for Matt Lindstrom
by Rox Girl on Dec 23, 2010 3:02 PM MST
in Transactions & Rumors
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PrintAccording to Mark Berman of myfoxhouston.com, the website associated with Houston's Fox affiliate, the Astros and Rockies are close to working out a deal for Astros RHP Matt Lindstrom for two minor leaguers, the report mentions Wes Musick as one of the minor league players apparently involved.
The hard throwing Lindstrom is coming off of two somewhat disappointing seasons, one with the Astros, one with Florida, after a very strong start to his MLB career with the Marlins in 2007 and 2008. This would mark the third time that he's been traded since originally signing with the Mets in 2002. For the Rockies, Lindstrom is expected to take some of the set-up burden from Rafael Betancourt and Matt Belisle.
Lindstrom was a part-time closer for Florida and Houston over the last 2 seasons, and his career 4.00 ERA (3.53 FIP, 4.18 xFIP) marks a solid middle reliever. Additionally, his 7.48 K9 and 3.64 BB9 set Lindstrom as an effective if not flashy reliever who sits 96mph+ on his fastball. One additional boon to Matt Lindstrom is very solid HR control (0.52 HR/9). While this HR control has seen a bit of a decline the past 2 seasons, it's still never reached over 1.00. All good things for a Coors Field pitcher.
Musick, a promising but still developing LHP from the University of Houston was drafted by the Rockies in the ninth round of the 2009 draft as a senior. He had been drafted by the Astros in 2005 before deciding to go to college, and this trade would reunite him with the city nearest his Texas home.
UPDATE: Thomas Harding is reporting the deal as done.
The second minor leaguer has been named as RHP Jonnathan Aristil, a longtime Rockies farmhand from the Dominican Republic. Aristil's spent 2010 bouncing between Modesto, Tulsa and Colorado Springs.
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wow, I like lindstrom as a bullpen addition
And if musick is the better of the two players going to Houston, and elated at first blush.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 3:08 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Totally freaking agreed
Another steal possibly
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 23, 2010 3:12 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
coming up tomorrow
Houston trades Carlos Lee and $38,000,000 to Colorado Rockies for Alan Johnson
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I love trading with houston
So so much. That’s much less than what we traded for delcarmen
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 3:19 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I really hate that deal.
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 23, 2010 3:21 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I'd almost disagree.
Musick’s ceiling is quite a bit higher than CB-M’s I think, even if the floor is considerably lower.
Would you say that Musick is somewhat underrated here in general (not really being in PuRP consideration much?)
I know very little about him.
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 3:28 PM MST up reply actions
I think so.
I think we tend to get results oriented here, which is natural, I do too, and forget that they can be deceiving at times with minor leaguers. Musick throws very hard for a left hander, can sit in the 92 mph range at times, that’s pretty rare. He lacks command and control and enough quality in secondary offerings to push him into elite status, but he’s got solid potential.
forgot to add,
that I still think CB-M’s the more valuable prospect than Musick, but it’s not that far off, and this might be more depending on who the other player heading that direction is.
well I guess you answered my viewpoint
The floor counts along with the ceiling, and even a small advantage in ceiling doesn’t outweigh a pretty obvious gap in floor.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 3:29 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
That's the thing though,
I might be exaggerating the floor gap. CB-M as a reliever has a lot less value than Musick, and that could well be where they both wind up.
perhaps the Rockies thought so
If they were willing to deal him for delcarmen
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 3:35 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
I think it definitely played a part in their thinking.
Both pitchers were good as starters in the system, CB-M was very good, but neither were special. This instantly says “reliever” at the MLB level given who’s already ahead of them and how many years it would take them to reach the MLB. Once you make that determination, you judge them as relievers, and CB-M’s floor goes a lot lower because he’s less likely to be a particularly potent one inning guy.
I actually like Musick
but his role in the org. was as trade bait for moves like this.
Great work, DOD
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
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Harding confirms deal is done.
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Nobody has pointed out yet that our 2011 bullpen may include FOUR Matts at once, now.
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"The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others." - Socrates
Though Daley is still off the bubble, especially now.
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 3:21 PM MST up reply actions
I highly, highly HIGHLY doubt Daley makes the team
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 23, 2010 3:24 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Yes, we all do.
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 3:26 PM MST up reply actions
You all are gonna be wrong
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Don't know yet....but Reynolds maybe?
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trade for Matt Thornton
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I would love this
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 3:27 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
Matt Holliday looks back realizing he missed a good thing
/drives off in gold plated Ferrari
by Andrew Martin on Dec 23, 2010 3:28 PM MST up reply actions
There's gotta be some joke in there
About our bullpen turning the 7th inning on into the exit matt or something…
"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker
You can't walk all over our Matts?
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heh
Lindstroms most comparable pitcher per B-R is………Manny Corpas
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What were you (and he) doing there, anyway?
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 3:31 PM MST up reply actions
He's not that comparable
I mean, he looks nothing like Manny Corpas. Unless AMart got the two of them confused yesterday at the dugout store.
So let's just win 12 more games next year, mmmkay?
Will the Gints complain about the non-humidor balls in Citizens Bank Ballpark when they lose there, too?
Rockies' defense should help Lindstrom
His FIP and xFIP were below his ERA the last two years. He seems to have ben effective in limiting HR in his career, and the good GB rate should help offset any bump in HR/FB.
by deacs on Dec 23, 2010 3:35 PM MST via mobile reply actions
Well, I guess since the CarGo rumor was false, we get
one candy cane in our Rockies stocking. Better than a lump of coal….
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The other player given up was Jonathan Aristil
Impact player?
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 23, 2010 4:29 PM MST via mobile reply actions
No
Left as an MiLB free agent and re-signed by us as a courtesy. He bounced around the minors last year (as high as AAA and as low as Short Season) to fill holes vacated by injured players.
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 4:31 PM MST up reply actions
Thanks Wolf(:
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 23, 2010 4:33 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
He's a type of pitcher that's hard to evaluate.
You instantly want to pass him off as entirely inconsequential, but several Rockies minor league teams had bullpen needs last season, and that organizational role of being an easily moved, go-to guy has to be filled by an inferior player now. A worse case scenario would be having to fill it with a superior prospect, stunting their development.
It’s still a very low add to the value of the trade, with likely a near zero direct MLB impact, but it’s not entirely insignificant. Musick’s the upside guy, Aristil’s depth, I think the Rockies still come out quite a bit ahead, though. It actually seems pretty safe to call it a salary dump by the Astros.
David OhNo compared him to Alberto Arias, who is of course another former Rockie who latched on with Houston.
I stand by my answer that Aristil is not an “impact” player, but there’s a lot of wiggle room in that claim. I don’t think CCRox was asking if Aristil was THAT kind of impact player.
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by Greg Stanwood on Dec 23, 2010 9:01 PM MST up reply actions
I wasn't disagreeing at all with you, I think I was trying to supplement what you were saying.
I guess probably should have responded to the first question.
I don’t know if anybody would claim Aristil an “impact” player. I’m basically calling him minor league filler. I just think this category gets underrated sometimes, and it makes it seem like Houston had zero purpose in acquiring him and that he doesn’t add value to the trade from their end, or take it away from our’s, which isn’t true.
spelled jonnathan
Russ yelled at me for misspelling it in my first ever pebble report.
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by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 6:10 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
When'ya going to
spell Tulowitzki wrong?
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Is the j also lowercase?
Jonnathan. Proper writing takes no holidays!
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I actually spelled it correctly.
iPhone corrected it and I didn’t feel like changing it. Lol.
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by CentralCaliRox on Dec 24, 2010 12:55 PM MST up reply actions
It's officially Wes Musick and Jonnathan Aristil.
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"The highest form of human excellence is to question oneself and others." - Socrates
Reminds me of Corpas....
When I looked at Lindstrom’s numbers, I immediately thought his career pattern and K/BB and HR rates are similar to Corpas, as are his hits/9. Sure enough, Baseball Reference has Manny Corpas as the most similar pitcher.
So it made sense to bring in this guy to replace Corpas, at least to O’Dowd.
This guy throws gas
Intriguing addition
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Sounds like a good move to me
I can’t wait to see what he can do in a Rockies uniform
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JFK
It's promising. What are we doing about another left?
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FrankieMo and Matt Reynolds
why do we need three?
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
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Because one of those is named Franklin Morales?
I’m still hoping he can get it together.
But the hope is very thin….
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Rex Brothers will be in the MLB this year. He's gonna be awesome.
as will Friedrich (hopefully) in Sept.
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
And what about before September..?
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there's no rule saying we HAVE to have two lefties in the pen
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
So we just ride Matt Reynolds until his arm falls off?
Not like this rotation is chock full of inning-eaters. They need two reliable lefties for the entire season – not Reynolds + an empty chair.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 6:38 PM MST up reply actions
no we ride Matt Belisle until his arm falls off
Don’t you know the drill?
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
I like that we got Belisle some help
I’m not criticizing that aspect of it. But there’s still a hole in the pen that needs to be filled. The sooner the Rockies admit that, the better.
If they think Brothers is the guy, then I’m not going to argue. But I hope they waste no time getting him up here.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 6:46 PM MST up reply actions
I sincerely doubt they would waste time
If morales is struggling and brothers is mowing down AAA hitters come May.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 25, 2010 5:12 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
There is no RULE of course...but it seems like good sense.
Considering one is FrankieMo and the other is a rookie……
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this isn't any different than the rest of our roster choices
we have plenty of guys who need to step up. Our 2011 depends on a few breakouts.
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
I dunno Matt, I think this is playing with fire.
And I can’t quite follow if you are okay with these two or not
Optimism Warrior
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Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
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I have more faith in FrankieMo than 95% of Rowbots
I think we’ll be more than okay, and I can’t wait to see Brothers
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
But seriously, you want to wait until he implodes and the find another loogy?
Optimism Warrior
2011 Colorado Zombies-DeadWalking to the NL West crown
Todd and Troy: Because they ARE Rockies.
Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
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Our season will not rise or fall based on FrankieMo's performance
he’s such a small concern in the shadow of CDI, Fowler, and Stewie
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
I'm not saying we don't have other issues.
I just think we KNOW that Franklin is a headcase and 1/2. I like him, but he’s definitely a questionmark. I’m surprised that you wouldn’t want one more lefty as insurance…
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Brothers is insurance, though.
He’s MLB ready and going to be at AAA. Anything more certain than him that you find on the FA market is a MLB player and you have to cut somebody.
exactly this
We have our own Matt Thornton and billy Wagner in Matt Reynolds and Rex brothers
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 7:21 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
err...we MAY have our own...
Missing one word makes me look like a blind homer.
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 23, 2010 7:24 PM MST via mobile up reply actions
But it might rise or fall based
on whether the bullpen is out of gas by August 1.
I have realistic expectations of the pen. I know it’s not going to be fully stocked with lockdown monsters. But if one or two guys are so unreliable they only pitch in blowout situations, it drags everybody down. Think that might have happened way back in….. 2010, I think it was.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 6:51 PM MST up reply actions
and 2009, and 2008, and 2007
Two of those seasons we made it to the playoffs anyway, both time in no small part thanks to Morales turning into something more than decent down the stretch.
In late 2009
Raphael Betancourt followed Morales around with a shovel, cleaning up every god-forsaken mess he could create.
Yeah, I’ve seen that highlight of him striking out Prince Fielder to close out the wild-card clincher too – seen it about 1000 times. I think the score was 9-1 at the time, which is the only reason he got within 300 feet of the mound.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 6:59 PM MST up reply actions
very late 2009, maybe, his meltdown that season is still curious to me.
From the ASB to the end of that save streak of his mid September, for about two months, he was incredible and the Rockies would have been toast if somebody didn’t step up to replace Street when Huston got injured.
Morales just seemed to run out of gas there at the end of the regular season for the last two weeks. Street did too, of course, not long after in the playoffs, yet there doesn’t seem to be the same bitterness there. It’s these angry, violent reactions like yours that fascinate me, because they don’t quite jive with what’s been the overall successful stint for a reliever that Morales has given us.
It's about the why
Street starting losing velocity and, though he kept battling, was just really hittable (he has a fine line anyway). Morales, who actually has a larger margin for error given his stuff, just starts walking everyone in sight when he goes bad, which not only loses games but wastes the rest of the pen.
by BostonTransplant on Dec 23, 2010 7:30 PM MST up reply actions
Angry, violent reaction?
I don’t remember calling for Morales to be harmed, I just don’t want him taking up space in the bullpen.
But if you want to call Morales’ stint as a reliever successful, then be my guest. I’m not sure what exactly that “jives” with, but it’s not on-the-field performance.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 7:34 PM MST up reply actions
to clarify,
I didn’t mean it in the context of harm to Morales, more as in the context of getting violently ill, as in people seem to have an actual physical reaction to the thought of Morales pitching for the Rockies.
As for calling his overall stint as a reliever successful, maybe I am being too kind. His 2009 and 2010 basically balance out to a replacement level, which I don’t find terrible for Colorado bullpen pitchers (especially those his age) and I’m giving him an extra bonus for his fill in for Street in 2009. I think the spot starter work in 2007 (which while not relief, isn’t exactly a starting assignment, either) pushes him into an overall plus category.
My main point is that he seems to be developing fine, with as many high points to his career as low points, but for some reason, Rockies fans are only remembering the latter.
Well, I have to disagree
that he’s developing just fine. But more to the point, here’s my issue with Morales:
I fully expect relievers to get roughed up from time to time. Like any other position on the field, they will fail – it happens. So I am not one of those people who wants a RP waived or traded every time he has a bad outing.
But when your rotation is not particularly durable (as in, how deep they pitch into games), every guy in the pen has to be reliable enough to turn to. Though he’s not going to succeed every time, the manager has to have enough confidence in him to use him, and to find a meaningful role for him. In my mind, Morales has crossed that line. And if that continues this year, it brings down the whole pen – especially the workhorses that get thrown out there 4-5 times in a week.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 8:02 PM MST up reply actions
I think most Rockies fans do disagree,
and some to pretty far extremes, so I’m sorry if I may have lumped you into that category, it’s probably a function of having to monitor discussions like this where the issue gets constantly churned.
I don’t think Morales is on a perfectly ideal trajectory, so maybe “developing fine” was too strong a phrase, and I bristle a little with your changing it to “just fine”. I guess how I’d phrase this is that the two major flags, the walks and balks, are somewhat mitigated by a rising K rate (61 in 59 innings between AAA and the MLB this year) and I think that the amount of walks he gave up while with Colorado were a little flukish given his prior MLB experience and what he did with the Springs. Basically, I think this “line” Morales crossed was one that he’s likely to cross back over, and soon, it seems.
The last couple of seasons of ups and downs have been his development catching up to his level, indicating that he was rushed, but we really didn’t have much choice. I do think the drop off the cliff he’s shown these last two Septembers compared to the quality work in the rest of his seasons show a lack of stamina. I’m hoping he’s building strength this winter, because if we want to compete, we need players that last deep into October.
If Morales had merely faded
in September last year, I wouldn’t have such an issue with him. Beimel faded badly in September, but I would take him back in a heartbeat. Morales pretty much collapsed after his meltdown in Atlanta in late April, which was made worse by a blind 1B umpire.
His lack of dependability beyond that point was a drag on the entire bullpen – and that’s the mistake I don’t want to see repeated. I have nothing personal against the kid, I just don’t think he’s an effective late-inning reliever, and seriously doubt that he ever will be. Yes, he was rushed to the majors. But mostly he’s just been shoehorned into a role for which he is ill-suited.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 24, 2010 3:58 AM MST up reply actions
Maybe this is what Rockies fans do to hate him so much
Up to that game in Atlanta (April 18), Morales was okay, no? And then you say after that he “pretty much collapsed,” which is why for the next two months his ERA dropped to a low of 3.21 on June 13th. For that stretch between the Atlanta game and the high water mark, he had terrible luck and run support, as he gave up only 2 runs in 9.1 innings (ERA 1.93) while still somehow taking a pair of losses and a blown save.
After that, from the June 15th blowup in Minnesota to the end of the month, he was terrible until he was sent down to C. Springs (which you have to count as well for a young player), but projecting an entire first half of misery onto what was really only two weeks is similar to what you were doing with his 2009.
He’s no doubt a streaky pitcher, but that doesn’t make him much different than the other 24 year olds on the team, particularly Dexter Fowler. I will agree that the Rockies need to see further progress from him this coming season, but your assessment is using confirmation bias to take you to an overly negative view of his potential role with the team in 2011.
You can always find
a portion of a reliever’s season in which he had a sparkling ERA. I’m sure I could find a stretch from last year in which Randy Flores looks like a Hall-of-Famer based on his ERA, but nobody (including me) is clamoring to have him back. But an ERA alone is not going to tell you whether a reliever was dependable in his role over that period of time.
The entire bullpen did suffer from lousy run support during the first half last year, because the Rockies were dead last in the NL just about every definition of late-inning offense. This was just another burden on the bullpen workhorses who went out there night after night, pitching their a—— off. But I’m not sure how you single out Morales for having terrible luck and run support.
I think because of the overall great job he’s done with young pitchers, we sometimes lead ourselves to believe that there’s no problem Bob Apodaca can’t fix. I love Apodaca, but I simply don’t think he can make Franklin Morales into an effective late- inning reliever. And like I said earlier, I could be forgiving of a “streaky” reliever if we were a non-contending that can afford to experiment. Or if we had a rotation like the Phils or the Giants, who can afford to carry some dead wood in the pen. But the Rockies simply don’t have that luxury.
I hope I’m wrong and Morales will have a breakthrough season. But if I have to bet my next paycheck, I think the Rockies will find themselves overpaying for some LH bullpen help by midseason.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 24, 2010 7:12 AM MST up reply actions
I think you're missing my point.
I don’t say anywhere that Morales was the only reliever to suffer from bad run support and I have no idea why the run support of other relievers would have any relevance to Morales. Only one guy can be pitching at time.
I’ve been pointing out that through his career, the stretches of solid performances by Frankie were much longer than the brief stretches of disaster, but you and most Rockies fans seem to be mentally reversing that ratio. I’m not expecting Apodaca to make a miracle fix here, because I see Morales as a pitcher who’s been developing in gradual steps.
So again, it’s not an experiment, it’s development. Late inning relief pitchers, especially the LHP’s, aren’t built overnight, and almost all relief pitchers have stretches/seasons where their numbers look unimpressive. Here’s an example, a 28 year old promising young closer has the following season in 2000:
27.1 IP, 6.18 ERA, 28 K, 18 BB.
It actually doesn’t look that different from Morales’ 2010. Billy Wagner was 4th in the Cy Young voting the season before he put up that line. Brian Fuentes wasn’t even pitching in the majors as a 24 year old. Joe Nathan was still a sub-mediocre starter at that age, he didn’t come back as a full time reliever until 28. Brian Wilson was 28 last season, Heath Bell 33. Carlos Marmol finally had his breakout season after years of many Cubs fans wanting to dump him, he was also 28.
Morales can be that kind of late inning reliever, and the Rockies, like these other clubs that were rewarded for their patience, can afford to keep him in the meantime. If it was a short season, I think you’d have a point, but not in a 162 game marathon. There are enough low leverage spots that if he goes through another bad stretch, and my guess is that they’ll get less frequent and painful over the next season or two, that the team can shelter him. What the Rockies can’t afford is to have three or four pitchers like that at the same time, and this is where they ran into trouble last year.
Morales easily had the most upside of the group we had like this in 2010 (Flores, Daley, Rincon, Buchholz, Delcarmen) and this is why the team’s choosing to protect him at those others’ expense.
But this goes back to the
original point, and why this subject came up in relation to the Lindstrom trade. If you are only going to carry two lefty relievers, one of them cannot be using training wheels and be limited to “low leverage spots.” (This is especially true when the other has only 1/2 of an MLB season under his belt.) If the Rockies cannot bring themselves to part with Morales – or send him down and risk a waiver claim – then they should have brought back Beimel (or someone similar) for 2011. Do that, and I’ll stop wringing my hands about Morales. But the Lindstrom trade, which I otherwise think is a solid move, pretty much eliminates that possibility.
Anyway, thanks for the discussion. It’s Christmas Eve so I’m signing off – not trying to have the last word, just gotta go…
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 24, 2010 8:44 AM MST up reply actions
I certainly hope not.
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
Since this closes the door on Beimel,
or any other lefty addition, I just hope Brothers absolutely tears it up in Spring Training and forces the Rockies’ hand.
If this was a great team, with an awesome rotation, maybe it could afford to carry dead wood in the bullpen. If it was a bad team, with no intention of contending, it could afford to extend the Morales-in-the-pen experiment. But it’s somewhere squarely in between.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 23, 2010 6:36 PM MST up reply actions
take a deep breath and be thankful it's not worse.
Take the team we just traded with, for instance, whose best LHP relievers are Tim Byrdak and Fernando Abad.
This method doesn't give me much comfort :)
Optimism Warrior
2011 Colorado Zombies-DeadWalking to the NL West crown
Todd and Troy: Because they ARE Rockies.
Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
QPU #4, YHEG #4, Proud Member PR Gynocracy
clack from Crawfish Boxes sheds a little more light on Lindstrom's mid-season injury
Lindstrom was a tale of two seasons last year. Up until about two weeks before the All Star break, Lindstrom was basically unhittable. He was as dominating a closer as you would want. He had a hard 2 seam FB to go with his high velocity 4 seam fastball, plus a good slider. Then all of the sudden he became hittable and his control wavered. After several poor outings, the Astros rested him for back soreness. He came back and still had the same problems, but told the Astros his back was fine—which wasn’t accurate. After more bad outings, he fessed up to the fact that his back injury was affecting his performance and went on the DL, if I recall. When he came back off the DL, he was somewhat better but more inconsistent than early in the season.
If he can manage his back problem (which I suspect is doable) and get back the pitcher he was in early 2010, he will be quite a bargain for the Rockies.
Matt Lindstrom reacts to the trade
I had no idea he lives in Denver during the offseason
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
He sounds suspiciously like a Red Wing
Optimism Warrior
2011 Colorado Zombies-DeadWalking to the NL West crown
Todd and Troy: Because they ARE Rockies.
Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
QPU #4, YHEG #4, Proud Member PR Gynocracy
Hahaha
A little rudeness and disrespect can elevate a meaningless interaction to a battle of wills and add drama to an otherwise dull day.
by A.J. Haefele on Dec 24, 2010 12:31 AM MST up reply actions
THAT is the coolest thing I've heard all day
Iannetta better bone up, so they can talk without anyone being able to lip read.
by BostonTransplant on Dec 23, 2010 6:57 PM MST reply actions
I'm pretty excited about the organization bullpen
Lindstrom in a 7th/sometimes 8th inning role is a great fit for him. I’m not expecting him to bounce back to his early MLB days but if he does that’s a bonus. I’ve also seen Rex Brothers name thrown out a few times in this thread and I’m excited for him as well.
The guy I’m most excited to see next season is Casey Weathers. I’m not entirely sure where he stands right now in the organization’s eyes, but I have to imagine they still want to see him as a power arm in the big league pen, maybe not as the future closer anymore but in a less stressful role.
CL-Street SU-Betancourt 7th-Lindstrom Everywhere-Belisle LH-Reynolds. those guys seem like the guarantees. Rogers/Paulino, Morales seem like a plausible final two, but I’d love to see Brothers and/or Weathers break camp with the Rox.
"Uh, everything's under control. Situation normal.
**What happened?
We had a slight weapons malfunction, but, uh, everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine, we're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?
Need a long man early
I think some of the Rockies’ problems late last year was because we didn’t keep a long man coming out of ST (Rogers had to be the 5th starter) and ended up working some guys over pretty hard.
by BostonTransplant on Dec 23, 2010 7:33 PM MST up reply actions
answer: Felipe Paulino
"I have no special talents. I am only passionately curious." - Albert Einstein
by Andrew T. Fisher on Dec 24, 2010 7:53 AM MST via mobile up reply actions
Wasn't Corpas supposed to be that guy?
But then he got forced into the closer role – about the same time it became clear that Greg Smith wasn’t working out, and that forced a shift with Rogers.
Not disagreeing with you that it was a problem, but I don’t think it was by design. Seems like the Rockies thought they had a long man, but injuries and ineffectiveness elsewhere in the staff forced them to use a different strategy.
by Rockpile Interloper on Dec 24, 2010 8:02 AM MST up reply actions
SI.com reports that Hawpe is close to deal with Padres..for 1B
Man, I hope he doesn’t kill us if this does happen
Optimism Warrior
2011 Colorado Zombies-DeadWalking to the NL West crown
Todd and Troy: Because they ARE Rockies.
Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
QPU #4, YHEG #4, Proud Member PR Gynocracy
the padres are about to replace one of the best 1B in the game with one of the worst
and this is seriously what you say? lol.
Well, considering Hawpe played 1b throughout the minors and in college
I suspect he’ll acquit himself rather nicely with consistent playing time….
He always hit quite well at Petco So yes, I hope he doesn’t kill us with a return to his great hitting.
Also, where did I remotely say he was a good as Adrian Gonzalez? I didn’t…
Optimism Warrior
2011 Colorado Zombies-DeadWalking to the NL West crown
Todd and Troy: Because they ARE Rockies.
Brad Hawpe - Thanks Brad, you were a class act.
QPU #4, YHEG #4, Proud Member PR Gynocracy
And Matt Macri.
"No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great—Duty First" - 1st Infantry Division Motto
SB Nation Denver - The regional hub for Denver sports!
Purple Row - Covering all your Rockies needs!
Diplomatic and Military History Book Review - My other blog where I go all historical on you.
yay... on both...
not that there’s much of an expectation, but I always liked them. Apparently we also signed Tug Hulett, while Omar Quintanilla went to the Rangers.
Q to the Rangers?
who will make our pixie dust?
Who knew that Muzia’s love is like a rock tied to your feet, dragging you to the bottom of the ocean?
Still hates Tulo, but is quickly losing momentum.
Enjoys watching Galiardi and Shattenkirk fight for my next jersey purchase.
SB Nation Denver
The Answer
I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to go chase it. ~Rogers Hornsby
I'll never forget
The anger some people on the Row (not Russ or Rox Girl) showed when we dealt Macri for Ramon Ortiz in 2007. I thought it was pretty hilarious- all this sharp rhetoric about how that was the kind of move the team could absolutely not afford to make, etc. While those people were vindicated in a sense when Ortiz did absolutely nothing of substance for the Rox, people (like me) who didn’t see what the big deal in trading a non-piece like Macri was were also vindicated when Ortiz cleaned up Jorge Julio’s mess and got the win in game 163. And people in that second group were further vindicated when Macri was unable to stick in the majors for the Twins. Good to see him back- who knows, maybe in August 2011 we again deal him for some has been long man who steps up in a big moment down the stretch. Probably not but hey that’s what I felt like writing when I saw that we had picked up Macri again.
In conclusion baseball is awesome.
Wait, what's his real name? We should make a joke out of that.
by BrandonHawpe on Dec 24, 2010 12:13 AM MST up reply actions
Salazar
was nice enough to toss me a ball during batting practice when he was with AZ once, because I recognized him and called him by his name when no one else would.
You can't sit on a lead and run a few plays into the line and just kill the clock. You've got to throw the ball over the goddamn plate and give the other man his chance. That's why baseball is the greatest game of them all. ~Earl Weaver
Baseball fans love numbers. They love to swirl them around their mouths like Bordeaux wine. ~Pat Conroy
JFK
I'm digging this Lindstrom move... a lot
While I think relievers get over-valued a lot, I think bullpens themselves are under-valued. Lindstrom isn’t the best, but he’s solid and makes our already strong bullpen really deep. If Street is healthy, we’ll be turning a lot of games into 6 or 7 inning affairs for opponents.
"These are thin mints. I put them in the freezer. My favorites. So good."
--Reds outfielder Adam Dunn, on the girl scout cookies he keeps in his locker
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