Everyday Eddie returns to save the day?
Posted at 2:48 PM on August 25, 2008
by Steve Rudolph
(7 Comments)
I had planned to rant about how the weary arms in the bullpen are the Twins' Achilles heel and debate whether Bill Smith or Ron Gardenhire are more to blame for the team's problems. I'm going to take a deep breath and save that for another day.
Why? The front office finally did something to support the players on the field that have exceeded every expectation and have the Twins in the playoff hunt - they acquired former-Twin Eddie Guardado from the Rangers
Eddie isn't the same pitcher that saved 36 games for the Mariners in 2005, but he's a better option for the eight inning than anyone on the roster or in Class-AAA Rochester.
I'm not ready to jump back on the bandwagon, but I'm a little less depressed than I was after this weekend's games in Anaheim.
The Twins have not announced who Guardado will replace on the 25-man roster. My guess is that they'll dump Adam Everett, but Boof Bonser is also a strong possibility especially after having another shaky appearance on Saturday.
What say ye Twins fans? Is Everyday Eddie the missing piece?
Comments (7)
I had heard that the Twins' were working on this even way out here in Chicago, and I must say that I'm all for it.
Obviously, this isn't the first-rate, best case scenario. While I'm dreaming, there's plenty of better people to fill the role. However, in the waking world, with what was available at this point in the season, it's one of the best people possible to come here.
On top of it, it's Everyday Eddie. He didn't go to a place where the fan base would think of him as just another aging arm in the bullpen. He's come back to Minnesota where he has history and the fans love him. Hopefully that will energize him and the rest of the team as well.
Speaking of the rest of the team though: If I were them, you can be sure I'd look into firming up the security on my locker...
If Boof goes anywhere, I'll eat my hat. Boof has a 2.5 K/BB ratio. Not surprising this joke of a website can't see past the inflated ERA.
They won't dump Boof...he gives the team a suitable replacement as a starter in case someone in the rotation gets hurt. His primary value, of course, is in long relief, but his value as a replacement starter cannot be overlooked.
Boof has been doing better of late, and as much as he frustrates me, I agree that he is not the one to be let go. But if you want to talk stats, his batting average for the first hitter faced is something like .340. That is simply unacceptable in relief.
boof rarely gets batters out, but when he does, he strikes them out and instead of issuing walks, he allows opponents to smack the ball all over the park....121 hits in 101 1/3 IP.....he's failed as a starter and hasn't fared much better as a mop-up guy......
Erik, you nailed it with Boof. He's not a reliever. I need to check, but I believe the batting average of the first batter he faces in relief is even higher than you stated. It was well over .400 earlier in the month. Overall as a reliever, his opponents' batting average is .324.
My response to Cliff's point that Bonser's 2.5 K/BB ratio: why would anyone take a free pass against Boof when he's serving up that kind of meat?
There are a couple stats that do matter. In innings 7-9, opponents are hitting .429 with a .714 slugging percentage. In "close and late" situations opponents are hitting .381 against him this year. Why again does he deserve to get the ball if the game is on the line? If he had options left he would have been sent to Rochester long ago.
Well, Eddie did his job. The rest of the bullpen on the other hand...
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