That's strange, I could've sworn that I told Minaya at the end of last year to dump Blowenweis. Even if I didn't, surely he couldn't have been dumb enough to keep a guy who can't pitch to more than one batter, and even that one batter is iffy. So surely it wasn't "The Show" in there blowing another game today. Surely it was someone else.
And surely Minaya went out of his way in the offseason and before the trading deadline this year to beef up our bullpen, so we're not stuck with the same bunch of losers down the stretch this year as in '07. Never mind, what am I saying? We got rid of mota, how silly of me to forget.
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In fact it was someone else! It was Blowenweis (who managed at least to get an out), Smith (who didn't), and Heilman (who allowed the crucial and ultimately game winning runs to score).
Yes indeed, this pen chews in all ways that can be imagined. Luckily, now that we got rid of that old manager who didn't know how to use a pen with Manuel, and his magic touch, things sure have turned around mightily. Oh, and he's really put the steel in the spine of his boys and kept them from fading down the stretch unlike that last j-off we had.
On a more pleasant note, I saw great things from Pelf last night. His stuff was bad. Fastball was off 3-4 MPH, and his command wasn't great. Los Bravos got to him early and it looked like they might blow him out of the game. But he gutted through it and came up with a quality start and left the game with a two run lead and only in a position to win.
For a guy who's in uncharted territory in terms of IP, in the white hot glare of the pennant chase and his team in a meltdown, that's pretty solid.
Speaking of Manuel's pen management, can someone please explain to me why, when the opposing team is mounting a big rally in the 8th, we're holding back from using our suppossed best reliever, Ayala? I mean, the guy's not a true closer, anyway. It should be obvious that it's all hands on deck, and roles are out the window. Go to Ayala and get out of the jam. Take each rally as it comes. If you have to go to Parnell in the 9th, so be it. He's got mad stuff anyhow.
Just a prediction, but I'm guessing the only guys from this year's pen (excluding Sept call-ups) that will be around next year are Smith and Feliciano (in middle relief roles), and perhaps Ayala and Sanchez. That leaves 3-5 bullpen slots, inluding closer, that will be replaced in the offseason.
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