greenback44 wrote:
One thing I will say is that this isn't 2003. Those guys weren't questions because they were just plain bad.
Remember when we came off that terrible staff, and going into 2004 all the Cardinals did was add a journeyman (Suppan), an oft-injured question mark (Carpenter), and some young guy who Cox and Mazzone couldn't get anything out of (Marquis)? Not to mention that Morris was coming off an injury-plagued year, and Williams really tired at the end of his fabulous 2003.
Seems like we come into every year with question marks. Except for last season when it looked like the rotation was pretty solid, outside of Ponson who had Reyes ready to step in if Ponson didn't work out. We all know how that went. Or 2002, when we had Kile, Morris, Bud Smith, Woody Williams, Andy Benes, and Stephenson coming off of surgery. By May, Travis Smith was making starts.
on March 7, the P-D wrote:His fastball was described as "effortless" and "easy 94 mph" by one opposing manager in the minors. Reyes wanted to hear the gun's reading confirmed his sizzle. He said he stopped asking last season.
"The fastball wasn't the speed I'm used to throwing it at," Reyes said Tuesday while discussing his erratic 2006 season. "To me, I don't think I had a good year. I battled as best I could. I tried to correct things and get stronger. I tried to get my arm back to what it used to be. It's definitely not the way I throw, the way I'm used to throwing. . . .
Two pitches gave him trouble all summer:
— The sinker he was asked to develop in the spring and employ through the season, but struggled to get a feel for.
— The four-seam fireball that was his featured pitch, the pitch that moved him to the majors, but lacked its velocity when he got there. . .
He started the year in Class AAA with that homework assignment. It wasn't entirely new. Reyes had a two-seamer. It was his "straight pitch," the one he would fire that had no movement on it. When he got to college, hitters told him it "was the slowest 95 mph" they had ever seen. Coaches showed him the four-seam fastball. Pumping that pitch high in the zone, Reyes found he had the same velocity, but a late explosiveness to the pitch.
That was the pitch that electrified his 2005 spring training starts. . . .
Reyes is done talking about the straight-brimmed cap he wears. Old news. His fashion is what it is. He thinks it became too much of a story in the World Series. He feels his pitching story is better: Distrusting of his command of his fastball all season, Reyes started throwing more and more changeups so he didn't walk anyone.
Detroit's batters knew it and sat there waiting for the change.
So, Reyes exploited them, finding a fastball he could control.
But it wasn't the fastball he'd known. When Reyes was in the minors he carried that 95-mph, radar-gun reputation. Last year, his fastball sat at 89-90 mph. To rediscover those missing miles, he worked on his legs this winter, adding strength he believes will help his drive to the plate.
In his first start of spring, on Sunday, Reyes' fastball hummed from 89-90 mph. It could improve with arm strength. But he had an at-bat that reveals how he's evolving as a pitcher. With a runner at third base, Reyes got Florida's Miguel Cabrera to foul off a series of well-placed four-seam fastballs — good signs, Reyes said. He then fed Cabrera a sinker.
The all-star grounded out to shortstop.
It's the result he wanted with the pitch he's come to understand and trust. But he believes his right arm can still pack heat.
"Oh yeah, oh yeah," Reyes said. "I'm never going to give up on that."
Yes I read the article and I know what his reputation was. He DID hit 95+ more in '04 and '05 than he did in '06 but he still didn't hit it enough to warrant such a reputation. For some reason people thought Blake Hawksworth was hitting 95 last year. Those people didn't see a single one of his starts. If they did, they'd have realized he was sitting 88-90. My point is, reports from the minor leagues are unreliable. If a guy hits 95 once during a game all of a sudden he sits there. What does it matter? What is the error range of these guns? Carp can touch 97 but that won't tell you anything about the type of pitcher he is.
And as for the Post saying he sat only 89-90, I wonder if they charted all of the games he threw or if Goold recalled the numbers off the top of his head. 89-90 is not incorrect but 88-92 is more correct (over 85% of his fastballs fell in this range).
greenback44 wrote:This is a valid point, but it isn't binary here. When your #2 starter is apparently Kip Wells, your closer hasn't pitched in a game since the NL East forced hip surgery on him and your 8th inning guy is apparently either Russ Springer or a guy who got demoted midseason last year, then you probably have more questions than most.
One thing I will say is that this isn't 2003. Those guys weren't questions because they were just plain bad.
I'd say its correct to say we have more questions than most. I just fail to see why we're panicking about it (not to say you are panicking but Cardinal Nation as a whole). Some of the questions will turn out good, some will turn out bad. Luck will play a large role in our season as it does every year. As Popye pointed out, this isn't exactly new.
I like Thompson, but he was demoted after struggling last season and, more importantly, his role is unsettled at this point. OK, the role thing is a little unfair to him, especially since the odds are pretty good he'll be a primary setup guy. Can I get away with calling him a semi-question mark?
I honestly think that you can make a strong case that everyone not named Carpenter is a question mark. As is everyone on offense except Pujols and Rolen, and possibly Molina. (He can't get worse, can he?)
Which brings us to the question - how is our bullpen much more in doubt than anyone else's? I recall being a lot more concerned about it last year.
Can anyone explain why they don't like Flores? I think he'd be an adequate member of any bullpen and his numbers don't look that bad to me. He's had 2 seasons of 40 IP or more and one was quite good and the other bad (3.46 and 5.92 ERAs in 2005 and 2006, .240 and .290 BAA). Tyler Johnson isn't exactly proven, though I like him too.
[quote="clake"]There's a discussion on a different type of forum that was started by a Cubs fan saying the bullpen is now in shambles w/ the loss of Kinney.
Goold's blog today wrote:Reyes followed the lead of the other starting pitchers, holding the Nationals to one hit and striking out two over his third start of the spring. Not only has his velocity climbed steadily in his starts, so has his economy. His innings were brisk Wednesday as he got 13 outs off 56 pitches (42 strikes). He got groundouts to start the game, but then shifted to a series of flyball outs. He went through the order once without allowing a National to reach base.
“They want the keep the pitch count down and they want me to go some innings,” Reyes said. “I feel comfortable throwing the two-seam now and getting a lot of called strikes with it. Just continue to get stronger and I’ll be alright. I feel like I’m throwing the way I’m used to throwing. … I feel like every time I go out there I get stronger.”
Asked if he sees Reyes becoming the pitcher they would like him to be, manager Tony La Russa said:
