Wednesday, January 03, 2007
JOEL PINEIRO RED SOX CLOSER…
I sure hope not. He looks more like the 25th man based on his performance the last two seasons, although his limited work as a reliever in 2007 was average - 20 strikeouts-to-10 walks over 24 innings. IF Pineiro can sustain his 2006 pen performance over 60-70 innings, then the Sox will get their $4 million worth. The probability of that happening is low. Based on 2006, it is more likely that Joe Borowski, Russ Springer, and Roberto Hernandez will have better K/9 and K/BB rates than Pineiro in 2007. The trio were all free agents and signed one-year deals for less than or essentially the same as Pineiro (Borowski will make $.25 million more). From a process point of view, this is one of the worse contracts given out by Theo Epstein.
On the bright side, Pineiro has owned The Liar or JD - 222/323/222 (AVG/OBP/SLG), A-Hole - 160/192/200, and the BJ or DJ - 217/308/348.
***
For what’s its worth, Mike Hargrove on Pineiro before being inserted back into the rotation last September.
"The ball comes out of his hand a lot easier," Hargrove said of Pineiro, since coming out of the bullpen. "His arm angle is lower and he has better control of all of his pitches. He's down in the strike zone more consistently. The things you want to see out of a pitcher.
Plus, the fact is, his velocity has been consistently better.
"Having said all of that, you realize that he's been throwing in one- and two-inning stints, so your velocity has a chance to be a lot better in that regard. We want to see, really, how everything else translates coming back into the rotation. I think [we'll] able to see what we'd like to see in four starts. That is plenty of time."
I sure hope not. He looks more like the 25th man based on his performance the last two seasons, although his limited work as a reliever in 2007 was average - 20 strikeouts-to-10 walks over 24 innings. IF Pineiro can sustain his 2006 pen performance over 60-70 innings, then the Sox will get their $4 million worth. The probability of that happening is low. Based on 2006, it is more likely that Joe Borowski, Russ Springer, and Roberto Hernandez will have better K/9 and K/BB rates than Pineiro in 2007. The trio were all free agents and signed one-year deals for less than or essentially the same as Pineiro (Borowski will make $.25 million more). From a process point of view, this is one of the worse contracts given out by Theo Epstein.
On the bright side, Pineiro has owned The Liar or JD - 222/323/222 (AVG/OBP/SLG), A-Hole - 160/192/200, and the BJ or DJ - 217/308/348.
***
For what’s its worth, Mike Hargrove on Pineiro before being inserted back into the rotation last September.
"The ball comes out of his hand a lot easier," Hargrove said of Pineiro, since coming out of the bullpen. "His arm angle is lower and he has better control of all of his pitches. He's down in the strike zone more consistently. The things you want to see out of a pitcher.
Plus, the fact is, his velocity has been consistently better.
"Having said all of that, you realize that he's been throwing in one- and two-inning stints, so your velocity has a chance to be a lot better in that regard. We want to see, really, how everything else translates coming back into the rotation. I think [we'll] able to see what we'd like to see in four starts. That is plenty of time."