NatsAddict, Matt Lindstrom is a freaking bum. You guys really have no one better to close? Maybe Nunez?
That bastard cost me a 20 points in my big money fantasy league because I had both Josh Johnson and Lindstrom.
what a choking dick
The Marlin's pen has no talent - it wasn't a good idea to put any of them on your team. It's just another typical Beinfest f*ck up.
TUESDAY: MARLINS AT BRAVES, 7:10 P.M., FSNF
Despite 5-1 start, Florida Marlins having problems in relief
The Marlins are off to their best start in franchise history at 5-1, but it's not because of their battered and beaten up bullpen, which has a combined 5.42 ERA.
BY MIKE PHILLIPS
Looking for a little relief?
The Marlins are.
They may be off to the best start in their history, but despite the 5-1 sprint from the gate there are problems everywhere you look in the bullpen.
Josh Johnson gave everybody a break Sunday when he pitched the first complete game in the majors this season, but as the Marlins head on the road -- where opponents get the last at-bat -- the problems in the bullpen could start costing the team victories.
''Yes, the bullpen could be a lot better. It could be improved,'' said Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez, who rarely criticizes anything about his team.
The problems date back to last winter when the Marlins didn't re-sign Joe Nelson and Arthur Rhodes.
They're paying for it now.
The loss of Nelson, who could have been signed for less than $1 million, left a big hole in the bullpen because he was valuable as a seventh- and eighth-inning reliever. Nelson had a 2.00 ERA and was effective against both right-handers -- who hit just .189 against him -- and left-handers, who batted only .227 against him.
Nelson, now with Tampa Bay, has made three appearances and has yet to give up a run.
To say the Marlins could use Nelson is a big understatement. The bullpen has a combined ERA of 5.42, and Scott Proctor, whom the Marlins signed to be their setup man, has yet to pitch because of discomfort resulting from his recovery from offseason elbow surgery and might not be ready to face anyone until June.
A bigger problem is the abysmal efforts of the Marlins' left-handed relievers, Renyel Pinto and Dan Meyer. They have combined to give up five hits, including a home run, and two walks in only three innings of work, and both take a 9.00 ERA with them on the road.
TREND DEVELOPING?
It might be too early to evaluate the two left-handers, but both had problems last season. Meyer had a 7.48 ERA with Oakland and gave up 35 hits and six home runs in only 27 2/3 innings. Opponents hit .304 against him last season and in his career in the majors, lefties have hit .364 against him.
Pinto was a big reason the Marlins collapsed down the stretch last season, when the bullpen couldn't hold leads, and he ended the year on the bench. Before he was benched in September, Pinto had a stretch of seven games in August in which his ERA was 25.07 and opponents were hitting .435 against him.
One National League scout who saw Pinto pitch during the opening week said, ``He looks terrible out there. He gets behind in the count on every batter, and his mechanics are horrible.''
MISSING RHODES
The worst part of this equation is the Marlins had Rhodes -- who is arguably the best situational left-hander in baseball -- and failed to re-sign him.
Rhodes, who came to the Marlins in a July 31 trade last season, gave up just one run in 25 appearances with the Marlins and averaged more than a strikeout per inning. More importantly, he was worth his weight in gold in late-inning situations against the Phillies, who are loaded with left-handers -- including Ryan Howard and Chase Utley -- and against the Mets and Carlos Delgado.
Howard, Utley and Delgado went a combined 0 for 12 with four strikeouts in late-inning at-bats against Rhodes last season. Rhodes is now with the Reds and has made three appearances this season. He has a 0.00 ERA, and has yet to give up a hit or a walk.
The Marlins are waiting on Matt Lindstrom to develop into their closer, and it's unfair to evaluate Lindstrom after the first week because he is coming back from a rotator cuff injury this spring.
''I think he is still working through some things,'' Gonzalez said. ``This is still like spring training for him, because he didn't get the full spring. I think in another three or four games we'll see him.''
Lindstrom agrees.
''I'm still building arm strength. It's not all back right now,'' he said. ``I have had some real good bullpens and I feel it coming back, but on the mound at times I know it's not all there yet. Three weeks ago, I had a bad rotator cuff.
''I didn't get to pitch in as many games as I would have in the spring. Maybe that has something to do with it,'' Lindstrom said. ``I just run out of gas a little bit. I'm a guy who is used to having 100 percent of my stuff, and it's not 100 percent right now.
``I think the bullpen is going to get better. I think we have some good arms here.''
The Marlins can only hope he is right.
Miami HeraldSince you mentioned Nunez, here is the Beinfest factor on Nunez:
Delgado & cash (2nd highest paid off-roster player for 2 years - behind Hampton - also thanks to Beinfest, highest paid off-roster player for 1 year) for Jacobs, Petit and Psomas.
-- Psomas is now out of the game having never worn an MLB uniform
-- Petit & cash for Julio, yes,
that Jorge Julio
-- --Julio for Kim
-- -- -- Kim for nothing
-- Jacobs for Nunez
Net Effect: Delgado and nearly 2008's entire on-field payroll for Nunez.
Do GM's come any dumber?
