September 18, 200520 yr We now have the dubious honor of having the 2nd worst bullpen in the NL (sorted by ERA). As a Reliever NL Are we really that bad? It would seem we have way too much talent to be ranked so low. So what is the reason? Poor bullpen management? Just like our poor performance "close and late" where we are dead last in the NL, yet are 2nd in the league in overall BA. How can we possibly have scored 10 fewer runs than the next worst team (Colorado) when there is so much hitting talent? Close and Late NL Does this once again come down to poor "end of the game" management? It's difficult to come up with any other explanation.
September 18, 200520 yr wow it makes it look alot worst when u see some of the teams that are higher then us
September 18, 200520 yr Are we really that bad? It would seem we have way too much talent to be ranked so low. So what is the reason? Poor bullpen management? 951751[/snapback] I'm at a lost for any other explanation than that. Relievers are often inconsistent year by year, but nearly all of our guys?! Someone or something had to bring that on.
September 18, 200520 yr Also look at the at bats and games in close and late situations. Kind of supports the feat or famine theory. On the other side of the ledger, the Marlins' pitching has done well in close and late situations. 2.95 era (18th) .248 avg (16th) .687 ops (12th) One possible reason why this may be is that our defense is giving up once the games become no longer in doubt. Consider that along with naturally bad defenders that try hard (LoDuca, Delgado, Pierre), we also have players who are ailing (Castillo, LoDuca, Pierre, Lowell?) and players who aren't always motivated or their head in the game (Encarnacion, Cabrera, Gonzalez). When the score is 5-1 in the 8th, such players are going to ease up and not press themselves as hard as if the score was closer. Overall our defense has converted 68.2% of all balls in play into outs (Defensive Efficiency Rate for short), which is 25th in the majors. My rough estimates, which without error or specific reached on error totals will be a bit higher for all teams, show the Marlins have a 70.2% DER (20th) in close and late situations. Another way to measure defensive performance is by comparing ERA with Defensive Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS). The Marlins have 3.74 (6th) DIPS rating when in close and late situations, and 3.88 (1st). So perhaps there is truth to this. As you can plainly see from looking down the Marlins' player statistics, our long relief (save Bump and part-time starters Vargas and Moehler) has failed us.
September 18, 200520 yr Are we really that bad? It would seem we have way too much talent to be ranked so low. So what is the reason? Poor bullpen management? 951751[/snapback] I'm at a lost for any other explanation than that. Relievers are often inconsistent year by year, but nearly all of our guys?! Someone or something had to bring that on. 951768[/snapback] Something - Inept offense causing any form of inconsistency (walks/hits) to be magnified. Someone - Besides injuries to Mota, Bump, Mecir, Alfonseca, we have a lot of one inning guys who can not pitch back to back days (contractual?). Add the likes of Villone, Smith, and the inexperienced guys (mess, Resop, Vargas, Olsen, Braz), there has been a lot of turnover. One mainstay in Jones. Has BP management been great? Probably not but clearly without starters going 7-9 innings every game, all issues with BP staff is magnified and combined with inept offense makes it worse.
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