Brad has looked bad for two starts now in the playoffs. Pavano is awfully valuable to the pen, but I wonder if they will consider using him in place of Penny to start later on in the series....

Brad has looked bad for two starts now in the playoffs. Pavano is awfully valuable to the pen, but I wonder if they will consider using him in place of Penny to start later on in the series....

I would. Pavano has pitched well lately. He was good in his last start and he has been great out of the pen. I also think Penny could be an asset in the bullpen, if Jack decides to make this move.

Jack McKeon totally threw Brad Penny under the bus. There was not ONE supporting fact or reason to throw him out there in Game 2 at Wrigley, other than superstition - because that rotation got us to the NLCS.

 

The numbers are glaring:

 

Penny's home ERA: 3.58

Penny's road ERA : 4.78

 

Penny's outing in Game 2 in San Francisco was horrible. He didn't show for one minute that he was a big-game pitcher.

 

Redman went toe to toe with Reuter in Game 3 for 7 innings and pitched beautifully. He had a very solid outing. He is also a lefty which brings you to the argument that he would break up our 2 hard-throwing righties if he was placed in the #2 spot of the rotation.

 

So in defense of Penny, he was definitely penciled into the wrong lineup card. That is not his fault. I feel badly for him because he is being trashed in the Sun Sentinel today. I know people are angry, but they really should direct the anger in the right place - this one belongs solely and entirely to McKeon.

Well, I sure hope that McKeon learned his lesson. :confused

Yeah how dare he think Penny could handle it....

 

I feel bad for Penny too, but only because he won't get another start in this series.

 

Until he learns to pitch consistently, he'll never be a big-game pitcher.

 

You're right ChristyTod...

Berardino sure ripped him a new one. He's always been down on Penny though & wanted them to split up the lefties & use Redman in Game 2, which I can't argue with...

 

BERARDINO: Time to ditch Penny

Published October 9, 2003

 

Seen enough? Same here.

 

If the Marlins really are serious about taking this magical ride all the way to the house, if they really want to put owner Jeffrey Loria up on the winner's stand with the World Series trophy in a couple of weeks, it's time to take drastic measures.

 

Get Brad Penny out of the starting rotation. Now.

 

Go with steady Carl Pavano instead. Or even Rick Helling, who once went into Yankee Stadium and held the Bronx Bombers to two runs into the seventh.

 

Just as long as it's somebody with a clue about how to pitch under playoff pressure. Just as long as it's anybody but Penny.

 

Wednesday's 12-3 abomination was the capper. Matched up against Chicago Cubs co-ace Mark Prior, Penny didn't just fail to match his counterpart's brilliance.

 

He mounted an astounding exhibition of mindless pitching. He reminded a raucous Wrigley Field crowd and a national television audience that you can't spell "Brad" without B-A-D.

 

At least not in the postseason, where he now sports a 12.91 ERA. That includes the five outs he secured in relief in the clinching game of the division series against San Francisco.

 

In two playoff starts, Penny's ERA is 16.50. Only a ferocious Marlins comeback at Pacific Bell Park kept him from being 0-2.

 

Pavano, meanwhile, has been reliable as ever in these playoffs. In four postseason outings, he has tossed 32/3 scoreless innings of two-hit ball, including an inning of relief Wednesday.

 

Unfortunately, Marlins manager Jack McKeon doesn't sound inclined to make a change, calling Penny's status a "non-issue."

 

"I don't think because a guy had a bad game you cross him off the board," McKeon said. "When you look at the 14 wins he put up during the regular season, I think that's got to count for something. I don't think you can push him out the door because he had a bad couple of innings."

 

Later, though, McKeon cracked the door ajar when he stressed that "nothing is etched in stone." If Penny has a poor side session this weekend, McKeon said he would "reevaluate" the situation.

 

"Right now we'll stay where we are," he said. "When his time comes up, it might be a different story."

 

In other words, the Marlins had better be up three games to two or Penny might be watching from the dugout come Tuesday.

 

Penny's horrific line from Game 2: two-plus innings, seven hits, seven earned runs, two walks and two home runs.

 

Getting pounded is one thing. Getting pounded with the same four-seam fastball, time after time after time, is quite another.

 

The Ramirez homer came on a 96-mph fastball. Sosa turned around a 97-mph heater, Penny's hardest throw of the night.

 

Penny's refusal to use his big-breaking curveball or even a single changeup makes you wonder about his health or his head. Or both.

 

In fairness to Penny, he never should have made Wednesday's start. He should have been saved for Friday at Pro Player Stadium, where his career ERA (3.58) is well below his road mark (4.78).

 

That approach not only would have allowed the Marlins to break up left-handers Mark Redman and Dontrelle Willis, but too-similar right-handers Penny and Josh Beckett.

 

Before Wednesday, Penny had never pitched at Wrigley Field. No way should he get a second crack at this place in a potential Game 6.

 

Then, too, I'm still wondering why Penny was allowed to throw a career-high 126 pitches in his final regular-season start. That Sept. 25 outing against Philadelphia came less than two weeks after Penny walked off the mound after retiring just two Atlanta Braves, complaining of pain in his elbow.

 

Since that night, Penny hasn't been of much use to anyone. Except opponents.

Blame McKeon for throwing Penny under the bus? Please!

 

1. Good pitchers (not throwers) can pitch in any ballpark.

2. Penny is very stubborn and has been all year about trying to blow

balls by hitters.

3. Who cares what you or the media wants regarding the rotation:

a. The Cubs are a predominant RH hitting team.

b. Chicago is a bandbox and a hitters park.

c. PPS is a spacious ballpark and less-costly to pitcher like Redman

 

McKeons decision to utilize the two RH powerpitchers were the correct thing, however one has learned from his mistakes throughout the year and the other one hasnt. and if there is one thing that I have noticed this year, McKeon will show his confidence in his players. Penny will be back in the rotation (#2 starter) but with a shorter hook waiting.