Here is the article as it appears in the Sun-Sentinel:

 

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.

 

Sorry, that's not entirely accurate. The ball Aramis Ramirez hit to lead off the third was your typical home run.

 

Not so the ball Sammy Sosa launched into the center-field bleachers the inning before. That ball, which traveled an estimated 495 feet and landed on a dark-green TV stand, was something altogether different.

 

It was more of a one-man flyover. F-14s should rise so majestically.

 

After a shot like that, they shouldn't check Sosa's bat for cork, but for titanium.

 

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.

 

According to the Marlins' media guide, Penny hails from Broken Arrow, Okla. Are we sure that shouldn't be Straight-As-An-Arrow?

 

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.

 

At Wrigley, the radar-gun display Penny so loves to monitor is sponsored by Sears. Alas, nothing was solid about Penny's outing.

 

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.

 

Granted, the start against the Phillies was a big one, but the Marlins led 8-2 through six innings. For some reason, Penny was sent back out there for two more innings.

 

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

 

Mike Berardino can be reached at mberardino@sun-sentinel.com.

"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."

 

 

Penny problem.............HE NEEDS TO LEARN HOW TO PITCH.Is not like he has great location with his fastball like Prior does.Whenever he is trigger happy,the fastballs go down the middle of the plate.

berardino's never been much of a fan of Penny.

Mike hit the nail on the head and we all know it. Jack and Rosie have done everything possible this season to get Penny's act together, to help the guy reach his potential.

 

Unfortunately, it appears it was all for not. You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy. He was completely out of his game from pitch one.

 

The sooner the Marlins trade him (and this is not in response to last night's game but rather watching him all season) the better off we'll be.

Is it known yet who is going to be starting at tomorrow's game?

For those of us in the White Sox world, Brad Penny is the Marlins' version of Danny Wright.

As I've said before, Penny thinks he's pitching in the little league world series...

we need either pavano or helling to pitch in the rotation in Penny's place, as they've both been consistent.

 

As of Wood on Friday.....If he pitches like Prior we'll sure give him some wood!!

 

let's gooooo ffiiissshhhh!!!! :mischief2

Mike hit the nail on the head and we all know it. Jack and Rosie have done everything possible this season to get Penny's act together, to help the guy reach his potential.

 

Unfortunately, it appears it was all for not. You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy. He was completely out of his game from pitch one.

 

The sooner the Marlins trade him (and this is not in response to last night's game but rather watching him all season) the better off we'll be.

not sure if i'm ready to line him up at the firing squad yet Marlins03, but if/when AJ Burnett comes back healthy, maybe Penny is the guy to go. After Beckett he could probably get the most value, & will be up for a raise next year.

 

He's shown an unwillingness to take criticism from the coaching staff at times. (he basically made fun of them telling him not to pay attention to the stadium radar gun readings). Actually he's always making a big deal about how much he liked Brad Arnsberg.

 

he has been able to stay healthy though, which is good. and somebody won those 14 games this year. at times he's looked like he'd gotten it together & was pitching very well.

For those of us in the White Sox world, Brad Penny is the Marlins' version of Danny Wright.

Oh Christ!!!! I'm sorry to hear that!!!

Hotcorner is right - 'somebody' was winning those 14 games of which the MAJORITY came in Pro Player Stadium with a decent ERA.

 

Again, WHY WHY WHY was he pitching Game 2 on the road??????

Here we go again, Penny has a couple of bad outings and he is trash. When he is good, everyone loves him. Fickle fans. Brad won 14 games and should have won more. How many games did he pitch awesome and get a no decision? Atlanta, against Wood? One unearned run beat him. We scored 0. There are others. Jack said he was going with his top two in games one and two. Obviously he sees beyond what the casual fan sees. Please let go of the Brad wont listen to the coaches crap. I was in San Fran and Mckeon and Penny were in the lobby having a great time. They get along really well. Yes they did butt heads in the beginning but that ended some time ago. Brad did not have command of his pitches last night. I dont think he was trying to just blow the ball by everyone. He threw his curve and changeup and neither were working.

Remeber, Bonds never had a good post season till last year. Sosa hasnt been to awesome in post season play in the past either.

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 (Beckett) 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.

im tired of the road game and day game excuses. if the man cant show up in October, 3 wins away from a pennant he should be taken out of the rotation. with Penny you never know if he'll show up and right now is not the time to "hope" he will

thanks Marlino.

 

according to those stats, Redman has an ever GREATER differential between home & away stats than Penny does!

 

so it would make even more sense to schedule Big Red at home than it would with Penny.

 

everyone pitches better at home (especially in a park like the Pro), it's almost a given.

 

Hey Kerry Wood's road record is 6-8, with a 3.56 ERA. certainly not unbeatable, though he's been great lately.

i've been roasted for saying this before and yet i'm going to say it again

 

i think brad penny would be a lot better pitcher if he lost about 20 lbs

 

the guy is very talented and very inconsistent .. at times he doesn't pitch right, which is a concern especially since redman has been on the roster all year showing that good location and knowing the game can carry you .. add that with penny's stuff and he could be dominant

 

but back to the weight issue ... it's been a problem that i've noticed ... livan struggled his first year here when he was in the minors, he got homesick, had a problem making a transistion to the US, ate a lot and ballooned up ... in 97 he got it a little better under control, but after that he didn't go all the way and trim up and be consistently dominant .. he put on a little more and has been an up and down guy

 

colon is another guy who has all world stuff, but you never know what you will get .. add padilla and wells (although wells is usually clutch) to that list as well

 

the endurance just doesn't seem to be there ... if they go out and have a bad inning where they throw 25-30 pitches, it seems to wear them down to where they'll get touched the rest of the night

 

it also plays toward their discipline and dedication

 

no reason for it

ugh .. i had suppressed the alex fernandez memory ... that's probably when this train of thought first started to happen with me .. another good (sad?!) example

Damn just because he has had two bad outings in the playoffs doesnt mean we Ditch him. He is a Young guy and still has alot of potential. He has great stuff and the only problem with him is that he tries to challenge hitter and that is causing him to overthrow the ball. He just needs to relex and pitch his game and utilize the Curveball along with the Fastball.

Damn just because he has had two bad outings in the playoffs doesnt mean we Ditch him. He is a Young guy and still has alot of potential. He has great stuff and the only problem with him is that he tries to challenge hitter and that is causing him to overthrow the ball. He just needs to relex and pitch his game and utilize the Curveball along with the Fastball.

gotta love that p word...

 

atleast some on the staff are finally reaching it(like everyone but Brad)

I know you never give up on someone after 2 starts, but this is the playoffs. How many starts are you going to get before you can say no more?

 

I mean I am a fan of potential. But in the postseason there is no time for potential.

atleast some on the staff are finally reaching it(like everyone but Brad)

I worry less about him fulfilling his potential and more about him developing some consistency. He has shown how hard he can throw, how dominat he can be, etc. He did, afterall, win 14 games; only a handfull of other guys won more this year. He can pitch. He just needs to learn how to bring his "A" game more frequently.

 

14 W's is more than Ted Lilly, Roy Oswalt, Tome Glavine, & Curt Schilling, to name a few.

cant argue with that backstop

I'll be honest with you- I've never been a big Penny fan. I was impressed this year with his 14-10 record and all. You have to wonder with the weight issue someone brought up, are injuries going to be a problem down the road? I don't see him ever having an ERA under 4.00, and I see him more as a middle rotation guy than a top-line starter. Just my .02.

maybe Penny is a future Jason Schmidt?

 

struggled till he was about 28 and voila, instant ace

Mike hit the nail on the head and we all know it. Jack and Rosie have done everything possible this season to get Penny's act together, to help the guy reach his potential.

 

Unfortunately, it appears it was all for not. You can take the boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of the boy. He was completely out of his game from pitch one.

 

The sooner the Marlins trade him (and this is not in response to last night's game but rather watching him all season) the better off we'll be.

not sure if i'm ready to line him up at the firing squad yet Marlins03, but if/when AJ Burnett comes back healthy, maybe Penny is the guy to go. After Beckett he could probably get the most value, & will be up for a raise next year.

 

He's shown an unwillingness to take criticism from the coaching staff at times. (he basically made fun of them telling him not to pay attention to the stadium radar gun readings). Actually he's always making a big deal about how much he liked Brad Arnsberg.

 

he has been able to stay healthy though, which is good. and somebody won those 14 games this year. at times he's looked like he'd gotten it together & was pitching very well. I was thinking that too: that Penny would be oddman out when AJ comes back and dump a few million to boot...

 

I do believe we will lose a player or 2 after this season...wonder if Penny will be one...I dont think McKeon will give him another start in the NLCS if it comes up...

I totally agree with Mike...dawg I understand your a BIG Penny backer BUT like Jack says leave your egoes at the door. Right now Penny is not pitching well and the team doesn't have the time or games to get Penny straight. I think we all have been waiting for Penny to pitch well in a bigtime game. It just hasn't happen but we still need him in some way if the Fish are going to advance.