6/20/15: GDT - NY Mets @ Atlanta Braves

[nsacpi]

Btw, the question sometimes comes up of how many wins the pen has cost the team this year. I'm sure there are better and more sophisticated ways to get to this issue, but just adding up the numbers of the relievers with negative WAR, I come up with -1.6. If you add Cahill and Stults, you get to -2.1. So if we had merely gotten replacement level performances from those guys we'd be two wins better. Of course a decent pen is a bit better than replacement level, so I would say the pen has cost us 3-4 wins so far.

Since we are in the 6/20 game thread, wasn't it nice to see Avilan, Johnson and Grilli give us routine 7-9 inning performances. Nice to avoid the Perils of Pauline for one night.

[thethe]

Maybin has been good. Uribe has a track record that suggests he can be a solid member of the supporting cast. Grilli has done the job at closer. I'm good with the rotation as currently constituted.

The pen outside Grilli and Johnson is the main weakness at the moment. I think left and catcher are lesser weaknesses. This has been masked to some extent by AJ and KJ out-performing their projections. If the FO has an interest in improving this year's team chances of making the post-season, the pen, catcher and left are the most logical places to look to make an upgrade.

Whta are your thoughts on Viz/Mckirahan coming back? Reports are that Viz is throwing 100MPH again.

[thethe]

Btw, the question sometimes comes up of how many wins the pen has cost the team this year. I'm sure there are better and more sophisticated ways to get to this issue, but just adding up the numbers of the relievers with negative WAR, I come up with -1.6. If you add Cahill and Stults, you get to -2.1. So if we had merely gotten replacement level performances from those guys we'd be two wins better. Of course a decent pen is a bit better than replacement level, so I would say the pen has cost us 3-4 wins so far.

I think the cumulative effect of a bad pen day in and day out needs to be considered. For instance, because the pen is bad more pitchers have to be used and then those arms are not as fresh. If you had reliable guys to get you 3 outs an outing then everyone appears less which leads to more effectiveness. Just my opinion.

[nsacpi]

Whta are your thoughts on Viz/Mckirahan coming back? Reports are that Viz is throwing 100MPH again.

Viz should help. Not so sure about McKirahan. I actually prefer Greg Smith as a lefty option.

[thethe]

Viz should help. Not so sure about McKirahan. I actually prefer Greg Smith as a lefty option.

I suppose. I know very little of him but just liked what I saw early in the year. I don't know too much of Smith other thna his statlines.

[nsacpi]

I think the cumulative effect of a bad pen day in and day out needs to be considered. For instance, because the pen is bad more pitchers have to be used and then those arms are not as fresh. If you had reliable guys to get you 3 outs an outing then everyone appears less which leads to more effectiveness. Just my opinion.

Good point. There is an negative externality on the rest of the staff when one or more guys is not pulling his load.