2009 Bullpen Preview – Part 1

Written by Kent on February 17, 2009 – 2:02 am

We apparently didn’t scare Kent off last time around so he’s back with more content for us.  Once again, you can follow Kent on Twitter @FriedBasballATL.

After the addition of three quality starters, the new look Atlanta starting rotation has been the hot topic of conversation among Braves fans. But with as much depth as they now have in their rotation, the bullpen appears to be even deeper. With a number of Braves hurlers already in Orlando, we take a look at the relief corps the Braves are likely to carry to Atlanta roughly 6 weeks from today.  We start this two-part series by looking at the definites and the probables for this year’s bullpen.

THE CAST:

DEFINITE (barring injuries/setbacks): Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano, Peter Moylan

PROBABLE: Blaine Boyer, Manny Acosta

POSSIBLE: Jorge Campillo, Jeff Bennett, Buddy Carlyle, Phil Stockman, Eric O’Flaherty, Boone Logan, Jeff Ridgway

Mike Gonzalez has quietly become one of the game’s elite closers, carrying a (then major league best) 39 consecutive saves streak into last season after returning from “Tommy John” surgery. The lefty fire-baller featured a mid-to-upper 90’s heater while closing for the Pirates. Since his arrival in Atlanta two years ago, however, his arm that was never entirely healthy or rested, and his fastball topped out at about 93 mph. Despite diminished velocity, “Gonzo” has been effective, with a 3.38 ERA as a Brave, converting 16 of 18 save opportunities.

After his first full off-season since beginning his rehabilitation in 2007, his arm is now 100%, and Gonzalez says he’s “fired up” about the opportunity to finally show Atlanta his very best. With health no longer a concern, look for a big season from the Braves’ closer.

Rafael Soriano, when healthy, is among the best late-inning relievers in baseball. Since his move to the bullpen at that start of his sophomore season in 2003, Soriano has a career ERA of 2.53, with more strikeouts than innings pitched. In a word: Dominant.

Soriano began experiencing pain in his pitching elbow last spring which eventually cost him most of the 2008 season. Fortunately, the cause of the pain was not a structural issue within his elbow. Soriano underwent surgery last fall to reposition a nerve that was apparently the cause of the discomfort. MLB’s Mark Bowman recently reported that, “all indications are that Soriano is healthy”. That’s excellent news for Braves fans.

Peter Moylan was the only pleasant surprise of the 2007 season. Over 80 appearances, Molyan limited opposing hitters to a .208 average, and allowed only 16 earned runs for a 1.80 ERA. It was the third best ERA in all of baseball, and it was the first sub-2.00 ERA to come out of the Atlanta bullpen over a full season since John Smoltz did it in 2003.

Moylan’s stuff is outstanding, but what makes him truly remarkable is that he fires his mid 90’s fastball, baffling changeup, and hard-biting slider with a submarine delivery. Many submarine/sidearm pitchers develop a deceptive pitching motion to compensate for a lack of overwhelming natural ability. Not so in Moylan’s case. His stuff, coupled with a submarine delivery, seems almost unfair.

After experiencing elbow pain last spring, he made it only 2 weeks into the season before joining the expansive disabled list. He underwent “Tommy John” surgery shortly thereafter. Moylan is reportedly ahead of schedule with his rehabilitation, and could be ready for action on opening day. Like Soriano, if healthy, Moylan is one of the best late-inning relievers in the game.

Blaine Boyer has been described by scouts, coaches, and teammates as a talented young pitcher with “closer’s stuff”. Boyer features a heater that pops the mitt in the mid-to-upper 90’s, and a (at times) knee-buckling 12-6 curveball. Boyer was thrust into a key late-inning role after Peter Moylan and Rafael Soriano were lost to injuries, and he responded well to the challenge. Through the end of June, Boyer posted a very solid 3.63 ERA. However, after notching nearly 45 innings by the half-way point of the season, he appeared to “hit a wall”, and struggled throughout the second half.

John Smoltz is a big Blaine Boyer believer. He has raved about Boyer’s potential, and spent most of the winter training with him. And “Smoltzy” isn’t the only one ready to buy stock in the 6′ 3″ right-hander. Everyone within the Braves organization seems to think highly of Boyer. And he was rumored to be one of the pieces the Padres wanted in a potential Jake Peavy trade. With the depth of Atlanta’s bullpen this year, Boyer should benefit from less pressure and a reduced work load.

Manny Acosta is another hard-throwing young righty believed to have closer potential. Through 67 Major League games (2007, 2008), Acosta is owner of an outstanding 3.17 early career ERA. Like Boyer, Acosta features a fastball that rests in the mid 90’s. He struggles at times with his control, but if Manny can continue to develop his command of the strike zone, he could play a play a much larger role for the Braves in the near future. Either way, Acosta has already established himself as a valuable member of the Atlanta ‘pen’.

So there’s a quick look at what you can most likely expect to see as a large part of the Braves’ bullpen on opening day.  Barring any unforseen circumstances and injuries, the bullpen has depth and is ready to get to work in the 2009 season.  Are you happy with who we have?  Wish things looked a little different?  Look for the second half of the bullpen preview where we look into the people fighting for the last couple of spots in the bullpen to come tomorrow.


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Bullpen Holding Up Well

Written by Colin on July 16, 2008 – 1:15 pm

Back in February, I wrote a post called “5 Keys to 2008 Bullpen Success” and identified five points I thought would be crucial to have a successful bullpen.  Let’s see how the bullpen has done compared to those five points.

#1 – Rafael Soriano is lights out as closer.
#2 – Peter Moylan eats up innings – and stays effective.
 #3 – Will Ohman fills the left-handed setup role.
#4 – The emergence of an effective long-reliever.
#5 – The healthy return of Blaine Boyer and Mike Gonzalez.

Well, I got three out of five right.  Ohman has been great, and Boyer and Gonzalez have been healthy, but Soriano hasn’t seen much time and Moylan is out recovering from Tommy John surgery.

And yet the Braves’ bullpen is one of the best in the NL – we have the third best ERA (3.22) and the best Batting Average Against (or BAA at .224).  We’ve also give up the third fewest runs in the NL.  Our BAA is second only to the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

This is thanks in no small part to Will Ohman, Blaine Boyer, and Manny Acosta.  For the crap we give Bobby for over-using Acosta, Manny is a really good pitcher when he’s not overused.  The return of Mike Gonzalez has been crucial to a stable back end of the ‘pen, and we should see that get even stronger as Rafael Soriano nears his return.

As we head into the second half of the season, our bullpen has to continue to impress to give us a chance for our hitting to win us some games.  Based on what we’ve seen so far, I’d say we’re in a good spot and on a good track.

Who’s the most indispensable arm in the bullpen so far?

- Colin

Edit: You just can’t make this stuff up…It seems Mike Hampton tweaked his hamstring after 2 IP in his latest rehab start, you just have to feel for the guy. He gave up one home run, no word on the severity of his injury yet. More details later.

Edit2: He tweaked his groin in the first inning and pitched a second, still no word on the severity, but said his super-surgically repaired arm felt great.


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Soriano’s Elbow Sends Him to DL

Written by Colin on April 9, 2008 – 10:52 pm

Rafael Soriano went to the 15-day disabled list with elbow tendonitis today, clearing room for Chuck James to come off the DL and promptly give up six runs in three innings tonight against the Rockies.

Soriano has had issues with his elbow on and off all spring.  He didn’t pitch for the first few games of spring training because his arm was bothering him.  And his elbow troubles aren’t new – he missed most of 2004 and 2005 with Seattle after Tommy John surgery.  Bobby has used him in a limited number of games (only pitched in 4 innings), but he’s still having issues with the arm.

It’s better to get him on the DL now than it is to let him languish on later in the season.  We need him healthy during the heart of the season, and if that means missing him for 15 games now, we’ll take it.

In the meantime, I think we’ll see Manny Acosta as the temporary closer.  He’s been good in spots this spring – a couple bad outings (like the home opener), but all spring has looked pretty good out of the bullpen.


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Braves Lose 12 Inning Marathon 12-11

Written by Colin on April 1, 2008 – 11:48 am

Last night was – with no exceptions – the craziest ballgame I’ve ever been to. The BravesBlast crew gathered in our seats before the pregame ceremonies and stayed there until the final out over five hours later. Tom Glavine looked good. He sure threw a lot of balls – high pitch count really quickly – thus he only got through 5 innings. But the crowd was glad to have him back. We got the lead early – but the bullpen squandered that. Manny Acosta was horrible – hardly the calm and collected reliever we saw in spring training. He gave up four runs and two home runs in two innings, and all of a sudden it was 9-4, Pirates lead. Let’s hope the bullpen doesn’t lapse to last season.

Then came the bottom of the ninth – and we rallied. Started by the second string once again – who drew a series of walks, we somehow pulled alongside the Pirates on a lazy two-out pop fly by Brian McCann. Chipper kicked it into gear as soon as the ball was hit and when the ball inexplicably dropped in short center field, he was already crossing the plate with the tying run. McCann stood on first base with a look of disbelief on his face (that was proudly displayed on the big screen).

At this point, we brought in Soriano. He looked good and kept the Pirates scoreless after giving up a double. The Braves took him out as his spot in the batting order was coming up. Now by this time, the Braves had used so many relievers that Blaine Boyer was the only one left in the ‘pen.

Boyer was spotless in the 11th, striking out two.  We went to the 12th.  Boyer was back on the mound, partially because he was gorgeous in the 11th, partially because there were no more relievers.  Heck, Jair Jurrjens showed up in the bullpen and spent a little time warming up.  He’s supposed to start Wednesday’s game.

But Boyer allowed two base runners and then gave up a shot to right field that just cleared the fence – putting the Pirates up 12-9.  But nobody left – everyone who stuck through the 9-4 deficit in the 9th figured we could pull out of a 12-9 in the 12th.   And we almost did.

Francoeur’s solo shot (which I called, by the way) made it 12-10.  Then Diaz knocked in a run to make it 12-11. And with a runner on base and two outs in the 12th, Corky Miller (the only bench player left to pinch-hit for Boyer) popped a ball to center field.  This time they caught it.  And we had to go home.

Sure, we got an L in the W/L column.  But it didn’t feel like a loss.  It felt like a team ready to fight no matter what the odds this season.  It felt like our team was ready to do battle. It’s baseball season!

Rue’s Scorecards For The Night:
ATL  PIT  Extra Innings


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‘08 Roster Nearing Completion

Written by Colin on March 29, 2008 – 7:23 am

After last night’s loss to Cleveland, the Braves further thinned out their roster, getting ready for Sunday’s game against the Washington Nationals.  Of course the most notable moves involved the ongoing battles for the limited number of backup spots on the roster.

Brent Lillibridge, impressive as he was in the first half of the spring, got sent back to AAA Richmond, where he’ll get more playing time.  I think this is crucial, since either he or Escobar will likely be trade bait before too long.  He needs to be playing all the time.  Martin Prado gets to stay in Atlanta – his first time starting the season in the majors.  Joining Prado (who played a few innings last night at first, by the way) is new acquisition Ruben Gotay, a switch-hitting contact hitter who can play second, third, and short.

In the outfield, Gregor Blanco beat out Josh Anderson for the backup job.  Anderson got out-hit by Blanco this spring (.260 to .341) and despite his speed, Bobby couldn’t find a roster spot for him.  I like Anderson though – if we have an issue mid-season with Diaz or Kotsay I’m sure we’ll see him (maybe even before Schafer, whom they might want to groom all season long).

Behind the plate, Corky Miller seems to have the backup job.  Brayan Pena is still on the roster too, but he’s out of options and conventional wisdom says he’s traded by the end of the day.  If Pena sticks around, he can pitch in at first as well.

So that leaves the five bench spots going to Blanco (OF), Gotay (IF), Prado (IF), Pena (C/1B) and Miller (C).  I’m not sure what we’ll see happen if Pena is traded – maybe Anderson comes back up?

The Bullpen is finally solid, with slots going to Peter Moylan, Rafael Soriano, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman, Chris Resop, Royce Ring, and Blaine Boyer.  I like this year’s ‘pen.  Lots of arms who have the capacity to be good pitchers throughout the season.

Jeff Bennett and Buddy Carlyle are still fighting for the pitching slot left vacant by Smoltzie, who will start the season on the DL (it’ll be backdated and he’ll only miss one start).  I’d give the edge to Bennett in this one – he’s been impressive, but Carlyle hasn’t put together a bad spring himself.

More as we hear it – our ears are to the ground today as we wait for the final moves to be made.


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Braves Drop Exhibition To Tribe

Written by Colin on March 28, 2008 – 11:57 pm

It was great to go back to Turner Field and watch baseball.  Though the crowd was light, the evening was perfect – the sunset and great weather combined with seeing the Braves made it a great evening.  Unfortunately, the Braves dropped the game 7-1 to the Indians behind a bad fourth inning outing by Blaine Boyer.

Jair Jurrjens got the start, giving up two runs in over three innings of work.  However, one of those runs should be charged to Boyer, who did not look good at all in the fourth after he came in.  Some other quick observations:

  • Yunel made some great plays defensively, including a nice leaping catch.  I’m excited to see him play a full season.
  • Kotsay made a diving grab in the outfield that scared me a little bit – he seemed to catch his arm a little bit but he came up fine.
  • I was impressed by Kotsay on the basepaths.  He stayed alert and stole second when the catcher simply dropped the ball.  Caught everyone off guard.  It resulted in Atlanta’s only run of the day.
  • We had a “Andruw would have gotten that” moment tonight – but it was later in the game and I think Gregor Blanco was in center, not Kotsay.  So we won’t pop that counter yet.  At least not until the regular season.
  • Chipper still won’t run out infield ground balls.
  • Fernando Nunez looked good today.  Never heard of him before today, but he looked good.
  • Acosta looks good – he’ll be an important part of our bullpen this season.
  • The Kelly Johnson / Yunel Escobar double play duo this season will be fun to watch.  They’re getting in the groove and should be really smooth here soon.

Next up, Hampton starts against the Indians at 1:10 tomorrow.  The Braves will have their 25-man roster done tomorrow at some point too.  They have to have it set before Sunday’s game against the Nationals.


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