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Sore Right Knee Shuts Down Gregg
Kevin Gregg won’t be available tonight because he has a sore right knee.
Now, I know what you are thinking and so am I – perfect timing, right? Well, now who closes…Lindstrom or Nelson?
Yes, Kevin Gregg Should Not Close Ever Again
Well, we couldn’t be knee deep in hurricane season without talking about disaster relief. He in south Florida, if you are going to talk about the subject, you might not hear anyone refer to hurricane Gustav but rather hurricane Gregg. Kevin Gregg is almost single-handedly crumbling up Marlin wins that would keep them alive in the pennant race.
“I’m killing the guys right now. They’re playing good baseball, and I screwed it up.”
At least Gregg is admitting his faults. Last time, he was willing to blame everyone else including the hot dog vendors. When you have a team like the Mutts in town, and you are in the mouth of the wolf because, let’s face it, there are a lot of Mutt fans down here in New Yawk South, you have to take advantage.
The Mutts, to their credit, actually didn’t lay down and die. They fought back to try and steal the 2-1 edge the Marlins were holding but Joe Nelson was able to wiggle out of jam after jam. It was looking like the Marlins night.
Then Gregg came out to close it. And he almost did, but he left a crack that blew up in everyone’s face. Luis Castillo had 2 outs and 2 strikes on him but Gregg gave up a single. Then another to David Wrong. Then he plunked ex-Marlin Carlos Delgado with one pitch. Then, to make up for it, leaves the next pitch hanging which Carlos Beltran, one of the most overrated players in the game, crushed into RF.
“He hit that ball 500 feet”, Gregg said. And with it, the Marlins chances of getting back into the NL East race. Gregg said he couldn’t express what was going through his mind at that moment as it wouldn’t be allowed to be published. Well, I am sure the Marlins fans know exactly what he means – we were thinking the same thing. Ironically, so were the Mutt fans who were typically brash after they lucky win.
Fredi Gonzalez was asked about taking Gregg out as closer. ”Do you have anything else other than that [question]?” was his response. Guess he was a bit angry about being asked that yet this is precisely the question that should be asked. Really, it should be more like, “What the hell were you thinking?”
Look, I could chew over stat after stat like the fact that he leads the league in blown saves now. We can analyze his pitch counts, his ratio of strikes:balls. We can look at his pitching mechanics which, ironically, haven’t changed a whole lot and have remained consistent. The bottom line is Gregg is not getting it done and although now is not the time to be experimenting, it is the time to take drastic measures and send a message to the team that if you are not going to get the job done, you will be replaced.
Who could fill in for Gregg? Joe Nelson, Matt Lindstrom. I even like Dough Waechter to step in there. Lindstrom would be the best choice with his blazing fastball he will certainly force hitters to adjust their timing. The real question isn’t whether or not they will perform well, but will the be able to throw strikes consistently enough to end games? In other words, can they do what Gregg cannot? This is what Fredi has to address – that is his job.
Kevin Gregg
You are dead to me.
Seriously, Fredi, he needs to be demoted from the closer job. Enough is enough. That Beltran grand slam was the final nail in the coffin for our season. Hopefully, Beinfest will have the good sense to trade him in the offseason.
Streak BROKEN
Now thats how you start a road trip. Last night, Ricky Nolasco pitched a complete game shutout, the first for a Marlin starter in 301 attempts, a Major League record. Ricky only gave up two hits (should have been just one, but who cares) and struck out 10 batters on a chilly August night in San Francisco. Ricky had all of his pitches working for him last night, leaving the Giants batters looking like they wouldn’t even crack the starting lineup for the Jupiter Hammerheads. Ricky was absolutely filthy, without question this was the best start of his career so far. Maybe its because of the cold weather, I don’t know. But that might have been the best start by a Marlin pitcher in two years.
Might this be the spark we need to revitalize our fading NL East hopes? No way to know for sure. Lets just worry about tonight.
Marlins Getting Out of Town at the Right Time
Another series loss against a quality opponent and the Marlins are leaving town. With Fay bearing down on south Florida, there seems like no better time than now for the Fish to get out of the water.
The series loss to the Cubs crippled the Marlins a bit as they fell further back into the depths of the NL East now trailing 4.5 games in back of the re-surging Mets. Sporting a record that is just 3 games over .500, it remains to be seen how much longer the Marlins can hold on.
Their bullpen has been failing them. Reynel Pinto, who was arguably the Marlins most consistent reliever up until now, has been sliding. He faced 7 batters yesterday and 5 of them scored. He has not had much success of late, but still Fredi Gonzalez turns to him in the hopes that something will get worked out. Pinto has a 10.33 ERA since the All Star Break. Pitching coach Mark Wiley maintains that Pinto’s mechanics are still sound, but there seems to be some suggestion that he is tiring – Pinto has pitched 63 innings this year. Last year he lead relievers with a league high 58 2/3 innings pitched.
Maybe the Marlins will get everything firing on all cylinders on the road. They have 3 games against the Giants on the opposite coast, far away from bad weather, and then 4 games against the D’Backs. The Marlins will wind things up in Atlanta. Each series presents an opportunity for the Marlins to get back into this race, they will need to focus on themselves and trying to win each series in order to do that. Maybe Paul Lo Duca’s return can help?
It isn’t just the bullpen though – the offense has become anemic. Too many strikeouts and not putting the ball in play will do that to you. Gonzalez asserts the Marlins’ hitters are trying to hit home runs, but others just note the increase of K’s. When looking at the Cardinals series, the Marlins saw a team that can hit the long ball, but was hugely successful in putting the ball in play and limiting their strike outs. The Marlins still have not yet been able to consistently string hits together in bunches, instead relying on the big fly to garner most of their run support. The approach has worked for most of the year, but right now it is hurting the Marlins.
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