Anyone who knows anything about Ed Wade will first think of his affinity for bullpens. The Astros general manager, formerly of the Philadelphia Phillies, is known to base much of his strategy around bullpens, and did just this when he took the job in Houston.
Wade's strategy is very clear, and it involves a deep bullpen because of his belief that every bullpen is full of its disappointments. Building around this expectation helps to maintain depth in a department that is crucial to a team's success. The problem with this strategy is the enormous price tag that it comes at.
The Astros are paying over $18 million in salaries to their bullpen pitchers in 2009. The only team comparable to the Astros here are the defending champion Phillies. To the Phillies, this makes sense since they won a World Series with such a talented bullpen, but teams with more success than the Astros are paying considerably less than the Astros are. The Dodgers and Cardinals, for example, are paying $7.2 million and $6.2 million respectively. This is the difference between one or two exceptional players.
To be fair, I don't think Wade planned it to work out this way. His idea last winter was to trade Valverde after he had already re-signed Brocail and Hawkins, probably believing the two would compete for the closer job in spring training. When the economy collapsed and no market seemed to exist for Valverde, last year's NL save leader, Wade decided it was smarter to keep him and bite the bullet financially. That decision had a trickle effect that cost the Astros Wolf and Ty Wigginton. I'm not arguing here that Wade made the wrong decision, only that those were the cards he chose to play.
You would think with an $18 million dollar bullpen, they would pitch like gangbusters, but that hasn't exactly been the case. Through Wednesday, the Astros' relief corps has a 4.28 ERA. They are ninth in saves and next-to-last in blown saves and save percentage (only Washington is worse). All the key members have spent at least part of the season on the disabled list. Part of the problem traces to Cecil Cooper, who seems to treat his bullpen pitchers like a drunk treats whiskey bottles. He goes to them early and often until they are all used up and, even then, he checks them periodically to see if he can coax one more drop from them.
Cooper has irresponsibly used many of the team's relievers, most notably LaTroy Hawkins and Chris Sampson. During the first three months of the season, Cooper showed little regard for their potential fatigue, and this resulted in injuries on the part of both players last month.
There's much debate as to whether a team is better off spending its money on one great starting pitcher or on a few capable relievers. While both situations have their ups and downs, it seems that in this case, the Astros need to make a decisive move in one direction; either slim down the bullpen or continue building toward a stronger one.
Wandy Rodriguez is going to cost a lot more next year although Bud Norris could provide financial relief for a few years if he plays as well as his early results suggest. If Felipe Paulino or Yorman Bazardo earn a starting job, that will be two slots in the rotation than can be savings-friendly. If that works out, maybe the Astros can afford to keep Valverde for another year. Keep in mind that Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn will be due nice raises for 2009 and Ivan Rodriguez will surely cost more if he comes back next year. Who knows if Miguel Tejada is staying and at what price? Through all of it, another $18 million dollar bullpen seems both unlikely and unreasonable, especially with the results they provided us this season.
Seeing Ed Wade's track record, he may very well opt to continue focusing on the bullpen.
Wade's strategy is very clear, and it involves a deep bullpen because of his belief that every bullpen is full of its disappointments. Building around this expectation helps to maintain depth in a department that is crucial to a team's success. The problem with this strategy is the enormous price tag that it comes at.
The Astros are paying over $18 million in salaries to their bullpen pitchers in 2009. The only team comparable to the Astros here are the defending champion Phillies. To the Phillies, this makes sense since they won a World Series with such a talented bullpen, but teams with more success than the Astros are paying considerably less than the Astros are. The Dodgers and Cardinals, for example, are paying $7.2 million and $6.2 million respectively. This is the difference between one or two exceptional players.
To be fair, I don't think Wade planned it to work out this way. His idea last winter was to trade Valverde after he had already re-signed Brocail and Hawkins, probably believing the two would compete for the closer job in spring training. When the economy collapsed and no market seemed to exist for Valverde, last year's NL save leader, Wade decided it was smarter to keep him and bite the bullet financially. That decision had a trickle effect that cost the Astros Wolf and Ty Wigginton. I'm not arguing here that Wade made the wrong decision, only that those were the cards he chose to play.
You would think with an $18 million dollar bullpen, they would pitch like gangbusters, but that hasn't exactly been the case. Through Wednesday, the Astros' relief corps has a 4.28 ERA. They are ninth in saves and next-to-last in blown saves and save percentage (only Washington is worse). All the key members have spent at least part of the season on the disabled list. Part of the problem traces to Cecil Cooper, who seems to treat his bullpen pitchers like a drunk treats whiskey bottles. He goes to them early and often until they are all used up and, even then, he checks them periodically to see if he can coax one more drop from them.
Cooper has irresponsibly used many of the team's relievers, most notably LaTroy Hawkins and Chris Sampson. During the first three months of the season, Cooper showed little regard for their potential fatigue, and this resulted in injuries on the part of both players last month.
There's much debate as to whether a team is better off spending its money on one great starting pitcher or on a few capable relievers. While both situations have their ups and downs, it seems that in this case, the Astros need to make a decisive move in one direction; either slim down the bullpen or continue building toward a stronger one.
Wandy Rodriguez is going to cost a lot more next year although Bud Norris could provide financial relief for a few years if he plays as well as his early results suggest. If Felipe Paulino or Yorman Bazardo earn a starting job, that will be two slots in the rotation than can be savings-friendly. If that works out, maybe the Astros can afford to keep Valverde for another year. Keep in mind that Hunter Pence and Michael Bourn will be due nice raises for 2009 and Ivan Rodriguez will surely cost more if he comes back next year. Who knows if Miguel Tejada is staying and at what price? Through all of it, another $18 million dollar bullpen seems both unlikely and unreasonable, especially with the results they provided us this season.
Seeing Ed Wade's track record, he may very well opt to continue focusing on the bullpen.
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