New Closer

Mak · Post #1 » by **Mak** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:14 pm

Who should be our new closer? I will be very upset if they give BJ another chance and he blows it. BJ should not pitch in close games until he gets his **** together or gets waived.

This really sucks, our closer is our worst pitcher by far.

s e n s i · Post #2 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:15 pm

Option his ass to Triple-A Vegas.

4 RUN LEAD, with NOBODY ON and TWO OUTS. Why?

ghuytro · Post #3 » by **ghuytro** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:16 pm

What's the story on Accardo?

s e n s i · Post #4 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:16 pm

ghuytro wrote:What's the story on Accardo?

AAA Vegas.

evilRyu · Post #5 » by **evilRyu** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:16 pm

maybe BJ and Marcus Banks should hook up in Vegas.....

we need a new closer now......

evilRyu · Post #6 » by **evilRyu** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:17 pm

also, it wasn't even a save situation when Ryan came in (it was a 4 run lead)....

Mak · Post #7 » by **Mak** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:18 pm

This is his last year, correct?

s e n s i · Post #8 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:19 pm

Nearly cost Doc the W.

Until he can pick up his velocity a mph or two, I really don't think he should be handed the ball in game-ending scenarios anymore. Give him some innings in middle-relief where there is less pressure, see how he performs.

Bank Shot · Post #9 » by **Bank Shot** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:20 pm

Move Downs back to the 9th for now and have someone else fill in the 8th. Maybe Frasor.

Michael Bradley · Post #10 » by **Michael Bradley** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:23 pm

If it is not injury related, then something is seriously wrong with Ryan's mechanics. Maybe he needs to work with Arnsberg. He was actually pretty decent last season. He will likely never be his 2006 form ever again, but even his 2008 form would be good enough. Whatever it is, hopefully he can work it out because the bullpen is what will keep the Jays semi-competitive this season. A good BJ Ryan is very valuable.

I think Cito will give him more chances (Gaston doesn't like to mess with a player's confidence), but I too would consider using him in lower leverage spots, making sure he is OK, before putting him in a 1-run game any time soon. This problem goes back to Spring Training.

As far as who would close if Ryan is out, it would likely be Downs. Carlson would takes Downs' role, and Frasor would move up in the pecking order. That is my best guess.

TorontoSF · Post #11 » by **TorontoSF** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:37 pm

Michael Bradley wrote:If it is not injury related, then something is seriously wrong with Ryan's mechanics. Maybe he needs to work with Arnsberg. He was actually pretty decent last season. He will likely never be his 2006 form ever again, but even his 2008 form would be good enough. Whatever it is, hopefully he can work it out because the bullpen is what will keep the Jays semi-competitive this season. A good BJ Ryan is very valuable.

I think Cito will give him more chances (Gaston doesn't like to mess with a player's confidence), but I too would consider using him in lower leverage spots, making sure he is OK, before putting him in a 1-run game any time soon. This problem goes back to Spring Training.

As far as who would close if Ryan is out, it would likely be Downs. Carlson would takes Downs' role, and Frasor would move up in the pecking order. That is my best guess.

I disagree, BJ wasn't very good last year. He got the job done, but barely, many times he would load the bases, then get a double play to end it. Hung on by a thread, and a ball hit a couple feet to either side would have cost him a save. He would walk a ton of people and was pretty lucky to not have blown at least 4 more saves.

Now I don't think Cito is going to give him another chance in a end of game situation until he gets his act together, if that ever happens. So for now I say we give the job to Downs, even though I really like him as a setup guy. Give the job to him for now, see if BJ can improve and get back into form. If that doesn't happen I would eventually designate him for assignment, cause we have major depth in our bullpen, and there is no reason to keep him here even though we would still have to pay his salary. Accardo could be called up eventually, seeing how he does in AAA.

Garmfay · Post #12 » by **Garmfay** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:38 pm

Mak wrote:This is his last year, correct?

Nope we are stuck with him for 2010

BasketballAbyss · Post #13 » by **BasketballAbyss** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:48 pm

Downs or Frasor should be the closer. I'm actually leaning toward Frasor to be honest, mainly because he's had some success in the past being a closer (his rookie year IIRC) and his newly developed change up is really nasty. I kind of like having Downs as the set-up man, but either one would be better choices than BJ at the moment.

Here's how I see the bullpen:

Closer: Downs/Frasor

Set up man: Downs/Frasor

7 inning man: League

Lefty specialist: Carlson

Righty specialist: Camp

Long relief: Tallet, Camp, Carlson, and BJ until he get's his **** together.

Michael Bradley · Post #14 » by **Michael Bradley** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 8:57 pm

TorontoSF wrote:I disagree, BJ wasn't very good last year. He got the job done, but barely, many times he would load the bases, then get a double play to end it. Hung on by a thread, and a ball hit a couple feet to either side would have cost him a save. He would walk a ton of people and was pretty lucky to not have blown at least 4 more saves.

Now I don't think Cito is going to give him another chance in a end of game situation until he gets his act together, if that ever happens. So for now I say we give the job to Downs, even though I really like him as a setup guy. Give the job to him for now, see if BJ can improve and get back into form. If that doesn't happen I would eventually designate him for assignment, cause we have major depth in our bullpen, and there is no reason to keep him here even though we would still have to pay his salary. Accardo could be called up eventually, seeing how he does in AAA.

2.95 ERA, 58.0 IP, 46 H, 28 BB, 58 K, 32 SV, 145 ERA+

Ryan's 2008 numbers were pretty good. Considering he had Tommy John Surgery in April 2007, that makes his numbers even more impressive since it usually takes a year of pitching (after one year off) in order to get your control back. The high walk total was expected coming off surgery, but he limited hits/home runs and struck out a batter per inning. As far as baserunners, his WHIP was 1.28. By comparison, Francisco Rodriguez (3rd in Cy Young voting) had a WHIP of 1.29. Ryan was not the elite level closer he used to be, but certainly good.

How Ryan has performed this season is what I would have expected from him last season. The fact that he has already thrown a season's worth of innings after TJS and now is losing velocity and missing the strike zone is very troubling. Maybe they worked him too hard last season.

Peteros · Post #15 » by **Peteros** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:00 pm

What about Brandon League as our closer?

zilby · Post #16 » by **zilby** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:38 pm

Peteros wrote:What about Brandon League as our closer?

he walked a guy on 4 pitches nowhere near the plate to load the bases in a critical moment, and then hit a guy to tie the game. do the math from there

s e n s i · Post #17 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:40 pm

zilby wrote:
Peteros wrote:What about Brandon League as our closer?

he walked a guy on 4 pitches nowhere near the plate to load the bases in a critical moment, and then hit a guy to tie the game. do the math from there

zilby ftw.

zilby · Post #18 » by **zilby** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:43 pm

chocolateSensi wrote:
zilby wrote:
Peteros wrote:What about Brandon League as our closer?

he walked a guy on 4 pitches nowhere near the plate to load the bases in a critical moment, and then hit a guy to tie the game. do the math from there

zilby ftw.

and you should still be a mod.

s e n s i · Post #19 » by **s e n s i** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:51 pm

Hey zilby, delete 'Blue Jays Forum' from your sig, and copy and paste this into there instead. Except just delete the bolded "X" before url. That way there is a direct link to the Jays forum in your sig.

[Xurl=http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=123]Blue Jays Forum[/url]

zilby · Post #20 » by **zilby** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 9:59 pm

chocolateSensi wrote:Hey zilby, delete 'Blue Jays Forum' from your sig, and copy and paste this into there instead. Except just delete the bolded "X" before url. That way there is a direct link to the Jays forum in your sig.

[Xurl=http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewforum.php?f=123]Blue Jays Forum[/url]

thanks dude. and i never learned what ftw was.