1 of 1- Max
- Colby Rasmus
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- From: Pacific Northwest
- Registered: 9/07/2010
- Posts: 5,269
"I need to pitch" . . .
. . . like pigs need to fly.
Oh my God, Franklin is not going to go quietly into that good night, and that will make it much harder for us to move on and improve. Given Franklin's determination to stay, I hope I am wrong about this, but it seems like it's over for him.
- artie_fufkin
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- From: God's Little Acre
- Registered: 9/08/2010
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Re: "I need to pitch" . . .
And the Cardinals need to win baseball games. The two things seem to be incongruous at the moment.
- APIAD
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- From: Central IL
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- Posts: 11,096
Re: "I need to pitch" . . .
He should just be happy to be on a major league roster. I believe him pitching through this is the only way he is able to stay in the league but the Cardinals cant drop games just because it might help Ryan Franklin's career. If he wants to pitch he needs to take a trip to the 15 day DL and try a rehab stint in the minors. Right now he cant be trusted with the game on the line and the Cardinals dont owe him a thing. Nobody would know who Ryan Franklin is if the Cardinals didnt try him a closer.
- Max
- Colby Rasmus
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Re: "I need to pitch" . . .
APRTW wrote:
I believe him pitching through this is the only way he is able to stay in the league but the Cardinals cant drop games just because it might help Ryan Franklin's career.
That's it, in a nutshell, and it makes Ryan Franklin look very selfish. I am not sure why Moz made a public defense of him, which in effect, could be seen as a public encouragement to LaRussa put Franklin into the game more often, and seemingly in the closer role, too.
Maybe what Moz should have done was to have looked him in the eye and showed Franklin evidence of his ineffectiveness: for each inning he pitches he is giving up nearly one run, allowing nearly two runners to reach base, allowing a third of all batters to get a base hit, a home run nearly every other inning he pitches, and has 4 walks to 3 strikeouts.
I agree with AP, if he needs to pitch it should not be for the major league team under these circumstances, and I am a bit curious as to what Moz is up to here.
ERA: 8.68
WHIP: 1.93
BAA: .333
BB: 4
K: 3
IP: 9.1
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Thread Starter- APIAD
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- From: Central IL
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Re: "I need to pitch" . . .
Mo is worried he is going to have to make a move for a closer. He doesnt want to do that. First off he has to convince DeWitt to spend money. Closers arent easy to find either and you normally overpay. The Cardinals are not in the position to part with top propects if they expect to keep Pujols. Plus this closer by committe thing almost never works over the course of the season. The best situation would be if Franklin's luck would have lasted another year. Mo is just avoiding a problem.
- Max
- Colby Rasmus
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- Registered: 9/07/2010
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Re: "I need to pitch" . . .
That sounds like a good analysis, but I think his greater worry should be that by leaving Franklin in his role, that the team would be unsuccessful and Mo's job would be in jeopardy.
But you're point gets me to thinking about PYA. What a clever trick it would be if Mo's point in doing this works along these lines:
1. Mo knows Franklin is not doing well, does not deserve to pitch, and that La Russa is unlikely to play him regardless of what Mo says.
2. Mo knows that successful teams usually have a closer and do not have a closer by committee.
3. Thus, by voicing support for a scenario he is pretty sure won't happen (i.e. La Russa plugs Franklin right back into the closer role), Mo protects his ass if the team is unsuccessful in reaching the playoffs: "The problem is that successful teams need a closer and La Russa pulled the plug on Franklin too quickly."
Just a thought . . .
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