Comments on: Who’ll Be the Fifth Man?

By: Norm

Norm — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 05:33:27 +0000

Yeah, I remembered as soon as I read about the Carrasco injury. Any chance of signing someone not currently on the roster (Roy Oswalt)?

By: SeattleStu

SeattleStu — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 20:51:27 +0000

now chubby chris perez has hurt himself, endangering his status for opening day….we are cursed….on the plus side, his heart attack saves wont torment me in april…..

By: jigboy

jigboy — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 06:53:54 +0000

Thanks for all the well wishes, means a lot!

As for Slowey, I dug into his stats and I was caught a little of guard at how few innings he has pitched. His highest innings total per season was 160 innings and it looks like he has a k ratio of about .7 per inning pitched. Not great but not bad. I am a little concerned with his durability as well as his high BAA. His career BAA is .285 over 532 innings pitched so the sample size is more than enough. With that being said he reminds me a lot of Jeremy Sowers. Pitches to contact but doesnt have overwhelming stuff. If he’s hitting his spots we should be good as our D will back him up. However, with a high 80′s, low 90′s fastball and average stuff his BABIP could soar. Hopefully he mimics Sowers good year.

By: medfest

medfest — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 20:13:23 +0000

I like the Tribe’s depth at starting pitching a lot.Most of the guys vying for spots have at some level of success(and failure) at the major league level.you can never have enough pitching that’s why a guy like Carmona/Hernandez (Carmandez?Hernona?) still has value.

Jigboy ,keep your head down and your gun clean son!

By: Will McIlroy

Will McIlroy — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:03:20 +0000

Jigboy, appreciate your service. A thankless but needed task.

Agree, its should be Slowey or Gomez. Always liked Slowey with the Twins and he could be more than capable. Gomez pitched well late and should have more respect from the organization. He’s a 5-6 inning guy who probably doesn’t wear well a third or fourth time through the lineup but generally keeps us in the game.

The same can not be said for Huff or McAllister. Fringe, AAAA guys.Keep in mind Barnes may be ready by mid season as well.

By: Susan Petrone

Susan Petrone — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:56:57 +0000

Jigboy, glad we could bring a bit of home to you. I’m willing to believe that Slowey’s 2011 was an aberration. As you said, if he can keep his ERA in the low 4s (dare we hope for the upper 3s) and win a dozen or so games for us, I’d be happy for him to be the #5 man. And I’m not counting Gomez out either. He’s slowly but consistently been improving (as you hope a young pitcher will). That counts for a lot. Bring on the spring training games.

By: Susan Petrone

Susan Petrone — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 12:43:53 +0000

I like Carrasco too, but he had Tommy John surgery in September 2011 and isn’t scheduled to return until the 2013 season. Here’s hoping his recovery goes well.

By: Norm

Norm — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:31:56 +0000

Sorry, haven’t been paying too much attention during the off-season, but why isn’t Carrasco in the conversation. I would easily take him over any of the others listed above.

By: jigboy

jigboy — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 05:30:18 +0000

Just started reading your blog and its been a huge morale boost. Currently deployed to Afghanistan and a huge tribe fan. As for the 5th starter I’d agree with you. I like Slowey and Gomez as our 5th. If I remember correctly, Slowey was the Twins #3 pitcher in their rotation so hopefully he gets back to his bread and butter. Should help that he’s comfortable in all the parks in the AL central and out of Coors Field. A good season for him would be 13-11 with an ERA in the low 4s and a WHIP around 1.3. I’d take that from a #5 SP everyday of the week. As much as Carmona was good, he really sucked when he was off and we never had a chance in his bad games. I feel as though most of our SPs will give us at least a chance and not bury us under 7 runs in the first 2 innings.