Friday, April 18, 2008

The Yovanni Decision...

Friday morning is a great time for a little armchair GM debate. The topic today: Yovanni's comeback this Sunday and the resulting pitching staff change. Baseball Prospectus essentially states that it's a toss up as to who is going to get moved.

Adam McCalvy lays it out right here in this article with the 3 possible options.
Essentially they are:
-Send Bush to the pen (or maybe send him down)
-Send Carlos to the pen (Bush stays in the rotation)
-Send Carlos or Parry to Triple A (Bush stays in rotation)

First of all, a few comments:
-Carlos is not going to Triple A. He is up here for good.
-I strongly don't believe that Dave Bush will be sent to Triple A. Even though he is having the worst year so far out any Brewer if we measure by VORP, his recent quality start probably saved his spot in the rotation. Ned Yost doesn't pull the strings on a guy who has averaged 200 innings the last 2 years.
-I also don't think that any 1 of these 3 guys are going to end up in the bullpen. It appears that management is dedicated this season to letting starters start, whether it be at up in the Show or in Nashville. Melvin loooooooooves starting pitching depth.

So what option fits all these comments? Parra going down to Triple A. This is where I thought he was going to start the year anyway (before Yo's injury). I know everybody really pounds Bush (trust me, I'm not saying he's a superstar), but it's not like Parra is lighting it up either.

The whole "not having a lefty in the rotation" may be the only thing that saves Parra. But I personally think he is going to be sent down. The decision is not clear-cut, but I do believe Bush should get the nod (right now) over Parra.

The good news? Starting pitching depth. If Parra goes down, Nashville's starting five is:
-Action Jackson
-Narveson
-Jeff Weaver (still chuckling about that)
-Parra
-Some guy named Lindsay

Keep the Bush bashing to a minimum. What do you guys think should be done?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Until Parra's performance yesterday, I was hopeful that Bush would go to the pen. Now I'm not so sure.

I still wonder if Turnbow is on his way out via trade - they just called up Stetter giving them 13 pitchers on the roster even before Yo comes off the DL. That means likely 2 pitchers need to go somewhere before Sunday.

Anonymous said...

They can limit Parra's innings better in AAA as well, so I wouldn't be surprised if that is the move.

If the option is to send one of the 3 guys to the pen, I'd hope that they send Carlos to the pen. I'm sick of hearing that Bush was a closer in college; you have no idea what your going to get from that guy if he goes to the pen. At least Villy proved that he could be effective in that role last year. That sounds like a sfaer bet.

They need to do some house cleaning with position players as well. When TGjr & Cameron come back, there's a lotta guys competeing for 25 spots....

Any chance we could get some prospects from someone by trading Turnbow/Gross?

Anonymous said...

You said Bush bashing.

Anonymous said...

What a great set of problems to have. Sure beats the days of relying on Cal Eldred as your number 1.

Anonymous said...

Bush is a near guaranteed loss. Villy and Parra are both struggling. That's not a good problem.

I'm completely mystified by who becomes fan favorites. "Jenksy could strike out ten times in a row, but you could always count on defenders on talk radio and the tubes of the internets. Capuano blows but there are a lot of people hoping he comes back. Matt Wise was another. And now Bush. Why? The team has to win in order to qualify for the playoffs. An 84 mph fastball? How bizarre. Off speed pitches in the 60s. Why?