More Roster Moves
Rumor has it that Hudson will be the latest starter to go on the DL, with a recurrence of the oblique strain that put him on the shelf last year. Here we go again. The Braves may bring up Chuck James to take his place in the rotation, which would leave Billy McCarthy and Jeff Francoeur as our only remaining minor league players.
Jim Brower has also arrived, fresh from being released by the Giants just one-half season removed from two good years in their bullpen. His ERA this year is a robust 6.53, suggesting that heavy usage last season (89 games) may have caught up with him. But there are some good indicators hidden in the numbers. His K/9 is 7.42, which would place him second on the Braves staff behind Davies. Also his BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) is .377, so he might have been a bit unlucky so far. On the other hand, giving up 5 HRs in 30.1 innings would be evidence that he's just getting hammered. All in all, he stands a good chance of being an upgrade, and is far preferable to other castoffs such as Danny Graves.
Expect Brower to replace Hudson on the active roster, with James being called up to make a start on Saturday. He'll replace Boyer or Vasquez -- it couldn't possibly matter less which one.
UPDATE: Pete says that the plan is now to start Sosa and Davies on 3 days rest, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The off-day on Monday then allows everyone full rest. This strikes me as a very bad idea -- Davies has had two bad starts in a row after throwing 119 pitches on June 4, and Sosa hasn't been in starter shape. Why risk further injury for the dubious honor of keeping Boyer and Vasquez? Hopefully they'll change their mind and bring up James instead.
Jim Brower has also arrived, fresh from being released by the Giants just one-half season removed from two good years in their bullpen. His ERA this year is a robust 6.53, suggesting that heavy usage last season (89 games) may have caught up with him. But there are some good indicators hidden in the numbers. His K/9 is 7.42, which would place him second on the Braves staff behind Davies. Also his BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) is .377, so he might have been a bit unlucky so far. On the other hand, giving up 5 HRs in 30.1 innings would be evidence that he's just getting hammered. All in all, he stands a good chance of being an upgrade, and is far preferable to other castoffs such as Danny Graves.
Expect Brower to replace Hudson on the active roster, with James being called up to make a start on Saturday. He'll replace Boyer or Vasquez -- it couldn't possibly matter less which one.
UPDATE: Pete says that the plan is now to start Sosa and Davies on 3 days rest, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The off-day on Monday then allows everyone full rest. This strikes me as a very bad idea -- Davies has had two bad starts in a row after throwing 119 pitches on June 4, and Sosa hasn't been in starter shape. Why risk further injury for the dubious honor of keeping Boyer and Vasquez? Hopefully they'll change their mind and bring up James instead.
posted by Sam Bass | 3:24 PM
1 Comments:
I worry that bringing up James would be rushing him...did he not start this year at Rome? Sosa would only be expected to go five, and Davies should be fresh (by now) after his two bad outings. He pitched VERY well on three days rest after his first outing in the bigs earlier this year
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