All Things Bubba: Closing Time?

Saturday, April 28, 2007

The Reds have no closer, and it's cost them. But they may have come up with an answer. Today, they announced that the much-maligned Rheal Cormier has been DFA'd, and Brad Salmon called up from Louisville. Salmon, a hard thrower, might be a closer candidate.

They also announced that one of the PTBNLs they are getting from Oakland for Denorfia is Marcus McBeth. A surprisingly valuable player for this deal, IMO. McBeth is expected to be a closer. But Oakland already has Huston Street, who is three years younger. So they don't really need McBeth. Similarly, the Reds don't really need Denorfia, with Hamilton and Hopper on the roster. This sounds like a good move for all parties involved, including the players.

McBeth is expected to report to the Bats tomorrow. No roster move needed, since Salmon has been called up to the big club.

I guess Bubba's still on the DL. The Bats are playing a doubleheader in Syracuse today, and Bubba is not in the lineup of either game.

The Yanks' nightmare week continues. The first batter Karstens faced hit a comebacker that hit him in the knee. He wasn't seriously hurt, but they didn't want to take any chances, and pulled him. So Igawa, relegated to the pen, suddenly became a starter again today.

However...he's doing very well, surprisingly. (Knock on wood.) Maybe this will turn out to be a blessing in disguise.

posted by BubbaFan, 4:07 PM

3 Comments:

I've got a way to help the Yanks out overnight, and put some life into them: Sign Bernie Williams immediately, even if he just pinch hits once a week. Take your pick on who to either send down or DFA. (I'd say Phelps.)

I don't think that would help. The Yanks are fine, hitting-wise. Yeah, some of them are slumping, but they are still among the top run-scoring teams in the league. The problem is pitching. Unless Bernie can pitch, he won't be any help.

Even if the Yanks did need another bat, I wouldn't sign Bernie. He's fine used as a pinch-hitter, but the Yankees' bench is already so inflexible, the last thing we need is a player who can only pinch-hit. And Torre can't be trusted to use Bernie correctly. If he's on the roster, you know he's going to be in the outfield. Probably every day.

I would not DFA Phelps. He's played very well - better than Melky or Minky. And he's Rule 5. He has to stay on the 25-man roster all season, or he goes back to Baltimore. Baltimore would be very happy, because they planned to use him this year.

If we did need to make room on the roster, I'd send Melky down. He's really struggling. I predicted this would happen. He played every day last year, with no pressure. No one was expecting much, and Joe was committed to using him every day no matter how he hit.

This year, he's in the same position Bubba and so many other players have been in over the years. Not much playing time, and when he does get playing time, there's tremendous pressure to get a big hit.

Melky would be better off playing every day in the minors. Hitting well off the bench is not something young players can do well. Bubba, with years of experience on him, still struggles with it.

sounds like melky is the new bubba