In the midst of another Giants' loss (6-3 loss to the Braves), we once again witnessed a terrible performance by Todd Wellemeyer. This was his first chance at the long relief role, and frankly, it should be his last. Of the 4 hitters he faced, every single one got a hit. Meanwhile, due to a short bench, Bochy had to use Matt Cain to pinch hit for Jonathan Sanchez in the 5th inning. Who knows what would've happened if Todd Wellemeyer wasn't Todd Wellemeyer, but instead, a hitter on the bench. Then we wouldn't have to rely on Matt Cain, who's batting below .100, to pinch hit. Not to mention, we wouldn't be risking the loss of our most consistent pitcher (let's not forget what happened to Dan Runzler when he tried to hit in Milwaukee...he's still on the disabled list). Also, instead of using Wellemeyer to pitch in the 5th inning, we could've used one of our other bullpen guys - for example, Santiago Casilla, who relieved Wellemeyer today and gave up 0 ER and just 1 hit in 2 innings. At this point, Wellemeyer offers absolutely nothing to the Giants. We have a great pitching staff, so the chances that we'll need a guy to eat up innings in the bullpen are slim. Even when our pitchers aren't pitching well, they usually keep us in the game. No need to give up these games by using Wellemeyer. Let's just keep an extra hitter on the bench, at least until Affeldt or Runzler returns. Then we can re-evaluate our situation. After all, it's only a few weeks until the rosters expand. For now though, a hitter, like Jesus Guzman for example (who projects to hit .269/.319/.405 in the majors for what it's worth...), would be of significantly more value to the Giants than Todd Wellemeyer. Guzman is hitting .382 over his last 10 games in AAA.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Todd Wellemeyer is Terrible
In the midst of another Giants' loss (6-3 loss to the Braves), we once again witnessed a terrible performance by Todd Wellemeyer. This was his first chance at the long relief role, and frankly, it should be his last. Of the 4 hitters he faced, every single one got a hit. Meanwhile, due to a short bench, Bochy had to use Matt Cain to pinch hit for Jonathan Sanchez in the 5th inning. Who knows what would've happened if Todd Wellemeyer wasn't Todd Wellemeyer, but instead, a hitter on the bench. Then we wouldn't have to rely on Matt Cain, who's batting below .100, to pinch hit. Not to mention, we wouldn't be risking the loss of our most consistent pitcher (let's not forget what happened to Dan Runzler when he tried to hit in Milwaukee...he's still on the disabled list). Also, instead of using Wellemeyer to pitch in the 5th inning, we could've used one of our other bullpen guys - for example, Santiago Casilla, who relieved Wellemeyer today and gave up 0 ER and just 1 hit in 2 innings. At this point, Wellemeyer offers absolutely nothing to the Giants. We have a great pitching staff, so the chances that we'll need a guy to eat up innings in the bullpen are slim. Even when our pitchers aren't pitching well, they usually keep us in the game. No need to give up these games by using Wellemeyer. Let's just keep an extra hitter on the bench, at least until Affeldt or Runzler returns. Then we can re-evaluate our situation. After all, it's only a few weeks until the rosters expand. For now though, a hitter, like Jesus Guzman for example (who projects to hit .269/.319/.405 in the majors for what it's worth...), would be of significantly more value to the Giants than Todd Wellemeyer. Guzman is hitting .382 over his last 10 games in AAA.