Byle Bendrick

by jonk on Apr 10, 2008 5:33 AM EDT

Sorry buddy, but with a line like this,

2.1IP

1ER

6BB

71P-36S

you no longer are allowed to have the initials KK but rather BB. So far this year, Bendrick has thrown 7.1 innings with just 1 strikeout, pitcher Josh Fogg. The signs were there last year with just 49Ks in 121 innings. The walks were something I did not expect, but it looked like he was afraid to let them hit his pitch since he knew that they weren't going to miss.

In general, it is way too early to raise a red flag after the second game of the season, and I am still willing to give Bendrick a chance. However, I felt last year was a mirage and that he was going to need to significantly raise his strikeout rate to have any sort of sucess at the majors. A lot has been talked about his maturity, but does it really matter if you can't get guys out?

The real issue here is that we don't have anyone to even replace him if he continues to pitch as he did yesterday. If you do replace him, is it temporary or are you looking to bring up a prospect, hoping he fills that spot which then would leave Bendrick in the minors the entire year. I give him until the end of April to see if he can reacquire last year's magic. But, by then, who knows if you need to replace another starter in our rotation.

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have hope!

didnt we not have anyone to replace freddy garcia when he went down, though? have hope! someone will save us

by char6587 on Apr 10, 2008 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

back of rotation

Maybe it'll work out and they win tonight, but the matchups in this Mets series perfectly crystallize what I see as the team's biggest flaw through the early going. They run out two 15-game winners and a kid with great stuff; we counter with a 45 year-old who can't break wind with his fastball, a 23 year-old with no out pitch, and Adam Eaton.

I go back and forth between incomprehension that they didn't do more beyond wishful thinking to fortify the rotation, and reluctant understanding that, say, paying $48 million for Carlos Silva might not have been a great idea either. But there were trades to be made and of course, as I'm evidently obligated to write every two days or so, Lohse was hanging out there forever.

by dajafi on Apr 10, 2008 12:04 PM EDT reply actions