Acosta looks good so far, but it is April. I was following yesterday's game, and I saw that 3rd inn. @ 40 pitches w/ him still pitching. I wondered if he had 3 inns. in him. I felt that he was entering no-man's land.
I think it shows that Bobby trusts him and relies on him too much, and that he doesn't trust some of the other guys. That said, most pen guys are 1 or 2 inning guys, and only a few can go 3 or more inns.
Acosta had no place in that last inning. Bobby had burnt a lot of his relievers. Once Gonzalez and Soriano are back, along with Smoltz, that 'pen is unhittable. Acosta in the 6th? Please.
The only problem w/ your thinking is that I've recently come to believe that pitchers out a year or more end up encountering physical difficulties time after time. I feel guys like Sanchez in NY will be in no-man's land after 2 mos. That means Gonzales, Benson, etc. Can you name 1 guy who came back after a full year out to reclaim his previous glory?
Acosta won't be a 6th guy, not w/ the pen being used almost daily. Soriano has nasty stuff, but even Cy Young wasn't unhitable.
Great list. I wasn't expecting you; but, now that you're here, I'll clarify my statement, which I didn't at the time.
What my thinking was is that the pitcher misses a full year, and returns to his former role upon his return. In other words, a 200-inn. starter returns after missing a year, and pitches 200 inns. A major piece in the pen returns after missing a year, and produces Saves, Holds, innings and appearances of the same quantity and quality.
My point was that the pen guy would be good for 2 mos. B4 having problems like Sanchez and Gonzales, and after 100 inns. like Benson. A guy that pitches for 2 mos. out of the pen, or 100 inns. as a starter probably comes back the following year or two to full strength.
I'll comment on all the guys you mentioned. I've checked the 1st 4 already.
Boyer has great pitches and at times does have great stuff. I do think some of it was just hitters giving him good at bats but something I have noticed is Boyer sometimes seems to ignore scouting reports for some hitters. He is a bit of a bullheaded pitcher. He will throw his pitch no matter if the hitter sits dead red on 100% of the time. I think as the season progresses he will get better. I do not think though he will be very big for us this year in the clutch.
B.J. Ryan, anyone? I know it's May, but he looks like he's okay. I could foresee something similar for Mike Gonzalez. If I was in a happy mood. LOL. But seriously, from reading news about his recovery for 10 monthes, I think he'll be okay. Heck, he wasn't supposed to be back 'till the AS break, so he could have a set back and still beat that.
Today is a great example of how well Boyer pitches---when he has a huge lead. With a six run lead, he pitched a perfect 8th. He still needs to learn to compete when things are tight. He has the stuff...is Bobby building is confidence by getting him some success in less critical situations? Probably. Does he have great stuff? Definetly. But he has to learn to compete. If and when he does, he can be lights out in all situations. Until then, be prepared to be driven crazy by him some more...
