Last-night, Jim Johnson earned his 4th win, but that only occurred because he blew his 5th save.
Expecting perfection is not realistic, but Johnson does not get enough K’s to be a closer. His hard-biting sinker makes him perfect in the 8th, but you need a pitcher with the ability to finish hitters in the 9th.
To figure out the 2010 Bullpen, you first have to determine the 2010 Rotation.
Without any additional Free Agents, or Trades; the 2010 Opening Day Rotation currently figures to be:
Guthrie, Matusz, Tillman, Bergesen, Berken / Hernandez
That means the existing internal options for the 2010 Bullpen are:
Tier 1
Johnson
Albers
Ray
Mickolio
Uehara
Berken / Hernandez
Tier 2
Sarfate
Bass
Tier 3
Waters
Meredith
Castillo
McCrory
Henn
The O’s are likely to go with a 7 man bullpen, that includes at-least one lefty. Perhaps Mark Hendrickson returns, perhaps they go looking for an upgrade over internal options like Waters, Castillo, or Henn.
Whomever starts the year as the 5th starter (Berken or Hernandez) is only keeping that spot warm until he is replaced by Jake Arrieta.
Both Berken, and Hernandez figure to spend significant parts of 2010 in the O’s bullpen. Adding those arms, with Uehara; will allow the bullpen to be more rested as the season progresses. More importantly, the projected rotation will be good enough to do the same.
I think the O’s need to consider letting Hernandez or Mickolio start as the Closer from Day 1. I guess it is possible that Ray could reemerge as a candidate if he is all the way back physically and mentally next Spring.
Owner
Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.