Rotation Battle 2.0 -- Latest: Suppan Named 5th Starter

[logan82]

Stetter has 2 options left. You might be thinking of Parra or Narveson.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

Has it ever been explained why Suppan is being activated for the game tomorrow when they really don't need a 5th starter until the 24th or 25th (iirc). Wouldn't it make the most sense to have your newly signed ace going against a division rival's ace instead of a bad pitcher coming off 3 plus weeks of not facing MLB hitters? It seems too simple that I must be missing something.

[TooLiveBrew]

Please see this post. There is absolutely no reason why Gallardo shouldn't be going on normal rest against a division rival later today.

[brewizard]

I'm soooo frustrated and disappointed already. I had the worst feeling about this team... After expressing a great deal of displeasure last season, and getting reamed for it by many here, I've tried to keep my mouth shut around here. However, I can't help myself. This is exactly what I saw coming... Sharpie has lost his edge. Wolfie don't bite. And Soup is cold. Ugh.

[Nottso]

Why must we have a LOOGY at all, if we have 2 left-handers that can come in to face that tough LH batter, and then stay in the game? If they're good enough to be starters and face both LH and RH batters, or good enough to be long relievers and face LH and RH batters, why can't they be your LOOGY+ guy? (Look, Mom, I invented a word: LOOGY+) This would actually save wear and tear on the 'pen in general. Instead of Stetter coming in for one batter, then using another bullpen arm (if not several more bullpen arms), LOOGY+ comes in for that tough LH batter, and then hopefully takes you all the way to Hoffman.

 

Maybe those guys that Mr. Attanasio pays all that money to might not be so dumb after all.

 

Oh.... and I hereby Trademark LOOGY+. Free to use here on BF.Net, but if it catches on elsewhere, I'm gonna need stuff.

[jhart05]

"Why must we have a LOOGY at all."

 

 

You don't. Neither Narveson or Parra, will be used in the taditional "LOOGY" or even "LOOGY+" role.

[brewmann04]

Well i guess Suppan stellar history and Spring training results got him this well deserved spot in the rotation.

Guess we have have to give at least 2 starts before we call for his head.

[joepepsi]

Suppan will get more than 2 starts. He'll get 5-6 starts even if he's really terrible. If he mixes in a couple QS, you can bet he'll be in the rotation until mid-June.

[sheethead]

I think Suppan is gone if he blows up three consecutive times. Mark A. will cut bait if he is an embarrassment, which is pretty much a certainty to happen unless Suppan gets lucky.

[GAME05]

i get the mild impression that a small handful of people are almost rooting for Suppan to stink in today's game. it would validate the "Suppan sucks" comments and further justify wanting him off the team.

[JohnBriggs12]

Suppan will get more than 5 starts. He'll get 5-6 starts even if he's really terrible. If he mixes in a couple QS, you can bet he'll be in the rotation until mid-June.

That's my thinking too joe. You have to hope that like today, Parra is well rested for each of Suppan's starts so that Macha can get him out of there quickly if he needs to. You can also hope that Suppan doesn't compound things by walking people. Because then it turns 3-4 runs over 4-5 innings into 8 or 9.

 

I'm also thinking that if it takes to June to release Suppan, there's a real possibility they'll have more than Narveson and Parra to choose from to replace him as several guys are off to good starts in Nashville and Huntsville.

[Invader3K]

i get the mild impression that a small handful of people are almost rooting for Suppan to stink in today's game. it would validate the "Suppan sucks" comments and further justify wanting him off the team.

Maybe the best thing to root for would be for Suppan to give up a few runs and come out of the game early...then for Parra to pitch 6 lights out innings with good run support to get the win. I don't know if something like that would give Macha the message or not, though.

[logan82]

Why must we have a LOOGY at all, if we have 2 left-handers that can come in to face that tough LH batter, and then stay in the game?

 

That is fine if they get used that way. However, Macha will probably use them like LOOGYs which is really boneheaded if we need to keep them somewhat stretched out. He has used Narveson like that twice already this year.

[jimmyjeromehardy7]

I don't know if something like that would give Macha the message or not, though.

He wouldn't. So glad this team goes off to Washington after today. Hopefully they don't play down to their level like they've sometimes done in the past.

 

 

[RockCoCougars]

FYI.... the wind is blowing out at Wrigley! There is still 15 minutes to parlay the over 11.5 with the Cubs. $100 will get you $178.

[Blindcheck]

Suppan did exactly what was needed today...keep the Brewers in the game...Any pitcher was going to give up runs, and he did what he did to keep the Brewers in the game.

 

if he pitches like this in next few games, macha will have made a good decision....He gave up 4 runs, but I would say that with the wind blowing out, that is a solid effort.

[TooLiveBrew]

Suppan did exactly what was needed today...keep the Brewers in the game

 

The Brewers' offense kept them in the game, not Jeff Suppan's 7.20 ERA

[hawing]

Suppan did exactly what was needed today...keep the Brewers in the game

 

The Brewers' offense kept them in the game, not Jeff Suppan's 7.20 ERA

I agree more with Blindcheck. Soup was adequate, which exceeded the expectations of some here, mine included. How long "adequate" will last, and how long it will take team personnel to react should Soup cease to be adequate, are two valid questions. We'll just have to see how they play out.

[sheethead]

If we really want the Brewers to contend this year, we all need to raise our expectation of adequacy. For me Suppan pitched better than I thought he would yesterday, yet he still gave up 4 ERs in 5 IP. Its not good when a fanbase is thinking this way. It means our expectations are rock bottom.

[JohnBriggs12]

If we really want the Brewers to contend this year, we all need to raise our expectation of adequacy. For me Suppan pitched better than I thought he would yesterday, yet he still gave up 4 ERs in 5 IP. Its not good when a fanbase is thinking this way. It means our expectations are rock bottom.

Considering the conditions, 4 ER in 5 IP actually is acceptable for any starting pitcher. For a 5th starter coming off a shaky spring it's better than can generally be expected. Given Parra's propensity for walking guys, I seriously doubt he'd have gotten better results. That being said, it just kicks the can down the road. Suppan is not likely to turn back the clock to 2006 and at some point is likely going to need to be replaced. The question becomes, who do you replace him with? The seldom used Parra who had a worse season than Suppan in 09 and wasn't all that imposing in the spring either? Narveson who seemingly has settled into a middle relief role, or Marco Estrada or some other guy in minors who's starting and having success.

[sheethead]

We'll see I guess. Suppan has the Pirates twice in a row now.

[Ennder]

ER is just a horrible way to measure how good or bad a game was, if you have to use an ERA type stat to judge him at least use a component stat(and not FIP or tERA which are horrible for small samples). After 1 game his xFIP is 3.95 and his career ERA-xFIP is 0.03 so it is generally a decent judge of things for him. He has given up a few extra HR as he got older so maybe fudge that to like 4.25 and you have how he has performed so far. He struck out 4 and only walked 1 which is very good. The big wort on his game was giving up more FB than GB, he can't survive if he keeps doing that. I have no problems at all with the game he pitched considering it was his first of the season and the wind conditions were so bad.

 

It is 1 start though so it is basically meaningless either way. Unfortunately it takes at least 6 or 7 games to learn anything at all about a pitcher which is probably the minimum leash he'll get from Macha. The fact he gets the pirates 2 times in a row probably doesn't help either since it will make him look better than he is and well be stuck with him longer.

[TooLiveBrew]

What I think we learned (but really already knew) about Soup from yesterday's game is that he still doesn't have the stuff to get big leaguers out consistently. They have to get themselves out against him. I think the positive reactions are due more to the fact that he wasn't as bad as many/most were expecting, and like sheethead noted, that's not a good way to measure performance.

[Fatter than Joey]

What I think we learned (but really already knew) about Soup from yesterday's game is that he still doesn't have the stuff to get big leaguers out consistently. They have to get themselves out against him.

 

This is a great phrasing of your observation -- Suppan is good enough to keep the ball on the black of the plate, and low for the most part, but if he gets the ball up at all or over the plate, it gets crushed...

 

Sometimes I pitch BP for my son's baseball team, and there a couple of kids that can hit the ball hard enough into my gravitational field, that I have a hard time getting my head or legs out of the way. If I stay inside they pull the ball, outside most of them go to RF or just swing and miss -- but every once in awhile I get way too much of the plate, and I know it the second I let go of the ball. Then I frantically pray "pleasedonthititupthemiddlepleasepleasepleaseplease" -- I suspect Suppan can relate to that feeling.

 

I think the positive reactions are due more to the fact that he wasn't as bad as many/most were expecting, and like sheethead noted, that's not a good way to measure performance.

 

Agreed... However, I don't think anyone here thinks that Suppan should be starting or that this start is an indication that Suppan has decided to embrace competency.

 

I have no problem with Suppan starting here or there -- what fries me is that Parra seems to have been Gamel'd.

[RockCoCougars]

I will admit that he pitched much better than I expected. The key to that was that he walked only one guy in five innings. I did get a good laugh out of the 'Suppan's Strong Start', or whatever the graphic was on the post-game show, that seemed like a little spin to me. Have we really set the bar that low for him? Going further, I don't know how E.R.A. is a horrible stat (at least for a starter) to gauge how well a pitcher performed- the objective of a pitcher is to keep the opponent from scoring. Like I said, Soup pitched better than I thought he would, but giving up four runs in 5 innings is not acceptable over the long run because it puts a ton of stress on the bullpen and pressure on the offense- they are not going to score 8 runs a game. Not sure if it's a good thing that he pitches just well enough to stick in the rotation for an extended period of time.