What happened to Hawkins?

[logan82]

Seriously, where is the guy. We have 4 pretty good relievers meaning we only have to get our starter through the 5th inning in games yet the manager keeps trying to squeeze as many innings as possible out of our starters. We see Loe warming up to face a left handed hitter and no Hawkins.

[Ennder]

He is arms and legs worse than Saito, KRod and Axford so I don't really miss the fact they haven't played him despite his good ERA which was nothing but a mirage. Not even sure he is better than Loe to be honest.

[endaround]

His FIP was 2.76 and his K/BB was 2.80, his tERA is 2.80. His ERA is pretty representative of how he pitched.

[FVBrewerFan]

I think Hawkins is caught in between the "finishers" (Saito/Krod/Ax) and the innings eaters (Estrada, Narvy.) So he doesn't really have a role at this point, other than when a situation arises where you need that arm. With three games in a row in St. Louis, I'm sure he'll be in the mix. But so far there's been enough off days that basically the whole pen has been available every game.

[logan82]

I disagree. There is no reason to push your starters as long as you would in the regular season. In the regular season you have to take the next game(s) into account. In the post season there are enough off days that your relievers can pitch every day.

[Never Outhustled]

Yes, Hawkins is good, every bit as good as K-rod. He's just too professional to whine about his role like K-rod.

[Ennder]

His xFIP is 3.42, pretty comparable to his last 2 seasons and not out of line with the rest of the RP they have used all post season.

[JohnBriggs12]

With the off days in these series, the entire bullpen has been rested going into every game. Saito is still good enough to close for a lot of teams and his arm is in June shape and he's been extremely sharp. That's what they got him for.

[endaround]

His xFIP is 3.42, pretty comparable to his last 2 seasons and not out of line with the rest of the RP they have used all post season.

He isn't the same pitcher. His GB/FB rate was 2.78 this year compare to around 1.4. No reason to expect a normal HR rate given such GB tendencies so no reason to look at xFIP as superior.

[dlk9s]

I think Hawkins is caught in between the "finishers" (Saito/Krod/Ax) and the innings eaters (Estrada, Narvy.) So he doesn't really have a role at this point, other than when a situation arises where you need that arm. With three games in a row in St. Louis, I'm sure he'll be in the mix. But so far there's been enough off days that basically the whole pen has been available every game.

I think it's pretty much this.

 

At this point, it's pretty apparent that Saito is better than Hawkins (though Hawkins is solid), so he's going to be the go-to pre-setup man. Loe will be the guy if there's a string of righties coming up/we need a ground ball. Hawkins is just sort of caught without a defined role at this point. Saito has been great, so there's no reason to go with Hawkins over him if they are both fresh, Hawkins isn't a specialist, Hawkins isn't a long man, and Hawkins isn't K-Rod or Axford.

 

It's nice to have a guy of his caliber as the "forgotten" man.

[bjkrautk]

I think Hawkins is caught in between the "finishers" (Saito/Krod/Ax) and the innings eaters (Estrada, Narvy.) So he doesn't really have a role at this point, other than when a situation arises where you need that arm. With three games in a row in St. Louis, I'm sure he'll be in the mix. But so far there's been enough off days that basically the whole pen has been available every game.

Maybe someone else who was at the game can confirm, but I thought Hawkins was up in the pen in the 6th inning, just in case the lineup turned over and they needed someone to face the heart of the Cardinals order. Hawkins seems to have lost the 7th inning job to Saito (or, at least when Takashi has a day's rest) in the post-season.

 

[Hate those Rodents]

Too many stats being thrown around here to answer a simple question. The answer is basically, we get six solid inning from our starter and then go Saito, KROD, Ax. Hawkins likely would be the first guy up after this type of a rotation if a game should reach the 10th or 11th inning. His time will come. Other than that, it looks like Loe is gonna be the "6th inning guy" based merely on when I've noticed him warming up and close to getting the call.

[pitchleague]

I think Hawkins is caught in between the "finishers" (Saito/Krod/Ax) and the innings eaters (Estrada, Narvy.) So he doesn't really have a role at this point, other than when a situation arises where you need that arm. With three games in a row in St. Louis, I'm sure he'll be in the mix. But so far there's been enough off days that basically the whole pen has been available every game.

Maybe someone else who was at the game can confirm, but I thought Hawkins was up in the pen in the 6th inning, just in case the lineup turned over and they needed someone to face the heart of the Cardinals order. Hawkins seems to have lost the 7th inning job to Saito (or, at least when Takashi has a day's rest) in the post-season.

There was a photo (it was either on ESPN.com, mlb.com, or jsonline.com--don't remember which) that showed Hawkins warming up. The caption said it was the 5th inning.

[sargennm]

http://twitter.com/#!/Haudricourt/status/123506892348723201

 

Hawkins is dealing with bruised fingers on the pitching hand, per TH.

[pretendastronaut]

Friday night I was positive I saw Hawkins warming up and then talking to a trainer and then Saito started warming up.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Any word on how/when that happened?

[logan82]

I know in the regular season he would be stuck in an awkward position. We have had a few games where the starter was struggling by the sixth inning. We have four aces in the pen. No reason to trot out a starter who is struggling in the 6th inning.

[Schlitz001]

I guess they were saving him for a tight spot in tonight's game.