No contract tendered to DeRosa by Braves | ajc.com
They could sign him for a contract lower than what he’d get through arbitration. The Braves also non-tendered Hessman, which only makes me wonder why they had him on the 40-man roster to begin with. Gryboski stays.
Since Little Kev’s staying, maybe they can replace Smoltz’s entrance video/music (fiery “SMOLTZ” burning into a field on the jumbotron) with a fiery GRYBOSKI!!! That would get the fans riled up!
Not to sound too harsh or anything…Derosa’s time as a Brave should be over. Last year was Derosa’s chance to shine. That he obviously did not (No need for further explanation). Hessman -can’t play at the Major League level. Grybowski -I wish they would have non-tendered or traded him away.
I cannot figure out why DeRo wanted to stay with the Braves. He’s old and he was never going to get another starting shot on the Braves. I was kind of surprised that he did not push for a deadline trade at the end of last season.
I was baffled when Hessman was on the 40-man (and I actually like the guy), but I think the logic would go something like this.
After the season, we don’t know about Julio so we need Hessman on the 40-man for insurance. Also, if he is waived off the 40-man, the Braves lose him if claimed and cannot readily reacquire him without putting him back on the 40-man.
If he’s non-tendered, the Braves at least get the opportunity to negotiate with him. If Hessman decides to go somewhere else, he certainly can, but the Braves will have at least had a shot at him before he makes that decision.
Maybe Hessman will end up in Arizona. He could grow his hair out and get that bad haircut Rickey Sexson has. The D-Backs could then claim that Sexson never really left. Considering the acumen of D-Back fans, they might just get away with it.
I don’t understand the shot on D-back fans. What have they done to disillusion 50PoundHead? Must have been pretty bad.
Come on now MWS. I think we all know already that fans of other teams are idiot, mongrul retards who come out of their shanties to infest themselves with debt so they can watch their loser teams attempt to play baseball.
Merry Christmas everyone!
I agree with all of you that DeRosa and Hessman should have been non-tendered, because if they do come back, it should be at a very low price. As for Gryboski, those of you saying he should be traded or non-tendered are wrong. Gryboski is a valuable guy to bring out of the pen when runners are on. The Braves aren’t going after any other key relievers and Gryboski gets the job done fine. I have a feeling you will all change you mind, when the Braves need a fresh arm out of the pen in the 6th or 7th inning of a close and important game. You need guys that just gobble up a couple of outs, they set up the backend of the bullpen for bigtime situations.
erm, Grybo had 23BB/24K’s, a whip of over 1.5, and batters hit .280 with a .355 OBP. Haven’t looked up the inherited runners/scored yet, but bringing him in with runners on seems about the WORST way to use this guy.
Well, spike, it worked all year. Grybo was effective for much of the year and his stats reflect a pitcher coming into situations ONLY containing pressure. The low strikeouts and high walks also reflect a pitcher being told to produce groundballs for double plays, not trying to overpower hitters. Grybo showed a lot of veteran leadership, something Reitsma needs to learn from. Reitsma’s .284 BAA and 9 homeruns were the real problem, coming in the 8th inning, usually when the bases were clean. If Reitsma could relax on the mound and attack his situations like Grybo, his stuff could take us a long way in the bullpen.
Well, spike, it worked all year. Grybo was effective for much of the year and his stats reflect a pitcher coming into situations ONLY containing pressure. The low strikeouts and high walks also reflect a pitcher being told to produce groundballs for double plays, not trying to overpower hitters. Grybo showed a lot of veteran leadership, something Reitsma needs to learn from. Reitsma’s .284 BAA and 9 homeruns were the real problem, coming in the 8th inning, usually when the bases were clean. If Reitsma could relax on the mound and attack his situations like Grybo, his stuff could take us a long way in the bullpen.
Well, I don’t think I am going to change your mind, no matter what, but grybo ranked in the bottom 20 of all relievers at preventing inherited runners scored according to the Wolverton reliever tools. I’ll stick with my assertion.
Spike is right. Gryboski did not pitch well at all; his low ERA is a reflection of two things:
1. Him coming in most of the time with runners on base (whom he allowed to score) but with one or two outs already recorded (so his runners didn’t get a chance to score).
2. Several runs being charged as unearned. He allowed 22 runs in 50 2/3 IP (for a “run average” of 3.91) but six of his runs were charged unearned, cutting his ERA by more than a run.
How did he actually pitch? A better reflection is his stats other than ERA. (Personally, I don’t think much of rating relievers, other than maybe closers, by ERA, because they usually throw a lot of part-innings, and whatever runs they allow often come after they leave the game.)
Batters hit .280 off of Gryboski. He struck out 24, less than one every two innings, and walked 23. So you have a guy who allows a lot of hits, doesn’t strike out many, and walks a lot of guys, for a baserunner and a half per inning pitched. This is not a good pitcher. The one thing he did well was avoid home runs.
I think that using Gryboski in some situations may be warranted, but Bobby kept bringing him in with runners in scoring position, which is a mistake. He allows way too many hits to be useful then. He should have been used to start innings.
Mac and Spike,
You cite strikeouts as evidence against Gryboski, but that claim is inherently flawed. Gryboski is told to create groundballs, not get batters to chase pitches and strikeout. Pitchers told to produce groundballs in baserunner situations don’t go for strikeouts, they look to make hitters put difficult pitches into play. Gryboski is a perfect example of pitcher using a slider to put the ball into play intentionally. Only allowing 22 runs, while employing this strategy is extremely effective. To say, “Gryboski did not pitch well at all” is a gross overstatement. Gryboski pitched rather well and I feel that it’s misintepretation of stats that gives him a bad reputation. Bobby Cox innovatively coaches Gryboski to put the ball into play; it’s the only explanation for Gryboski’s consistent results. Perhaps this brings up Gryboski’s BAA and Inherited runners scored, but it probably would be worse if any other strategy was employed. And in case you haven’t noticed, the Braves don’t have an extra reliever who can come in and strikeout one or two batters with great consistency. Using Gryboski is last year’s role seems like the most effective way of utilizing his ability. The criticism of Gryboski and Cox here seems highly unfounded.