I would be downright shocked if Motte is the closer. He has a high speed fastball with no movement and no other pitches Perez has been hit pretty hard so far but he has to still be the favorite. My darkhorse canidate is Josh Kinney.
Agreed. One Pitch Motte won't be closing barring the miraculous emergence of a second pitch, though Franklin the forgotten man is still in the mix right behind Perez.
Motte does use a slider, albeit only 10% of the time. Give the kid a break. He only converted to pitching recently and you can't argue with the success that he's had. His minor league K% in ridonculous. I'm sure he will continue to work on that slider some more and be an effective late inning guy for the cards.
Like the article says, "The Cardinals might not want him working out his kinks in the ninth inning." Yes, it's about Perez, but I don't see them letting Motte experiment in the 9th with a slider he just learned to throw. Don't get me wrong, I think he has great potential. But I don't see him getting anything more than the occasional save opportunity in '09.
Rocinante2: you know Rocinante2: its easy to dismiss the orioles as a bad team ofanrex: go on Rocinante2: i'm done Rocinante2: lmao
Pogotheostrich wrote: I would be downright shocked if Motte is the closer. He has a high speed fastball with no movement and no other pitches Perez has been hit pretty hard so far but he has to still be the favorite. My darkhorse canidate is Josh Kinney.
Agreed. One Pitch Motte won't be closing barring the miraculous emergence of a second pitch, though Franklin the forgotten man is still in the mix right behind Perez.
Motte does use a slider, albeit only 10% of the time. Give the kid a break. He only converted to pitching recently and you can't argue with the success that he's had. His minor league K% in ridonculous. I'm sure he will continue to work on that slider some more and be an effective late inning guy for the cards.
Nothing against Motte but the slider is inconsistant at best. He's still a work in progress and I don't see him getting the closer's job. I actually think he will be lucky to make the team. The best thing for him is to get some work at AAA.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Joe Strauss reports the St. Louis Cardinals won't consider signing SP Pedro Martinez (Mets) to be a closer candidate. The St. Louis Cardinals view RP Ryan Franklin as a setup option to either RP Chris Perez or RP Jason Motte at closer.
Another crummy outing by Street..0.1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 1 BB SO FAR and I believe he's still in pitching! I got Corpas in the 25th rd and am feeling alot better having him right now..2 of those hits were bombs..
Motte's fastball has enough movement to get by. More importantly, he can spot it extremely well.
Motte's mentality and his command make him a better option than Perez, IMO. Perez loses focus and nibbles if he gives up a baserunner. He's always struggled with his control, his BB/9 are way too high for a good closer.
I think Motte could easily take this job. I think the Cards see Kinney as too effective against lefties for the CL role (they want him in the jam righty role) and they're worried about Kinney's health. I wouldn't make him my closer if for no other reason than the strain his slider puts on his elbow. I don't think he can be counted on for 50 innings and STL has seen a couple times over the last few years how quickly the wheels can come off if your closer is hurt.
Motte's big, he's durable, he's got a closer's mindset. He can win this job.
Jason Beck, of MLB.com, reports Detroit Tigers RP Joel Zumaya's (shoulder) exam revealed no damage to his shoulder. He initially felt discomfort in his throwing shoulder Thursday, March 5. Zumaya has been cleared to begin throwing, but will wait a few days.
Syfo-Dyas wrote:Whats the reason that Trevor Hoffman is not rock solid?
Yeah, because he's not playing in Petco, he has some good internal reliever behind him, he's 41, and he's not the the same pitcher he used to be. I would be surprised if he's not the Brewers closer by year's end due to breakdown and/or lack in performance.
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by rookies and cream » Fri Mar 06, 2009 1:34 pm 
