I'm really starting to get into this whole build from within movement that's sweeping baseball. Of course, it doesn't really work if your farm system blows, and while the St. Louis minor league affiliates currently offer little more than depth players on the offensive side of the ball (aside from Rasmus, currently slugging a sexy .292 in AAA), the one area where this organization could actually impress using mostly their own products is the bullpen.
Sadly, due to the same hardheaded approach La Russa has taken for years, fans are still being treated to a patchwork collection of overpriced veterans coming in to finish off games in St. Louis, and that's unfortunate. I've compiled a list of the current Redbird relievers, including their contract details, who I feel would be better off elsewhere.
Jason Isringhausen ($8 million, signed through 2008)
Izzy has had a good run as the Cardinal closer; to claim otherwise would be madness. His 211 (and counting) saves while in St. Louis since 2002 are a franchise record that will hold up for a long while. That said, raw saves don't always tell the whole story, just like win totals for starters. Look deeper, and you'll find that Isringhausen has failed to post a 2/1 K to BB ratio every year since 2004, and his K/9 rate continues to drop, down to 7.44 last year. Add to the case against him that he turns 36 in September, and it's obvious that this should be the end of the line for an admittedly useful pitcher.
Russ Springer ($3.5 million, signed through 2008)
Although Russ was fantastic in 2007, holding hitters to a .511 OPS and striking out exactly a batter an inning, he turns 40 after the season and has never really been as great as he was last season. Bringing him back for 2008 was a silly money wasting move, and one that wasn't necessary for this team. Maybe if they were stacked with major league talent and were only one bullpen slot away from being built for a World Series title, but there's no way St. Louis, in its current state, should have thrown $3 million in this direction.
Ryan Franklin ($2.25 million, signed through 2009, club option for 2010)
Ridiculous. That's the only word I can think of to describe the notion of Ryan Franklin hurling baseballs from a mound in St. Louis through the 2010 season. Franklin is 35, and has never been a good pitcher. Even in his career year of 2007, which featured a 3.04 ERA and 25 holds, he posted a measly K/9 rate of only 4.95 and his ground ball rate was below average. He got lucky, and he shouldn't have been more than a one year rental. Steroids.
Ron Villone ($0.6 million, signed through 2008)
Nothing against Villone since he isn't making much and probably won't be around past this season, but he'd better be shipped down to the minors fast when other pitchers start regaining their health. He's 38 and walks everyone (4.81 career BB/9 rate). That said, he's better than Mark Mulder.
So the Cards' bullpen currently features four relievers they don't need. That said, at least three of them won't be back next season (hopefully), and perhaps Franklin will disappear somehow as well. I'm now going to do the predictable thing and discuss the bullpen I, personally, would like to see. If I have to wait until 2009 to see it, fine, but I maintain it could be quite successful even now. Let's go with a seven man bullpen, since that seems to be a reasonable expectation.
Randy Flores, 32 (L)
2008 MLB - 3.1 IP, 4 K/3 BB, 0.00 ERA
Tyler Johnson, 26 (L)
2007 MLB - 38 IP, 24 K/16 BB, 4.03 ERA
Kyle McClellan, 23 (R)
2008 MLB - 9.2 IP, 9 K/2 BB, 2.79 ERA
Mark Worrell, 25 (R)
2008 AAA - 7.2 IP, 13 K/5 BB, 1.17 ERA
Jason Motte, 25 (R)
2008 AAA - 8.2 IP, 15 K/2 BB, 2.08 ERA
Chris Perez, 22 (R)
2008 AAA - 8.2 IP, 9 K/2 BB, 3.11 ERA
Josh Kinney, 29 (R)
2006 MLB - 25 IP, 22 K/8 BB, 3.24 ERA
Oh my god! They're all relatively young (Flores is the elder at 32), and they don't even suck! I realize Kinney and Johnson are injured at the moment, but they could be back and pitching at full strength by next season, surely. Furthermore, there aren't any bullshit swingmen among them. No Todd Wellemeyers, no Braden Loopers, no Brad Thompsons. Just a nice solid core of relievers who are exciting to watch and would probably be pretty damn good too. The right handers in particular have the potential to rack up the K's. That could be a very overpowering bunch.
I know what you're thinking. 'Who closes out of that bunch, smart guy? None of them have any experience!' Well, who cares. Perez is the guy that has been labeled as the closer of the future. I understand he's still a little raw, and a lot wild, but let him grow into the role. It's not as though the bullpen is going to make or break this team over the next few years, considering the lack of offense and starting pitching, so let it grow and accrue experience time together as a unit. It could genuinely be an awesome process, gradually evolving into one of the best bullpens in baseball. And the best part is that they're all so cheap and young, they could be around for years. I know I'm just dreaming in an idealist's world here, but it sure looks good on paper. Too bad we'll never get the chance to see how such a youthful combination would look in reality.
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We had one of the best bullpens in the league last year, and very little has changed. Springer, Franklin, and Isringhausen are an incredible 7th, 8th, and 9th inning combination. All 3 of them were outstanding just last year, and Springer and Isringhausen have been great for years (with the exception of Isringhausen's '06 where he was pitching hurt). Franklin showed enough last year and in the first month of this year that he really is a great set-up man, plus he's not as old as the others. They also provide important veteran bullpen leadership, which is a big problem with your suggested bullpen. There's a good chance that Springer will retire or move on next year, but Franklin is here to stay, and Izzy will probably resign with us, as he wants to finish his career in St. Louis, and Perez probably won't be ready to close. You also can't project 3 or 4 AAA relievers to the majors based on 8 or fewer innings pitched so far. Odds are, only 1 or 2 at the most will be ready at the beginning of next year. Another problem with your bullpen is innings. Those relievers can't give you multiple innings on a regular basis. You need a good swingman like Wellemeyer (or it might be Reyes's future) in order to pitch multiple innings or make a spot start.
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