16 replies to this topic

[BCsMightyJoeYoung]

The Sox already have Doug Brocail on their team - his name is Mike Timlin

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

The Sox already have Doug Brocail on their team - his name is Mike Timlin

Brocail has a far better K/BB ratio than Timlin (41/13 in 48.1 IP). Brocail may interest the Sox primarily because he could be Timlin's replacement in the pen. He'd be a definite improvement.

[TheShynessClinic]

A 41 year old reliever with a 3.91 ERA in the NL?

No thanks.

[Razor Shines]

I just can't see the Red Sox booting Mike Timlin in favor of Doug Brocail (even though it makes sense from a baseball standpoint). If they do acquire him, I'll bet it's at the expense of someone else's roster spot. Timlin will have a more poetic departure.

[Clears Cleaver]

yeah, Craig Hansen

[Quintanariffic]

A 41 year old reliever with a 3.91 ERA in the NL?

No thanks.

Asking a question here: While it's completely understandable that one would idscount an NL starter's performance when coming over to the AL, why would you do the same for a late inning reliever? I ask b/c the discount for the starter is largely attributable to the easier line-ups they face that include pitchers hitting instead of the likes of David Ortiz, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and Travis Hafner (though admittedly the latter two are hitting like pitchers this year). When you're a late inning reliever, as Brocail is, you don't face the pitcher - at best, you are facing the best PH on the opposition's bench, and there's only a 33% chance of that. Consequently, I would be very much willing to bet that NL relievers fare far better in the AL than NL starters do.

[mt8thsw9th]

A 41 year old reliever with a 3.91 ERA in the NL?

No thanks.

See, I can see this with starting pitchers, I can see the NL being inferior to the AL, and I can see not wanting a 41 year old Brocail, however..

NL relievers don't see their ERAs lowered by anything but the overall quality of the competition, if you indeed believe that the NL is top to bottom inferior to the AL, that's alright, but I don't think the gap is as big as some think it is. In other words, we're not talking about a starter that faces a pitcher that is hitting 2 or 3 times a start, and has his ERA lowered a tad as a result. I don't dispute that the transition from the NL to the AL can be a tough one, but it's not a given that someone will simply fail or thrive switching from one league to the other. Scott Linebrink, David Riske, and Ron Mahay, three of the "bigger" MR signings this past winter, are all seeing better results pitching in the AL (Riske switched from the AL to the NL, and has seen a bit of a drop-off).

For the record, according to BP's "Pitcher's Quality of Batters Faced", Brocail's faced hitters with a line of .264/.338/.429 (37th strongest in baseball) , and held them to a line of .240/.295/.350, with a very normal .296 BABIP.

I don't really see Brocail as an upgrade, as he may very well be more of the same, but I don't think it has anything to do with the league he pitches in.

[86spike]

Doug Brocail is more valuable to this team right now than Craig Hansen is. I would also potentially rather see him in pressure spots than MDC. Bring me Brocail, send down Hansen. Pray that Masterson is capable, Okajima is over his slump and here we go.

Closer: Papelbon
Set-up Men: Okajima, Masterson, Brocail
Mid Relief: MDC, Timlin
Loogy: Lopez

I think I could live with that and I doubt Brocail will cost much in terms of the trade.

[behindthepen]

Not quite sure what to make of these numbers..

I would read that as a pitcher who goes 600-700 OPS vs. RHB, who was lucky last year and unlucky this year. The LHB stats are just SSS.

As for the road numbers, this season he's pitched in all the big hitter's parks (CIN, TEX, PHI, ARI); but those were some ugly home numbers in 07, no explanation besides SSS.

[sibpin]

...Reports linking the Sox to two Houston Astros relievers — veteran Doug Brocail and Geoff Geary — are seemingly without merit. An Astros official said yesterday that his team had had no discussions for pitching with the Red Sox...

McAdam's piece in the Projo also says a deal for a young catcher is unlikely and names a couple other bullpen names.

[E5 Yaz]

McAdam's piece in the Projo also says a deal for a young catcher is unlikely and names a couple other bullpen names.

I doubt they could trade for Rick Astley

[sachmoney]

This is what is important to me

Brocail with runners on this year

I just feel like our bullpen allows a lot of inherited runners to score and I would love to see someone (other than Masterson) who is able to come in and shut down an inning if someone struggles or Francona tries to steal an extra inning from a starter. Okajima has been really sharp recently, but I would like to see how he does in higher leverage situations.

Edited by sachmoney, 30 July 2008 - 03:32 AM.

[Quintanariffic]

Brocail seems like the type of guy the Sox would focus on. Reputed to be a great clubhouse leader, cheap, and with a club option for next year providing the flexibility Theo loves. He would displace Hansen, unless Timlin conveniently comes down with the Hellenic flu, and has been around enough not to be phased by much at this point in his career. If he doesn't work out, you get Type B compensation and move on. Then again, the counterpart here is Ed Wade, who apparently thinks the Stros are still in the race, so who knows if they'll be trying to buy or sell. If it's sell, then a B prospect like Kris Johnson or Zach Daeges would seem to be a fair deal.

[PedroKsBambino]

This is what is important to me

Brocail with runners on this year

I just feel like our bullpen allows a lot of inherited runners to score and I would love to see someone (other than Masterson) who is able to come in and shut down an inning if someone struggles or Francona tries to steal an extra inning from a starter. Okajima has been really sharp recently, but I would like to see how he does in higher leverage situations.

Are you aware of any research that suggests a pitcher's recent past performance with runners on base is predictive of what they'll do going forward?