Tag / Eric Gagne

by admin

#166 – Addison Reed

areed

Name: Addison Reed

Rank: 166

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 2011-2013

Addison Reed was the 3rd round draft pick of the White Sox in 2010.  He made his major league debut the following September, giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run in an inning and two thirds as the White Sox were blown out by the Tigers 18-4.  Reed appeared in 5 other games down the stretch as the White Sox finished up a disappointing season.

Reed made the White Sox bullpen out of spring training in 2012.  He picked up his first career save on May 5 and was officially named the closer by manager Robin Ventura on May 23.  He finished the season with 29 saves, despite an ERA near 5, as the White Sox faded out of contention over the season’s last month.

2013 saw Reed again holding down the closer role for the White Sox.  On August 22, he saved his sixth consecutive game, becoming the first White Sox reliever to accomplish the feat and the first overall since Eric Gagne in 2003.  When the season came to an end, he wound up with 40 saves in 48 opportunities, and he had lowered his ERA by nearly a run from the year before.

That December, Reed was traded to the Diamondbacks for minor league third baseman Matt Davidson, drawing his White Sox career to a close.

Reed’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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by admin

2014 Hall Of Fame Ballot – The Newcomers

mlb_hofThe BBWAA released their ballot for the Hall of Fame class of 2014.  The results of the vote are due to be revealed on January 8th, with induction taking place next July.  After nobody was elected in last year’s voting, the new ballot contains 17 holdovers along with 19 newcomers, which may start to cause a bit of a problem.  The current BBWAA rules limit the number of votes on one ballot to 10, and there may be more than 10 deserving candidates.  As they start to pile up, and even more deserving candidates become eligible, the BBWAA and the Hall may find themselves with a mess on their hands.

Yesterday, we looked at the returning candidates.  Now it’s time to move on to the newcomers.

Moises Alou

The 6-time All Star had a very good career, but not one worthy of the Hall of Fame.  He might get enough support to stick on the ballot for a few years, but not much beyond that.

Armando Benitez

I can’t imagine Benitez getting any votes, let alone enough to make a second go around on the ballot.

Sean Casey

The long-time Red had a fine career a will likely pick up one or two votes, but I expect this to be his only appearance on the ballot.

Ray Durham

Another one and done situation for the 2-time All Star.

Eric Gagne

Gagne seemed destined for the Hall after he won the 2003 Cy Young award in the midst of his record setting 84 consecutive saves.  Arm troubles and inclusion in the Mitchell Report derailed his career, and will likely doom any HOF chances he had.

Tom Glavine

There is no question that Glavine, on the strength of his 305 career wins, will make the Hall.  It is just a matter of when, as some voters may want for him to have to wait a year before gaining entry.  If he were to make it this year, it would likely be a pretty special summer for Braves fans.  On a personal level, Glavine is the only pitcher I’ve seen get his 300th win in person, after Roger Clemens and Greg Maddux faltered when I saw them at 299.

Luis Gonzalez

Over 2500 hits and 350 home runs would seem to make Gonzalez a pretty decent candidate for enshrinement.  The hint of PED use, though never proven, will likely hold him back.

Jacque Jones

No.

Todd Jones

NO.

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by jim

Another Carlos Dump For Cubs

The Carlos Marmol era, which started with great promise in 2006 and almost ended over the winter in a trade with the Angels for Dan Haren, officially came to a close yesterday when the Cubs designated the beleaguered reliever for assignment.  Marmol’s Cubs career almost came to an end this offseason, when he was nearly traded to the Angels in exchange for starter Dan Haren, but that trade fell apart at the last minute.  Looking at this performance this year in a Cubs uniform, it may have been best for all parties had he moved on at the time.  Marmol was thought to have lost his role in the beginning of December when the Cubs signed Japanese free agent closer Kyuji Fujikawa.  When Fujikawa was injured early and often, Marmol was given another chance to close and failed spectacularly.

After failing as a starter in 2006, Marmol resurfaced in 2007 as a setup man and helped the Cubs capture back-to-back division titles in 2007 and 2008.  Over those two seasons, Marmol battled Ryan Dempster and Kerry Wood for the closer spot, getting his opportunity in both years thanks to injury to the incumbent.  In 2009, he finally replaced an ineffective Kevin Gregg as closer, and that is where he mostly stayed, until now.

Marmol’s strength was in his ability to strike out opposing batters, averaging 16 strikeouts per nine innings pitched, breaking the record for highest K/9 ratio by a pitcher with at least 50 innings pitched, previously held by Eric Gagne.  However, with this came extreme wildness.  For his career, he has also averaged 6 walks per nine innings pitched.  He’s also managed to hit 46 batters over his career.

These past two seasons have seen Marmol start to fall out of favor with Cubs fans and management.  In 2011, he  finished with the worst save conversion percentage of his closing career thanks to 10 blown saves.  2012 got off to a similar start, although he did end up with the second highest save conversion percentage of his career.  This past offseason, the Cubs imported Japanese closer Kyuji Fujikawa to handle ninth inning duties, but elbow reconstruction has put him out of commission and gave Marmol another opportunit to close.  Unfortunately, Marmol failed spectacularly, putting up a 5.36 ERA in 31 games, picking up only 2 saves and averaging 2 HR allowed per 9 innings pitched.

Personally, Marmol ranks third overall and first among Cub pitchers in games pitched that I have attended.  His 7 saves are either tied with or behind such luminaries as LaTroy Hawkins, Kevin Gregg, and Joe Borowski.

Marmol’s numbers in a Cubs uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

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