I kind of became a bit player there. In ’15, I did a lot of eighth-inning stuff and I think I was second or third in the league in holds, but I had a bad final month where they kind of just gave up on me. In ’16, I just became a sixth-inning righty specialist guy and it was awful. I knew I could do a lot more. So when the trade (to the Phillies) happened I was thrilled. This was the best thing that happened to me in a few years. I can understand why (the Astros) did it. They have a bullpen that’s pretty well-stocked over there. So I’m real happy to be out — if not I would rather have been a free agent than gone back there, which may sound crazy but it gets to the point where you just want to do more. I would almost rather retire than do a role like I was doing for them. It was miserable. - Pat Neshek
So yeah... Goes to show you guys value playing time over winning (of course not everyone). These guys have a lot of pride and know that is how they get paid. Right now, our bullpen mostly looks like crap. We need Harris back and Devenski to get it going again. Gregerson & Giles are the only veterans out there actually performing well right now. Feliz sucking really drives me nuts, especially since I kind of hoped he'd be a bigger piece if we traded for relief help (if I'm Detroit/Baltimore I'd love to have him).
First time we've had our Top 3 together (and I mean that in terms of coming into the season). That really sucks for Brad, who had earned a spot. Probably comes down to knowing the weapon Brad was out of the pen before moving into the rotation, while Fiers & Morton aren't as known in relief.
Bad news for Peacock. Great news for Astros fans. Sending Peacock to the pen means Astros think they can get 3 playoff starters from internal options or that a trade is imminent for Melo Gray.
I really think we should consider shutting down Springer and Bregman for longer than a couple of days. Clearly they have been dealing with injury issues for a while and there is no point in rushing them back with a 17 game lead.
Absolutely right. But barring a trade, Peacock is *clearly* the first guy who gets a shot due to an injury, and will have every opportunity to stick in the rotation next spring. Perhaps we'll see one of Fiers/Morton/McHugh traded in the offseason to open up a spot, if one of them has significant value on the market depending on how they end the season
Assuming no trade, it will be interesting to see what happens when the playoffs roll around if McHugh just pitches OK the next two months while Peacock is lights out in the bullpen. It's going to suck if we don't throw our best 3 starters out in the playoffs due to names.
Would not have expected Felix to drop below Musgrove on the pecking order. Short of a trade, I suppose the other move is between Felix, Musgrove, and Fisher or White?
Gregerson has been serving it up during tied games. He's failed in all 3 of his last tied-appearances. All 3 games ended in losses.
My guess would be because Feliz was coming off that bad game while Musgrove had 2 good performances since moving to the bullpen
