Exactly! Overlooking that maybe a player has lost a step and should be given credit for his past accomplishments is the rational approach. Gregerson looks great at times and god awful at others. This year is a pretty good sample size and with an era of 4.5 alot fans on here have the right to vent their frustration rather than look to the brightside as the other few do. It is a fan forum not a pep rally.
Just like nobody is on here going "nuts" whenever he has a good game (which he's been on track the last 2 weeks)... you have to look at the individual appearances. And you can do that for a relief pitcher/closer with just over a 1/3'd of the season, which pretty much puts your "sample size" argument to shame. Today, he gives up a double on a ridiculous piece of hitting by the Jays leadoff man (wasn't a bad pitch), then gets an "out" on a bad pitch to Donaldson. His "best" pitching today was to their best hitter... and resulted in the Villar miscue. He remains the best option to close on this team... unless you truly buy into the elevated ERA as evidence that he's really "lost" something (with given his appearances over the past 2 weeks, I'm still not buying that). Would appreciate if anybody actually had suggestions for a replacement... or just venting/b****ing just to vent.
Appears he isn't the shut down pitcher he once was. Anyone remember Lidge? He was as lights out as they come but at a certain point I wasn't even mad when the Astros let him go.
And he proceeded to go on to have his best season of his career after that... any more expert analysis?
I'd try Neshek at closer. It's worth a shot. Gregerson, in his last 14 appearances, dating back to May 1st, has given up 10 runs in 13 innings. Sure, a run given up here and there is fine and unavoidable. However, Gregerson is way too inconsistent at this time to be a closer. You need consistency in that role, not someone that looks great one night and gets rocked the next night. 4 of those 13 appearances resulted in 2 or more runs in the inning. Give someone else a shot...Neshek deserves the opportunity. Put Gregerson in a less pressurized situation, an 8th inning role, and see if he can turn it around.
Gregerson strikes me more of a set up guy than a classic closer. Josh Fields to me has the closest closer stuff currently in the pen. He at times has been wild but has gotten better this year. Gregerson has to have good command to get hitters out. When he is off just a little, it could be a bad situation. Astros defense until recently has really been solid and the reason for their success. But with pitchers like Gregerson, who has non-dominant stuff, your margin for error is small. Gregerson has played with fire all year and got burned today. Villar was key to the team losing but the Blue Jays were likely going to at least tie it against Gregerson anyway today.
i think everyone's just upset about losing and looking for someone to blame.. Gregerson won't be pulled because management isn't that short-sighted
Gregerson hasn't been good this year... Its not a knee jerk reaction. He has to pitch better and at this point, the Astros can't afford to keep trotting him out there with two run leads and having to sweat it out. It shouldn't be a thrill ride every other 9th inning.
Gregerson's home runs per 9 innings is more than double his career average right now. He's been mediocre as a closer. Seems like he's had a lot of 2 and 3 run save chances.
So this morning, when he had an ERA in the mid 3's, did he have closer stuff? Or what about a few weeks ago, when he was in the mid 2's? Did he have closer stuff the last 4 years when he had ERAs in the mid 2's each year? What ERA defines "closer stuff"?
And his K-Rate is at a career high. His WHIP and BAA are both better than very solid career averages. K-Rate and WHIP tend to be good predictors of future results.
if villar doesn't wave altuve off, gregerson is now pitching with 2 outs 1 man on base, no double steal happens. a closer, by nature, always flirts with disaster. we've officially hit a rough patch. it will be INTRIGUING to see how we get out of it.
