Beyond Relief

 

So this is absolutely certain at the moment: the San Diego Padres have the best bullpen in baseball. It's usually Cleveland but that's not the case this year. The Dodgers' pen has let them down a little. Even the Rays' pen is kinda mediocre. The Padres have wrangled the right grade of reliever into a very tight group and it's really been working. Three Padres relievers made it to the All-Star Game, and all three pitched in the game, which is the kind of thing you have to specify these days.

Yet...concerningly, two of the three Padres relievers that pitched in the game were responsible for allowing runs. Now, if you want to be crass, they were the two who were nominated after other players dropped out, meaning this could have been avoided if people actually wanted to play in the ASG, but regardless. Adrian Morejon gave up 2 runs, Robert Suarez gave up 2 runs. The NL still won, so it's not a complete wash, but it does call into question this team's big-game ability.

You wouldn't see anything amiss from looking at the stats, though. Jason Adam, bigot that he is, has a 1.70 ERA and is one of the most dominant relievers in the league. Robert Suarez leads the NL in saves with 28, but his 3.54 ERA tells you that it's not complete dominance. Yes, he's still a flashy, reliable closer, but he's still making the save closer than it needs to be. Adrian Morejon has quietly been a really strong relief option, and has been healthy for the first time in a while, with a 1.85 ERA. And that's not even mentioning really strong relief options around them, like Jeremiah Estrada, who has 60 Ks [more than Randy Vasquez], Bryan Hoeing, who's been rebounding since his injury, and rookie David Morgan, who burst onto the scene and has held a 2.17 ERA ever since. And even the shakier guys like Wandy Peralta and Yuki Matsui are still capable of dominance. I also want to mention that in the minors there's also relief option Bradgley Rodriguez, who is 21 and who I'd really like to succeed because I want more people to name their children Bradgley. 

Yet with the Padres having the best bullpen in the division, and possibly in the league...you'd think they'd have an easier time fending off the Giants from lapping them for second. But honestly, the Padres still have some decent sized holes. They don't have an above-average catcher, and they may try and swing one in a week or so. They're down some starters, and even the returning Yu Darvish can't amount to the missing Musgrove and King. Not only are they still looking for an everyday answer in left but the bench full of veterans isn't working at all. And Luis Arraez is having his most mediocre season yet after years of breaking .300. Even with this bullpen, and even with Tatis and Machado killing it, there's still issues here, and they're not a complete lock for a playoff spot yet. Perhaps things turn around, perhaps they do well at the deadline, but I just wish this team was as good as they looked in April. 

Coming Tonight: He's been in Boston for like 3 years and already he might be at 'never has to buy a meal in this town again' status.