Joakim Soria, Bench Warmer!

Joakim Soria, Kansas City Royals
by Goose Joak

He gets paid the same whether your throw him 1 inning or 100 innings.  So 11 games into the season, why has Joakim Soria thrown just 3.2 innings?

Innings Pitched
Starters
----------------------
Greinke 17.2
Davies 12.2
Hochevar 12.2
Bannister 12.1
Meche 9.1


Relievers
----------------------
Cruz 5.1 (era = 3.38)
Parrish 5.1 (era = 1.69)
Tejeda 5.0 (era = 14.40)
Hughes 4.1 (era = 8.31)
Farnsworth 3.2 (era = 4.91)
Soria 3.2 (era = 2.45 )
Mendoza 3.0 (era = 24.00)
Colon 2.0 (era = 18.00)
Rupe 1.0 (era = 0.00)

So the second best pitcher on the team has thrown the fourth fewest innings?

It gets even weirder if you look at total batters faced.

Total Batters Faced
Relievers
----------------------
Tejeda 28
Cruz 28
Hughes 20
Parrish 20
Farnsworth 19
Mendoza 18
Soria 15 (3% of pitching staff, 9% of relievers)
Colon 14
Rupe 3


Would a business keep its second best resource on the sidelines?  

Would the Cardinals bench Matt Holliday so they could use him as a pinch hitter?  And not even in a high leverage situation?

You get the point.  

But, the Royals -- an organization in need of wins (and fans) -- play Kyle Farnsworth more than its second most marketable player.  And their second best hitter is in AAA.  For the third straight year.

Use Soria! Please!

Comments

  1. That said he has been used twice in the eight inning this year.

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  2. Keep in mind that the other relievers wouldn't have faced so many more batters if they could get people out. But, you do make great points (and great cards).

    I was glad that they were able to avoid the sweep today.

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  3. It boils down to the way managers use the "closer" these days. Trey isn't gonna trot Soria out there for more than 4 outs, and the way our bullpen has been throwing... well, Joakim just hasn't gotten many opportunities. Sucks to be sure, but I'm sure we all know the realities of how closers are used these days.

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  4. Yeah, I know. You're both right. I think my frustration stems from the fact that the Royals are probably the worst team in the A.L. (whether their record bears that out right now is irrelevant). I just wish they'd think sabermetricly now and then!

    ReplyDelete

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