I was begging for it before this year even while acknowledging that the Ms might bullpen him just out of convenience and the need for an arm there. But it looks like his AA wobble convinced them to stick him in the pen for immediate use rather than burn the last option or two (he had to immediately be placed on the 40 man because of when he was originally drafted, IIRC, and now he's not coming off it for sure) trying to make him a starter.
You're supposed to bullpen your flamethrowers who aren't working out, but most of ours ARE working out, and we'd rather have Wilhelmsen throwing 70 innings for us than 180 for someone else because he gets squeezed out by Paxton, Hultzen and others. I understand that logic. I don't necessarily AGREE with it, but Jack is not on a whenever-he-gets-here-is-fine timetable.
I think it's .500 or bust next year. If that means that we burn a FA year for Paxton the way we did for Pineda, then I think we do it. If that means Wilhelmsen is better serving the cause in the bullpen, then he's in the bullpen.
IMO, Jack is making a call that Wilhelmsen will not be one of his 5 best starters next year, but is one of his 11 best arms, and he needs the arm. Whether that's penny-wise and pound-foolish, or just the cold hard facts of the situation...I think that's the way it's playing out.
If Morrow had been a Papelbon/Soriano in the pen, btw, he'd have stayed on the team - he would have been more valuable to us than League. As far as I can tell, he got traded because we didn't trust him to stay healthy, didn't like his attitude, and thought he wasn't mentally tough enough to close or to get the tough outs as a starter.
And I still believe it was part of the Cliff Lee deal, denials aside.
But if Wilhelmsen can get tough outs, then he can be a part of any Zduriencik team.
Brandon Morrow, btw, has an ERA near 5 as a starter for his career even while leading the league in K/9 - amazing fastball or not, he just gets scored on. I like and use FIP and xFIP a lot, but I do wonder why some guys with great stuff always give up too many runs.
Felix did early, and doesn't now. Morrow is worse this year than last. Maybe he'll get better, but right now he racks up big stats while making sure his team loses too many games.
I dunno that that's not part of his princess nature. If he outgrows it, it seems to me it won't be until free agency, and a "contract year" performance from him is one I'd be very leery of.
Maybe Wilhelmsen is a second chance at Morrow, but if he is, it looks like he's being aimed at a second chance at Closer Morrow and not Starter Morrow.
That wouldn't be my Plan A - but I'd still take it. Wilhelmsen, Lueke and Moran could wind up being a new-fangled Sasaki, Nelson and Rhodes if things break right.
There are worse things.
~G
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