Add new comment

Good stuff Taro.
That is one good piece of evidence that indicates that Morrow could find his control as easily, or more easily, in the pen. To reinforce it a bit, Morrow's K/BB was 47/15 in relief last year, vs. 28/19 as a starter. So there is an indicator away from my position on it, definitely.
Your point is well taken amigo: probably Morrow HAS thrown more strikes in the 'pen than I've given him credit for. So let me back off of the post above -- by one good stride's length.
...................
Qualifiers:
Morrow's 5 starts last season did not produce the starts I expect from Brandon Morrow going forward. His starts were:
Great
Solid
Bad
Okay
Bad
If that's what I thought Brandon Morrow was going to do as a starter -- 6 great starts, 12 okay ones, and 12 bad ones -- I wouldn't be arguing for him as SP at all.
So my basic response on the SP strike % is that they catch a snapshot of "Brandon Morrow, SP" at his worst. If it weren't a given that Morrow were going to do better than that as an SP, once he acclimated, then this conversation would be moot. :- )
......................
As far as Morrow throwing strikes in the pen, last year's 47/15 is certainly encouraging. But:
1) How volatile are those appearances?
2) How are they going to be affected by the pressure of closing? Tuesday they were affected a whale of a lot. He came in throwing strikes, and then the least little wobble on the high wire, with no net, and he fell off.
.........................
I'm not confident that Morrow's going to be able to avoid meltdowns in the closer's role. BUT your point is well taken: probably he has thrown more strikes in the 'pen than I've given him credit for.