Add new comment

.

SABRMatt pushes chips in toward the bet that the Mets have simply botched it, in letting Bradford get away:

.

THE ARSENAL

As Lookout Landing points out, Bradford is a tight-spin (2600+ RPM) slider guy.  You can feast your eyes on the perfect version of this pitch at the first .gif in Kate Preusser's tight little report.

Since his fastball is ML average at best, what you're hoping for here on the UP is --- > well, there are NOT actually many shelves stocked full of precedents for RELIEVERS who combine vicious sliders with 91 MPH fastballs painted time and time again.  (Erasmo Ramirez is actually an interesting little reach here.)  Bradford, if he becomes an impact reliever, is going to do it by throwing blizzards upon blizzards worth of painted strike ones -- MLB batters, greedly for pulled airballs, do not swing at painted strike ones -- because what you have here is:

(1) A dubious early-count arsenal

(2) A valid late-count arsenal

.

THE MONEYBALL

ML scouts like to have a template to point to, a 6' cardboard cutout, something that they can at least hope a player could become.  With Bradford it's awfully tough to find that cutout.  With starters you can do it; there are sinker-slider groundballers who keep the ball in play, who make the percentages work in their favor.  Lowe, Westbrook, Masterson.  Funny that relievers are kind of more unusual.  The trend, as you know, is toward huge flotillas of 96-MPH studs coming in after the 6th.

So Dipoto here is playing Billy Beane here to a room full of skeptics.  Of that, Dr. D thoroughly approves.  :- ) 

.

THE OPTION YEARS THAT MATT UNDERLINES

As you know, it becomes more and more and More and MORE of the game, the Cheney Carousel.  Also, Bradford can twirl 2, 3, IP at a time.  Not tough to imagine him coming up and smoothing out a 18-games-in-19-days stretch.

.

DR's PROGNOSIS

Speaking to the other post up this morning ... if you don't have Yu Darvish joining your travelin' squad, if you have 9,000 guys competing to see which one "breaks out," the fact is you just gotta wait and see.

However, there IS good news here.  Let's you and me play a game of 5-card poker, no stud, no draw.  Just best 5 cards.  Except you get 19 cards to draw through and I get 8 cards to draw through.  There's value in that.

Dipoto has never really gone after this particular TYPE of pitcher before, a mediocre righty whose calling card is a plus (-plus) slider, so kudos for the flexibility.  Chase Bradford is in there when pitchers and catchers report -- are we coming down to a month on that? -- and if Bradford hits the mitt, well, he's no Blake Beavan.  He's got what it takes to put batters away.

BABVA,

Dr D