Borowski DFA'd

The era of The Close draws to a close. Also! Bauer gone, Lewis and Slocum promoted.

about 1 year ago Fiddlesticks 58 comments 8 recs |

Comments

I was hoping we could get his ERA down over the next couple weeks and flip him for a bag of balls. That said, this is a positive move. Borowski had no present and no future with the Cleveland Indians.

He had some ups and downs in his 1 1/2 years here and was a very big part of our 2007 success. I wish him well.

by Ryan Kelsey on Jul 4, 2008 1:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess the DFA is a surprise. Gives me hope that the front office will do the same with Dellucci.

by Toxicadam on Jul 4, 2008 1:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It was exactly 6 weeks ago (May 23) that Breslow was DFAd to bring JoBo back from the DL. That will go down on an increasing list of moves that did not work out well in the last 12 month. Let’s hope that Shapiro starts having a run of success beginning with CC.

Breslow has now pitched in 11 games (10.2 innings) for the Twins without giving up a run.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 2:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

to be fair, JoBo was not terrible in his comeback. A 4.26 ERA and 4 for 6 in save chances. Not great, but about what we wanted out of Borowski. I don’t know that we make this move if we were in the divisional race. Also, in the last 12 months, Shapiro has done some good things: Carroll was a good pickup. Masa Kobyiashi was a good signing. The Lofton trade was needed (despite Max Ramirez turning out to be a damn good hitter). So, I assume you are talking about a couple of the extensions Shapiro did and the Breslow DFA… don’t know if that is significant of anything really.

by Ryan Kelsey on Jul 4, 2008 3:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not “blaming” Shapiro, but the results (whether due to luck or skill) have not been the ones that lead to the contender.

I was out of the country when it happened, but i would question why Breslow was DFAd on May 23 when Lewis was sent down May 24 and Julio was DFAd May 28. In the meantime, Carmona went on the DL and they brought up Elarton (who is now inactive) and Mujica ( who sees less action than Breslow did).

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 3:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would argue that DFA’ing Julio was a good move. I didn’t mind Breslow being released because we weren’t using him and we were in contention. If we knew we were going to be out of it by July 4, we probably would have kept him, but for the role of mop up for a contending team, Elarton made more sense. I don’t know what Lewis or Carmona have to do with it. Lewis was sent down to improve his velocity, Carmona was a freak injury in the rotation.

Seems like you just have a bunch of moves listed together with no real connection there. They all make sense, to me, individually.

by Ryan Kelsey on Jul 4, 2008 3:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When Breslow was DFAd, Julio or Lewis could have been dropped instead.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed. I wasn’t for getting rid of him at the time either. How were we supposed to know how good he was when Wedge would never use him?

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2008 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That is the issue here. Wedge needs to use these guys more than once every two weeks

by Roger Dorn on Jul 4, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Dropping Lewis would have made ZERO sense.

Il faut d'abord durer.

by CU Adam on Jul 5, 2008 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right.

Note to the group generally: Try to write things that make sense.

by Jay on Jul 5, 2008 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I believe dropped refers to him being sent down to AAA. Which is exactly what happened one day after Breslow was DFA’d.

by ProgMetaller on Jul 5, 2008 12:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That does seem a little more logical, that’s probably what he meant. Even so, while Breslow’s designation wasn’t anyone’s favorite move of the year, it’s hardly the reason the Indians are where we are.

Il faut d'abord durer.

by CU Adam on Jul 5, 2008 12:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Let the auditions for closer begin!

by APV on Jul 4, 2008 1:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

would I be a jerk if I rec’d this?

by ASP on Jul 4, 2008 1:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

no – I’ll join you

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2008 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I’m with Dayton Dogg - I was hoping somebody would take a flyer on him (actually, they can still trade him for the next few days, I guess). But, I can’t argue with the decision - he’s been horrible.

by peter m on Jul 4, 2008 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

The clouds opened, and the celestial choirs sung…

Railing against the sacrifice bunt since 2000.

by jdudas on Jul 4, 2008 1:59 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

HEYYYA

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2008 2:08 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

JoBo represented all that was so rewarding about the 2007 Tribe: hard-working, over-achieving, grit dog. There was, of course, very little mystery about what 2008 would bring, which is why bringing him back was a bit like hoping for lightning to hit the same tree on consecutive days. At least we got a cool nickname out of it this year—“The Close” calls to mind “The Shape” and other spooky, doom-inducing images.

Fare thee well, JoBo. Thanks for the effort.

by tabler84 on Jul 4, 2008 2:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Independence Day indeed

by mpstable on Jul 4, 2008 2:21 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Slocum and Lewis recalled, Bauer also DFA

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 2:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

meant to say these moves will bring down the average age of the roster, which was at 29.0 before these moves.

even the Giants with their formerly ancient roster which still includes Vizquel, Durham, Aurelia, and others is at 28.6 and they have had 10 palyers make their ML debut this year

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 2:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We now have only 2 relievers older than 27, Betancourt and Masa.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 4:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Heh. In a sick, twisted, Cleveland way, I think I’m actually gonna miss the big lug.

Hasta la vista, Brodzoski. It’s been real.

--
2008: let the hate flow through you.

by vbc3 on Jul 4, 2008 2:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I feel that.

by Jay on Jul 4, 2008 10:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The New Jersey Tough rides off in the sunset…

Wedge: [letting go of Casey's hand] I'll never let go, Casey. I promise.

by cclemens31 on Jul 4, 2008 2:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I assume that even the stubborn Wedge is relieved that he doesn’t have to run JoBo out as closer any more in order to get Shapiro to drop him.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 2:51 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Always liked the guy, despite his play. Class act.

Burn on, big river, burn on...

by Turkmenbashi on Jul 4, 2008 2:58 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Shapiro could not bear the thought of Breslow and JoBo pitching in the same game.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 3:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Breslow was a waiver wire pickup that wasn’t used in a high leverage situation. Is it that surprising that he was the first to go? Are you really that concerned that he has done well since we cut him?

by Ryan Kelsey on Jul 4, 2008 3:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am (concerned). He pitched well in the very limited work that Wedge would give him.

The 2008 Cleveland Indians: Home of the Triple Steal, Unassisted Triple Play, and not a heck of a lot more.

by westbrook on Jul 4, 2008 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Breslow is getting more (but not a lot ) of work with the Twins. There is even a decent chance we will see him tonight since he hasn’t pitched since Monday.

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 4:09 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

10.2 innings is pretty small sample. A couple of two-run innings and he doesn’t look so hot.

by odradek on Jul 4, 2008 4:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly true, this is knee jerk regret factor. Any time we pass on a player and they go on to have some success, we focus on regret. It’s a sick exercise.

by elsandito on Jul 4, 2008 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

but why was Breslow dropped just before Lewis and Julio?

by palcal on Jul 4, 2008 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

because they had more flexibility and faith with Mastny, Mujica and Elarton. At that time, we were playing to win this season. If we could just send him down like we could with Lewis and Mujica, that is what we would have done.

by Ryan Kelsey on Jul 4, 2008 5:50 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wish the Indians still had Marco Scutaro.

by odradek on Jul 4, 2008 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nah I’ve gotta say that this is a bit different. Anyone who pines after J-Mike is an idiot. Anyone who down the road complains that we should’ve kept JoeBo is also an idiot. With Breslow though I think it’s safe to say that many of us questioned his release at the time. He had moments where he looked half-decent, especially in his second-last outing against the Jays. Sure it would’ve been nice for him to keep the walks to a minimum a bit better than he did, but I also would’ve liked to have seen what he could do in a longer tryout. I think ultimately the FO saw him as too much of a soft-tosser to have any significant impact, which is fair I guess.

by supermarioelia on Jul 4, 2008 6:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Exactly.

Breslow is regrettable because he didn’t get even a hint of a real tryout here, and he’s young, and we could have kept him more or less indefinitely had he worked out.

Now this is not such a big deal if we’re keeping guys instead who have significantly better chance of helping us contend in 2008, the current season. Now my point is not that we aren’t in fact contending. My point is, did those other guys really have a significantly better chance of contributing this year?

by Jay on Jul 4, 2008 10:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hello Jay,

I too have that regret – I wish we would have used him more to see if he could have fit long-term. And especially when we’re manuevering guys like Julio (who hasn’t been consistent in many seasons since he was Baltimore’s closer) and Elarton (who outside of 2005, hasn’t really been that solid since his great season with Houston several years ago) – was manuevering them worth losing Breslow?

Granted, I’m not saying Breslow was THAT great, but the point is, we don’t know if he could have fit in because we really didn’t give him many chances to evaluate him, and then we just let him go for nothing but a roster spot, and to guys who really don’t have a long-term future with the Indians (Julio certainly doesn’t, as he’s already gone, and Elarton likely doesn’t either, as I’m not convinced he’s good enough out of the bullpen to be a main pitcher on a championship ballclub).

Just my 2 cents.

The "cream of the crop" doesn't always rise to the top.

by indiansfan on Jul 4, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Breslow was passed by the Red Sox. He put together a mere 10 scoreless innings. He’s not worth this much concern.

by elsandito on Jul 6, 2008 8:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

10 scoreless sounds pretty nice right about now

by Roger Dorn on Jul 7, 2008 1:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I generally agree, but don’t you wonder if they don’t hold out a little too long for the vets, and not quite long enough for these on-the-bubble young guys?

by Jay on Jul 7, 2008 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with you guys that find a way to hand on to Breslow would have been very prudent. It just isn’t very high on my list of concerns at the moment.

by elsandito on Jul 7, 2008 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Scott Sauerbeck seemed to get a lot more rope. 57 batters faced before he was let go in 2006.

by odradek on Jul 7, 2008 8:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There were special circumstances, too.

by Jay on Jul 8, 2008 7:32 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes, but Breslow wasn’t found in the bushes. Sauerbeck was pretty awful, but probably would have hung on longer if it were not for his special cirumstances.

by odradek on Jul 9, 2008 3:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Pondering the Breslow mistake is sorta like sending the plumber in to fix a leaky faucet as the Titanic is going down. There are bigger fish to fry, like the iceberg and the sinking.

by elsandito on Jul 9, 2008 4:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

We are losing a lot of games because of the bullpen. Losing a reliever who was effective, even given the SSS here was here

I think it’s correct to be bothered by our letting go of a cheap reliever, who was effective for us (even if it was a SSS), was released after not getting a chance and then has some success elsewhere.

The whole Brandon Phillips Syndrome effect doesn’t help either.

by KevinV on Jul 9, 2008 11:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Elarton didn’t cost Breslow a spot on the roster. He came up well after. If Breslow had cleared waivers and been in Buffalo, I’m quite sure he would’ve been up before Elarton.

The valid point is that they could’ve found a way to keep him on the roster another week or so…that’s all it would’ve taken, IIRC.

by TribeJay on Jul 5, 2008 1:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs