Borowski DFA'd
The era of The Close draws to a close. Also! Bauer gone, Lewis and Slocum promoted.
over 3 years ago
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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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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
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?
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.
Breslow was passed by the Red Sox. He put together a mere 10 scoreless innings. He’s not worth this much concern.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
Saw this morning, Borowski cleared waivers and was released. Bauer was offered his old Triple-A gig back but opted for free agency.
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