Around the Horn: Bullpen
01/11/2006
KANSAS CITY -- Credit the Royals for this: they got through the wheeling and dealing of winter without sacrificing their most sought-after commodity.
Their young bullpen remained intact.
Other teams wanted Mike MacDougal, Ambiorix Burgos, Andrew Sisco or Jeremy Affeldt, but so far they're still around.
The only reliever traded was Jonah Bayliss, sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates for starter Mark Redman.
Meantime, the Royals added veteran Elmer Dessens for the middle innings. Dessens had a 3.56 ERA in 28 games (seven starts) for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.
"We've upgraded with Dessens to give us a six-to-nine-out guy," assistant general manager Muzzy Jackson said. "If he and [Mike] Wood and those type of guys can give you multiple innings and get to our strength -- Sisco, Burgos and MacDougal, we'll feel really good about that."
MacDougal, after sizzling as a rookie and making the 2003 All-Star team, re-emerged as the closer.
"I think last year was his best year. To me, he was more consistent, his stuff was better than even his rookie season when he was an All-Star," Jackson said.
"His command was better, his arm slot was consistent, he threw strikes early in the count and his stuff was obviously electric."
MacDougal had 21 saves in 25 chances, a team-high 68 appearances, five victories and a 3.33 ERA. He struck out 72 and walked 24 in 70 1/3 innings.
"When you throw that hard and can hit the strike zone, he's extremely hard to hit," Jackson said.
"He's backed off a little bit but he changes speeds well and he can get it up there in the high 90s when he needs to. Early in the count, he can add a little bit to his fastball and he does a quality job."
Sisco, a Rule 5 Draft selection, and Burgos, just 21, emerged as the left-right setup men for MacDougal.
"They were learning at the back end of the bullpen at the Major League level as rookies and that's a tough thing to ask kids to do," Jackson said.
"Coming into Spring Training, they know they can succeed in those roles and with MacDougal and [Jeremy] Affeldt there to help them as well, I feel extremely good about our bullpen."
The rest of the bullpen will depend on who might filter through the competition for the starting rotation. Affeldt, Wood, Joe Mays and Denny Bautista will be in the hunt as starters but might end up in relief.
Then there are holdovers Jimmy Gobble and Leo Nunez.
The Royals also picked up Joel Peralta, who had a 3.89 ERA for the Angels.
The key, of course, will be the ability of the starters to get the game to the bullpen in good shape.
"If we're in the game in the fifth or sixth inning, we feel pretty good about our chances to win that day," Jackson said.
Source: http://royals.mlb.com/
KANSAS CITY -- Credit the Royals for this: they got through the wheeling and dealing of winter without sacrificing their most sought-after commodity.
Their young bullpen remained intact.
Other teams wanted Mike MacDougal, Ambiorix Burgos, Andrew Sisco or Jeremy Affeldt, but so far they're still around.
The only reliever traded was Jonah Bayliss, sent to the Pittsburgh Pirates for starter Mark Redman.
Meantime, the Royals added veteran Elmer Dessens for the middle innings. Dessens had a 3.56 ERA in 28 games (seven starts) for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season.
"We've upgraded with Dessens to give us a six-to-nine-out guy," assistant general manager Muzzy Jackson said. "If he and [Mike] Wood and those type of guys can give you multiple innings and get to our strength -- Sisco, Burgos and MacDougal, we'll feel really good about that."
MacDougal, after sizzling as a rookie and making the 2003 All-Star team, re-emerged as the closer.
"I think last year was his best year. To me, he was more consistent, his stuff was better than even his rookie season when he was an All-Star," Jackson said.
"His command was better, his arm slot was consistent, he threw strikes early in the count and his stuff was obviously electric."
MacDougal had 21 saves in 25 chances, a team-high 68 appearances, five victories and a 3.33 ERA. He struck out 72 and walked 24 in 70 1/3 innings.
"When you throw that hard and can hit the strike zone, he's extremely hard to hit," Jackson said.
"He's backed off a little bit but he changes speeds well and he can get it up there in the high 90s when he needs to. Early in the count, he can add a little bit to his fastball and he does a quality job."
Sisco, a Rule 5 Draft selection, and Burgos, just 21, emerged as the left-right setup men for MacDougal.
"They were learning at the back end of the bullpen at the Major League level as rookies and that's a tough thing to ask kids to do," Jackson said.
"Coming into Spring Training, they know they can succeed in those roles and with MacDougal and [Jeremy] Affeldt there to help them as well, I feel extremely good about our bullpen."
The rest of the bullpen will depend on who might filter through the competition for the starting rotation. Affeldt, Wood, Joe Mays and Denny Bautista will be in the hunt as starters but might end up in relief.
Then there are holdovers Jimmy Gobble and Leo Nunez.
The Royals also picked up Joel Peralta, who had a 3.89 ERA for the Angels.
The key, of course, will be the ability of the starters to get the game to the bullpen in good shape.
"If we're in the game in the fifth or sixth inning, we feel pretty good about our chances to win that day," Jackson said.
Source: http://royals.mlb.com/
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