Loading ...From the Enquirer:
Homer Bailey has thrown 137 2/3 innings this season, and that’s about as many as the Reds had planned for him.
But there are no plans to shut him down.
“He’s going to pitch through the playoffs,” Krivsky said.
Any chance he’ll be up with the Reds in the September?
“I don’t know,” Krivsky said. “I’m not ready to say yes or no.”
But it’s probably a long shot.
Jason Standridge and Gary Majewski, currently in the DL, should be healthy and pitching by Sept. 1. Krivsky said Grant Balfour, on the DL all season, could possibly pitch in September as well.
This is the first time I haven’t heard Krivsky give a resounding “no” about Bailey coming up this year. I’m also a little concerned about them letting him pitch through the playoffs after saying they were going to watch his innings. I might be being a little overly concerned, but with the Reds history with pitching prospects I’d rather be safe than sorry.
Hmmmmmm…. For the first time, Krivsky says Bailey could come up in Sep. and Bailey is due to pitch today in Chatt., while we are going to trot Michalak out onto the mound against Oswalt for his second pummeling. If Bailey finishes the season with Chatt. he will start 3 more times in regular season, counting today, and once in the playoffs. How man many more starts would our fifth guy get, 4 maybe, if he’s skipped a time or two? Could they be thinking about giving him a few starts in the number five spot?
Later,
Tom
if the reds don’t go to a four man rotation in september (and add a few arms to the pen to go along with that), they are going to need someone…i’m sure a lot depends on tonight’s start.
If I had anything to do with the decision, I’d strongly vote against it. “Yahweh” is not ready for the workload. He’s actually at 127-2/3 innings, and with 4 more double-A starts will end at around 150. That alone is pushing the envelope. I do not want to see Homer go the way of Prior and Wood, no matter what it might do for the playoff run.
I also don’t think it’s necessary. We’ll see what happens on the big West Coast trip, but right now the Reds as-is clearly have an inside track for a playoff spot.
I fear that if Bailey was called up for a few September outings, that would almost certainly evolve into him being pressed into postseason action as well. Now 130 innings (possible preseason goal) has morphed to 150 (in AA) to 170 (in MLB) to maybe 190 (in MLB playoffs). Dangerous. He only threw 100 innings in Dayton last year.
And all of this assumes that he can even make these jumps successfully. He started this year in a single-A pitcher’s league and was very inconsistent there.
I agree … he’s still young, don’t overwork “Yahweh’s” arm. We want him in Cincy for 12-15 years, not 5-7 like what’s happening with Wood and Prior in Chicago.
i’m glad that they’re letting him pitch the whole season and the playoffs for AA, i think it will be good experience, and a good challenge for his arm.
from there it gets trickier. he absolutely should NOT start in the major leagues this year. no way, no how. buuuuuut, if he’s at 150 innings, say, and gets a little time to rest, i think if i were the GM i could be persuaded to let him throw a few innings of relief with the reds, a la jon papelbon last year.
he comes in infrequently, keeps his arm loose, and throws smoke for an inning against big league hitters. The reds benefit, at least a little, because he’ll probably dominate in his few appearances. Homer will benefit because he’ll have gotten a taste of the show and be hungry next year.
Oh, please, please be careful. Bailey is starting to be recognized as the top pitching prospect in the game. Don’t F it up.
I live in Chattanooga and have seen Homer’s last 2 home starts (he should go tonight in Birmingham & Monday in Chatt.)
One thing very impressive is that he changes speed on the fastball, and his motion looks the same whether it’s 88 or 94 or 96.
It’s also something to watch his warm-up routine. Before going to the pen, he long tosses with the catcher in right field from about 175-200 feet, using his pitching windup. Just watching that, you can see he has a special talent.