FanPost

The new bullpen ...

... isn't getting the job done. The Cards won games 2 & 3 of the series because their bullpen did its job, and the Astros' pen did not.

Wade's off-season acquisition strategy was, given the dearth of good starting pitching available, stock up the bullpen with quality long relievers to make up for the innings that the thin starting rotation was not likely to pile up.

So far, not so good.  In Wed. night's game, 3 bullpen pitchers (Moehler, Borkowski, Villareal) gave up 1 run each in 1 inning each.  Geary gave up the winning run the night before in relief.  Valverde blew a save the night before by giving up 3 runs in the 9th.

Cards Bullpen 2, Astros 0.

Part of the problem here is who was retained.  Borkowski and Moehler are mediocre journeymen at best.  At most, one of them should be kept as an innings-eater, mop-up guy, but not both.  I'd rather see kids off the farm teams be given shots than to see those two slog through another season.

And other than Brocail and Wright, the new guys haven't impressed, either. Without a quality pen able to hold the opposition in late innings, it's going to be a long season.