Acceptance

[Brandon]

Today is a good day to talk about one of the players on our team that has received nothing but crap since the day we got him because of his peripheral stats and perceived lack of ability as a result. I am talking about Josh Roenicke. While he isn't the reliever I want on the mound in the ninth inning of a close game. He has been rock solid as a 6th - 7th and occasional 8th inning reliever this year. his ERA is currently at 3.08 and he got a hold last night his 12th this year. So while he is walking a high number of hitters 4.5 per 9 innings and striking out just enough at 6.325 per 9 with a 1.33 WHIP on the year he doesn't have eye popping numbers that scream success. But he has effectively kept runs off the board as his 3.08 era on the season will attest. And he is building up a track record as his Major League ERA since the beginning of 2011 is under 3.80 in all 3 seasons and up to year to date. This is reminiscent of another reliever (Guerrier)who lacked talent yet went on to pitch in 7 highly successful seasons for us before signing a 3 year 12 million contract with LA. I would think Roenicke is capable of putting up sub 4 era for the next 2-3 years until he begins his decline phase. Any way you look at it though, it is time to give Roenicke his due and applaud all that he's accomplished this year as he's been one of the few players on the team....yet one of many in the bullpen to meet or exceed all expectations for him. And to think all he cost to acquire was a waiver claim and a place on the 40 man roster.

[big dog]

KC has been less dreadful than many predicted as well. I'm not arguing it was a good signing, not arguing I'm thrilled to have the second year, but some were suggesting to expect an ERA over 5.0.

[Thrylos]

He has been pretty much the same pitcher he has been the last 2 years in Colorado, if you normalize for his BABIP (.245) this season. Another guy the Twins should sell high this off-season (unfortunately the missed the boat with Fien) because there are better options in the minors (Tonkin, Achter etc...) 6.3 K/9 do not cut it as a reliever.

[70charger]

I fully agree and have alluded to this before. Roenicke has had a good season, and credit where credit's due.

[jokin]

ACCEPTANCE.

 

Re: Morneau's departure and another ghastly season.....I came to this thread thinking it was going to be a primer for Twins fans to work through getting to the last of the 7 stages of grief.

[Brandon]

Re: Morneau's departure and another ghastly season.....I came to this thread thinking it was going to be a primer for Twins fans to work through getting to the last of the 7 stages of grief.

 

When I wrote the article this morning, I did not know Morneau was traded. This article was a response to a comment from earlier in the week when someone wrote about dumping Roenicke and I looked at his stats and thought why? He's been solid. So I wrote the article to attempt to change the paradigm on him a bit.

 

Since writing it I was thinking of looking up all of the WAR's for each player on the team and their salary and compare to the average cost per WAR to see who all had exceeded their value. That would be a cool discussion for after the season.

[Thegrin]

Dependance on strikeouts leads to increased pitch count per inning, which in turn usually leads to elevated ERA and Homers. There is nothing wrong with a 6.3 K/9.

[Seth Stohs]

When I wrote the article this morning, I did not know Morneau was traded. This article was a response to a comment from earlier in the week when someone wrote about dumping Roenicke and I looked at his stats and thought why? He's been solid. So I wrote the article to attempt to change the paradigm on him a bit.

 

I think what we find at this stage of the game is that so many of a certain variety of fan want and expect everything to be a big impact. Roenicke wasn't going to be a huge impact signing, but they got him for nothing by claiming him. What a tremendous claim it was. No, he isn't a big strikeout guy, but he has been quite effective. No, he's not a back-end of the bullpen guy, but not every bullpen guy needs to be.

 

Mostly, a lot of people just like to find fault in everything instead of just enjoying the successes that there are. He doesn't strike out enough to be successful, or he doesn't show enough power for a position. The Twins have a lot of problems, but Josh Roenicke is certainly not one of them and he does deserve to be recognized!

[jokin]

I think what we find at this stage of the game is that so many of a certain variety of fan want and expect everything to be a big impact. Roenicke wasn't going to be a huge impact signing, but they got him for nothing by claiming him. What a tremendous claim it was. No, he isn't a big strikeout guy, but he has been quite effective. No, he's not a back-end of the bullpen guy, but not every bullpen guy needs to be.

 

Mostly, a lot of people just like to find fault in everything instead of just enjoying the successes that there are. He doesn't strike out enough to be successful, or he doesn't show enough power for a position. The Twins have a lot of problems, but Josh Roenicke is certainly not one of them and he does deserve to be recognized!

 

I guess I missed the daily drumbeat of criticism directed Roenicke's way. A good pick-up at no cost, what's there to complain about?