How confident are you in Carl Edwards Jr?
My wife has always hated when they bring him in. From her recollections, he never does that great. He’s always getting himself into some type of jam. I’ve always defended Carl. This year he had been lights out, until recently.
He’s got great stuff, electric stuff. I actually thought he would be the closer of the future. In the magical year that was 2016, he performed very well. He was even in the final game of the season, getting some of the key final outs. But remember, he didn’t get THE final out; we need to bring in Montgomery for that one.
Last year, it was a struggle for a lot of the bullpen in the 2nd half of the year. So my wife’s recollections would be correct there. But it wasn’t just him… it was the entire bullpen, minus Wade Davis, that could not be trusted. So, the Cubs went out and added some arms this offseason. I think a part of it is the conservation of the bullpen. It’s not easy.
The other side of the coin is conserving the starters. It’s a fine line. I know the bullpen guys typically come in for 1 inning, 2 innings max. But, if you’re using them 5x a week, that will add up. It would be nice for our starters to get through 7 strong every time out, therefore preserving the pen. But then are the starters throwing too many innings? And when you need a bullpen guy, what’s the score of the game? Are there a lot of high leverage situations where Joe would turn to his best? Like I said, it’s not easy.
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The 8th inning should belong to Carl. It was this 8th inning, in a 1-1 game, where he has faltered these last 2 games in Atlanta. Both times, he got victimized by the Braves prized rookie Acuna. The first time, we were able to score a couple in the 9th to get the W. The second time, there was no such luck. Carl had got touched up a previous game too. Is it time to worry?
I’d still prefer Edwards over Strop any day of the week, but… can he make the jump to closer if the Cubs asked him to? It certainly doesn’t look like that will be this year, unless Morrow gets hurt, but… with the Cubs plan at closer seemingly being a year to year decision, next year could be the year he gets the call; wait, what’s Morrow signed for?
Anyways, how much can we trust Carl the 8th? Just about as much as you can trust anyone in the pen from time to time. Just like anybody, they’ll have their ups and downs. Better to get it out of the system early, and not all at the same time. Better to be rested later, for those high leverage situations late in the year/early in the playoffs.
Some of us will always cringe when the Cubs go to the pen in a close game, but that’s just kind of the nature of the beast. As Pat always says, fasten those seat belts! Go Cubs!
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