J.P. Howell Put on Ice; Rays Shutdown Defacto Closer

by Tommy Rancel on Sep 26, 2009 9:09 AM EDT Comment 8 comments

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher J.P. Howell, right, hugs catcher Greg Zaun after closing out the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rays won 5-4. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

5 months ago: Tampa Bay Rays pitcher J.P. Howell, right, hugs catcher Greg Zaun after closing out the Baltimore Orioles during the ninth inning of a baseball game Tuesday Aug. 18, 2009, in St. Petersburg, Fla. The Rays won 5-4. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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Word came down last night that the Rays have decided games would no longer be chilled. With a little over a week remaining in the 2009 season, the Rays, with good reason, have shut down J.P. Howell. A key to last seasons World Series run, Howell was fantastic for most of the 2009 season and took reigns of the closers role about mid way through the season. For a good portion of the summer, Howell was nearly unhittable. From late-May through early-August, he appeared in 31 games allowing just four earned runs while striking out 40 in 32.1 innings. His opponents his just .153/.248/.234 against him; chilly.

Then Seattle happened and things went bad for the Iceman. I'll spare the women and children the horrible numbers, but over his last 17 appearances things were not good and opponents enjoyed an .881 OPS off of him. Howell said he's taking this as a paid vacation and he should. With nothing left to prove in '09, it's time to get one of the most over used relief arm some rest. Over the course of the last two seasons and ‘08 post season, Howell has thrown 168 innings and 2806 pitches.

I don't know if J.P. will be the Rays closer, but when J.P.'s In, Games will continued to be chilled...hopefully.

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Can we too 'chill' the aussie?

Maybe put him on ice Johnny “roast beef” style

by sternfan1 on Sep 26, 2009 9:23 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

All we need now is get MLB to play the season "from late May till early August"

and we have the LH Mariano Riviera

Not attempting to bash, but the season is what it is, a 162 game grind

by sternfan1 on Sep 26, 2009 9:30 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Show me a RP that pitches 162 games

And Peezy wore out because he threw more innings than any other reliever over an ~18 month span. He is the grind.

www.draysbay.com

by Tommy Rancel on Sep 26, 2009 10:05 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

What the hell's a 'Preezy'? What i'm suggesting is not

that a RP is going to throw in all 162 games, but choosing selective stats is futile, it proves nothing

The Nationals won a three game series at Yankee Stadium, what conclusion can we draw from that?

by sternfan1 on Sep 26, 2009 10:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Coming from ther guy who pointed to Burrells interleague play #s and BJs #'s when batting leadoff, interesting

Follow Me on Twitter @FreeZorilla

by FreeZorilla on Sep 26, 2009 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Burrell had over 600 PA as an inter-league DH

and his play this year as suggested nothing that he’s moved forward from those awful numbers

I seriously doubt if we’ll see BJ batting lead off anytime soon

by sternfan1 on Sep 26, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yes cause 32 innings of 66 innings is clearly

Equal to a 3 game series.

www.draysbay.com

by Tommy Rancel on Sep 26, 2009 12:00 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

How much of a factor

Was the WBC for both Howell and Balfour? I think this was the main reason Balfour struggled this year…he just seemed to have “tired arm” or “dead arm” the whole year. How can you go from throwing 95-97mph consistently to topping out at 93mph?

For both pitchers, factor in the innings they pitched last year + the World Baseball Classic + this year, and I think that’s the main reason why Balfour struggled and why Howell hit the wall…

by Pinto on Sep 28, 2009 11:41 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs