The United Cardinal Bloggers begin the almost month long process known as The Roundtable. The participating bloggers take turns asking a pertinent Cardinal question and the others give their opinions on it. The blogger that asks the question (CardinalsGm in this case) records the answers and published it on their blog.

Here is the question that I posed to the bloggers:

QUESTION: Do you trust the bullpen for 2011?

In other words: What do you see as the roles of the members of the bullpen? Do you think we can pencil in and have no qualms about Ryan Franklin as our closer? Do we have enough left handed pitching? What role do you envision for Jason Motte and Kyle McClellan? Are we lacking somewhere and need another pick-up? Would you like to see someone currently targeted for minor league action brought up and given a chance?

The answers were varied and thought-provoking. Let’s take a closer look at what they had to say. I will post the answer and then the bloggers website will appear at the end of it. Enjoy!

From Nick we find:

I do trust the bullpen.

I’m comfortable with Franklin as the closer inasmuch as I’ve been comfortable with him the previous two years.  Folks have to realize that Franky is not a closer in the glamorous, fireballing, Brian Wilson sense so much as he is a finesse guy trying to nibble and get guys to chase his pitches.  When it works (2009) he can be really, really good in the role.  When he leaves a few over the plate instead of on the black (2010), the water can get a little choppy.

It’s been some time since I’ve been as confident as I am about the seventh and eighth innings (McClellan and Motte’s Worlds, respectively) and really the right-handed side of the ‘pen in general.  I don’t think they could go wrong with any of Fernando Salas, Miguel Batista, or even Eduardo Sanchez (if he impresses in spring) in the remaining open slot.  Even guys like P.J. Walters or Francisco Samuel could surprise and win that slot.

Mitchell Boggs has amazingly become somewhat of a luxury for the Cardinals, a guy flexible enough to get outs in the fifth and sixth, but also able to crank up his stuff to get a clutch strikeout in the eighth.

The lefties will be the Achilles heel of this bullpen, but as has been mentioned, La Russa’s tendencies to not over-expose his LOOGY’s to right-handed hitters should mask deficiencies somewhat.

Nick - Pitchers Hit Eighth

Cardinal blogger Mark answers with some strengths and weaknesses:

Regarding the Cardinals’ bullpen:

Strengths: right-handed relief. Kyle McClellan, Jason Motte, Mitchell Boggs and either Fernando Salas or Miguel Batista are an experienced, talented group. I trust them. They give the Cardinals a lot of consistency and flexibility.

Concerns: Because he turns 38 in March, I worry whether Ryan Franklin can stay effective and how often he can pitch. I’m also concerned about the left-handed relief. Brian Tallett was awful last year (6.40 ERA) and is incapable of retiring right-handed batters, so he is severely limited. Trever Miller turns 38 in May and had a 4.00 ERA in 2010.

Summary: On paper, Cardinals’ bullpen appears adequate. But, if Franklin stumbles and the two left-handers are washed up, it will create havoc for the Cardinals.

Mark - RetroSimba

We get a positive response from The Godfather of UCB:

Bullpens are notoriously streaky.  A guy could have a great year or two, then blow up.  Something that seems to be a weakness could turn into a strength.  You just never know what you have with relievers.

That said, I feel pretty good about it.  I’ve expected Ryan Franklin to come to earth for two years now, but he’s not done it.  If he starts looking shaky this year, though, it seems that Jason Motte is finally developing into someone that can take that ninth inning.  I expect McClellan will handle most seventh innings or, if the starter goes that long, pitch as part of a three-man tag-team eighth if there is a lefty coming up.

Trever Miller was down some last year, it seemed, but he was loads better than Dennys Reyes so I’m glad to have him along.  I’m cautiously optimistic that Tallet could be a solid LOOGY option and that TLR has seen enough of what he can do against righties to not leave him out there too long.

It’ll be interesting to see if someone like a Miguel Batista is strong enough in the spring to take the long man job.  On the whole, though, while the bullpen may be the weakest link on this team, it is still probably enough to get them through.

This blogger shows trust in the bullpen with this reply:

I think trusting the bullpen will depend on the health of the starting pitching.  If everyone stays healthy and goes deep into most games, that should let them stay rested and strong.  I’m not a big fan of Franklin as the closer either, especially when we make the postseason.  I think you need someone who can get a strikeout when needed.  We might need to pick up a lefty, but Duncan will know for sure after ST.  So, the potential for the Cardinals starting 5 is the best in years, and should hide problems in the bullpen imo.

JD Bleed Cardinal Red With Me

Response here is that Franklin will probably lose the closer role:

As much as I like Franklin, I can reason that Motte will probably be the closer after this season–maybe even during it.  But for the most part, we are pretty solid and in the first division of Major League relieving staffs.

Aaron Cards Diaspora

Dustin is looking for good things from Kyle McClellan:

As spring training approaches I’m content with our bullpen as it stands I suppose. I don’t necessarily look at it as a shutdown juggernaut, but fairly solid nonetheless.

Looking at the left side both Miller and Tallet will hopefully be considered exclusively as LOOGY’s. No reason to expect anything more.

I feel alright about the right side of the pen as a whole. Like a lot of us I have my reservations about Ryan Franklin continuing to get the ball in the 9^th. He’s been effective to this point, but I’m anxious to see Jason Motte get more opportunities to close out games. Mid to upper 90’s with movement and a splash of wildness is a good recipe to keep batters uncomfortable in the box. A confident Jason Motte could have the makings of a solid closer.

I consider Kyle McClellan the most versatile in the pen (multiple inning outings, setup, and could even close in a pinch). I’m looking for Salas, Boggs and even Batista to get opportunities to step up in pressure situations throughout the season as well as being innings eaters. Kyle Lohse should fit well in the bullp….just kidding…I think.

Dustin Welcome To Baseball Heaven

Another blogger shows concern for Ryan Franklin:

I like the staff we have but I am concern with Ryan Franklin. I have a feeling his numbers will not be as good as 2009 season when he had 38 saves. May need to give Jason Motte a chance as a reliever this year. Give him some more chances.

Joe   The McBrayer-Baseball Blog

Andy tells us:

I always feel uncomfortable about projecting bullpen performance as it’s notoriously difficult to predict. Even those relief pitchers who take the mound more often than their bullpen peers only log enough innings to represent about one-third of a healthy, typical starter. For example, Kyle McClellan lead the Cardinals relief corp with 75.1 IP in 2010, while Adam Wainwright and Chris Carpenter each threw a little more than 230 IP. Consider that any starting pitcher can achieve respectable ERAs based on luck (e.g. abnormal results from batted balls, strand rate, etc.) in any given year, and the small-sample sizes representative of relief pitchers’ yearly statistics can be even more skewed.

With that said, right-handed relief pitchers have become one cheap commodity that the Cardinals farm system has reliably produced, and we’re starting to know some of these guys pretty well now. Even though Motte, Boggs, and McClellan are generally regarded as youngsters, we’ve seen them for at least a few innings since 2008, making this their fourth season with major league playing time. And there’s evidence that suggests steady improvement as each of their K/BB rates are trending in the right direction. I’ve been waiting for Franklin to falter ever since… well… ever since he was named the closer in 2009, but here we are three years later and he’s been nothing less than solid. His drastically reduced BB rate (1.38 BB/9 IP) was particularly impressive in 2010. As for the departure of Blake Hawksworth, I’m not losing any sleep. Someone (Batista, Snell, Walters, or Salas) will fill that role just fine.

From the left side of the bullpen, I think we can expect more of the same from Trevor Miller. Brian Tallet is an unknown for us at this point. Although he had disastrous numbers in 2010 with Toronto, most of that damage was incurred against right-handed batters; he was actually quite respectable against lefties (4.67 K/BB in 29.1 IP).

The most intriguing minor league relief arm for me is Eduardo Sanchez who was quite impressive in his first action in triple-A last season. In 27 IP, he struck out more than a batter per inning but struggled with his control some (4.0 BB/9 IP). I expect him to get more seasoning in Memphis to start 2011, but his track to the majors could get accelerated depending on what happens with Batista and Snell.

Andy  Gas House Graphs

Check out this thoughtful reply:

With spring training not quite here, yes, I trust the bullpen. Easy to do in February. But I think that, come March 31, I will still trust them. Although last season individual pieces weren’t always effective, the bullpen wasn’t a reason why the Cardinals ended 2010 where they did. (Nor were the starters.) And those who contributed to the bullpen’s overall success, like Motte and McClellan and Boggs, are all back again, which is a positive. As for closer, there are likely few teams that can pencil in their closer and have no qualms about him – and even the best aren’t automatic. Ryan Franklin is obviously not a shut-down, strike-out closer, but he got the job done last season and was an improvement over 2009. Like several have already said, I too would like to see Motte become the closer and hope that it happens this season. But, without an injury, I don’t see that happening no matter how ineffective Franklin might be. So I continue to have faith in him until he proves otherwise. For the lefties, not having Dennys Reyes back seems to be an improvement already. Hopefully Trever Miller can bounce back and be more like his 2009 self, and Brian Tallet should improve working with Dave Duncan. With the starting rotation being as strong as it is, that definitely helps the bullpen also. Less opportunity to expose any weaknesses.

Christine Aaron Miles Fastball

Another blogger is in full agreement:

I agree with most of what has been said already, although I don’t share the apprehension for Franklin.  He’s been most effective out of the pen his whole career (take a look at his 2001 season with Seattle).  Arguably the 4 best seasons of his career have been spent coming out of the Cardinal bullpen, and barring an injury or significant loss of his stuff (which we’ll probably know soon enough during spring training) I think he’ll be OK in 2011 as the closer.

Motte still scares me – he seems more prone to the gopher ball than most – but after looking at his 2010 numbers he was almost as effective as Franklin, and of course is a better strikeout pitcher.  Franklin thrives in his defined role, but I would not object to him and Motte being ‘closer by committee’ a la the 1985 Cardinals.

Mike Metzger
Stan Musial’s Stance

Then Dathan gives us his answer:

Until they prove to me that I can’t, I trust the ‘pen.  I think the righties are solid, and agree with most of you that Motte will likely be the closer before all is said & done.  If for no other reason, the organization has been forced to plan on that, given the retirement talk we’ve heard from Franklin the last couple of seasons.  From the left side, Miller has been nails–love that guy, he’s just as “wily” & “crafty” as some other position players are “scrappy” & “gritty”.

Dathan   Good Morning Good Afternoon Goodnight

Steve gives us the common theme for the answers:

I do trust Ryan Franklin. In 2010 he posted a 1.03 WHIP and only

walked 10 hitters in 65 innings. Not an overly dominate closer but can

get the job done. I don’t think any of us expected him to repeat what

he did in 2009 (38 saves,1.92 ERA).

Our late inning set-up or as I like to call them “Bridges to Franklin”:

Inning 6: Righty Mitchell Boggs, Lefty Trever Miller

Inning 7: Righty Kyle McClellan, Lefty Brian Tallet

Inning 8: Righty Jason Motte, Lefty Nobody

Also mix in some Fernando Salas, P.J. Walters, Miguel Batista. I would

love to see Fernando Salas take a bigger role in the late innings. He

just needs to learn some control and harness that raw power (in 2010,

29Ks,15BB,28 hits in 30 innings).

Obviously our lefties are aging and mediocre, and with only John Gast

being the highest touted lefty pitcher in our system, an outside trade or pickup wouldn’t hurt.

Steve  The Outfield Ivy

That about does it except for MY response. I am not convinced Ryan Franklin has much left in the tank. The good thing is Jason Motte and/or Kyle McClellan have the abilities to handle the closer role. My biggest concern is Brain Tallett. His numbers are horrid. Of course, we give him a chance but let;s not make it a long one if he falters. I look for Salas to have a very good year.

Be sure to continue following the Roundtable. Please take time to read these fine bloggers as often as possible. Here is the rest of the week schedule.

Tuesday, February 8 i70 Baseball

Wednesday, February 9 RetroSimba

Thursday, February 10 Aaron Miles’ Fastball

Friday, February 11 Stan Musial’s Stance

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