Not sure how you can throw McClung in there since the two short starts he made should hardly qualify as destroying a bullpen.

McClung was on pace to throw 96+ relief innings before Macha tried him as a starter. Macha had already thrown McClung's arm off.

Macha did a horrible job of bullpen management, just horrible. Hopefully that was largely due to him learning how to manage in a new league and he'll be better this year.

I didn't think that Macha did a bad job at all in managing the bullpen, considering the quality of his starting rotation and injuries. I honestly thought he had a pretty good feel for his entire pitching staff. The problem was they were really good, then they weren't. I also think it's terribly hard to manage a bullpen that doesn't have good balance. I've long felt that you have to have at least two left handers in the pen so you don't have to burn your only left hander out. I like the fact that if Hoffman fails, and the older he gets the higher the probability will be, that you have some strong arms that could close. The key to an effective bullpen is getting those starter into or through the 7th inning.

But back to Macha, I thought he managed strong at the beginning of the year and not nearly as well toward the end of the year. I wonder how much of that was due to his own frustration because I sensed that frustration in his post game interviews. I wouldn't put Macha in that great manager category, but I think he's pretty good. The great ones seem to have an instinct about when to get on a player. They seem to know when to go get a pitcher. They have that strong inner sense when to juggle the lineup or where to put a player in the lineup to maximize their skills. I would have given Macha anywhere from a C to a B in most categories, but I wouldn't have given him an A in any category.

This season is going to depend on guys like Parra to determine their siccess. Remember Parra came into last year the supposed #2... that didn't last a month. He was a walk machine, and he couldn't get out of the 4th or 5th inning. Combine that with the up and down of the other pitchers, and it's disaster.

So the addition of Wolf combined with the development of the younger guys will be the key to 2010, IMO. If Wolf repeats his performance from 2009, and Parra becomes a 200 innnings starter, and Gallardo makes the next jump to true staff Ace, the P staff will be enough for them to really contend. If any of those 3 don't happen, it'll be another .500 season, I suspect.

Joe- You throw Red in there b/c as the swingman he was expected to come in and pitch adequately, instead he got shelled (further taxing the pen).

I agree totally with warren, nothing about Macha screams "brilliant manager" but he does seem "ok." I still don't see how you blame him for the pen throwing a lot when the closer only comes in during save opps and only for one inning and your pitching was as bad as it was last year. I guess he could have tried to skip entire innings, but I have doubts that would work.

What was horrible was the starting pitching, if that was middle of the pack last year no one is talking about pen management

Again, our season depends on: Manny Parra, Ricky Weeks, Corey Hart


not Ken Macha.