Phil Coke, Not the Real Thing?
So, Jim Leyland is not admitting it but with the ongoing headaches caused by Jose Valverde it appears that the Tigers bullpen is going the closer-by-committee route.
According to the Detroit News, Valverde has been working with pitching coach Jeff Jones on mechanical issues .
"Part of it was his tempo was a little bit slow and we're trying to speed that up," Jones said. "When you get in a situation like he did where he had a couple of games in a row, it affects your confidence a little bit too.
"I think he's put it behind him and we're going to the World Series and he knows he's going to be a big part of that."
For Valverde, fixing his issues is about repetition and muscle memory to solidify his motion.
"It's my leg. My leg is a little slow and now it feels all right," Valverde said.
"It's timing and everything. I worked out for Jonesy in the last two days and everything's perfect right now."
The question is does Leyland buy it?
And if he doesn't, it seems that he will be turning to his left-handed specialist, Phil Coke who has 7.1 scoreless innings this postseason including two saves against the Yankees.
But there is evidence that Coke is not a credible alternative.
Let's look at the WHIP (Walks + Hits divided by Innings Pitched), a key determinant of the effectiveness of relievers, of the relievers with at least 50 appearances.
Here are the 15 best relievers with a WHIP under 1.00:
Rk | Player | WHIP | GR | Tm | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Craig Kimbrel | 0.654 | 63 | ATL | 56 | 42 | 62.2 | 27 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 116 | 1.01 |
2 | Fernando Rodney | 0.777 | 76 | TBR | 65 | 48 | 74.2 | 43 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 76 | 0.60 |
3 | Jake McGee | 0.795 | 69 | TBR | 13 | 0 | 55.1 | 33 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 73 | 1.95 |
4 | Aroldis Chapman | 0.809 | 68 | CIN | 52 | 38 | 71.2 | 35 | 13 | 12 | 23 | 122 | 1.51 |
5 | Kenley Jansen | 0.846 | 65 | LAD | 40 | 25 | 65.0 | 33 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 99 | 2.35 |
6 | Sergio Romo | 0.849 | 69 | SFG | 27 | 14 | 55.1 | 37 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 63 | 1.79 |
7 | Casey Janssen | 0.864 | 62 | TOR | 47 | 22 | 63.2 | 44 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 67 | 2.54 |
8 | Jason Motte | 0.917 | 67 | STL | 58 | 42 | 72.0 | 49 | 23 | 22 | 17 | 86 | 2.75 |
9 | Jared Burton | 0.919 | 64 | MIN | 12 | 5 | 62.0 | 41 | 21 | 15 | 16 | 55 | 2.18 |
10 | Grant Balfour | 0.924 | 75 | OAK | 34 | 24 | 74.2 | 41 | 21 | 21 | 28 | 72 | 2.53 |
11 | Darren O'Day | 0.940 | 69 | BAL | 10 | 0 | 67.0 | 49 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 69 | 2.28 |
12 | Ryan Cook | 0.941 | 71 | OAK | 23 | 14 | 73.1 | 42 | 18 | 17 | 27 | 80 | 2.09 |
13 | Ernesto Frieri | 0.985 | 67 | TOT | 51 | 23 | 66.0 | 35 | 20 | 17 | 30 | 98 | 2.32 |
14 | Joel Peralta | 0.985 | 76 | TBR | 9 | 2 | 67.0 | 49 | 28 | 27 | 17 | 84 | 3.63 |
15 | Jon Rauch | 0.988 | 73 | NYM | 22 | 4 | 57.2 | 45 | 28 | 23 | 12 | 42 | 3.59 |
Here are the 13 with a WHIP of 1.500 and above
Rk | Player | WHIP | GR | Tm | GF | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mike Dunn | 1.773 | 60 | MIA | 8 | 1 | 44.0 | 49 | 31 | 24 | 29 | 47 | 4.91 |
2 | Rhiner Cruz | 1.709 | 52 | HOU | 26 | 0 | 55.0 | 65 | 38 | 37 | 29 | 46 | 6.05 |
3 | Manny Parra | 1.653 | 62 | MIL | 8 | 0 | 58.2 | 62 | 39 | 33 | 35 | 61 | 5.06 |
4 | Phil Coke | 1.648 | 66 | DET | 11 | 1 | 54.0 | 71 | 28 | 24 | 18 | 51 | 4.00 |
5 | Clay Hensley | 1.579 | 60 | SFG | 14 | 3 | 50.2 | 50 | 30 | 26 | 30 | 42 | 4.62 |
6 | Heath Bell | 1.555 | 73 | MIA | 41 | 19 | 63.2 | 70 | 38 | 36 | 29 | 59 | 5.09 |
7 | Carlos Marmol | 1.536 | 61 | CHC | 47 | 20 | 55.1 | 40 | 24 | 21 | 45 | 72 | 3.42 |
8 | Ryan Webb | 1.525 | 65 | MIA | 21 | 0 | 60.1 | 72 | 30 | 27 | 20 | 44 | 4.03 |
9 | Jonny Venters | 1.517 | 66 | ATL | 12 | 0 | 58.2 | 61 | 23 | 21 | 28 | 69 | 3.22 |
10 | Jose Veras | 1.507 | 72 | MIL | 17 | 1 | 67.0 | 61 | 29 | 27 | 40 | 79 | 3.63 |
11 | Jamey Wright | 1.507 | 66 | LAD | 22 | 0 | 67.2 | 72 | 35 | 28 | 30 | 54 | 3.72 |
12 | Logan Ondrusek | 1.500 | 63 | CIN | 20 | 2 | 54.2 | 51 | 23 | 21 | 31 | 39 | 3.46 |
13 | Lucas Luetge | 1.500 | 63 | SEA | 16 | 2 | 40.2 | 37 | 20 | 18 | 24 | 38 | 3.98 |
You can see that Coke had the fourth worst WHIP of all relievers with at least 50 appearances and it's not because of lack of control.
Let's take a look at Coke's ever-increasing batting average against:
Year | G | PA | AB | R | H | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | 12 | 52 | 50 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 14 | .160 | .192 | .200 | .392 |
2009 | 72 | 238 | 211 | 34 | 44 | 20 | 49 | .209 | .274 | .393 | .668 |
2010 | 74 | 279 | 244 | 29 | 67 | 26 | 53 | .275 | .350 | .348 | .699 |
2011 | 48 | 474 | 423 | 64 | 118 | 40 | 69 | .279 | .345 | .383 | .728 |
2012 | 66 | 245 | 219 | 28 | 71 | 18 | 51 | .324 | .375 | .479 | .854 |
5 Yrs | 272 | 1288 | 1147 | 156 | 308 | 106 | 236 | .269 | .332 | .388 | .720 |
MLB Averages | .259 | .326 | .408 | .734 |
It is not just an increasing batting average against that speaks to concerns about Coke, a quick look under-the-hood shows that the lefty struggles against right-handed batters.
Split | AB | R | H | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs RHB as LHP | 101 | 20 | 40 | 10 | 21 | .396 | .446 | .604 | 1.050 |
vs LHB as LHP | 118 | 14 | 31 | 8 | 30 | .263 | .313 | .373 | .685 |
If that's the pitcher that faces the Giants, you can assume that Leyland will have a Coke and a smile.
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