And that is a terrible pitcher. He's been that way pretty much his entire career, as he seems to be living off the fact that he had one decent year for the Yankees in 2006. However, because he was one of the only decent pitchers in that bullpen not named Mariano Rivera, Joe Torre went back to him over and over again, piling up 102 innings that season. After riding him again for 83 more appearances (where his 3.65 ERA masked what a bad year he had that season, as he benefited from some seriously good fortune), Proctor predictably got hurt and missed part of 2009 and all of 2010. Since coming back from injury, he has continued to be terrible, which was predictable because that was exactly what he was before he got hurt. To show my point, Proctor has posted an FIP below 4.97 just once in his career, which was that 2006 season mentioned above. His career FIP is 4.88, his career GB rate is just 31.6%, and his career BB rate is an extremely mediocre 4.07 against a fairly average 7.65 K rate. Basically, these numbers indicate that Scott Proctor is a very poor man's Scott Linebrink, which isn't really a good thing.
Meanwhile, Fredi Gonzalez keeps going back to Scott Proctor, as he must see that shiny 2.38 ERA and all that veteran experience from his time with the Yankees. Proctor was called upon in a high leverage situation last night and failed miserably, giving up a game tying 3 run homer to Scott Hairston, who is the epitome of average. With the Braves struggling to score runs, it is inevitable that everyone in the bullpen is going to pitch in some high leverage situations, including the Scott Proctor. However, the frustrating thing about that is a much better option appears to be in AAA.
We have seen Cory Gearrin some during this baseball season, and it really is time that we see more. Gearrin sports a solid 3.60 ERA in his 13 appearances (15 innings), while also sporting some excellent peripheral numbers to go along with that. Gearrin's K rate in a limited major league sample size is an outstanding 11.4 per 9 innings, which when combined with a 3.6 BB rate leads to a very good 3.17 K/BB ratio. In addition, his ground ball rate was almost 62 %. What's not to like here? Fredi must not have liked it when he gave up a couple of runs to help blow a lead to the San Diego Padres. I don't really know. But it is clear to me that the Braves need another right handed reliever in their pen, particularly one who can keep the ball on the ground. When that guy could be in the organization already, well, you can see why I'm frustrated.
Cory Gearrin may end up not being the answer. However, judging by the way he has pitched this season in limited appearances, he deserves more chances, especially when one right handed pitcher in the bullpen already isn't any good. Basically, Proctor needs to be stopped before he costs the Braves a valuable win, because it is coming if he stays with this team. Everybody knows it, except Fredi Gonzalez and Frank Wren. Damn it.
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