The Bullpen Takes Another Hit
July 7, 2010 at 5:40 pm | Posted in Carlos Monasterios, Ronald Belisario | 15 Comments
Eric Stephen (a blogger!) scoops the “real” media with some out-of-nowhere news:
Ronald Belisario placed on restricted list for personal reasons (!!!) to make room for Carlos Monasterios, who was activated from DL.
We have no idea what those reasons are yet, so while I’ll note his DUI last winter and two late arrivals to camp in a row thanks to visa issues, we can’t really speculate on what’s going on yet. (That’s your job, commenters.)
What we do know is that Joe Torre trusts only three members of his bullpen, and he’s now lost one of them. Belisario’s been outstanding of late, having not allowed more than one earned run in 19 games in a row stretching back to late May. His ERA over that time is just 1.31, and batters have just a .219/.269/.274 line against him. Losing him is a big blow; we’ll see just how long he’s going to be out for, because Torre – try as he might – can’t go to Hong-Chih Kuo and Jonathan Broxton every night, and the George Sherrills and Justin Millers of the world clearly aren’t earning a lot of confidence.
As for what the restricted list is used for, Baseball Prospectus’ Jeff Euston gave it an in-depth look recently. It’s, ah, generally not for good news:
Under Major League Rule 15, a team may petition MLB to place a player on the restricted list if he is unable to render his services to his club through some action of his own. Typical circumstances include failure to report, visa problems, domestic abuse situations or treatment for drug or alcohol abuse. A player on the restricted list does not count against the 40-man roster, is not paid, and does not earn service time. A team may keep a player on the list indefinitely until he is reinstated under Major League Rule 16.
The restricted list also can be a transactional last resort for a player with a personal issue. In 2003, baseball instituted the bereavement list, which allows a three- to seven-day excused absence for a player experiencing a family emergency or the death of a loved one. With permission from the Commissioner’s office, the player’s team may replace him on the active 25-man roster, though he continues to be paid and earn service time. But if an absence extends more than seven days, the club must resort to placing the player on the restricted list, where he is not paid and does not earn service time. Casey Kotchman, Cliff Floyd, and Alex Gonzalez (then with Cincinnati) all were placed on the restricted list in recent years after their seven-day bereavement leave had expired.
The restricted list is distinct from the suspended list and the disqualified list. The suspended list is used for players in violation of the prohibited substance ban or as the result of an on-field incident, such as a fight with another player or an incident with an umpire. A player suspended for an on-field incident may not be replaced on the active roster, leaving his team a man short for the duration of the suspension. For example, Tampa Bay played two games in April with a 24-man roster after catcher Dioner Navarro was suspended for bumping an umpire. But Philadelphia was able to field a complete 25-man roster after reliever J.C. Romero tested positive for a banned substance and was suspended for the first 50 games of 2009. Incidentally, the Phillies placed Romero on the restricted list during his suspension.
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That is troubling news, indeed. Belisario had just gotten that wicked movement back on his fastball and was beginning to look dominating. My first thought, too, was that this is related to his DUI arrest last year. Let’s hope not.
Comment by SamAdams— July 7, 2010 #
“…we can’t really speculate on what’s going on yet. (That’s your job, commenters.)” lol I love this line. MSTI, I don’t think anyone’s thanked you recently for the amount of (quality) content you’ve been putting up, so thank you on behalf of myself and I’m sure all of the rest of the commenters.
However, I refuse to speculate on Belisario because that’s how rumors get started! :P
Comment by Bobby Long— July 7, 2010 #
Ha, thanks. You keep reading, I’ll keep writing.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 7, 2010 #
Any chance this is just, uhh, just strategic shuffling to keep Monastarios?? That’s what I’m hoping for. . . . .
Comment by BrannaK— July 7, 2010 #
This makes no sense. It would have to be something heinous to merit a restricted list placement no? Otherwise why would you deliberately hurt your team? How long can you be placed on the list? I mean is it like a DL trip where its a minimum of 15 days? if so then its probably something bad. But if you can be put on the RL for as little as 1game, them maybe its just creative shuffling. Maybe he made fun of Coletti’s boots and ‘stache.
Comment by EephusBlue— July 7, 2010 #
So according to TRUEBLUELA, a player has to spend at least 5 days on the RL. Maybe it is just fancy roster shuffling seeing as Belli had pitch 3 innings the other night and might be pretty useless for now. Could be a move to get us to the AS break and then bring him back up? Whatever the reason, Joe better start trusting other guys in the pen or we are going to see some ugly effects on our core relievers.
Comment by EephusBlue— July 7, 2010 #
That seems kind of unlikely when it’s your 3rd best reliever and not the last man in the pen. If anything, they would have just sent down Schlichting (who threw a lot of pitches last night and gave up some runs), rather than risk losses by messing with Belisario.
No, I think this is going to be all too real.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 7, 2010 #
“Strategic shuffling” because JT is too stubborn to get rid of Sherrill………and maybe Miller.
Comment by DodgersKings323— July 7, 2010 #
Or maybe Bellisario is full of mercury and placed on the RL.
Comment by EephusBlue— July 7, 2010 #
But if it’s creative shuffling, isn’t it screwing Belisario because he won’t be getting paid while he is on the RL. Plus it has to be approved by MLB….
Comment by ElbertFan— July 7, 2010 #
Cannot believe this move is “creative” in any manner. Belisario is/was our third best RP. With options remaining on Schlichting, with Sherrill almost totally ineffective to this point, and Justin Miller looking pretty shaky lately, no way Belisario gets pushed out.
Purely speculation, but it would seem be either substance abuse or an insubordination issue. My bet is the former.
Comment by SamAdams— July 7, 2010 #
Seeing as how Joe got it from Ned, I’m putting my money on substance abuse. The GM would know before the manager in that case, being notified by MLB.
Comment by carolinabluedodger— July 7, 2010 #
Chad from MOKM is guessing that it’s a kidnapping in his family, and the more I read the more I think he’s right.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— July 7, 2010 #
What drugs doesn’t MLB test for?
Comment by dzzrt Ratt— July 8, 2010 #
[...] had proven he wasn’t a fluke, and could be just as effective as he’d been in 2009. Except on July 7… Eric Stephen (a blogger!) scoops the “real” media with some out-of-nowhere [...]
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