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Trevor Hoffman entered the season with 591 saves and it was more a question of when rather than if he managed to break the 600 barrier. After Tuesday's disastrous outing against the Cincinnatti Reds, his second blown save in two days, there is every chance the 42 year old might not get the chance to extend his legacy. Hoffman entered the bottom of the ninth with a 4-2 lead and proceeded to give up four hits and a walk without retiring a single batter with Corey Hart hitting the game winning RBI single as the Reds took the game 5-4.
Hoffman's ERA is now 13.15 and the last time it was in single figures was on April 27, he has
amassed five blown saves so far in 2010 (more than his total in both 2008 and 2009) and opponents are hitting .356 against him. Brewers manager Ken Macha told reporters that Hoffman would be having the day off on Wednesday but with Milwaukee owning the second worse winning percentage in the National League and sitting eight games back in the NL Central, the team needs to start winning rather than throwing away games.
Although Hoffman is having his share of bad luck this season (his HR/FB ratio is over five times higher than last year) his numbers stink all round. Batters are swinging and missing at only around one in five pitches out of the strike zone, a drop of 20% from his career average and when swinging, they're making contact on two out of every three pitches outside and over 90% inside the strike zone. When a good ratio of hits are leaving the ballpark, contact like that is something you really don't want.
Hoffman's 85mph fastball is never going to beat a batter with speed but it is giving away an additional 3.28 runs per 100 pitches above average; even his signature changeup is 3.59 above average. That's a big turnaround from 2009 when he was 3.10 and 3.95 runs better than average for his fastball and changeup respectively suggesting that last year might have been the Dead Cat Bounce to signal the twilight of his eighteen year career. The Brewers don't have a dominating closer type on their roster, which might be Hoffman's best chance of keeping the closing role, and tomorrow Carlos Villanueva has the best chance of entering a save situation. It has been a long, productive and Hall Of Fame worthy career but as he sits on 999 career appearances and 596 saves it might be game over for Hoffman.
.
Hoffman's ERA is now 13.15 and the last time it was in single figures was on April 27, he has
amassed five blown saves so far in 2010 (more than his total in both 2008 and 2009) and opponents are hitting .356 against him. Brewers manager Ken Macha told reporters that Hoffman would be having the day off on Wednesday but with Milwaukee owning the second worse winning percentage in the National League and sitting eight games back in the NL Central, the team needs to start winning rather than throwing away games.
Although Hoffman is having his share of bad luck this season (his HR/FB ratio is over five times higher than last year) his numbers stink all round. Batters are swinging and missing at only around one in five pitches out of the strike zone, a drop of 20% from his career average and when swinging, they're making contact on two out of every three pitches outside and over 90% inside the strike zone. When a good ratio of hits are leaving the ballpark, contact like that is something you really don't want.
Hoffman's 85mph fastball is never going to beat a batter with speed but it is giving away an additional 3.28 runs per 100 pitches above average; even his signature changeup is 3.59 above average. That's a big turnaround from 2009 when he was 3.10 and 3.95 runs better than average for his fastball and changeup respectively suggesting that last year might have been the Dead Cat Bounce to signal the twilight of his eighteen year career. The Brewers don't have a dominating closer type on their roster, which might be Hoffman's best chance of keeping the closing role, and tomorrow Carlos Villanueva has the best chance of entering a save situation. It has been a long, productive and Hall Of Fame worthy career but as he sits on 999 career appearances and 596 saves it might be game over for Hoffman.
.
