03-29-2009, 06:17 PM
Wittenmeyer had an interesting suggestion...
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Marmol, Gregg, Cotts and Heilman are your top four pen guys. Handle the three other spots like this: Give two of the jobs to veteran Chad Fox and Rule 5 kid David Patton. They've earned them, and in Patton's case, it prevents being forced to offer him back to his original team, Colorado.
Then give Vizcaino the last spot, which prevents being forced to eat the $4 million he's owed on his contract -- at least yet. That means Hart and Samardzija open in the minors, and it means coming up with some kind of ``tired shoulder'' or ``plantar fasciitis'' for Gaudin and Guzman, who are both out of options and likely to be claimed on waivers if cut.
This buys a few weeks into the regular season to see how Patton handles big crowds and games that matter, how Vizcaino looks when it counts, and whether any of those other guys respond to a wakeup call.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--quoteo-->QUOTE <!--quotec-->Marmol, Gregg, Cotts and Heilman are your top four pen guys. Handle the three other spots like this: Give two of the jobs to veteran Chad Fox and Rule 5 kid David Patton. They've earned them, and in Patton's case, it prevents being forced to offer him back to his original team, Colorado.
Then give Vizcaino the last spot, which prevents being forced to eat the $4 million he's owed on his contract -- at least yet. That means Hart and Samardzija open in the minors, and it means coming up with some kind of ``tired shoulder'' or ``plantar fasciitis'' for Gaudin and Guzman, who are both out of options and likely to be claimed on waivers if cut.
This buys a few weeks into the regular season to see how Patton handles big crowds and games that matter, how Vizcaino looks when it counts, and whether any of those other guys respond to a wakeup call.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->