Mark Mulder: What to do?

by blove121 on Aug 29, 2006 5:25 PM EDT Comment 19 comments

I am posting prior to his start against the Marlins. Expectations are (justifiably) low. Five innings of non-blowout pitching would be greeted, perhaps not ecstatically, but at least with lowered pitchforks.

My question: what else is the club supposed to do with Mulder, besides run him out there every 5-6 days and hope things turn around? I don't pose this question from a "what to do about the rotation" perspective, but a "what to do about Mulder" perspective.

The bullpen? Why? There's no reason to think he would be any more effective there -- and he would have less opportunity to work out his mechanical issues. Other than having him hang around soaking up a roster spot, the only other choice would be to DFA, which would be a bad idea for a number of reasons.

First, by team policy the Cards might be obligated to immediately re-sign him. Heh. Seriously, DFA'ing Mulder works harm in two ways. First, there's the outside chance he gets picked up by a contender, and comes back to bite you. Second, and more important, if the Cards are to make a play in the FA market this winter (or ever again), they have to at least not worsen the poor reputation they already have for treating veteran FAs-to-be with "respect." (See: Williams, Woody; Renteria, Edgar; Matheny, Mike) How eager would a Barry Zito be to sign here, seeing that his good buddy was essentially thrown overboard, deservedly or not?

Sad to stay, but we're stuck with him. So we may as well root for him.

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i vote for hide in the bullpen

if he blows up today then just call up reyes to take his place. let him pitch out of the bullpen in blowouts, if at all. like you said, no point in DFA. we wouldnt need the roster spot becomes rosters can expand in a few days. we wouldnt save money. there is the outside chance he ends up on the reds or something like that. actually it might be good for the cards if he ended up on the reds. if he looks half way decent you let him start again but give him a quick hook.

by dmb60614 on Aug 29, 2006 5:38 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

One more chance

I say sign him to a one year deal if he starts pitching better and see if surgery helps in the offseason.

Redbirds Fun
The Kentucky Democrat

by cardsfan84 on Aug 29, 2006 5:41 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

If he accepts that, I'd agree with you.

by aet15 on Aug 29, 2006 9:44 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mark Mulder

I agree we have to start him every 5th day, unless it becomes obvious that he is injured and we are doing him harm by pitching him.

There is the chance that he could recover and start pitching well again, or he may just muddle though until the end of the season. I see no point to a trip to the bullpen for him....I think it almost does more harm than good. When would you use him?

And, if he gets it together he can defintely help in the stretch run and playoffs...you really need two dependable starters at a minimum to get by any real playoff team...

by JKW1974 on Aug 29, 2006 5:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

i'm with dmb60614

stl can't afford to give away games at this point in the year. stick him in the bullpen and let him pitch in unimportant situations. give his rotation slot to reyes, then let the chips fall.

i've heard this type of explanation from the team a few too many times this year ---- "what else could we have done? we had a bunch of bad options, we took the best one." it makes the organization sound helpless.

they don't have good options re mulder, it's true, but that's a terrible reason to keep pitching him. he should only pitch if it helps the team. otherwise, get somebody else in there.

by lboros on Aug 29, 2006 5:57 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I'd say it depends on today's start

I still say that Marquis should be demoted before Mulder is--Marky-Mark still has an excuse for pitching poorly, has an identifiable/fixable problem (mechanical issues, the fixng of which were once considered Duncan's strength), and had a better peak than Marquis.

If Mulder gets crushed again today, though, he needs to either be sent to Memphis to work things out (does he have options? Do we lose the chance to option players after they're traded?) or put in the 'pen.

by Valatan on Aug 29, 2006 6:36 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cancel that.

Send 'im to Memphis, put 'im in the pen, just get 'im out of the rotation.

by Valatan on Aug 29, 2006 8:47 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

man

what happened to mulder?

i still dont understand his DL stint...there was no surgery, no specific treatments other than excersizes to fix his arm extension and arm angle? so he was put on the DL because of bad mechanics? it just doesn't make sense to me.

i heard somewhere tv/news/blogospher(i forget) the cardinals were clueless to what was wrong after his terrible outings, and an old coach told mulder his arm angle was wrong and then mulder informs the cardinals brass? then they put him on DL...what the hell?

to me, and i dont mean to throw around accusations from nothing, but here we have a guy who just suddenly lost about 4-6mph on his fastball right after the increased testing for steroids..all these hitters were doing em an so far noone even breathes suspicions about pitchers, but i bet just as many used em.

i just dont understand how a guy who has one of the highest winning percentages in the league as a pitcher over his career, and 1st or 2nd among lefties until this year, can just fall off the table at such a young age without any severe injury..its mindboggling to me..

by 2ndprize on Aug 29, 2006 6:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

can he be placed on waivers?

and would any team be desperate enough to take a shot for him. seriously, there's not 1 reason i can think of now to keep him around.

aka "the Rev"

by erik on Aug 29, 2006 9:03 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

What about an invented injury?

Something to put him on the DL again, so he can make a few more rehab starts in the minor leagues and get innings without hurting the team. This might mess with his availability for the playoff roster - what's the date that a player has to be on the major league roster to be eligible for the playoff roster? I know in the case of Francisco Rodriguez with the Angels a few years back, it was surprisingly late, well after September 1st I believe.

Or... transplant Mulder's brain into Weaver's body. Weaver has a live arm, Mulder knows how to pitch. Seriously, it's worth breaking the laws of nature, just this once.

by taiko on Aug 29, 2006 10:23 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Answered my own question

At the bottom of the P-D article on Mulder, and th epossibility of acquiring Wells... "A player must be in a team's system Aug. 31 to be eligible for its playoff roster."

By "in the system," I assume that means the 40-man roster. Anyone vouch for this?

by taiko on Aug 30, 2006 9:47 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No.

Francisco Rodriguez was not on the 40-man on August 31 a couple of years ago when he was so great for them out of the bullpen in the playoffs.

by whopperman on Aug 30, 2006 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

There's a loophole for injured players

by Valatan on Aug 30, 2006 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

When Mulder got bad

I remember reading somewhere that he lost his mechanics when he hurt his leg in 03 pitching against the Red Sox. I tried looking up the story but I can't find it.

by Chicago Cardinals on Aug 29, 2006 10:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

For the first time ever

I agree with Hrabosky... shut him down. He's not doing the team any good, nor is he doing himself any good.

by cardsrul on Aug 29, 2006 11:26 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Was at the game tonight

Mulder topped out around 86 according to the gun at the stadium. What bothered me more than the mph (which is VERY concerning) is the lack of bite on his pitches. They all seemed very flat with little movement. He didn't seem consistent with the arm slot and as a result his pitches weren't breaking in places that a) made them strikes b) made hitters swing and miss.

He was just lobbing the ball up there.

I think he needs offseason surgery. That's the only explanation I can see for this downfall - something in that shoulder is torn or his back is causing him enough pain to destroy his mechanics and thereby harm his shoulder. I think it's 2-3 years before Mulder acheives consistency and league average stats. I hope the cardinals don't go ANYWHERE near him this offseason. Nothing...not even an incentive laden deal.

Acquire Jason Schmidt!

by azruavatar on Aug 30, 2006 12:06 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

NO incentive laden deal

I'd like the Cardinals to for once go into a season with no major gambles.

Let's get a starter who we know can post a sub 5.00 ERA for 175 innings.

For Mulder, that would be a major success. Any hint of his former self would be a miracle, and I'm afraid Andy Benes already used ours up.

by bretsyboo on Aug 30, 2006 9:20 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

On the contrary, we need more gambling...

Just not on Mulder. On that, we agree. But if we could buy out Edmonds and then sign HIM to an incentive-laden deal, that would be a worthy gamble. And since the Mulder trade blew up in his face, Jocketty has gone from Riverboat Gambler to gradma at the nickel slots. We need him to get the dice out of his pocket again this offseason, shake up this team a bit. Letting go of Mulder may be the catharsis that allows this to happen...

by taiko on Aug 30, 2006 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully.....

Last night was his last appearance in a Cards uniform.

He's either injured, or just plain sucks.

Here are his starts since June:

8/28 - 1.2I / 5ER / 1K / 3BB
8/23 - 3.0I / 9ER / 1K / 4BB
6/20 - 2.1I / 9ER / 0K / 0BB
6/15 - 5.0I / 4ER / 6K / 2BB
6/9 - 3.0I / 6ER / 3K / 3BB
6/3 - 6.2I / 5ER / 1K / 2BB (3 additional runs unearned)

That totals up to:

6 starts
21.2 Innings (ave of 3 2/3 innings a start)
41 Runs / 38 Earned
12 K / 14 BB
ERA: 15.78

No way, no how, he should be allowed to go out there and pitch again this season unless he's moping up in one of Marquis' blowouts.

by icf on Aug 30, 2006 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs