Curt Schilling is now on the 25-man roster, and Javier Lopez is not.
Lopez, a submarining lefty who had found a niche in the bullpen, was optioned to Triple-A to make room for Schilling, getting the boot over Manny Delcarmen and Kyle Snyder.
I can understand booting Delcarmen ahead of Snyder, as both are righties, but booting Lopez? Both Delcarmen and Lopez had options, and the easy way out certainly is to choose one ahead of Kyle Snyder … but was the right choice made?
Manny Delcarmen has been a force recently, but is starting to be squeezed out due to the arrival of Eric Gagne. It would have made sense to option him down so he gets more work. However, it’s completely understandable that we wouldn’t want to option a vital cog.
But Javier Lopez over Kyle Snyder?
Lopez has thrown 31.1 innings, compiling a 2.87 ERA. Compare this to Kyle Snyder, who just finished walking two batters and coughing up a run. He has a 2.68 ERA in 40.1 IP. Let’s break it down by month:
APRIL: Lopez pitched a scant three innings, giving up no runs. Snyder posted a 2.84 ERA in 6.1 IP.
MAY: Lopez pitched 7.2 IP of a 4.70 ERA. Snyder had a 0.79 ERA in 11.1 IP.
JUNE: Lopez pitched nine innings of 3.00 ERA ball, while Snyder repeated his 11.1 IP, posting a 3.97 ERA.
JULY: Lopez got up to 10 innings, posting an ERA of 2.61, while Snyder posted a 3.72 ERA in 9.2 IP.
AUGUST: Lopez was at 1.1 innings, giving up no runs. Snyder is at 2.1 innings, one run, two strikeouts and four walks.
A sidearm lefty or a soft-tossing righty? I pick Lopez. And I’m sure Lopez will be back soon to correct this injustice.
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