I was watching the Boston game and I couldn't help but notice how much Dotel pitches like Pedro. I know Dotel used to be a starter and wasn't so good but why can't we give him another shot? I think it might work out good. I know in the middle of the season you don't do this so i am suggesting in the offseason, work on his stamina and give him a shot. Thats my opinion.
It couldn't hurt, however, I think Jimy wouldn't let it happen... Dotel is the best set-up man in the game today and wouldn't want to ruin the chemistry in the bullpen...
thats true, but why should we waste his talent as a set-up man? He would either be a great closer or a capable starter, but set up man? I think its a waste of his talent plus Lidge could be the set-up man next year and we need starting pitching
To be an effective starter you need 4 good pitches. Dotel has 2. A fastball and slider. His fastball wasn't that great as a starter because he had to conserve energy and couldn't blow his fastball by everyone. He's best used in the bullpen.
dotel can start and go for about 4 innings until the lineup sees him a second or third time. he doesn't have enough pitches. dotel's fastball is just as good as a starter he just doesn't have anything else to balance it off for a full game. pedro has 3 other pitches including probably the nastiest changeup in baseball.
That's true forgot about that, but he can develop another pitch or two. But i think if he learns how to be a starter, he can get away with three pitches. Look at Dontrelle Willis, i know he has that funky delivery and everything so he's a different story, but he only has a fastball and a curveball and a horrible changeup. But he is still what 11-2? Plus like i said, if Houston wants him to start, they can help him develop another pitch. If he can get a good curveball, with his slider and fastball, then he could be a great starter. I just think with the talent he has, he is a waste as a set-up man.
I think, at this point, the plan is to move Dotel to the closer position if Wagner happens to be traded over the off-season, making Lidge the primary set-up man. Also, in today's specialized bullpen systems, set-up man is not a throw-away position. Managers like to know they have at least two deadlock guys at the end of the bullpen so that they only have to rely on the starter going six. Dotel may have the best stuff of any set-up man in the majors, but his talent is not being wasted there. He's a very important part of the relief corps, which has been the strongest phase of this Astros team all year.
Calling him merely a set-up man is underestimating the kind of situations Dotel walks into. Last year, he was the best reliever in baseball, easily - and in his stint as a starter, he was mediocre to below average. When you've only got one really good pitch you can't be a starter, you need more. It's the same reason Mariano Rivera, with the best single pitch in baseball, is a reliever, and not a starter.
it's not always true that a starter needs more than 2 good pitches to succeed. Sometimes, an outstanding pitch or two is more than enough. for example randy johnson really only throws fastballs and sliders and curt schilling throws a fallball about 90% of the time. those two seemed to have done alright. Of course, dotel is really valuable as a reliever, but all things being equal a good starter is more valuable than a good reliever. he struggled as a starter in 2000 and early 2001, but also remember that he struggled as a reliever over than same period of time. if he could be as good in the rotation as he is in the bullpen now, then the club is wasting a huge opportunity. when the stros had schilling in the early 90's they refused to consider him for part of the rotation because he didn't have more than 2 good pitches. I don't see the harm in at least giving it a try, if the club needs a starter going into next year.
Randy Johnson can get by because he throws a fastball that touches triple digits and a near-90mph invisible slider that dives in on the ankles. Lefties are helpless, and righties can't dig in cause they might get their leg severed at the ankle. Schilling really throws almost two different fastballs with good precision, and a plummetting splitter and above average curve. Dotel, as much as I like him, doesn't have that kind of arsenal.
But that what the offseason is for... If he had his fastball and slider with a good curveball, i think he would have a good chance of being a good starter. i think if he can get a good curve and some stamina, atleast give him a try
whether or not he makes a good starter is kinda pointless because he's already the absolute best at what he does. in the future hopefully hernandez and rosario come in and shore up the rotation some.
BigM, great analysis with all your posts in this thread and you too Puedlfor, especially the part bout righties gettin severed at the ankles haha. Like previously said though, we shouldn't mess with something good and Dotel will be better used as a closer after Wagner is gone. That better be because Wags retires, I swear if the 'Stros trade him, I'm gonna not like them as much cuz that would just be r****ded.
I'll first say that I would really like to see Wagner retire as an Astro as well, but trading him would not be the end of the world. The fact that Dotel and Lidge are pitching so well out of the pen is what makes Wags expendable. Somebody like Billy might bring us a starter or a young centerfielder to take over when Bidge retires. Now, would that really be r****ded?
