Arden Zwelling

If we were talking about like a Connor Cook or a TJ Brock or like any of these dudes that like we'd been talking about in recent years is like, Oh, maybe there's high upside stuff.

There's leverage stuff here.

Okay.

Um,

But that hasn't happened.

So ultimately right now, like it's just an unideal composition towards the back end of the bullpen.

And John Schneider, Pete Walker just have to manage their way through this.

But look, if we had this conversation prior to Saturday, was it when the blow up happened?

Yeah.

If we had this conversation on Friday, we'd be talking about like, wow, Jeff Hoffman like hasn't allowed a run in his last six, hasn't walked a batter in his last six and has struck out like over half the dudes he's faced.

holy crap he's figured this out he's thrown a slider all the time and it's performing as well if not better than it did when he was with the Phillies and an all-star like this is just how much these things can change and oscillate with relievers it's the most volatile position in baseball and Jeff Hoffman's been one of the most volatile at a volatile position

He's just got to pitch less is the other thing.

Yeah, I'm not like forcing him into more right now.

I'm trying to find ways to get him a breather because he leads the league in appearances.

And by the way, Braden Fisher is second and not far behind them are Varland and Hoffman and Rogers is up there as well.

like these are guys who like rogers you kind of put aside because he's so different and unique right like he can sustain workloads that other guys can't but when you talk about fluority fisher hoffman varland these are all guys who set career highs in workload just last year and now they're on pace to surpass that like they're all on pace to be mid 70s even high 70s appearances

It's the definition of unsustainable.

And it's like you want to talk about playing with fire.

This is how you get pitchers hurt.

Like you just see it over and over again where guys who set career highs and workloads the year following, if they aren't hurt that year, if they repeat that workload, they're probably going to be hurt the year after because just what the tax on their arm, like what you're asking them to do, throw in max effort.