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Pirates
Notebook: Lefty relievers among best in
NL
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Saturday, June 04, 2005
By Dejan Kovacevic, Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette
It probably cannot be said that the
Pirates' Mike Gonzalez and John Grabow
make up the best one-two punch of
left-handed relievers in the National
League.
But that could change.
The only team with a statistically
superior tandem is Philadelphia, with
veterans Billy Wagner and Aaron Fultz.
Wagner, the Phillies' closer, has 12
saves, a 2.55 earned run average and 22
strikeouts. Fultz has a 1.45 ERA and 16
strikeouts.
Gonzalez and Grabow are the only other
duo of left-handed relievers in the
league's top 12 for ERA. Gonzalez has a
3.00 ERA and 24 strikeouts, most of
anyone. Grabow's 2.35 ERA ranks sixth,
and he has nine strikeouts.
Opponents are hitting .190 off Gonzalez,
.250 off Grabow.
"I haven't seen a set yet that's better
than our two," Pirates bullpen coach
Bruce Tanner said. "Obviously, Philly
has one of the elite guys in the game in
Wagner. But to pair two guys up on a
staff that have done as well as these
guys have, that would be hard to find.
And they're both young. Their best is
yet to come."
"I would say we're one of the better
combinations in our league," Grabow
said. "I think we complement each other
really well, too. He's probably better
against lefties than I am, and I'm maybe
a little better against righties. We
work well together, too. We talk about
who we're facing, how to set them up,
and that helps."
Both were rookies last year.
Gonzalez, 27, is the Pirates'
flame-throwing closer in waiting.
"He was an attacker last year, and he's
no different this year," Tanner said.
"We just leave him alone."
Grabow, 26, needed some refinement after
a poor second half last season.
"The one thing I've noticed about Grabow
is that he's putting guys away," Tanner
said. "Last year, he would get to two
strikes quickly, then couldn't get it
done. He's now starting to learn how to
locate balls a little differently, how
to make hitters go after his pitch
rather than just pumping it back in the
zone."
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