Dick Bleier, your new favorite reliever

[OFFNY]

o

 

 

6 OUTS: ) 2 Groundouts, 2 Lineouts, 1 Strikeout, 1 Flyout

 

RICHARD SIDNEY BLEIER )))))))) (vs. INDIANS, 4/20)

IP:llll2

H:llllll 1 ) l(1 Double)

R:lllll  0

BB:lll1

SO:lll1

Pitches: l) 19  )(14 )Strikes, )5)Balls)

2018 ERA: l)  0.61 )  14.67 IP  (1 ER) 

2018 WHIP: l)  0.954  )  14.67 IP  (14 H/BB) 

2018 OPPONENTS BATTING AVG: l)  .212  )l (11 for 52)

 

PITCHES BY INNING  

*******************  

13  ll(81 l.Strikes, ll5 llllBalls)

61  lll(61 llStrikes, ll0 llllBalls)

 

o

[weams]

Quote

 

Bleier on whether this is his best stretch: “Yeah, I would say yeah, definitely. Things are going well personally. It’s definitely nice to contribute to a win. We obviously went through a rough patch there. It could have been a lot different had Manny not made that play up the middle. That was really an incredible play. I’m just glad that I had front row seats to that play. Turned around like, ‘Aw, that ball’s up the middle.’ Like, oh wow, that was an incredible play. Yeah, a lot of things are definitely going my way, I would say.”

Bleier on confidence gained from being used in tight spots: “It gives me a lot. I’m not going to lie, I went out for the second inning, I got the first guy out, I looked and I was like, ‘All right, I’m done.’ He wasn’t there and I was like, ‘Oh wow, this is my inning as well as the seventh.’ There’s definitely a lot of confidence knowing that he trusts me not only to pitch to lefties but to righties, as well.”

Bleier on team making three highlight plays lately with him on the mound: “It’s a huge boost for the team and for me. Kind of thinking, OK, evaluating the situation and then all of a sudden the play is made and it just changes the whole inning. He looks good at shortstop, that’s for sure.”

 

Roch

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2018/04/updating-mancini-and-wrapping-up-a-3-1-win.html

[weams]

 

[amdcpus]

Andrew Miller has not given up a run through 10 IP, and starter Johnny Cueto has a .35 ERA through 26 IP. Bleier is 3rd in the MLB with a .54 ERA through 16.2 IP.

[oriole]

At least someone not named Manny is doing something right.

[sportsfan8703]

Once the blow up happens we need to see what Bleier can do in a SP role. 

[Can_of_corn]

26 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

Once the blow up happens we need to see what Bleier can do in a SP role. 

I vote for including him in the sell off before the fairy dust wears off.

[DrungoHazewood]

2 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I vote for including him in the sell off before the fairy dust wears off.

He might be the pitching version of Ryan Flaherty*.  Random journeyman bit player who suddenly and inexplicably finds himself on a Hall of Fame track.

* Yes, Flaherty is in a four game, 2-for-17 skid that's seen his OPS drop over 150 points, but I'm sure he'll be back to hitting .365 in no time.

[sportsfan8703]

54 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I vote for including him in the sell off before the fairy dust wears off.

That’s really blowing it up. It is refreshing to watch a guy that has command and knows how to pitch. 

[amdcpus]

2nd lowest now after Cueto's start yesterday.

[weams]

Roch with an extended clip from his much longer blog post.

Quote

Left-hander Richard Bleier has been the club’s best reliever with a 0.54 ERA and 0.840 WHIP in 12 appearances and his responsibilities continue to grow while the numbers shrink. One run allowed in 16 2/3 innings. Only three walks issued, one intentional.

Right-handers are 5-for-35 against Bleier, allowing manager Buck Showalter to use him in any situation.

In his most recent appearance, Bleier retired all three batters he faced on ground balls in the bottom of the eighth inning. A typical outing that doesn’t get him much recognition outside of Baltimore.

With previous ERAs of 1.96 and 1.99, Bleier has earned greater attention from fans and the media. But if he flew any lower beneath the radar, he’d lose three layers of skin on his belly.

“Because he’s not that Andrew Miller 96-96 mph with a big breaking ball, but Richard knows who he is and who he isn’t,” Showalter said. “You can see his confidence grow. I think he gets a lot of confidence from the confidence we have in him.

“Richard can defend himself. I think he’s kind of figured out who he is. He’s added a pitch. Going into last year, Roger (McDowell) and him really wanted to take his game to another level because he has a presentation that’s very hard to see the ball off of. And he can change direction with the ball and make it go east and west on both sides.

“You can just tell that he’s pitching with a lot of confidence and staying in the strike zone and there’s not a lot of good comfortable hacks off him.”

...

“I’m sure I had a pretty decent stretch before. I think it was just in a different role, so it kind of went unnoticed,” Bleier said. “It wasn’t in the kind of games I’m pitching in now. But I have good games and bad games pitch execution-wise. I think luck has a lot to do with it. Things could go a lot different, but guys are making great plays behind me.

“Just making pitches when I need to. Guys on base, making pitches, finishing the inning in terms of runners in scoring position and two outs. Making sure I finish an inning as opposed to letting it get out of control. Obviously, things are going well for me, but it’s pretty irrelevant as the team’s not doing well. But I’m sure it will all even out.”

...

“I just have maybe another year to build off of,” he said. “Every time I pitch I think you learn a little more about how to pitch at the major league level and I’m still learning as I go, what works and what doesn’t work. I think it’s just a confidence thing as well. Every time you put up a zero, you just prove to yourself that you can do it one more time. I think the more I go the better I’ll get, I guess, in terms of confidence and stuff like that.

“As far as results, who knows? You never know. But for me it’s all about pitch execution and having a plan and executing that plan. And if I feel like I’m executing my pitches more than I’m not, I think I’ll be OK in the long run.”

Showalter and his staff clearly trust Bleier and, as the manager has noted, that confidence fuels the man who’s handed the ball.

An April 20 game against the Indians serves as an ideal example, when he stayed on the mound in the eighth beyond a left-on-left matchup with Michael Brantley. No sign of Showalter, who remained in the dugout and let the inning play out. No sign of right-handed relievers Brad Brach, Darren O’Day or Mychal Givens.

Bleier responded with a second scoreless inning to get credited with a “hold” in a 3-1 win.

“It just seemed like it kind of started to happen,” Bleier said. “I remember I went back out for the second inning against Cleveland and I was like, ‘OK, I’ll get Brantley and then one of those (relievers) will come in and that will be that.’ It will be 1 1/3 innings. And then (Edwin) Encarnacion walks up and I remember Tim (Beckham) was playing third and I’m like, ‘Is (Showalter) coming?’ And he’s like, ‘What?’ I look back and I’m like, ‘Wow, he’s not coming. This is my inning.’

2

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2018/05/tonights-game-and-roster-moves-bleiers-been-best-and-more.html

[weams]

[sportsfan8703]

1 hour ago, weams said:

I can’t believe the Yankees traded us Josh Hader, I mean Richard Bleier. 

[OFFNY]

o

 

All 6 outs that Bleier recorded came via the Groundout.

He faced the minimum number of batters over 2 innings (6), because both base-runners that he ceded were erased on double plays.

 

 

6 OUTS: ) 4 Groundouts (Including 2 Double Plays)

 

RICHARD SIDNEY BLEIER )))))))) (vs. ROYALS, 5/09)

IP:llll2

H:llllll 2 ) l(2 Singles)

R:lllll  0

BB:lll0

SO:lll0

Pitches: l) 25  )(17 )Strikes, )8)Balls)

2018 ERA: l)  0.40 )  22.67 IP  (1 ER) 

2018 WHIP: l)  0.926  )  22.67 IP  (21 H/BB) 

2018 OPPONENTS BATTING AVG: l)  .225  )l (18 for 80)

 

PITCHES BY INNING  

*******************  

13  ll(8 l.Strikes, ll5 llllBalls)

12  lll(9 llStrikes, ll3 llllBalls)

 

o

[gtman55]

This guy is a beast.