Mike Trombley

S/SO

Hld

RS/9

WHIP

ERA

6/9

54.2

2.8

1.19

3.46

Mike Trombley entered 2001 as the setup man for rookie closer Ryan Kohlmeyer, having failed in his own try at the closing role upon the failure of Mike Timlin in early 2000. Trombley, a split-fingered fastball specialist and Duke grad, had been the most workmanlike of the Syd Three brought in to revitalize the Orioles bullpen (Groom, McElroy, and Trombley).

Since Kohlmeier flamed out almost immediately as the closer, Trombley quickly found himself in the role yet again. For awhile, he handled the role with aplomb. At the end of May, he was 4-4 in save situations, with an ERA just over two runs a game.

Then, the same thing that had happened in the past reoccurred, and Trombley began to get knocked around. His lack of command betrayed him, as it usually has in the past. Trombley is a pitcher who has more trouble when he gets behind hitters than the average pitcher (In 2001, hitters managed a .297 average and slugged .441 off of him if the first pitch was a ball.) When he began having location problems, he threw fewer split-fingers on the first pitch, and batters began teeing off on his first offering (27 batters in 54 innings put the first pitch in play, and hit .444 with an .815 slugging percentage.)

It seemed that the Oriole brass had finally given up on the idea of Trombley as a closer. Since he had an attractive ERA and a decent track record as a middle relief guy, he was reasonably attractive trade bait at the July deadline, and was traded to the Dodgers in a deal for pitcher Kris Foster and catcher Geronimo Gil.

Trombley pitched very poorly for the Dodgers down the stretch, and became the forgotten man in September (only 7.2 innings pitched in September and October.) He'll be pitching for someone else in 2002.

NOTES: Trombley's biggest enemy in 2001 was the first batter he faced...a .316 BA, .397 OBP, and a .544 Slugging percentage. His slide in the second half (ERA from 3.40 to 5.93) will certainly give teams pause, especially at Trombley's age. Nevertheless, he will get an opportunity to pitch somewhere in 2002.