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2008 After nine years in Arizona's system, Mike Koplove needed just one with Cleveland to prove that he's not much more than a Triple-A arm. He'll prove it to the Dodgers this spring. 2007 Mike Koplove is still trying to figure out why he fell out of favor after a nice 2004 season; leaving Phoenix should help him find a better park in which to pitch and a chance to stick in a right-handed situational role. 2005 His peripheral ERA only went up by about 3/4th of a run, rather than the nearly two runs of his actual ERA, so he was probably a little lucky in 2003, and a little unlucky—or hurt, given he had his shoulder scoped after the '03 season—in 2004. Still a serviceable reliever, someone to soak up some innings and keep the team in the game, or come in to face a particular righty. He'll need full health and a halt to that falling strikeout rate to provide real value. 2003 One of Arizona’s seemingly endless supply of guys that throw from funky angles. Anaheim loves bullpen guys with movement rather than velocity, Oakland loves scooping up the ubiquitous bargains from the Rule 5 draft and a snoozing Kenny Williams, and the Snakes love guys that look like they might release the ball near the fifth row of box seats. Koplove is a good bet to be successful in his role—a right-handed setup guy to come in and get righties out, despite the fact that lefties only hit .174 against him last season. He’ll provide 60–80 innings of quality relief. 2002 A sidearmer with a hard-breaking slider, Koplove slipped onto the playoff roster for the first two rounds without making an appearance. His motion doesn’t put much strain on his arm, so he’s able to pitch in back-to-back games when it’s needed. If the Snakes retool their major-league roster, Koplove will probably find a place in the bullpen this year. He could use a year of Triple-A to refine his control. 2001 If there’s one neat thing about the Snakes' organization, it’s that they love sidearmers. Mike Koplove rarely tops 90 mph and has a slider, so throwing sidearm is a sensible adaptive choice. I don’t know if you could build a good major-league bullpen with too many sidearmers; it has long been assumed that one of their assets is the difference between them and almost everyone else. Koplove had a very good AFL campaign, so he might get fast-tracked.
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