Let's start by looking at two stat lines. Some of you have probably already guessed where I'm going with this, but bear with me. Player A: .319/.395/.691, 1 HR/11.56 plate appearances
Player B: .207/.298/.356, 1 HR/37 plate appearances
If you haven't already figured it out, both of those players are Ryan Howard. "Player A" is Howard against righties in 2009 and "Player B" is Howard against lefties in 2009. To simplify, Ryan Howard is Albert Pujols against righties and David Eckstein against lefties. So why does no one question Jim Tracy's decision to leave right-hander Huston Street in the game to face Howard with the Rockies' season on the line?
The answer, of course, is that Street is Colorado's "closer." The Rockies were winning 4-2, so Street had to be on the mound. It was Tracy that made the decision to not bring Joe Beimel (the only remaining lefty in the Rockies' bullpen) in to face Howard, but I'm willing to bet you could count on one hand (or maybe even no hands), the managers in baseball that would've made that move.
Watching the post-game coverage tonight, not one on-air analyst or reporter is questioning Tracy's decision to stick with Street. He probably won't take much heat for the move in the Denver papers tomorrow. That's all because sticking with your "closer" is what's done in baseball.
Now flip the situation around; imagine that Tracy had brought Beimel in to face Howard. Beimel's a decent but not great reliever with a slight platoon split. If he had given up the hit to Howard, everyone would be frothing at the mouth over Tracy's decision without even mentioning Howard's platoon split. In fact, people would probably be questioning the move even if Beimel had gotten Howard out, because that's how out of place the move would've seemed.
Maybe using Beimel against Howard isn't a slam dunk move given the history between the two (Howard is 3-for-10 with a double, a triple, and a homer), but Howard's platoon split is still about as big as it gets and if it's not an easy decision, it's one at least worth thinking about. It's telling that no one has even mentioned the thought of pulling Street for a lefty against Howard. It's not even part of the discussion.
Closers are an ingrained part of baseball, but the Rockies and Red Sox were eliminated by blown saves and the Twins and Cardinals both had their chances to win crippled by them. Why is it so crazy to rethink this model a little bit?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-13-2009 @ 12:55AM
khanorm3 said...
Let's face people, it don't matter who you put up to face Ryan Howard. This is a team that when you think they're down and out they will explode and destroy you. They just don't quit and that's a team I would not want to face when it comes to adversity. Deal with it National League. Just deal with it!
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10-13-2009 @ 1:30PM
chilly16 said...
They play as a team. Thats what makes them dangerous. They have good players at every position! They steal bases, hit homeruns, and do all the little things! Now if only we had some solid pitching.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:34PM
Jeff Fletcher said...
Pat, you make an interesting point, but I think you can make numbers do whatever you want. Did you know that lefties hit .167 against Street this season? And .258 against Beimel? Or that Howard was 7-for-14 against lefties over the final two weeks of the regular season? Yes, those numbers are a smaller sample size than the Howard full-season numbers, but I think they add enough "reasonable doubt" to prevent you from going against the default position, which is to keep the closer pitching in the situation that he's used to being used. Most players and most managers say that having comfortable, consistent roles for the pitchers is the way to get the most out of them. If Street had struggled as a closer, or if his numbers vs. lefties weren't as good, I'd go along more your idea. In fact, Charlie Manuel did just what you are talking about by using Scott Eyre to start the ninth instead of simply bringing in Lidge. When you're closer is iffy, like Lidge, you are more likely to do that than when he's been as good as Street.
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10-13-2009 @ 2:08PM
jjhall said...
I was actually thinking about this before the at bat even started. I thought that it might be a good time to bring in Beimel, because Street did seem to be struggling a little with his command. He wasn't anything like the pitcher we saw most of the summer, who always got strike one and had a nasty slider. But Tracy likes to leave his starters out there to get the "W" and he wants his closer to get the "S".
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