WSJ Article on Managers

by Kocchatollah on Apr 25, 2008 2:49 PM CDT Comment 8 comments

Great article on managers doing "new" things from the Wall Street Journal .

Quotes from Jim Powell and Doug Melvin.

This part is interesting:

But if Mr. Melvin had his way, the Brewers organization might be even more progressive. He has another counterintuitive idea: using relievers to start the game, and delaying the "starting" pitcher's entrance until the third inning or so. The thinking is that starters are typically among a team's best pitchers, yet nowadays they often pitch only through the fifth or sixth inning, well before many games are decided. By having them pitch later, they'd be around for the higher-leverage inni

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The madness

thats just wacky, and I love it

by Hyatt on Apr 25, 2008 5:01 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I was hoping I might make an appearance

I chatted with the author a couple of weeks ago, and told him that powell was skeptical. Glad to see powell admit it, not so glad to see the “what the numbers don’t say” BS, especially since Hardy hit OPS’d about 1.000 in front of the pitcher last year.

Also, cheese.

by Jeff Sackmann on Apr 25, 2008 5:13 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

You make too much sense to appear in the MSM.

He's extremely quick and good.

by battlekow on Apr 25, 2008 6:56 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bobby Cox

awesome pitching move out of him, i didn’t know he had done that. I’ve actually thought about that before. I can’t believe it was the first time that’d ever been done.

by SunglassesAtNight on Apr 25, 2008 7:27 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

It wasn't the first time

The article mentions it happening in 1993 with the Mariners.

by brewfan2 on Apr 26, 2008 11:01 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Weird

If you have the approach that most relievers are merely failed starters, I’m not sure how being down 4-2 after the third inning will help things.

I’d like to see a manager take the approach that, if pitchers tend to get hit more in the second and third times through the lineup, you have no pitcher see the same batter twice. Two, three innings max, and you use all of your relievers all of the time, though for relatively short bursts. (Your relievers being more the Jeff Weavers than the Brian Shouses.)

I think it’d be fun to have a hitter adjust the facing Jeff Suppan on at-bat, then Seth McClung, then Ben Sheets.

"I will agree that the attitude [at BCB] is ridiculous and they have done so much to instigate animosity and then block us from responding. Real mature!"

by roguejim on Apr 26, 2008 8:50 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

right, you're just redistributing the runs

but I think it could still be interesting to have a two-inning RP -> six inning SP -> closer game, if only because it will leave your starter’s pitching decision at the mercy of the relief corps for less long. Not to mention that your actual starter might be in line for more wins; the reliever who starts the game won’t ever be eligible for the win, so the starter will get both “inherited” wins when the reliever pitched well, and also the ones where the team comes back to lead it during his five or six-inning stint. And with there being six innings to come back, there will be more such opportunities than for the typical relief pitcher (not to mention that, as RJ says, the team might be down a few runs more often to begin with).

The team end result in terms of runs scored and allowed might well be the same, but psychologically it might work out in your starters’ favour if they’ve a) got the opportunity to score more wins, and b) less need to worry about losing their W once they’re in line for it.

Overall, I think this could be a fine idea for teams with a high-powered offense, not so much for teams like the ‘08 Giants.

by Zeyes on Apr 27, 2008 6:15 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mr. this & Mr. that

Anybody else get annoyed while reading about all of the Misters in baseball?

by brewfan2 on Apr 26, 2008 11:00 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

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