I know this is a dumb comment, but if your middle relief man is doin so well( having only pitched 1/3 of an inning in the eighth and putting out the fire), why not keep him in to finish off the game in the ninth?
sometimes it drives me nuts, when a closer comes in and blows a save, by either putting a pitch where it's not wanted or gives up multiple hits if he hasn't warmed up properly or is just "in a bad groove"...or like, tonite, is brought in to save the game and everything he throws was in the dirt...
case and point: this is in regards to the Blue Jays game tonite.
Paul Quantrill (arguably the BEST middle relief man the Blue Jays have ever had...),
comes and only pitches 1/3 of an inning with the score 4-3 in favour of the Jays and he closes the door. Why not keep him in and finish off the game when he's warm....?
Now i know Billy Koch, he isn't that great...(a closer should NOT have an ERA of over 4.50 but that's just me.), but i know that closers are a little bit cold (pitching -wise) sometimes, why not let Quantrill finish off the game? This could have saved Koch for the rest of the series, and I REALLY don't think the Jays would have lost if they had kept Qunatril in.
i mean, yes, sure Koch is being paid thousands to be the go-to guy closer, but i mean this is a team sport and a closer isn't necessarily better than SOME (not all) long relief guy....?
Now yes, some people might say that Quantrill "may" have bad numbers against seattle, but hell, he's pitching better than Koch right now...
all i have to say is that growing up, i could never understand why teams were paying milions of dollars for a pitcher to pitch ONE inning (or more) at the end of a game where they could have just kept a long relief guy in there (if he's pitched an inning or less...)
and remember, this argument excludes left handed "one out" guys...because we know they're in there to get a lefty out..i'm taking about right handed long middle relievers....
i dunno, maybe i just hate closers...or maybe i'm stoopid.
[This message has been edited by TORONTO-VIGILANTE (edited 08-08-2001).]
sometimes it drives me nuts, when a closer comes in and blows a save, by either putting a pitch where it's not wanted or gives up multiple hits if he hasn't warmed up properly or is just "in a bad groove"...or like, tonite, is brought in to save the game and everything he throws was in the dirt...
case and point: this is in regards to the Blue Jays game tonite.
Paul Quantrill (arguably the BEST middle relief man the Blue Jays have ever had...),
comes and only pitches 1/3 of an inning with the score 4-3 in favour of the Jays and he closes the door. Why not keep him in and finish off the game when he's warm....?
Now i know Billy Koch, he isn't that great...(a closer should NOT have an ERA of over 4.50 but that's just me.), but i know that closers are a little bit cold (pitching -wise) sometimes, why not let Quantrill finish off the game? This could have saved Koch for the rest of the series, and I REALLY don't think the Jays would have lost if they had kept Qunatril in.
i mean, yes, sure Koch is being paid thousands to be the go-to guy closer, but i mean this is a team sport and a closer isn't necessarily better than SOME (not all) long relief guy....?
Now yes, some people might say that Quantrill "may" have bad numbers against seattle, but hell, he's pitching better than Koch right now...
all i have to say is that growing up, i could never understand why teams were paying milions of dollars for a pitcher to pitch ONE inning (or more) at the end of a game where they could have just kept a long relief guy in there (if he's pitched an inning or less...)
and remember, this argument excludes left handed "one out" guys...because we know they're in there to get a lefty out..i'm taking about right handed long middle relievers....
i dunno, maybe i just hate closers...or maybe i'm stoopid.
[This message has been edited by TORONTO-VIGILANTE (edited 08-08-2001).]
