If the Cards trade Rosenthal, who closes?
It's a great question, and it's one they had to confront again Monday night. Not that Rosenthal is getting traded, just that his use in three consecutive eighth innings made him unavailable. Cecil also was thought to be unavailable, but he wound up pitching the ninth (with Oh warming up). They could also turn to Bowman in the ninth, although he pitched the seventh Monday.
Entirely possible that no Rosenthal means an ad hoc ninth that leans heavy on matchups. Zach Duke could be a part of that if he does well. Or maybe a subsequent move for a placeholder. Neshek could close ?
WHY NOT FLAHERTY IN LATE-INNING RELIEF?
QUESTION: Why not free up a 40-man roster spot for Jack Flaherty and use him in late-inning relief.
GOOLD: As we go through the chat I have been trying to think through whether Jack Flaherty is a candidate for relief. I have. I haven't asked anyone. I've just been letting that roll around in the noggin to see if all of these questions about the bullpen might actually have Flaherty as the answer.
He's a four-pitch starter who pounds the strike zone. There's a lot to like about that as a reliever. But he doesn't have one overwhelming pitch like say Rosenthal's fastball, Bowman's sinker, Siegrist's crossfire, or Alcantara's fastball. It's more the mix that makes Flaherty successful. Hitters know he can spot the curve or the slider, they know he can spot the fastball or the changeup, so it's that variety that makes it work for him, and in relief do hitters just get to simplify that because they know he's not going to have time or feel to get to all those pitches? That's a tough one.
At some point, you've got to try to find out, and maybe what works for him as a starter in that short-burst window of September relief appearances because just like the late-game elixir the Cardinals need because it adds a bump to his velocity and adds a bit of bite to that slider, and he takes off. The bedrock of his game is that he throws strikes, and that is valuable in relief.
It's a great question, and it's one they had to confront again Monday night. Not that Rosenthal is getting traded, just that his use in three consecutive eighth innings made him unavailable. Cecil also was thought to be unavailable, but he wound up pitching the ninth (with Oh warming up). They could also turn to Bowman in the ninth, although he pitched the seventh Monday.
Entirely possible that no Rosenthal means an ad hoc ninth that leans heavy on matchups. Zach Duke could be a part of that if he does well. Or maybe a subsequent move for a placeholder. Neshek could close ?
WHY NOT FLAHERTY IN LATE-INNING RELIEF?
QUESTION: Why not free up a 40-man roster spot for Jack Flaherty and use him in late-inning relief.
GOOLD: As we go through the chat I have been trying to think through whether Jack Flaherty is a candidate for relief. I have. I haven't asked anyone. I've just been letting that roll around in the noggin to see if all of these questions about the bullpen might actually have Flaherty as the answer.
He's a four-pitch starter who pounds the strike zone. There's a lot to like about that as a reliever. But he doesn't have one overwhelming pitch like say Rosenthal's fastball, Bowman's sinker, Siegrist's crossfire, or Alcantara's fastball. It's more the mix that makes Flaherty successful. Hitters know he can spot the curve or the slider, they know he can spot the fastball or the changeup, so it's that variety that makes it work for him, and in relief do hitters just get to simplify that because they know he's not going to have time or feel to get to all those pitches? That's a tough one.
At some point, you've got to try to find out, and maybe what works for him as a starter in that short-burst window of September relief appearances because just like the late-game elixir the Cardinals need because it adds a bump to his velocity and adds a bit of bite to that slider, and he takes off. The bedrock of his game is that he throws strikes, and that is valuable in relief.
