Comments on: Starter? Reliever? How about pitcher?

By: The Honorable Congressman Mondesi

The Honorable Congressman Mondesi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 05:41:53 +0000

"The idea is older than me, but it seems that teams have put more of an emphasis on roles in recent years. There are a few reasons for this, but neither seems provable or particularly valid to me. First is that bouncing a guy between the rotation and the bullpen can cause injury. That notion was reinforced for the Yankees last August when Joba Chamberlain injured his shoulder after transitioning from the bullpen to the rotation. That, however, represents just one instance of correlation to the theory. ~~There is certainly no proof of causation present, and to~~ To my knowledge there isn’t proof of causation present or even a study which posits a greater correlation. ~~The~~ Proof of the accuracy of the idea that pitchers are put at risk to injury when moving between the bullpen and rotation is currently, seemingly, anecdotal at best~~, and anecdotal and downright wrong at worst~~." (More fair'd?)

By: gc

gc — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:44:11 +0000

I missed the part where Burnett insisted on pitching only to Molina in Game 2.

By: yankeegirl49

yankeegirl49 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:48:00 +0000

“but since when do baseball teams make decisions based on the players’ wishes? Again, pitchers pitch”

Um…since Molina was in the game 2 lineup?

By: tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:57:51 +0000

No, it has an answer. You just aren’t going to like the answer.

By: tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside

tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:55:50 +0000

Have you seen Sal/Bo/Grant/Lanny’s blog? It’s more awesome than you think:

http://www.dullestblog.com/

By: Steve S

Steve S — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:49:41 +0000

Thanks. And in response to Joe. The reason I worry about the role is because I have the belief that starters generally have prolonged careers in comparison to relievers. I am worried that any prolonged period in the bullpen could damage them.

By: Mike Pop

Mike Pop — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:15:58 +0000

Hmm. Good post.

By: Salty Buggah

Salty Buggah — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:06:13 +0000

I agree that it probably helps knowing a role but dont expect it to be specific. For example, all Coke needs to know is that he may be coming in close games to face tough lefties. Thats all. Expect those situations, be prepared to do other things like mopup.

It wasnt like Gaudin. He had a legitimate complain. He didnt know when he was going to pitch. He didnt know if he would be starting or relieving. Coke is a complete reliever. All he needs to know is that he should be ready to be called on no matter what because you know never know whats going to happen in a given baseball game.

By: Salty Buggah

Salty Buggah — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:02:06 +0000

It would be somewhat like Lombardi’s blog with all the negativity.

By: A.D.

A.D. — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 21:01:34 +0000

I agree he should of, and probably should shut his mouth for the media, especially given that it was an issue with needing all hands on deck.

But I also agree that having & knowing a role >>> not knowing.