All this started when Ryan Madson got hurt. I mean, it's not Madson's fault. But without a "closer" on the roster, one had to be found amongst the possible bullpen candidates. From that group, the most likely choice was the guy who was planned to be the set-up. That was Sean Marshall. But there's been a snag.
Sean Marshall has been pulled twice in favor of a different pitcher in a jam in the 9th inning. Now, to be fair, Marshall has converted 7 of 8 save tries. So, he does the job when he needs to. But I keep going back to the times he was pulled. On May 9th in Milwaukee, with the Reds up 2-0, he gave up a homer to Braun, got 2 outs, then gave up 2 singles and was lifted for Ondrusek, who gave up a walk then got a fly out to end the game. And today with the Reds leading the Yanks 6-3, he gave up a double, a run-scoring single, a strikeout, and 2 more singles that scored another run. On came Arredondo, who got a fielder's choice and a ground out to end the game. So in both situations, it didn't ultimately hurt the team. But clearly Dusty has Marshall on a very short leash.
He as much as said in his post-game comments today that he wants to put Chapman into the closer role. But I have to question the entire idea. If Chapman becomes the closer, you've now taken arguably your most effective pitcher and put him into a situation in which he can only come in during the 9th inning when the team is winning, but not by more than 3 runs. But if you don't want to pin Chapman into that role, then who? Ondrusek, who until recently had not had much trouble, could be the answer. Or perhaps it's Arredondo, who's strikeouts are second only to Chapman's out of the bullpen. Maybe the answer could be rookie JJ Hoover, whose ERA is a paltry 0.96, second again to Chapman. Or heck, why not Sam LeCure or Alfredo Simon, who have been just as dependable out of the bullpen? Or they could just go back to Marshall, and just hope that this was a bump in the road.
But here's what I'm thinking. Why choose? Sure, brand a "closer" if you want. But why limit yourself to the one guy who can come in during the 9th? Sean Marshall is left-handed. Dusty is always talking about "playing the match-ups". Well if Chapman has gone two or three days in a row, but there's a spot in a game in the 7th where it might be good to bring in a lefty. Why hesitate to bring in Marshall, especially when you think one of your righties might get shelled? And if it's a save situation, but Arredondo has had success against the batters coming up, why not send him in over your "closer"?
I know a lot of people put emphasis on stats like saves. But if the team wins, who cares who gets credit for making sure the other team doesn't take the lead in the 9th? I'd imagine you could walk through just about any clubhouse on any level and take a poll, and a majority of the answers would be "If we win, I'm happy". And honestly, isn't that what we all want?
Twitter bio of the day: @jluckhaupt
Today, we go to Joel Luckhaupt. He's another guy you might not have ever seen or heard of before, but if it wasn't for him, your baseball game-viewing might be a lot quieter. That's because Joel is the statistician for the Reds. When Chris Welsh tells you the last time a Reds pitcher struck out 10 batters, Joel found that. When George Grande reminds you of how many home runs Sean Casey had at this point in his career compared to Joey Votto, Joel was all over that.
In addition to stats for the Reds games, Joel also co-wrote the book 'Wire to Wire' chronicling the sensational journey to a World Series victory for the 1990 Reds. On Twitter, Joel always comes at things a bit differently than everyone else, and likes to slide a little snark into his observations, just the way I like it. So if you like to know the stats behind the games, and you like to get it with a little bite, then give Joel a follow.
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