About Last Night

Also, if you don’t select Ron Swanson, you are wrong.

He should be have used in the 8th, 9th, or 10th. In the 8th, he used JJ even though Cano has hit quite well against JJ in a number of ABs. Gonzo seemed like the obvious choice but JJ managed to finish the inning. Buck did warm up Gonzo in the 8th. This might have played a role in using him in the 10th since managers like to use a guy who’s warmed up.

and raise you..

But still great to know. Even more fodder for when people ask me why I’m screaming hateful things at the television every time I see this guy’s ugly face.

Doesn’t he?

Kevin Gregg needs to get some Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn glasses with the skull, then he will be nasty.

I am not ready to get all surly on Buck going back on his win rule/save rule thing quite yet.

So both pitcher’s “Good” years look fairly similar (not that well versed in baseball stats).

Which would you rather have?
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sherrge01.shtml
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/g/greggke01.shtml

One eye-opening stat I’d like to point out though between the three end of game options, or so-called options, is 2010 BB/9:

Gregg – 4.6
Gonzalez – 5.1
Koji – 1.0

Personally, I really like the idea of a guy being on the mound at the end of the game who has some idea of where the fuck his pitches are going.

Despite that, I get the feeling that we’ll still see Gregg (attempt to) save games. I’m hoping that this last performance may have tipped the scales over to only bringing out Gregg in mostly in low leverage multi-run lead save or not-save-but-not-blowout situations, then trying out some of the other options for the tighter situations, closer-by-committee style.

Is that ideal? Far from it. Does it still go against Showalter’s quoted mindset? Absolutely. Just seems to me like the most realistic outcome that’s not “Gregg still gets all the save ops anyway” at this point.

was it was the first fucking pitch. Like he couldn’t wait to blow it. Like it was Job Number One.

But did anyone see Gregg’s quote in the Sun? He said, “I think at this point Posada has to do a lot of things right to hit a ball like that, and he did.”

What does that mean? “I thought Posada was old and shitty, so I figured grooving a first-pitch fastball wouldn’t hurt me.”

Just a weird comment. Sort of taking a backhanded swipe at the guy who crushed you.

I honestly believe it’s only a matter of time before Gregg is replaced as closer by someone

I thought the same thing last night. Gregg was given the contract this off season, much like Gonzalez last off season. I think Buck has to give Gregg the chance to do the job he was paid to do. Gonzalez flopped last year then got better in meaningless games. Buck has to see if either of these guys can do it in meaningful games. The term meaningful is relative. For the O’s it means can they perform well enough to support the team in winning 81 games. Last night was a test for the veterans in Yankee stadium. Buck tested the two arms MacPhail spent decent money on. They both failed. I wonder how long they’ll be tolerated. I have a feeling Buck will be going to MacPhail to say here’s another contract you have to eat along with the Gonzalez one. I expect to see a few more morale crushing blown games until Buck reaches that point.

Leaving Gregg as the “closer” is probably the best move. Because, frankly, you don’t want your best pitcher as the closer. Because in most “save” circumstances, you’re not in a high leverage situation. Who do you want coming in when you’re up by 3 runs? Your best reliever? I hope not.

Meanwhile, if it’s the 7th inning and you’re up by 1 and there’s two on and 1 out, who do you want coming in? Your best reliever, I’d hope. That’d be Koji. Not Kevin Gregg.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse Gregg’s usage last night. Gregg’s probably the 5th best pitcher in the bullpen, so you don’t want him used when you’re up by 1 at any point, unless you have no other choice.

The real problem is that no manager knows how to effectively use a bullpen. Buck’s no different. The real way to use a bullpen is to bring in your best reliever in the highest leverage situations. The closer you are to losing the lead (or giving up more runs if you’re already down), the more likely you should be to bring in your best reliever. No manager does this. The best reliever usually is eventually made into a closer, then not used unless you’re up by less than 3 in the 9th inning.

It’s a joke and it won’t change any time with this generation of managers. It’ll be a while before things straighten themselves out.

But I seem to recall more than one article looking at whether it mattered having one closer you could count on or going with a committee approach, with the conclusion being it’s better with the one guy.

Of course this only applies if that “one guy” isn’t Kevin Gregg.

You need to talk to my friend John. He came in my office this am furious. He firmly believes that a starting pitcher should stay in the game as long as possible and given the chance to close the game himself. He hates the “closer” role. He believes you should use the best pitcher available for any situation.

BTW – John was a pitcher in the minors for both the Braves and Yankee organization, but is a firm O’s fan.