From: cheese@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Charles Alpert)
Subject: Re: Leyland may have made a BIG mistake...
Organization: UCLA, Computer Science Department
Date: Thu, 15 Oct 92 00:59:52 GMT

In article <coleman.719130875@usceast.cs.scarolina.edu!> coleman@susie.cs.scarolina.edu (Kevin Coleman) writes:
>
>Though I hope not, Jim Leyland may have made tonight's big Pittsburgh victory into tomorrow's loss. 
>
>Here's what I mean. It's the second inning, and your team is up 8-0. You know   that, in all likelihood, you've got a tough 7th game tomorrow night, facing an\
>opposing pitcher (Smoltz) who has shut your team down twice in this series. On
>the mound you have Tim Wakefield pitching, the only guy on your staff other thanBob Walk who has shown any ability to beat the Braves, and there's no way he canpitch with only 1 day rest. Your starter for tomorrow's game is scheduled to be
>Doug Drabek, who, though he had a good season, has shown no ability to stop the
>Braves defense, with a 6.00 ERA in two games. 
>
>Now here's my proposition: Why not take Wakefield off the mound, with a 
>commanding 8-0 lead, and start him in game 7? If you don't want to start him
>with 2 innings of work the night before, though hardly alot to a knuckle-baller,you can always keep him warmed up as insurance against too hefty a Braves lead.
>I mean, sure, it might insult Drabek, and take away a playoff win from Wakefield(wouldn't go enough innings to win Game 6), but hell, I'd rather win, and I'm 
>sure those guys would too. It seems to me like Leyland would've done alot betterto put someone like Tomlin in the game after the 2nd inning, allowing Wakefield
>to rest and start tomorrow night.
>
>Just remember, if the Pirates lose tomorrow night due to another horrible Drabekouting, you have to wonder if perhaps this wasn't such a bad idea.
>
>Then again, Drabek could pitch wonderfully and make me look like a Chowderhead. Ah, such is baseball.
>
>Kevin
>coleman@susie.cs.scarolina.edu
>


I am not a frequent poster to this newsgroup, but I did post an
article like this a few months ago.  The Cubs were playing a double
header and Maddux started the opener.  The Cubs jumped out to a 7-0
lead in the top of the first and Maddux went on to pitch a complete
game shutout.  I argued that Maddux should not have even thrown a
pitch in the first game (although I found out rules state he has to
completely face one batter).  The first game was already in the bag so
you could pitch some mediocre starter instead and save Maddux for the
nightcap.  

This is obviously a similar example, and I think people would jump on
it a lot more if it were Clemens and Hesketh we were debating instead
of Wakefield and Drabek.  I would be mad as hell if Clemens were
wasting his innings when he could start game 7.  

Besides the fact that many pitchers need regular work and need to 
loosen their arms etc., I think managers should implement this as a
general strategy.  You want your best pitchers pitching the most
important innings throughout the season.  Certainly, just about every
inning Eck pitches is important.  Thus, when the Pirates scored 8 runs
in the 2nd, the rest of the game's innings lost importance, and the
Pirates wasted one of their best pitchers, when he could have been
used today.  Well, the game has started - we'll find out.

Chuck Alpert
cheese@cs.ucla.edu


Newsgroups: rec.sport.baseball