Paul Molitor discusses his first year as the field manager of the Twins, and the lessons he learned. One lesson was extremely important:
The Twins dealt for Kevin Jepsen at the July 31 trade deadline to help set up for Perkins, but Perkins, who was 28-for-28 in save situations before the All-Star break, missed 16 games in September because of back spasms. When he returned, Jepsen remained the closer.
“Everyone was confident about Jepsen coming in at the end of the game,” Molitor said. “We just kind of stuck with that. It seemed like the right thing.”
But Perkins, a three-time All-Star, wasn’t sure what his role was, and because of injuries, matchups and fatigue, it was hard for Molitor to establish a standard pecking order. Relievers had to be ready for anything with the playoffs at stake.
“There was never a conversation about, ‘This is what we’re going to do,’?” Perkins said. “It was, ‘Everyone is going to be prepared to throw at whatever point.’
“For me, coming back from being hurt and not pitching to not having a routine, not having a role that was solidified, it was tough on me.”
When you look at the game analytically, the best way to use a bullpen is to bring in pitchers when the batter or situation matches their skill level best. In the seventh inning with a two-run lead and men on second and third and the middle of the lineup batting, why not bring in your best pitcher? Players, however, don’t like that. The want a role, they want to know when they are going to play, and they don’t want a lot of deviation from that role. If someone is the seventh inning setup man, he wants to start the seventh inning and get his three outs. If Molitor learns this lesson, he’ll keep the clubhouse a happy place.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/1NedRrt
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