Kevin Baker's book is here!

Kevin Baker's book is here!
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Sunday, August 5, 2012

Letter to the Editor: Let performance dictate usage!

Buffalo News (New York)
July 29, 2012

Dear Editor,

The Yankees have lost quite a few games that could have been won without a pitching change. It happened again Sunday in Oakland. It seems manager Joe Girardi often leaves pitchers in too long or takes them out too soon.

Example: A relief pitcher or set-up man comes in and retires the side with no problems. He is removed after one inning and a new pitcher comes in and has trouble. Bingo. A probable win now becomes a loss. Again typical of Sunday's Oakland game in which David Robertson retires the side in the eighth and Rafael Soriano comes in and fails.

Why can't a pitcher who comes in for the seventh or eighth inning remain in if he is obviously performing well? Can't relievers or set-up men go more than one inning? If a pitcher has performed well, leave him in for the next inning. If he shows signs of trouble, then bring in another pitcher.

One-inning pitchers should not be a hard-and-fast rule.

Changes should be made only if the pitcher cannot continue to perform.

Don Weimer
Williamsville

1 comment:

JM said...

This man has my undying admiration. But he would be fired as a manager, mid-season, for not managing the bullpen correctly. And not having a widdle book of numbers that supports his every decision.

These are simply managerial musts.