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Monday, September 10, 2007

Ken Rosenthal actually broke rank on the "Total Save Stat" issue on May 26, 2007:

Repost from May 27, 2007 by me re: The momentary but appreciated bravery of Ken Rosenthal on the 'Saves' stat. He spoke with a little smile on his face, at which point I thought, he's just going to make a polite statement and move on without really taking on the subject.
  • (Note on today's situation: Dave Campbell said last night Joe Borowski recently said he knows there's something wrong with his arm or shoulder). ***Noted by me: Pitching through an injury, though not recommended, worked out well hardware-wise for Bartolo Colon in 2005.

'KEN ROSENTHAL MOVES THE BALL FORWARD: OPINES ON THE PHONY "SAVES" STAT

Ken Rosenthal said during the Fox Phillies-Braves game on Saturday, May 26, 2007, 5:54PM ET:

  • "THERE ARE TOO MANY MANAGERS WHO MANAGE ACCORDING TO THE 'SAVE' RULE."
Which is a polite way of saying managers are in the business of giving "gifts" or "cookies" before other priorities. Way to speak about THIS MEDIA-HYPED RUNAWAY TRAIN. Maybe others will have the guts to take on the subject that has gotten way out of hand, ie "Give him the Cy for his Total Saves Stat." The discussion occurred surrounding Brett Myers' being used "FOR MORE THAN 1 INNING" by Charlie Manuel. Joe Girardi avoided the controversy, just saying it depends on how deep your bullpen is and what the game calls for. Well, that's true, but a couple of teams have used the "Saves" stat as a promotional and awards device FIRST.
  • (Load up those 1 out saves or no runners in scoring position or no more than one inning, or high pressure pennant race performances, etc.)'
This was only the beginning of a long post by me on the subject which no one cares about and is unpopular.

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posted by susan at 9/10/2007 10:48:00 PM

2 Comments:

  • It's also about teams not using their best reliever when they need them most, regardless of whether it's a save situation. If the critical moment of the game is in the seventh inning with the game tied and the bases loaded, by God, use your best reliever. The Mariners are way back in the wild card precisely because of this - not once but twice John McLaren chose Rick White in a tight situation rather than J.J. Putz, with the end result being Putz never even got into the game.

    By Blogger RotoJeff, at 2:54 PM  

  • I agree, especially in the situation you mention with Rick White. (That game could also have gone the other way if some close umpire calls had gone Seattle's way. Using Putz might've changed that game and the team's momentum toward the end of the season.

    By Blogger susan, at 4:15 PM  

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