All the discussion about putting players in a routine and with assigned roles reminds me of the first time this flatlander took a trip to the mountains. My wise father informed me that it was easy to get disoriented about whether you were driving uphill or downhill with the frequent changes of grade in the road. He told me that even when a change of grade made it appear that we were going uphill or downhill, that wasn't always the case. He told me that looking in the rearview mirror, though not perfect, gave a better picture of what was actually happening than looking out the front windshield. All this is a long winded way of saying that most players cannot easily be evaluated until after they have been asked to perform, but even then, past performance doesn't necessarily guarantee future success or failure. Verlander loved the routine of pitching every five days, regardless of schedule or days off and it worked well for him. That routine was good. We had a couple of starters become unhittable relievers after venturing away from routine and assigned roles. (McCullers and Morton I think) So only by looking back can we really see what worked. It is the same with the current crop. It's just FRUSTRATING when you're in the hill country and you only have a handful of professional hitters and pitchers that have a small deviation between good and bad weeks. Pressly has been very good with a minor hiccup or two and Graveman has had a minor and a MAJOR hiccup which destroyed his numbers. But every player is one game away from the start (or continuation) of a successful or unsuccessful streak.
You must be new to baseball. There are relievers who only do well in save/hold situations. Graveman appears to be one of them.
So, only bring him in if the Astros are 1-3 runs ahead in the late innings and NOT if they're tied or up by 4+?
If the game is tied, it is a win-lose situation. A hold is maintaining a lead of three runs or less but not finishing the game. A no decision in a tie game should be called something similar to a hold since it's just as difficult.
Preferably, yes. Only in save or hold situations. Whatever the case, consistency is the key. Dusty seems to utilize him all over. Lots of elite closers/set-up men cannot perform without pressure. There is a lot of debate on this topic, but I believe the "closer mentality" is a real thing.
How is a pitcher's mindset different if it is 3-3 in the 8th inning, or 4-3 in the 8th inning or 3-4 in the 8th inning. In each of those scenarios, he has a job to give up 0 runs. Each of those situations is a pressure situation.
thank you - I wasn’t aware of that in the definition. Seems silly as holding onto a tie in late innings is just as valuable and pressure filled as holding a lead, but I do appreciate the correction.
