
Today’s Pitching Committee is………
From a pitching standpoint only, the Yankee’s turn-around following the All Star break has a man made design to it, which no team (that I’m aware of) has ever attempted to employ.
It’s been tabbed in the media as the Yankee’s Bullpen By Committee. All the pieces are interchangeable, and one of the five pitchers always gets the night off. Thus, we saw Adam Warren pitch the ninth as the closer the other night in a Yankees win.
And from there, it’s only one small step that leads to a revolution in baseball to where starting pitchers are scheduled every third day instead of every fifth day. And the expectations of the team are narrowed from six innings to three or a maximum of four innings, depending on their effectiveness, the number of pitches, and “stress level” (pitching with men on base) during an outing.
And instead of announcing Jordan Montgomery as the starting pitcher, Girardi posts a “lineup” similar to the one he posts for his position players, that reads something like this:
Jordan Montgomery (3), Chad Green (2), Tommy Kahnle (1), Dellin Betances (1), David Robertson (1), Aroldis Chapman (1), Adam Warren, Masahiro Tanaka (Standby Relievers).
Parts are interchangeable, and there’s nothing written in stone saying Montgomery can’t pitch the fourth, fifth, and sixth inning instead of opening the game.
Nothing but a folly? Think again about the benefits. Montgomery and all of the starters pitch twice a week instead of just once. His young arm is preserved, but still, as they like to say, stretched out. And everyone gets to attend the party, creating a better concept of team.
As with anything new, there are hurdles to overcome and battles to be waged. Let’s take a look at a few.