here is another couple of thoughts along nootch's argument. people that say start ott. i dont know his hs career, but did he ever start? the kid is ice as a closer, but can he go more than a couple of innings? if not, starting him is a total waste. what we need is the starters we have now to get to where they can go more than 5 innings. and the middle men to be able to hold things down for a few innings. on the second train of thought, if we are facing good pitchers, most of our runs dont, and wont, come until the later innings when we get into their bull pen. if we can do that and get our offense to score, we want a good closer that will snuff out the opposing bats. if the other team has a good closer and we dont, it doesnt matter who we start. those last couple of innings are gonna be crucial. how many games the last couple of years have we seen late inning cardiac comeback? its because we got into their bull pen and after their starter didnt have the pitching. we have the closer and they dont, advantage lsu. i know that was rambling and may not make sense to some. but i expect some like jayb and nootch to get what i am saying.
'61 Yankees. 1960 Yanks lost on a Mazeroski HR in the 9th. A solid closer would have been nice right there.
better way of putting it on why 80% of relievers won't cut it as closers if your bullpen blows a lead in innings 5-7(8), you got a few chances to get that lead back. if your closer blows the lead, game over
better way of putting it on why 80% of relievers won't cut it as closers if your bullpen blows a lead in innings 5-7(8), you got a few chances to get that lead back. if your closer blows the lead, game over so you want a guy that WON'T blow that lead
You apparently make a habit of factually misstating my argument. I didn't say they don't believe in a closer, I said they don't believe in paying big money to one. This one is too easy. If your bullpen DOESN'T blow the lead in innings 5-7, you don't need to get the lead back. I did not advocate using Ott in the 5th inning, I'd like to see him starting. I said that our best relievers should come in the game in the most crucial situations. It is much more likely that the other team will score with runners on 1st and 3rd in the 6th inning than with no one on base in the 9th inning. The entire purpose is to stop the other team from scoring, so you don't have to come back. The starting staff may well be fine once Ranaudo gets back, in which case I wouldn't mind keeping Ott in the later innings. I just know that Ott was wasted in 2 of 3 games this weekend and only pitched 1.1 innings overall when he could've gotten plenty more time on the mound in a different role. See I'm the kind of guy that wants to use his best guns as much as possible. Would you have argued keeping Coleman as closer last year? He had not previously shown he would be successful as a starter. We also didn't know how good Matty Ott could be at the time. So, you're arguing against trying something that worked as recently as last year?
Coleman frequently came in and pitched an average of 3 innings per appearance during his junior season when he was the closer. He also pitched 6+ innings on a couple of occasions. Ott's position is VERY different from that. He has pitched for 3 innings three times in 37 appearances (50 innings in 37 appearances). That doesn't tell you ANYTHING?
this. bottom line is cpm and the staff know who has what abilities with pitching more than any one on a message board. if ott has not started or gone more than 2-3 innings, its for a reason, and NOT just because of his value as a closer. i feel very comfortable saying i believe mainieri has had the kid practice to see what other pitching roles he might be able to handle. if he is closing, it is because that is what he can do! remember, this is a coaching staff that had chad jones pitch. the pitching coach had him practice and felt very comfortable recommending to cpm that jones be moved to pitcher. this staff does not pigeon hole players. if ott hasnt been tried in other pitching roles in game situations, it is because the staff does not feel that he is suited for such. if i am wrong and he makes a change in where he pitches, it will be because the staff feels he has the ability there. until then, he's a closer because that is where his abilities have been judged to be. end of story.
To add to this, given that Ott would more than likely only be available for a 3-4 inning stretch at best to open up a game, the middle reliever would have to go 3-4 innings as well, with a closer going 2-3 innings. That is a formula for failure. It may win that one game, but then you are set up for failure for the rest of the series. As some have said CPM knows where each pitchers strength is, assesses that strength and puts them in the rotation accordingly. CPM, like last season, will make the appropriate adjustments and set the rotation to use its strengths for the duration of the season. He will make the pitching lineup adjustments so that we have the best chance for winning each weekend series. Even if Ranaudo makes it back, I would guess we will still see some lineup changes. If he doesn't make it back, we have enough talent to still make a run. CPM, successfully did this last season, as about this time, and he will do it again. No worries folks, all is good in Tiger Baseball Land.:geaux: :tigbas: :LSU231:
Got back last night from Baton Rouge and went to the Saturday game. I'm glad I went to that one since the outcomes of the other two weren't pretty. I took a whole bunch of pictures (borrowed a friend's telephoto for some nice zoom) but haven't gotten most of them uploaded yet.. Some thoughts on the game: Blake Dean was hitting great. The home run was smashed over the right field fence; the ball looked like it was going to hit the Intimidator for a moment. Austin Ross pitched well overall despite the two runs in the 1st. Mikie Mahtook was also hitting well. Matty Ott was lights out. He certainly has a presence on the mound. The two photos I got around to putting up last night:
