Pitcher Management: Primarily For Newbies

[KG Erwin]

Once upon a time, every starter was expected to finish, or attempt to finish each game. Nowadays, a CG is a rare thing.

If a guy is walking everybody and giving up runs early, then he's having a bad day and obviously needs to be pulled.

In PureSim, there are two things to watch, if you are managing a game: (1) the pitch count and (2) pitch speed. Most managers watch for that 100 pitch count, but I'll stretch that, depending on the historical era and the pitcher's END(urance) rating. A better barometer of fatigue is the pitcher's fastball speed. Once it drops a few mph, say from 88 to 83, you know he's getting tired.

Even veteran PS players fall into the "just one more inning!" trap. I've done it, repeatedly. The worst is when you want a guy to hang on until his turn in the batting order comes up, so you can employ a pinch hitter. He runs out of gas at the last moment, and sometimes gives up a critical hit. That's happened to all of us, hasn't it?

[Bustoff]

Pitcher management is an area that is filled with pitfalls and second guessing. For me, there's no set method of deciding if and when to yank a starter. Yes, I have fallen into the "one more inning" trap over and over, and maybe someday I will learn to stop doing that...but I doubt it.

If a pitcher has a shutout going and a comfortable lead (say 6-0 or 7-0) in the late innings I am inclined to leave him in to see if he can get the shutout. However, if he lets even one lousy run across, he's gone--no reason to keep him in if there's no shutout. And I tend to stay with a starter in the early innings even if he lets a couple runs across in the first inning. Pitchers can sometimes be jittery in the first, but find their groove in the second inning and pitch well for the rest of the game.

How much patience should you have in situations like this? Aye, there's the rub...you really can't be sure until it's often too late. "One more inning, man, that's all I ask..."