The Cubs played a pretty sloppy game Thursday afternoon and ended up blowing a 4-1 lead, going down 5-4 after another bullpen meltdown. Hendricks had pitched well through five innings, although it would be hard to say he was dominant. Anyway, he weakened in the sixth, surrendering two doubles to cut the lead to 4-2.
Maybe Maddon has a quick hook or maybe he saw something, but once Hendricks was removed, things went south in a hurry. This time it was Jackson who blew the lead. I suppose that puts an end to the notion that Jackson can be trusted in a significant spot. Schlitter got out of the sixth, but was tagged for a run in the seventh that won the game for the Pirates. Schlitter has been involved in way too many losses this early on for my taste.
Maddon has kind of boasted about how his handling of the bullpen is innovative, but so far it has been pretty standard. Like most other managers, he has his seventh, eighth, and ninth inning guys, his lefty specialists, and several other arms who ordinarily have a limited role when the starters are going deep and doing their job. So, at least up to now, if the starter weakens in the sixth, especially with the injuries and the bullpen fatigue, he has nowhere to go.
I've always thought that modern managers are quick to box themselves in with this fixed approach. I have no real problem with the closer role, though, in all honesty it is somewhat overrated. Often it is the guy who puts out the fire who is the most valuable in a game.
When a starter gets in trouble in the middle innings, there really are alternatives to the rigid approach. In these cases, you can be behind, tied, or ahead. If you are behind, your chances of winning are probably limited. In the other circumstances, though, and especially if you are ahead, you are in a game-changing situation. In that case, you need to shut the door. So the case I am making is you want to think about bringing in one of your late inning guys to do just that. The odds are you can coast home from there.
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