They just said on the post game show that Schneider said Berrios had his best stuff of the year. Head scratcher for sure. Pre game strategy be damned sometimes you have to ride the hot hand.
I'm certainly highly pro analytics... but with a healthy dose of judgment.
But even the geeks in other analytical departments across MLB, who are in favour of yanking starters fairly early (after 5 or in the 6th) were likely laughing at our team's approach yesterday,
Analytics are great for:
- Fielding Setup
- Helping assess player value in trades / signings
- Helping with pitching and hitting approaches.
- Helping with player development
They are not for pre-determining and hard closing your pitching setup. They could help you determine alternatives for consideration if your pitcher is on or off -- but not pre-determining things. Pitchers more than any other position, don't perform at a homogenous level from game to game. Sometimes they are really on, and sometimes they are really off. Same thing with relievers.
I do understand the theory that short burst relievers are better than starters, as starters get later into the game (3rd way through the lineup). But as stated above the performance of a starting pitcher or a reliever is not homogeneous .... to expect them to do the same as normal without using the eye test is absolute insanity.
Bullpen management in modern day baseball is absurd.
These geeks manage every game as if its the last one. The problem in the regular season when quick hooks are done is that,you have play a game almost every single day after it for the next week. We complain when a Cimber, Richards, Jackson or Garcia has to pitch in a critical situation over their normal grade. But they have to because analytics went to the bullpen to early the day before, or for several games in a row.
Even in a short series its absurd. So the Jays devised this "best" plan for game 2. It makes you wonder did the analytics team consider game 3. What exactly was their plan in game 3 -- run with a bunch of extremely tired relievers?
So many things were wrong with the Berrios pull yesterday
- He was pitching great
- The fact that it was done in the 4th rather than say the sixth.
- Relievers are used to coming in mid inning - Kikuchi is not ... that was one of the more absurd ones.
- And most of all this had to be a kick to the gut to the rest of the team to see something so stupid happen.