Idiots Write About Sports

When the ninth inning began last night with Guillermo Mota on the mound rather than Eric Gagne, I began to shout at the TV. Well, that’s not fair. I was shouting about Gagne coming in before the Dodgers even tied the game.

Here’s the thing: You’re the Dodgers, on the road in a tie. If your pitchers allow any runs to score, the game is over immediately. This is the most important relief pitching situation you could possibly have. So use your best pitcher in that situation. Give yourself an inning or two two play for a run; if your relief ace is pooped out, then you go to the next best guy, and so on.

But no. Apparently Jim Tracy, using the conventional wisdom favored by managers today, opted for Mota because it wasn’t a save situation. In other words, he preferred to risk using Mota over Gagne, with a potentially game-ending outcome, rather than bring in Gagne and dare to be forced to use Mota for the save if the Dodgers scored while Gagne was gassed.

In the paper today, Tracy was apparently asked why he didn’t bring in Gagne with men on base. That’s just silly. In a tie game, extra-innings situation you can’t waste relievers like that. The real issue is, why wasn’t Gagne in there to begin with? Go with your strength first off — otherwise you might not get a chance to use him at all.

Dumb, dumb, dumb.

I haven't kept too close a watch on Gagne's career as a closer because, frankly, his facial hair irritates me. But it's possible that the guy is one of those closers that only pitches at the top of his game when he's in a save situation. I can't count the number of times the Pads have beckoned Trevor Hoffman from the bullpen either before the ninth inning or with a greater-than-three-run lead, only to have Hoffman proceed to give up multiple home runs and leave the game in disgrace.

The word from Padres apologists is that Trevor needs to be suitably pumped, e.g., in a save situation, in order to pitch his A game. Based on the steaming sweat bog that bubbles its way through Gagne's cap during his ninth-inning outings, I'm guessing that pumped is his preferred m.o., too. Maybe Tracy has some insight to which those of us who can't stand to watch the Dodgers on a regular basis are not privy.

The strategy you suggest (as I suspect you already know) is the approach the Red Sox tried at the beginning of 2003. It came to be known as "Closer By Committee" and it was absolutely botched by Grady F*cking Little, which forced the Sox into the Byung Hyung Kim Experience. Tito Francona could probably handle such a system, But Closer By Committee was ripped constantly by close-minded fans and talk radio, and (based on the Foulke signing) I assume management has soured on the THEOry.