Lookout Landing: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Sports blogs for fans, by fans.
New Blog: World Soccer Digest for Soccer Fans!

A Typo, an Uninformed Assumption, or Hope?

From Pravda:

Unless something really strange happens, like he gets traded for the third time in about a month, left-hander Garrett Olson will arrive in Arizona in a couple of weeks and compete for one of the 11 spots on the Mariners' Opening Day pitching staff.

Seem benign? Let's isolate the good part and add extra emphasis

 compete for one of the 11 spots on the Mariners' Opening Day pitching staff.

I've long been saying that with a bullpen's fungible nature and value that there's little reason to hold seven of them up on the big league squad when that roster spot could go to a useful additional bench role like a dedicated lefty masher, or allow you to use a platoon at an extra position.

It gives you a five-man bench. It typically takes four spots (catcher, middle inf, corner inf, outfield) just to have replacement at each position, leaving you to force those backups to also cover such roles as pinch runner, LOOGY pinch hitter, ROOGY pinch hitter, etc. That typically means that you have to sacrifice on some of those categories in the name of flexibility. An extra man on the bench means you can specialize a little bit more and as Econ 101 will teach you, specialization will reap you benefits.

The only thing that gets in the way of this is Minor League options and we do have quite a bit of mediocrity on the roster right now that does not have options. That inhibits the creation of a perfectly fluid shuttle between Triple-A and the big leagues, but it is still workable as it stands now. Furthermore, I would expect some of that mess to be cleared away by the end of Spring Training. If Zduriencik and Wakamatsu are committed to trying and sticking with an 11-man staff this year, that would be just one more feather in their cap.

0 recs  |  Comment 26 comments

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

This could mean we might not have to hear end of bullpen pitcher say,

“My control is off because I have not had a lot of work lately.”

That would be wonderful.

by Sec 108 on Jan 29, 2009 4:14 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

With Heilman, it seemed pretty reasonable...

…for them to whittle their way down to 12 pitchers without dropping anyone significant to waivers, so now that Heilman is gone and Olson has options, it seems plausible that they could go with an 11-man ‘pen. I don’t think Olson has a reasonable chance of making the cut, though, unless a couple of guys get hurt.

by ubelmann on Jan 29, 2009 5:35 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

I'm still skeptical

Unless he’s showing a new pitch or something, the Mariners ought to know how good he is right now. I’m not a big fan of using spring training for tryouts, given all of the data we already have on these guys, but obviously opinions differ on this matter.

by ubelmann on Jan 29, 2009 6:32 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

We're not manufacturing pins, here.

I like using semi-colons; they make me feel smart.

by Llewdor on Jan 29, 2009 5:42 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Earlier today Zoidberg was on XM,

called Heilman a great reliever pickup for the Cubs (so much for the starter thing), and said that Olsen is going to get “every opportunity to succeed”. That sounds to me like he stays with the big club for the first few cuts at least.

It's hard to convince people to let you eat them if you're an asshole. - Thingray

by Faux on Jan 29, 2009 5:44 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

Extra catcher, perhaps

Man, I would love for them to decide on an 11-man staff.

I was just thinking about this the other day. Having a 5-man bench would make them more able to carry Johjima, Clement, and Burke (or whatever 3rd catcher) in case they want to use Clement/Johjima at DH a lot and still have a backup catcher. The bench could be Clement, Burke, Shelton, Cedeno, outfielder.

Alternatively, Z/Wakamatsu might also be daring enough to just go ahead with 2 catchers and still let the other one DH— you’re only hurt by that decision if the catcher gets hurt (or if you wish you could pinch-run for one of them).

I love the forward thinking and willingness to try new stuff they constantly show.

by edgar is good on Jan 29, 2009 5:47 PM PST reply actions   0 recs

If a catcher gets injured having to forefit the DH for 5 innings or whatever isn't the end of the world

I see no reason to carry a third catcher exclusively for unlikely 16 inning games or injury

Determined, Jonesing Commentor | Proud proprietor of Wyomingroutes.org & Washingtonhighways.org

by I'm NOT Corco on Jan 29, 2009 5:55 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah, if you lose the DH, big deal, you just use the rest of your bench to PH every time the pitcher's spot comes up

what are the bench guys gonna say, “I’m too tired from not playing every day, why do I get to go bat now?”

by seattlebruin on Jan 29, 2009 6:45 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I love how both closers pitched in that game.

Gotta love manager philosophy.

---
Juuuust a bit outside!!
http://www.rightfieldbleachers.com

by Jack Moore on Jan 29, 2009 7:08 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

It was the second game of a double-header

And the first game was also pretty much a blowout, with one starter going 3 1/3 innings and the other going 5 innings. (Of course, there are other days when this happens where Ozzie Guillen and Ron Gardenhire have no excuse, but this one was mostly excusable.)

by ubelmann on Jan 29, 2009 8:04 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

I kinda want to see 2 catchers get hurt in a game

just like I want to see 3 QBs get hurt in an NFL game. Sure I’m a horrible person but hey, thats fun to watch.

by Edgar for Pres on Jan 29, 2009 10:59 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Happened to the Redskins on MNF back in 1989

All three of their active QBs got hurt in the game, and they had to play return man Brian Mitchell at QB, since he played the position as an option QB in college. Obviously, they didn’t throw the ball that much.

by Gomez on Feb 2, 2009 6:30 PM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Yeah happens every once in a while

i think I’ve see a punter and kicker get hurt in a game so somebody else had to kick extra points or punt. I forget though. Might not have been in the pros.

by Edgar for Pres on Feb 3, 2009 10:45 AM PST up reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

By reading a game thread of your own volition you agree to accept all liability for any and all damage done to your delicate sensibilities.
Start posting about the Mariners »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recommended FanPosts

Max_small
FootbaLL IV (Nov 21st)
Small
The Sabermetrics of Cats

Recent FanPosts

Laughing_man_elmex_small
AFL Championship game thread
Smell-the-glove_small
OFFTOP 11/19 - The Hand of Fraud
Small
Tony Blengino interview on 710 AM ESPN Seattle's Hot Stove League
Ichirocameron_small
OTFPOTD 11/16: Recipes Edition
Small
Lookout Landing as a communtiy
Small
Royals determined to unload Callaspo...
Ichiro_small
Ackley and Triunfel on MLB TV right now
Small
Xbox LLive, Pt 3

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >


Sexy People

1_small Graham

Small Matthew

Small Jeff