What is the deal with how they handle pitchers these days?

[Go get em Tigers]

I'm old enough to remember when starting pitchers completed their games if they weren't getting clobbered. I also remember when there was such thing as a "middle reliever" that could come in an pitch 4 or 5 or 6 innings when the starting pitcher obviously "didn't have it" on any particular day. Back "in the day", if a starting pitcher was getting clobbered early in the game, he was replaced by the middle reliever. Where have all the middle relievers gone? Is there no longer enough room in the roster for them? Is that why they leave starting pitchers in so long and allow the team to lose?

Today, it seems managers have an entirely new set of rules relating to how they handle their starting pitchers during a game. We get that same crazy formula of a 7th inning guy, an 8th inning guy, and the closer who only comes in for the 9th inning, and only comes in when the team is ahead.

What in the heck is going on?

I point to Nate Robertson's start a couple of days ago. He gave up five runs in the first 3 innings, yet he wasn't sent to the showers. Why not? Leaving him in the game ran the risk of giving up ten runs in the first six innings. Is that any way to manage a ball team? Shouldn't the manager be on their toes, and ready to yank ANY pitcher at any time, if it's in the best interests of the team? Today, you don't even see the pitching coach reach for the telephone until the game is pretty much out of reach. If I'm managing a team and the starting pitcher gives up 2 or 3 runs in the first 3 innings, then SOMEBODY is warming up in the bullpen and one more solid contact may be enough to get that starter yanked from the game.

I remember Jack Morris was one of the few exceptions. He could give up 3 runs in the first couple of innings, and then settle down and shut the other team down for six more innings, and salvage a nice day's work. I don't know of any pitchers these days who can give a few runs early and then shut the opponent down for the next several innings.

Certainly Nate Robertson is no Jack Morris. Why then did Leland leave him in the game after he'd given up five runs in three innings? This just makes no sense to me whatsoever.

Captain Hook where are you?

[richie hebner]

Letting them pitch!!!

This is a question that I have brought up with my baseball friends on many an occasion. I have been a fan for many years, over 50 for sure. I remember a fellow that pitched for Pittsburgh named Murray Dickson. He won 20 plus one year and lost more than 20 the next year and I think he completed 15 or so both seasons. We are talking about a man that was about 5'6" tall and probably didn't weight more than 160. But he was out there every 4 days.
Will someone tell me why these 6' to 6'4" and 235 pounders need to be pulled after six inning ( on a 5 day rotation) because their pitch count has passed the magic 100 mark.

GO TIGERS!!!!!

[Srschirm]

Will someone tell me why these 6' to 6'4" and 235 pounders need to be pulled after six inning ( on a 5 day rotation) because their pitch count has passed the magic 100 mark.

GO TIGERS!!!!!

A little thing called money. So much money tied up in these arms. I don't agree with it either. Drives me nuts.

[Imgran]

I want you to try and convince me that the topic of this thread has nothing at all to do with the fact that the Tigers have a high-ceiling rotation and no bullpen to speak of.

Anytime now. I'm ready.

Actually the reason that they do it should be fairly obvious. Bullpens specialize in pitching 1 scoreless inning at a time. For the most part the starters are more talented than any one individual reliever, but as a general rule by the time the starter hits the 7th and 8th inning they're so gassed that a good reliever is easily a better option most of the time. It's all about winning the game with the tools that are available. That, and hitters are more advanced than before and especially in the AL there don't tend to be the ubiquitous lineup holes a worn-out pitcher can exploit without the DH rule like there very often were in days gone by.

For the record, there are a handful of relatively modern pitchers who completed a lot of games (Curt Schilling for one, back when he was in his prime), and there were no shortage of older-time starters who really didn't.