Do pitchers strive in certain situations/roles?

[BP88]

I'm in a debate with a poster in another board. We're discussing bullpen roles and how bullpens should be formed.

He says that it's impossible to build a bullpen of 6-7 dominant pitchers so you have to go out and get pitchers that fit certain roles.

I say as a GM you get the best pitchers you can to make a bullpen so that your manager has flexibility and can call upon any pitcher in any situation.

If a player is confined to one role then as a manager you wouldn't be able to use him in another role. The manager would be limited. However if the pitcher is good then he will pitch good regardless of the situation.

Is there any research that proves pitchers strive in certain roles or situations?

I mean I've heard of research that proves that batting orders don't matter for the most part. However is there anything similar for pitchers, where they might do better in setup roles, or as specialists, or closers?

[Sultan_1895-1948]

I'm in a debate with a poster in another board. We're discussing bullpen roles and how bullpens should be formed.

He says that it's impossible to build a bullpen of 6-7 dominant pitchers so you have to go out and get pitchers that fit certain roles.

I say as a GM you get the best pitchers you can to make a bullpen so that your manager has flexibility and can call upon any pitcher in any situation.

If a player is confined to one role then as a manager you wouldn't be able to use him in another role. The manager would be limited. However if the pitcher is good then he will pitch good regardless of the situation.

Is there any research that proves pitchers strive in certain roles or situations?

I mean I've heard of research that proves that batting orders don't matter for the most part. However is there anything similar for pitchers, where they might do better in setup roles, or as specialists, or closers?

Different pitchers do strive at different roles because of their skill set. A closer doesn't need more than two pitches, a setup guy, same thing. A long reliever needs at least three because he might be seeing the lineup a couple times. All these pitchers generally have different stamina as well. Also, mentally some pitchers just aren't able to handle certain roles.

Having said that, I think too much is made of righty/righty and lefty/lefty matchups. A good pitcher should be able to get anyone out, and a good hitter should be able to hit against any armed pitcher.

[Appling]

Different pitchers do strive at different roles because of their skill set. A closer doesn't need more than two pitches, a setup guy, same thing.

I agree. Goose Gossage is a good example: he was fair as a starter but outstanding when he moved to the role of closer. He relied mainly on his fastball, and he could maintain that high MPH when he had to pitch only an inning or two.

A reliever also needs a different physical makeup. He must be able to warm up quickly and his body must recover in just a day or two, while many starting pitchers seem to start slow and then improve as the game goes on. Steve Carlton is one of these that I remember best.

Very rarely do we see a pitcher like John Smoltz, who can thrive in either role: starter or closer.

[west coast orange and black]

and this:
"A good pitcher should be able to get anyone out, and a good hitter should be able to hit against any armed pitcher."
is also true.

[KCGHOST]

Strive = Thrive??

Not all pitchers can be used for all things. The one-pitch wonder may be great for an inning or two, but needs to be removed after that. Some guys are starters, but tire significantly after 5-6 innings and cannot be counted on to go further. And then there is the true LOOGY. A guy who is only reliable against LH hitters. And for some goofy reason there seems to be guys who can pitch any inning but the 9th (see LaTroy Hawkins).

Building a bullpen of 6-7 dominant is probably impossible as these guys would all want to be paid and there is a real market for dominant pitcher no matter there role. About the only way to do this is to happen is for the farm system to cough up three or four of these guys at one shot to a team that already has three or four dominant relievers.

[LouGehrig]

"...a good hitter should be able to hit against any armed pitcher.

If a pitcher is armed, wouldn't it make the batter nervous? How could an armed individual, even a pitcher, get into the ball park?

[Sultan_1895-1948]

funny