At LAST! a manager gives up on SAVES

[fan_since79]

Frame it however you want, Scioscia's been a long supporter of defined bullpen roles and hasn't shown himself to adapt that quickly.

Perhaps he has changed, but the second we see Smith face the bottom of the order in the 8th and Frieri face the top in the 9th, this idea of a progressive Scioscia goes out the window and is replaced by the same old archaic approach we've seen for I don't know how long.

 

...since April 4, 2000.

 

Fourteen years, one month, and 10 days.

[eaterfan]

Yeah, because MS invented the closer position, defined bullpen roles and is the only manager to employ them.

[19HALO71]

Sorry but that simply isn't true. Most of the Yankee fans that show up in Anaheim are the So Cal Yankee fan that buys the new gear that looks old. The actual Yankee fans from New York are pretty tame and respectful at least in my experience.

^^Agreed

[TroutBaseball]

Yeah, because MS invented the closer position, defined bullpen roles and is the only manager to employ them.

 

I'm not blaiming Scioscia for this, but I am shocked that he might be the first to abandon it.  Like Inside Pitch said, defined roles aren't bad, they just need to be defined around something other than the Save stat.

[RallyMo]

...since April 4, 2000.

Fourteen years, one month, and 10 days.

...during which Scioscia has statistically established himself as one of the best managers in MLB history.

Woe is us.

[RallyMo]

Here it is again. I like this.

[arch stanton]

The heart of the Phillies order didn't see the same back end reliever twice. It was the smart way to go.

[RePLAY]

Howard see Smith yesterday?

[arch stanton]

The alignment wasn't perfect but thanks for pointlessly splitting that hair.

[Blarg]

Howard see Smith yesterday?

With the way Howard had been hitting this series you would have to say he wasn't seeing anything.

[AngelsAndRamsFan]

@JeffFletcherOCR: Scioscia said Frieri was in the 8th today b/c Angels had a 3-run lead, not 1-run ld like yesterday. Also to give Phils hitters diff look.

@JeffFletcherOCR: To clarify on #Angels closer: Scioscia wanted Smith vs. mid of order w/ 1-run lead, but Frieri w 3/run cushion. Heart in 8th both times.

[moccasin]

I believe the Oakland A's have a similar stance to closing, except they have at least 3 guys that can close.

Doolittle, Gregerson, Johnson.

[Second Base]

To be fair, roles can be defined in different ways.  If they have a guy that's appointed the resident bad ass in charge of nuking the other team's top hitters then they are defining the role rather nicely.

 

Resident badasses are a great commodity to have, but then need to be used correctly.  We have a guy like that, he's being used in garbage situations.  Hell we've got two more in the minors that are in AA. 

 

I think it's cool the Angels have some decent bullpen options right now but we have to be able to look ahead.  Kohn's BB/9 over 5 isn't going to allow him to sustain his miniscule ERA.  Given Scioscia's past, you know it's only a matter of time before he puts Jepsen back into a meaningful situation.

 

The Angels have the right pieces in the organization (Frieri, Smith, Kohn, Morin, Bedrosian, Alvarez, Santiago, DDLR, Burnett), I just have no faith that Mike Scioscia will actually value and deploy them correctly.  He never has, and it's foolish to expect him to start this year.

[Stradling]

Resident badasses are a great commodity to have, but then need to be used correctly. We have a guy like that, he's being used in garbage situations. Hell we've got two more in the minors that are in AA.

I think it's cool the Angels have some decent bullpen options right now but we have to be able to look ahead. Kohn's BB/9 over 5 isn't going to allow him to sustain his miniscule ERA. Given Scioscia's past, you know it's only a matter of time before he puts Jepsen back into a meaningful situation.

The Angels have the right pieces in the organization (Frieri, Smith, Kohn, Morin, Bedrosian, Alvarez, Santiago, DDLR, Burnett), I just have no faith that Mike Scioscia will actually value and deploy them correctly. He never has, and it's foolish to expect him to start this year.

Please tell me when he had talent in his bullpen that he didn't use correctly? This pen has been just ok since Shields retired.