Is anyone surprised by this anymore? Today, it was Hanrahan. Brought in to pitch the ninth in a 6-2 game, he was mediocre at best, allowing a couple of runners to score and leaving a couple more stranded.
It seems clear to me that it is very common for closers to struggle when there is not a save on the line. We see it over and over. I'm guessing it has something to do with focus...maybe when you spend your professional life geared up to go out there and get that save, and suddenly you're just out there to finish up the game, there's a lack of intensity. It seems to be as big an issue when the skipper sends the closer out in a game the team is losing "just to get a little work".
I would love to see some numbers or other study showing whether closers pitch crappier when the game (or at least the save) is not on the line, or whether it just seems that way.
Now, it's a totally different issue as to whether a closer should be used in the 7th or 8th in a tie game or a tight situation because he's the best reliever available. I'm assuming the manager of this hypothetical club follows the traditional wisdom on closers instead. Given that, I think that if I were the skip I would never send my guy out unless the game or the save was on the line (and maybe not at all unless there was a save at issue).
I'm trying to imagine what it would be like if someone came up to me before a trial and said "we want you to go ahead and hear this case, but you should know that the parties have already settled the case and there is no real legal issue at stake". I'm wondering if I could put together my "A" game. I do recall one time when I found a defendant guilty and turned to the issue of sentencing. I started inquiring as to information which would help me determine a fair punishment under the circumstances, including particulars about the defendant. The lawyer told me "it doesn't matter how you sentence him, Judge, I'm appealing your ruling this afternoon." I have to admit that at that point I simply imposed the standard penalty, without going through the process I usually do.
Well, I wandered there, but I'm wondering whether someone smart like KS could weigh in on this issue.
It seems clear to me that it is very common for closers to struggle when there is not a save on the line. We see it over and over. I'm guessing it has something to do with focus...maybe when you spend your professional life geared up to go out there and get that save, and suddenly you're just out there to finish up the game, there's a lack of intensity. It seems to be as big an issue when the skipper sends the closer out in a game the team is losing "just to get a little work".
I would love to see some numbers or other study showing whether closers pitch crappier when the game (or at least the save) is not on the line, or whether it just seems that way.
Now, it's a totally different issue as to whether a closer should be used in the 7th or 8th in a tie game or a tight situation because he's the best reliever available. I'm assuming the manager of this hypothetical club follows the traditional wisdom on closers instead. Given that, I think that if I were the skip I would never send my guy out unless the game or the save was on the line (and maybe not at all unless there was a save at issue).
I'm trying to imagine what it would be like if someone came up to me before a trial and said "we want you to go ahead and hear this case, but you should know that the parties have already settled the case and there is no real legal issue at stake". I'm wondering if I could put together my "A" game. I do recall one time when I found a defendant guilty and turned to the issue of sentencing. I started inquiring as to information which would help me determine a fair punishment under the circumstances, including particulars about the defendant. The lawyer told me "it doesn't matter how you sentence him, Judge, I'm appealing your ruling this afternoon." I have to admit that at that point I simply imposed the standard penalty, without going through the process I usually do.
Well, I wandered there, but I'm wondering whether someone smart like KS could weigh in on this issue.
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