Hold My Log - 49.16 - Taking Off the Kiddie Gloves

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Hold My Log - 49.16 - Taking Off the Kiddie Gloves

Post by 7teen » Tue Dec 07, 2021 8:50 am

Thinking this could be the prime year to really make a run at that first trip to the post-season in Portland, the Lumberjacks front office and coaching staff have decided to remove the "kid gloves" from the pitching staff and turn them loose in 2049. What that means is: less pitching restrictions on the starters.

"We think we have one of the best starting rotations in the Brewster" said AGM Kate Fiscus, "not to mention three or four of the best relievers in the game as well. We feel now is the time to remove the leashes and chains we've used to hold them back and turn them loose. For years, we've had guys on pretty strict pitch counts and even batter limitations. Not this season. Rather than using those factors for removing a guy from a game, we are going to use strictly a competitive decision model and let manager Farri Agymah go with his gut on when to pull the starters. Let's see how it goes."

What Fiscus is referring to is that Portland has used a pitch count model of 99 pitches or less on its starting pitchers for the past several seasons. Citing a desire not to get anyone injured and to utilize some of the horses in the pen more often, starters were pulled early in games, despite their effectiveness in the start. And in more recent years, the team had even placed batter restrictions on pitchers, which forced many out in the 4th, 5th, or 6th innings because they had met the restrictions.

"Our window of opportunity is now" added Fiscus. "We have to go for it this year. We can't worry about the effects of innings 5-8 seasons from now. We have the rotation and staff to compete and we have to use them in that manner. No, we aren't actively looking to abuse arms, but we want to maximize what we have in front of us."

The Lumberjacks are only carrying 12 pitchers on their staff at the moment in an effort to maximize the usage of the best arms they have available. The team currently has 5 starters, a speciliast, a pair of middle relievers, and then 4 stoppers who are all a closer by committee at the end of games that manager Agymah can use however he chooses.

"The ultimate goal is to see our starters go deeper into games" concluded Fiscus. "We want to see our starters get into the 7th inning more often and then turn it over to those 4 stoppers to finish games. This will work if we can get leads. The other arms we have in the pen will be used in losing efforts or games our guys just can't get to the 7th inning in. In a perfect world, our 5 starters will all get close to 200 innings and those 4 main arms in the back of the pen will still get 80-plus with the other bullpen arms just eating whatever is left over."
Chris Wilson

LB Surfers 95-96
FL Pac Champs: 95

Madison Wolves 99-2039
JL MW: 99-2009, 17, 20, 21
JL WC: 12
JL: 01, 04, 09, 12
FL Heartland: 32
FL WC: 31, 33
BBA Champs: 04, 09

Portland Lumberjacks 2040-
FL Pacific: 50
FL WC: 49, 51
FL Champs: 49, 51

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