Who are some good setup men?

[PowerofRed25]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

Slightly unrelated, but I was reading that pitching the 8th is generally more tough than pitching the ninth because you tend to go through the meat of the order more often than closers - hence having top setup pitchers is an absolute must, especially since (for some reason!) closers are barely used outside the ninth, a far cry from the 'fireman' role they really should be. I think we shall see a huge change in the roles of relief pitchers and closers etc. in the coming years (see the Rockies and their plans on how to manage their bullpen - 75 pitch cap on a 4 man rotation).

Anyhoo I'd probably go with Downs, Benoit or Joel Zumaya (if he isn't injured all the time).

The Rockies 75 pitch 4 man rotation has been universally blasted by everyone in and out of baseball. It all but assures Jim Tracy will be fired at the end of the year. That is the kind of idea you have laying in bed after a night of drinking and then you wake up in the morning wondering what the hell you were thinking.

While I do believe we'll see a 4 man rotation increasingly used by some teams (the Mets and RA Dickey being one), the pitch limit and 4 man rotation with the group of scrubs the Rockies has is absolutely a ridiculous idea. Jim Tracy should be (and will be) run out of managing baseball for that idea.

Pitching the 8th can occasionally be even more important than the 9th. A setup man coming into a 1st and 2nd, 0 out spot with the middle of the order coming up in the 8th is a far more stressful and crucial inning than the 9th when the closer faces the bottom of the order.

[niharjhatn]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

The Rockies 75 pitch 4 man rotation has been universally blasted by everyone in and out of baseball. It all but assures Jim Tracy will be fired at the end of the year. That is the kind of idea you have laying in bed after a night of drinking and then you wake up in the morning wondering what the hell you were thinking.

While I do believe we'll see a 4 man rotation increasingly used by some teams (the Mets and RA Dickey being one), the pitch limit and 4 man rotation with the group of scrubs the Rockies has is absolutely a ridiculous idea. Jim Tracy should be (and will be) run out of managing baseball for that idea.

Pitching the 8th can occasionally be even more important than the 9th. A setup man coming into a 1st and 2nd, 0 out spot with the middle of the order coming up in the 8th is a far more stressful and crucial inning than the 9th when the closer faces the bottom of the order.

Oh yeah I completely agree regarding the crackhead named Jim Tracy. I don't get the point of arbitrarily stopping starting pitchers at 75 pitches when there is no evidence that this 'preserves' them in the long term. However, having a 4 man rotation (i.e. getting starters to pitch in shorter stints, taking advantage of the fact that relief pitchers tend to perform better than starters) is the way we are going to move to in the future.

However what I was suggesting was that pitching in the 8th is ALMOST ALWAYS more important than the 9th. Ideally of course, you only bring your 'closer' in on the high leverage situations, REGARDLESS of what the inning is. But if you are sticking with the baseless '1 pitcher = 1 inning' approach it seems to be smarter to bring your closer in the 8th rather than the 9th.

[TGov]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

Anybody know of some relievers with a lot of movement???
The OSFM version of Rich Hill is great, a lot of movement on his curve, nice slider too...

[Sergio88]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

1. Sergio Romo
2. Jhonny Nunez
3. Ryan Cook
4. Aroldis Chapman
5. Wily Peralta

[Kratcha0914]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

another solid lefty...Brian Fuentes of the As...a good mixture of pitches.

[RunningTheNight]

Jesse Crane is probably the best pitcher on the ChiSox, and considering he's a reliever, that's a bit of a rarity. He's been lights out, and although he's starting to get up there in age, he'll be dominant for years. A potential, A overall.

[xboxxerx]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

I use the Angels for my franchise. I have a long reliever, 2 mids, and 2 setup. Those are Downs and Jepson I believe is his name. Both are pitching lights out with great breaking stuff and fastball. Both carry a ERA under 1.5

[ParisB]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

Oh yeah I completely agree regarding the crackhead named Jim Tracy. I don't get the point of arbitrarily stopping starting pitchers at 75 pitches when there is no evidence that this 'preserves' them in the long term. However, having a 4 man rotation (i.e. getting starters to pitch in shorter stints, taking advantage of the fact that relief pitchers tend to perform better than starters) is the way we are going to move to in the future.

However what I was suggesting was that pitching in the 8th is ALMOST ALWAYS more important than the 9th. Ideally of course, you only bring your 'closer' in on the high leverage situations, REGARDLESS of what the inning is. But if you are sticking with the baseless '1 pitcher = 1 inning' approach it seems to be smarter to bring your closer in the 8th rather than the 9th.

You can't generalize that the 8th is always more important. What that article was saying is that you're better off using your best reliever (or "closer") in high leverage situations, regardless what inning it is.

The Angels started doing this in May and have had the best bullpen since. Scott Downs has been pitching in 7th, 8th, and 9th innings. For 1, 2, or 4 batters. No defined role. Just whenever the matchups dictate. Similarly with Frieri and Walden. They've been shutting the door because they are used in high leverage situations. If the starter gets in a late jam in the 7th, Scioscia would use Downs or Frieri now.

Pointless to bring in a lesser reliever just because its the 7th and your closer is being saved for the 9th. Might be too late.

[niharjhatn]

Re: Who are some good setup men?

You can't generalize that the 8th is always more important. What that article was saying is that you're better off using your best reliever (or "closer") in high leverage situations, regardless what inning it is.

Did you even read what I wrote?