The Six-Man Rotation
The Orioles will be moving to a six-man rotation, it's being reported.
This is a move designed to protect all the young rookies. Sabermetric analysis over the years suggests that when a young pitcher throws more than 40 innings more than he did the previous season, injuries become much more likely. Prior to this announcement, it was assumed that Brian Matusz would be shut down when Brad Bergesen returned, as Matusz was nearing his innings limit. By moving to a six-man rotation, the rookies (and Matusz especially) won't have to be shut down, but will be allowed to pitch throughout the remainder of the season without risking their arms.
I'm definitely a fan of the move, for two reasons. One, I love wacky, think-outside-the-box moves. When the Rockies went to a four-man rotation a few years ago, I was excited about that too. It has nothing to do with smart (or dumb) baseball decisions: The fan in me just enjoys when unusual stuff happens. Secondly, and more importantly though, this signals that Matusz is here to stay. If Matusz were up merely as a placeholder until Bergesen returned, the team wouldn't go to a six-man rotation; the Orioles would just option or bench the lefty once BB returned. By making sure that he gets his work in and keeping him at the big league level, the O's are letting us know that they fully intend for Brian Matusz to be part of their starting rotation on Opening Day 2010. Now that is something to get excited about.
There was talk of possibly optioning Jason Berken, or moving him to the bullpen, but apparently he will continue to start. I'm fine with that; the team can either start a AAAA pitcher, or let Berken take his lumps and hope he gets better in the long run. They have nothing to lose by putting him out there.
Other notes: Koji Uehara is returning soon and is almost certain to be moved to the bullpen. It's too bad that he got such little time as a starter here in the US, but there were just too many young rookies who developed too quickly for him to remain in the rotation. Even when he was out, there was still a dogfight for starts amongst Bergesen, Matusz, Tillman, Guthrie, Berken, Hernandez, and Rich Hill, and that doesn't even count a guy like Jake Arrieta, a highly regarded prospect in AAA who may see time next year. Moving Koji to the pen gives us a very good long reliever (something that is particularly useful considering how quickly our guys can get knocked out, and how much our young guys often labor through innings). Brian Bass has actually pitched pretty well, but I'd much rather have Koji in that role than him. Our bullpen is also starting to take shape, and on Opening Day next year we should have five solid pitchers locked in: Koji, Kameron Mickolio, Jim Johnson (likely serving as closer), Chris Ray, and Cla Meredith. There is also a very good chance that Berken starts 2010 in the pen. Bass, despite his success this year, will still have to earn a spot in the pen next year, and Matt Albers will have to prove he belongs in the Bigs at all.
Mark Hendrickson is a free agent after this year, and I would like to see him brought back on, because he's been an effective left-handed option out of the pen (posting a 3.74 ERA as a reliever) and because, let's face it, we don't have any other LHP relief options. Danys Baez is also a FA, a case of addition-by-subtraction.
This is a move designed to protect all the young rookies. Sabermetric analysis over the years suggests that when a young pitcher throws more than 40 innings more than he did the previous season, injuries become much more likely. Prior to this announcement, it was assumed that Brian Matusz would be shut down when Brad Bergesen returned, as Matusz was nearing his innings limit. By moving to a six-man rotation, the rookies (and Matusz especially) won't have to be shut down, but will be allowed to pitch throughout the remainder of the season without risking their arms.
I'm definitely a fan of the move, for two reasons. One, I love wacky, think-outside-the-box moves. When the Rockies went to a four-man rotation a few years ago, I was excited about that too. It has nothing to do with smart (or dumb) baseball decisions: The fan in me just enjoys when unusual stuff happens. Secondly, and more importantly though, this signals that Matusz is here to stay. If Matusz were up merely as a placeholder until Bergesen returned, the team wouldn't go to a six-man rotation; the Orioles would just option or bench the lefty once BB returned. By making sure that he gets his work in and keeping him at the big league level, the O's are letting us know that they fully intend for Brian Matusz to be part of their starting rotation on Opening Day 2010. Now that is something to get excited about.
There was talk of possibly optioning Jason Berken, or moving him to the bullpen, but apparently he will continue to start. I'm fine with that; the team can either start a AAAA pitcher, or let Berken take his lumps and hope he gets better in the long run. They have nothing to lose by putting him out there.
Other notes: Koji Uehara is returning soon and is almost certain to be moved to the bullpen. It's too bad that he got such little time as a starter here in the US, but there were just too many young rookies who developed too quickly for him to remain in the rotation. Even when he was out, there was still a dogfight for starts amongst Bergesen, Matusz, Tillman, Guthrie, Berken, Hernandez, and Rich Hill, and that doesn't even count a guy like Jake Arrieta, a highly regarded prospect in AAA who may see time next year. Moving Koji to the pen gives us a very good long reliever (something that is particularly useful considering how quickly our guys can get knocked out, and how much our young guys often labor through innings). Brian Bass has actually pitched pretty well, but I'd much rather have Koji in that role than him. Our bullpen is also starting to take shape, and on Opening Day next year we should have five solid pitchers locked in: Koji, Kameron Mickolio, Jim Johnson (likely serving as closer), Chris Ray, and Cla Meredith. There is also a very good chance that Berken starts 2010 in the pen. Bass, despite his success this year, will still have to earn a spot in the pen next year, and Matt Albers will have to prove he belongs in the Bigs at all.
Mark Hendrickson is a free agent after this year, and I would like to see him brought back on, because he's been an effective left-handed option out of the pen (posting a 3.74 ERA as a reliever) and because, let's face it, we don't have any other LHP relief options. Danys Baez is also a FA, a case of addition-by-subtraction.
Labels: Brian Matusz, Koji Uehara, Orioles
posted by Mr. Crash at
5:23 AM
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