What is a knockout pitch? Mariano Rivera generated a lot of ground balls with his cutter. Trevor Hoffman had his great changeup, but went on for several years without spectacular K numbers as he got older and didn't have the FB anymore. Billy Wagner type was a rarity back then. Of course that isn't the case today with Chapman, Miller, Jansen, Kimbrel, etc getting half their outs or more via strikeout. Whether that is the result of the changing game or the fact that pitchers are throwing harder, or the most likely combination of both. An ideal closer does strikeout a lot of guys, but I'd much rather focus on guys that don't walk many people or give up a lot of flyballs or hard contact, like Rivera. Think Mark Melancon in Pittsburgh.
Maybe its very simple in that our closer should be our best reliever. (ERA/WHiP) McHugh- 0.68/0.83 Devo----- 1.20/.087 Rondon--2.08/1.15 Peacock-2.30/0.89 All four of these guys have pitched about the same amount of innings (13-15.2).
Strike outs are certainly a desirable quality. But circumstances sometimes mitigate what we want for a given situation. For instance, with 1 out and a guy on first in a tight game, you may want a guy who induces ground balls so you can try and get the double play.
Oh Melancon... he was here for the dark years... 2.78 ERA but 1.224 WHIP when he was our closer in 2011. Was solid in Pittsburgh but was a trainwreck in Boston. Kinda sad 2 years of Melancon is the only thing worthwhile we got out of the Berkman trade.
Giles has yet to blow a save and has faced the minimum number of batters in each save opportunity and only allowed one baserunner. Of his 14 appearances he has faced the minimum in 10 of them. He had two sketchy outings early in the season and the terrible one against the Yankees. Since the beginning of 2017, he is now 39/43 in save opportunities during the regular season. Considering it did happen, it's hard to imagine, but if Giles had not been pitched in that one inning against the Yankees, he'd be on a streak of 10 games, 9.1 innings, ONE baserunner (erased on DP), 0 runs.
I think McHugh must owe Nick some money or something. He's trash that should just be grateful that we allow him to stay on the roster and pitch some mop up innings. He's pitched well, there's literally zero downside to giving him some decent leverage situations to see how he handles it. It isn't as if there are shut down arms he may be displacing.
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. In non-save situations, Giles this year has pitched in 9 games... with a batting average against of .298 and slugging average against of .529 with a 6.75 ERA... S0/9 rate of 4.5. In tie situations... his batting average against is even worse with .400 BA against, .900 SLG against through 10 batters faced. Those numbers will sure go down... but the logic that Giles should be trusted with big-game situations is ridiculous because he is not good in low-pressure situations is like saying we should start Brock Osweiler for the Texans because he does horribly in scrimmages.
Runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs, you want the K-guy. It is why relievers shouldn't be stuck in set roles, but some relievers can't get over it, and when money and awards come with saves, I can't really blame them.
There is one massive omission when it comes to comparing RP stats. That being the situation(s) they face. Its probably unfair to compare two guys strait up without this consideration. So their overall numbers become less important than how they do in high pressure situations if we are talking about closers. Giles WHiP of 0.89 is very good while his ERA of 4.38, not so much. This translates to me that not many base runners get on, but those that do score often. This is backed up in that he has a .206 against with no runners on and >.300 when they are. http://www.espn.com/mlb/player/splits/_/id/32762/ken-giles
That ERA (as with most relievers) is bloated by 4 runs in 1/3 of an inning. Throw out the one terrible game and his ERA drops to 1.50, his WHIP to .583, his runners on AVG drops to .200.
Eh, I wouldn’t go that far. More like I’m seeing a ton of praise for a guy who’s been... OK.... not better, not worse... OK. Even watching him this year, I’m seeing about the same guy... even though his numbers suggest he’s been as lights out as he’s ever been. Basically, not passing the eye test... and not having enough meaningful appearances in a large enough sample size for me to be convinced. I’ve been wrong before... but in this case, I’m just not being optimistic (but at the same time, I’m not being pessimistic or calling him trash or whatever... ). I actually think Hinch has more choices than ever in the bullpen... not giving up totally on Smith/Rondon being useful, and Giles has had more deaths/rebirths in such a short period of time, I’ve lost count. It’s just a matter of finding a way to make it all fit.
That’s fair. I also think Hinch/Front office needs to get Smith and Rondon on track given their limited ability to contribute otherwise. Not holding out hope for Sipp and hopefully they can acquire a LOOGY before the deadline. And whatever Giles is, was, is going to be.... lets hope it declares itself one way or the other. The only thing more baffling than his inconsistency is his ability to continue to save games at an elite rate (but only save games... fail every other time, including tie games), along with every other relief pitcher showing inability to take a role and run with it.
These are all good points AND that game against the Yankees was a back to back situation for Giles. At this point the Astros should accept what he does well and who he is. No more back to back games, avoid longer appearances and only have him pitch in save situations. If that works, leave him alone........ if it doesn't work, there is always the deadline.
I know timing isn’t everything... but he just pitched in back-to-back games vs. the A’s that were both save situations. Maybe just stick to save situations?... Not sure what the right answer is, but at some point his ability to bounce back is starting to look like a pseudo-strength. We’ve all seen pitchers who’ve truly lost it, and could no longer find the plate... let alone save games. I agree that whatever he does well (and you’d think this data-driven front office could furnish that info in a nanosecond).... just let him do that.
Well, the A's lineup isn't exactly the heart of the Yankees lineup. Really, I think Hinch should only pitch Giles when Giles is going to be good, and go with someone else when he isn't, unless of course that other pitcher would also not be good that day.
True. Not sure why Giles has to look like the best closer ever in a save situation vs the Yankees and the heart of their lineup... then followed it up with a clunker in a tie game. Yes, stupid Hinch for sure.
