Article: Minnesota's Misuse of Meyer?

[Comrade Bork]

This team has the worst record in the AL and a stacked farm system. Something is not adding up in how these roster decisions are made. Thumbs up to whoever said it earlier, I'd rather lose with young guys with high ceilings than average veterans. Gg TR this season is already over.

[Kwak]

The problem with Meyer is two-fold:  1) an everyday, dependable CF was traded for a hoped-for starting pitcher.  Span represents considerable value (even more so now given the struggles the Twins have endured in CF since he left!) and a return of only a one inning relief pitcher indicates failure.  Yet, Meyer has not developed into a ML starting pitcher.  To say "Nuts" to Ryan's ego is naïve.  He was brought back to fix the mess based on his perceived expertise in locating "diamonds in-the-ruff" for pitchers.  Meyer is Ryan's "diamond"!  2)  The expectations for this season were high based on last season--especially for many of most "vocal" TD posters.  It was not reasonable to begin the season with the premise of using 2016 as a "rehearsal season" to build for future success.  Therefore, Meyer (and others) were slated t begin in the minors while other young players were to bein with the Twins.  Quite frankly I don't view Meyer favorably--I am convinced he is well behind too many others for a spot in the rotation.  But I can accept that Ryan might not want to cast Meyer off yet--since he made the trade for Meyer!

[jimmer]

 

There are plenty of reasons to question Molitor and Ryan... I don't think this Meyer decision is really one of them. 

Do you have some examples, that you would share, where you believe questioning Ryan and Molitor is valid?  I'd be interested in reading them.

 

In regards to this, bringing up Meyer for relief help and letting him sit for 8, 9 days is ridiculous.  If they were going to starting him on Tuesday, they could have called him up Sunday or so and, in the meantime, actually bring up a pitcher to help the bullpen until then.

Edited May 5, 2016 by jimmer

[birddog]

I was disappointed when Meyer was pulled after pitching well for the first two innings, but not angry. Moli is still trying to win and rightfully so, so he went with experience in Milone. He still has confidence in him, though many of us fans do not. No way a manager can concede this early in the season.

 

I agree Meyer should go back to starting at AAA. They brought up JR Graham and his 10.80 ERA to sit on the bench until Santana is activated. I do think Meyer will become a fixture in the rotation at some point this year, hopefully due to a trade of a current starter or two. Still a lot of the season left, and the changes we fans are screaming for will come at some point. Trade deadline is still almost 3 months off.

[DocBauer]

This team has the worst record in the AL and a stacked farm system. Something is not adding up in how these roster decisions are made. Thumbs up to whoever said it earlier, I'd rather lose with young guys with high ceilings than average veterans. Gg TR this season is already over.

That might be me you are referring to.

 

And I think it's an important point. I'm not saying empty the minor leagues and just promote everyone. I think the time for an Astros-like move to do so, or what the Twins did in '82, is gone at this point. Part of the young nucleus has already arrived, and been arriving, for a couple of years now. But a 40 man roster doesn't mean you get to promote all your top prospects, while keeping your veterans, and suddenly get to play with a 40 man roster.

 

Berrios is ready. Duffey too is probably ready, despite his rough ST. Meyer, hopefully, will take this latest cup of coffee as a learning experience, be even more determined to get back, and continue at Rochester where he left off. You arent, and cant, run with a 7 or 8 man rotation. So moves to the pen, eating some contract money, sweetening a trade with another player, whatever, you are going to have move out today for tomorrow.

[DocBauer]

Provided he has success in Rochester, he'll get another opportunity in Minnesota. It's a long season and a rotation spot will open up.

Personally I don't like his chances of harnessing his stuff and being a good big league starter, so I'd bite the bullet, put him in the pen, and hope to have him up and contributing in a month.

But I understand the lure of hoping for a dominant starter, so I can see why others might choose that route. Either way, I'm not that upset with this past week. He got an opportunity--not a long one, but an opportunity--and crapped the bed. Twice.

Go down and earn more opportunity. If he's truly ready, that should be a snap.

Chief, I agree he'll warrant another shot. I'd even bet on it. So I agree with you there.

 

But I am going to respectfully disagree, for now, on Meyer's future. Really, any young pitcher will struggle with his stuff and command at various points. That's why the grow, learn and advance through the minors. And the simple truth is, longer, taller pitchers have seemingly always had a bit more of a struggle finding proper repitition. Despite a few lapses in control, Meyer made steady progress in his milb career, was considered a top 100 prospect just as recently as the conclusion of the 2014 season.

 

And we all remember the raging debates as the Twins handling of him the second half, and late, in that season. The arguements raged back and forth from the Twins stating he needed to tweak his control a bit more, and the other side of the equation that he was ready and needed ML service time to continue to grow and develop. I am NOT rehashing this old arguement, just stating how highly he was regarded a year ago. Ish.

 

Distracted, hurt, disappointed, grieving, whatever the issue (s) Meyer had a rough and very disappointing 2015, (despite a few solid stretches in the pen). Fast forward to this new year in which he got off to a strong start at Rochester, SSS or not, before coming up...then sitting on the bench when he probably could have gotten at least one more AAA start...before getting his first ML start, with splinters in his backside, and getting pulled with 2 outs when the Twins said he wasn't on any pitch count.

 

He is not the first top prospect to have a disappointing season. He wouldn't be the first top prospect to learn, grow and rebound from such an experience. And I hope he does. And I hope he doesn't take this p**s poor handling recently in a negative fashion. I hope, if anything, it helps light a stronger fire under him. But with his previous track record, his ability and potential, his solid start to 2016, I simply can't view him as a RP candidate at this point.

[Eephus]

Wasn't Trevor May's era horrible in the early going?

[Mr. Brooks]

Wasn't Trevor May's era horrible in the early going?

Yes, May's first few starts were bad.

His debut might have been the most painfully bad I've ever seen.

[jimmer]

 

Yes, May's first few starts were bad.
His debut might have been the most painfully bad I've ever seen.

I was there.  In person.  The 2nd game of a split double header.  I had fantastic seats, but drank a bit too much between games and every half inning it was off to the bathroom.

 

Edit, nope.  Not his first game.  My bad.  His 4th start.  Sorry.

Edited May 5, 2016 by jimmer

[TheLeviathan]

 

I think they did not set him up for success, given the rest and then short relief appearance, then the start. The job of any leader is to set her employees up for success. The twins, imo, did not do that in the last two weeks. I am still waiting for any sign Molitor knows what he is doing

 

Yeah, his results weren't good....do the Twins bear some of that responsibility?  I'd say so.  

 

Let's put it this way, would the Twins jerk Hughes or Santana around like this?  The answer is no and the reason would be because it isn't fair to the pitcher to expect them to be at their best without consistency in their role and expectations and yet we routinely do this to young pitchers and then sit around talking about how they didn't immediately pitch an amazing game.

 

I don't see why young players should have any different expectations for their role or usage than veterans, if anything they should get MORE understanding.  Yet the Twins have had this backwards for a long time.

[DocBauer]

Wasn't Trevor May's era horrible in the early going?

Yes it was. His first couple of starts, as I recall, weren't very impressive, though his last couple were much better. And he followed it up next season with a few so-so starts before getting better and better before he got moved to the pen since we had nobody else. (UGH!)

 

Gibson also didn't look very good initially. Then he had a pretty solid "rookie" season the next year. And an even better 2015.

 

Berrios's first start was pretty mediocre. And guess what? He was better in his second start and actually got his first ML win.

 

Viola was average at best to start his career. Johan Santana was a rule 5 stash player and bullpen option initially before he finally won a full time SP gig.

 

Just saying.

[TKGuy]

I agree that Meyer should be starting in AAA. But the early yank was ridiculous compared to even his management of Berrios the night before. Also sitting him for 9 days was ridiculous. You could have brought Grahsm up to do that. The Twins 40 man management has caused this issue, no options without risking losing players that won't ever use.

[Rosterman]

Milone didn't exactly show the ability to go thru the order not just once but twice and not be...bad.

 

Meyer is still young. He will get his innings. But is he out of options next season, or does he have two years left. Either way, the Twins DON'T want him to fail, otherwise those trades of Span and Revere netting us the middle relief of May will look really bad. Quality offense to build up a pitching staff FOR THE FUTURE. Looked good on paper.

 

We have no crystal balls.

 

But, yes, May does deserve to be in the rotation. Meyer, too. Berrios. Duffy as the swing guy.

 

Let's just hope that Nolasco, Gibson, Hughes and even Santana develop some value and teams come a calling, offering us more minor league depth if nothing else.

 

But Meyer's short stay should work miracles, or he doesn't want the major league money and job enough. He knows what he has to work on. AAA is not the major leagues by a longshot.

 

[twinssouth]

Totally disappointed about handling of Meyer, quick hook after 2.2 innings by a Manager that's only been able to muster 8 freaking wins so far, worse in the AL. Now, I see tonight, Hughes, our grizzled vet with the multi million $ extension, allowed 6 runs in 2 innings. What am I missing here. I hate to say it, as I've personally seen Meyer pitch lights out, that maybe his been chance is to move on to a different org

[Sam Morley]

After Hughes performance tonight, hopefully, he is hurt and heading to the DL. Otherwise, what a disgusting outing. So, maybe we'll see Meyer back in short notice after all. 

 

I thought Molitor was too quick to pull him last night, especially after he got a couple outs. Molitor went for the lefty-lefty matchup with Milone though, which seems pathetic in the third inning. But maybe Meyer was out of gas. His fastballs had dropped down into the 93 mph range. 

 

The whole thing was disappointing because he was pitching pretty well. The Castro HR was a fly out. The first walk I don't remember, but the second one was tough- it came to a full count, and Altuve checked his swing on what was called ball four, without an appeal- I thought he went (but even if he didn't, it was still a good pitch to a great hitter).  The wild pitch to Rasmus was unfortunate. Berrios struck him out three times on the same pitch the night before. Also, I thought the strike zone was even more inconsistent than it was the first game of the series.

 

So all that made the demotion even more disappointing. I thought there was enough good in his start to build on in a succeeding start. I thought he was close to a breakthrough.

 

Clearly, there is a problematic trend with the way some of the young prospects have been used this season: Polanco, Kepler, and Meyer all being called up to limited use. Kepler is struggling since being back at Rochester. 

 

On a positive note, Buxton hit a homerun yesterday, and his hitting like 280, so at least he's headed in a good direction.

[tobi0040]

I just hope the Twims realize we aren't winning the World Series this year and start going really, really young. And soon

 

And that involves the GM and coach on the same page as to the objective. Develop talent for 2017. If Molitor is not board, time to find a new manager

[Darius]

You can be a fan of the Twins and still admit that the front office is utterly incompetent, and is among he worst in the MLB, if not all professional sport.

 

I get that a lot of people like to go to Target Field to socialize, and enjoy the beautiful weather. But, we're going on 3 decades of awful personnel management here. We're talking one playoff series victory since 1991. Let's come to terms with reality.

 

Fandom and begging for long-overdue front office changes aren't mutually exclusive. So much delusion in this fan base.

[Taildragger8791]

We have seen a number questionable incidents over the last few years with regards to management of the roster and prospects, as well as head-scratching player performances. When you isolate and analyze each situation, you can come up with defensible arguments for why the Twins made the choices they did, and why things happened as they did. But in aggregate, after enough of these occurrences have piled up, it starts to become a pattern and speaks to the overall performance of the management. At some point, over a large enough timeframe, I no longer care about the minutiae of these items and instead would rather take a page of out Mike Zimmer's playbook:

 

"Don't tell me about the labor, show me the baby."

 

We need to start seeing results out of this team. I'm willing to give a pass on every individual roster decision and player development outcome if you allow me to evaluate based on final results and expect accountability for them. Based on the dumpster fire this season became and projections for the next couple of years, I can only assess that the leadership of this club is vastly underperforming. If this team still looks like a disheveled mess by the end of this season and goes into next season with the same players and issues, it has to be pay-up time. Finishing with a bottom 5 record for the 5th time in 6 years with little sign of overall progress isn't acceptable status quo to good organizations.

 

End rant.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Taildragger8791

[David HK]

I can't rehash the points made here with anything new.  I concur wholeheartedly with those who bemoan the way Meyer was brought up, sat, and then yanked from his only start.  I was hopeful when Molly took over, and more than ready to turn the page from Gardy- although I was really hoping for Dougie Baseball in the dugout.

 

Now I'm hoping for that even more.  Molly is just infuriating me this year, after merely ticking me off last year.  I think he's a terrible manager, just terrible.

[Twigg]

I think we should put Meyer in the pen. Now before you attack me listen. For one he was called up as an emergency for long relief. Than got a spot start cause Milone sucks. Let him start in Rochester. But up here he's in a log jam. Next years rotation, Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Berrios, Duffey. That being said that 95 mph fast ball will get faster in the pen. He can be a power arm asset in the pen. Also he is a very erratic and until he can calm down walks and wild pitches why should he be starting

[The Wise One]

Perhaps one of the minor league gurus can help me out on this.  Meyer does not appear to have the greatest control in the world. He strikes out a fair percentage of the batters. In the minors when he pitches he does not walk as great of percentage as the small sample size in the majors. That may well be due to the better batting eye at the mlb level. As long as Meyer walks a large % of batters he will not have success as a major league pitcher. The differential between the % K and BB  should be above 10 for a starter,    It does not appear to me that they do not think that Meyer was going to get there the way he  was throwing

[mikelink45]

Fascinating discussion.  It make me think about a few surrounding issues - 1. Molitor has been given a mess to straighten out and he is only in his second year.  With surprising success last year everything seemed to come too the team easily and now he is in a sophomore slump and has never experienced anything like this in all his years.  He should call up to Gardy in the front office who has plenty of experience with non-performing Twins.

2. TR has a responsibility to clear this roster.  He has to establish a plan and direction. It is not that I think he will, but he should.  Then I have to ask if he is capable of this and I do not think so, but he is what we are stuck with.

3. Meyer should have been given a second start.  We are 9 - 20 it is not going to hurt us.  Berrios had a rough start and won his second start.  Confidence starts there.  If we damage the psyche of a pitcher it can ruin the career.  I do not care about Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Milone, Nolasco - they are not going to lead us to the promised land.  Meyer has real pitching ability and as the old man on this forums I have to remind everyone of Sandy Koufax who I got to see many times and when I saw him as a young player he was terrible.  When he finally got it together he was great.  Meyer is not Koufax, but he still could be very good.

[KGB]

 

I think we should put Meyer in the pen. Now before you attack me listen. For one he was called up as an emergency for long relief. Than got a spot start cause Milone sucks. Let him start in Rochester. But up here he's in a log jam. Next years rotation, Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Berrios, Duffey. That being said that 95 mph fast ball will get faster in the pen. He can be a power arm asset in the pen. Also he is a very erratic and until he can calm down walks and wild pitches why should he be starting

Not only do you think it's a good idea, Meyer's agrees with you.

 

http://www.1500espn.com/twins-2/2016/03/wetmore-twins-are-making-a-mistake-moving-alex-meyer-out-of-the-bullpen/

 

“I loved it,” Meyer said recently on last year’s move to relief. “Obviously I was open for it because the way that things were going I knew I was either going to go down to Double-A or get moved to the bullpen.”

 

I think starting him in AAA is good to get him more innings, but at the majors, his future is in the bullpen.

[Brock Beauchamp]

I've stopped even trying to understand what the hell is going on in this organization right now.

[tobi0040]

 

Fascinating discussion.  It make me think about a few surrounding issues - 1. Molitor has been given a mess to straighten out and he is only in his second year.  With surprising success last year everything seemed to come too the team easily and now he is in a sophomore slump and has never experienced anything like this in all his years.  He should call up to Gardy in the front office who has plenty of experience with non-performing Twins.

2. TR has a responsibility to clear this roster.  He has to establish a plan and direction. It is not that I think he will, but he should.  Then I have to ask if he is capable of this and I do not think so, but he is what we are stuck with.

3. Meyer should have been given a second start.  We are 9 - 20 it is not going to hurt us.  Berrios had a rough start and won his second start.  Confidence starts there.  If we damage the psyche of a pitcher it can ruin the career.  I do not care about Santana, Hughes, Gibson, Milone, Nolasco - they are not going to lead us to the promised land.  Meyer has real pitching ability and as the old man on this forums I have to remind everyone of Sandy Koufax who I got to see many times and when I saw him as a young player he was terrible.  When he finally got it together he was great.  Meyer is not Koufax, but he still could be very good.

 

Good post.

 

I agree Terry needs to sort through the roster.  I would like to see us use the remaining 130 games to do that.  A really intentional plan to break guys into the major leagues and clear spots for them.

 

You touched on the confidence aspect.  People perform better when their superiors believe in them.  Sixel also touched on the other piece, setting people up for success.  They have done a horrible job with both Meyer and Kepler. You could make a case that Buxton was rushed a bit too.

 

Like you I am not overly confident these things are going to change.  I have never seen a top down vision from Terry Ryan, or the execution of any coordinated plan by him and a coach.  What you will likely see is a manager that is insecure about his job playing veterans because he thinks it may yield a few extra wins.

 

 

[mazeville]

I think the Twins have badly misused Alex Meyer, and it explains in a nutshell why the Twins are in the position they are in today.

 

Meyer should have been starting for this team in 2014 when they had no realistic chance of winning and the team was badly in need of starters. Instead, the Twins decided to sign free agents like Phil Hughes (good initial signing, bad resigning) and Ricky Nolasco (ugh). And we had to tolerate Mike Pelfrey. Other guys who started that year included Yohan Pino, Sam Deduno and Kris Johnson.

 

That year, in AAA, Meyer had a 3.52 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, 10.6 K/9. Yes, he walked too many. But for a team that had lost 90 games a year for three straight seasons and was trotting out the above guys and NEEDED to develop a topline starter, there was no reason to keep him down.

 

Instead, they kept him in AAA. His confidence got shot. The next year he went into the tank and now he's pressing so badly you can see it in his face. 

 

This year, they call him up, pitch him once in nine days and then send him down after one three-inning start and just 65 pitches. My God.

 

I get that maybe he just doesn't have the mental fortitude to succeed up here. But this was your top pitching prospect just 15 months ago. He needs a much longer leash than he's been given. He should have been called up far earlier. 

 

Sam Deduno walked four batters per nine innings and got nine starts in 2014 and didn't strike out nearly as many batters as would have Alex Meyer. 

 

I'm not saying that Meyer pitching in 2014 would have turned him into a stud. But it might have developed him the right way. Instead, the Twins signed free agents for a team that was losing badly year after year. Those pitchers didn't prevent the team from losing 90 games in 2014 (and, in fact, did little to get them on the cusp of the playoffs in 15) and meanwhile the guy with the best stuff in the system is languishing and unable to get more than a token start.

 

This team is too aggressive in promoting some young position players. It is the exact opposite with pitchers. Quick: Name the last good starter the Twins developed on their own. I don't know, maybe they should do something different. And one thing they might do differently is actually reward players who continue to perform year after year in the minors.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

“I loved it,” Meyer said recently on last year’s move to relief. “Obviously I was open for it because the way that things were going I knew I was either going to go down to Double-A or get moved to the bullpen.”

That sounds like Meyer's enthusiasm for a relief role is just him identifying his clearest path to making the Twins.  Not necessarily what he is most comfortable with, or where he believes he can succeed.

 

I suspect Trevor May would have said similar things if we tried him in the pen in 2013-2014 when he was just trying to get promoted.  But we didn't do it until after he was already promoted and had a half season of MLB starts under his belt, at which point he has been clear he prefers starting.  Give Meyer the same opportunity and you might hear a different preference expressed too.

[tobi0040]

 

That sounds like Meyer's enthusiasm for a relief role is just him identifying his clearest path to making the Twins.  Not necessarily what he is most comfortable with, or where he believes he can succeed.

 

I suspect Trevor May would have said similar things if we tried him in the pen in 2013-2014 when he was just trying to get promoted.  But we didn't do it until after he was already promoted and had a half season of MLB starts under his belt, at which point he has been clear he prefers starting.  Give Meyer the same opportunity and you might hear a different preference expressed too.

 

Yeah, his employer has control over his rights for a few years.  He has a $500k paycheck on the MLB squad and a lot less than that in AAA.  Each additional year on the big league squad he earns more money.  One could see an incentive to suck it up in the pen vs. start in AAA

[by jiminy]

 

My biggest problem was not necessarily with them sending him down (although as you see below, that is a problem for me too), but pulling him when they did during the game. It made zero sense and will probably mess with his confidence, which is the last thing he needs. But in addition to that, why can't he pitch for the Twins now? Really, why? Because Milone and/or Nolasco might have to go to the bullpen? Who cares. Milone, Nolasco and Terry Ryan's ego are the only ones who care. And I frankly don't give a crap about any of those three things. Sorry. What's best for the Twins over the next couple years is to give Meyer a chance to be a starter AT THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL, where he can struggle with the difficulties of it and show that he is or is not ready to be a starter. That's all I care about. Not some 5th starter's ego, and certainly not Terry Ryan's. A quality GM wouldn't care about those three things either.

It's not that simple. Letting a flawed young player work on his game at the major league level because you're not going to win anyway is fine, in theory. But what about the bullpen??? Meyer is a time bomb. There is no single player in the entire Twins organization more likely to flame out and have to be relieved in the third inning.  That may not be a problem for his development. But every time that happens, there is a cost -- and not just in that game, but in the next several games.  You just can't do that to a team on a regular basis.  And right now, Meyer just can't be trusted.  He could drive the entire pitching staff off a cliff. 

 

I just don't get this blaming of management for his inability to be consistent. This was the concern from the day they got him.  He has great stuff, but can't master it with any consistency.  If only he could get it all under control, think how great he will be.  I'm not saying it can't still happen.  But the fact that it hasn't is not the Twins's fault. Did jerking him around prevent his development?  I'm just not seeing that.  They gave him chance after chance as a starter.  He would have good stretches, then blow up.  They gave him so many chances, and he failed so many times, that he completely lost his confidence.  Switching him to the bullpen was an act of mercy.  He needed to pitch his way out of it, and he couldn't do that pitching three innings every five days.  And it helped.  He got to pitch more often, became effective again, and regained his confidence.  Not consistently effective, but more often than not.  And in the bullpen, if you blow up, it's not a crisis.  You get yanked, and get back on the horse the next day.  Once they put him in the bullpen, they kept him there all year so as not to jerk him around.  That didn't mean they'd given up on him, but that they wanted what was best for his development.

 

So what to do this year? I would be fine with giving up on him and leaving him in the bullpen, where his regular meltdowns aren't a career killer, and his periods of great pitching can be maximized.  Between May and Meyer, May deserves a rotation slot at least as much as him.  But I am also fine with saying, he still has potentially dominant stuff, now that his curve is working, let's let him start again and see if he matures. With tall guys, it takes a while.  REally, the only fault I find is bringing him up from the minors too soon.  Three games is not enough to prove you've solved a lifetime of inconsistency.  But there were some injuries, and they needed him. 

 

I'm sympathetic to the argument that sitting on the bench several days, pitching in relief once, and starting once, was not the optimal way to ease a weak pitcher into a comfortable role.  But that doesn't make it their fault that he failed. If he was as good as you all think, and as ready, he wouldn't have failed. Far better pitchers than he have been eased into the big leagues this way.  Did that ruin Johann Santana?  Of course not. He proved he deserved a more expanded role. Meyer did the opposite.  But that doesn't mean pitching in relief once ruined him.  All it did was expose that his three good games in the minors didn't mean he was a new man.  And that while his fastball and curve are ready, his changeup is not.  The injury replacement urgency passed, so they are sending him back down to work on getting all his pitches up to the major league level.  This may not have helped him, but if pitching once in relief ruined him, he was not the ace you hoped.

 

Other than that one relief appearance this season, though, I think their plan is fine. Last season, he needed relief from his constant collapses as a starter, and it worked. This season, they are showing confidence in his long term potential by letting him start again. If he can master ALL his pitches for a sustained period in AAA, then, and only then, give him another shot at the majors.  But until then, don't risk the entire bullpen on this guy until he shows more consistency.

[Taildragger8791]

Well-written post jiminy, but it's a bit of a strawman argument. Hardly anyone is advocating calling him up to let him start indefinitely, results be damned. That would be a disservice to the team, as you mentioned. The point is that this guy is obviously a little fragile after a collapse last year, so when he finally starts seeing a little success and consistency the team should be doing what they can to let him keep building on that and get some confidence. Keep him on his regular pitching routine, and show him that you won't abandon him at the first sign of a struggle. He should either have stayed in AAA to keep building that consistency and confidence, or been called up to start on his regular 5-ish days routine. Calling him up, telling him he’s now a bullpen guy, but not trusted to pitch in any meaningful situation (undermining instead of building confidence), then telling him he’s going to start after all, but throwing him out there to pitch an inning of mop-up duty a few days before his start, then when he runs into the first tough inning you yank him and demote him instead of seeing if he can work out of it (which he was starting to do). How does that situation look like anything other than a total boondoggle? It’s like a recipe for destroying the recovery progress of a guy whose career is hanging in the balance. Not every pitcher is an infinitely-confident bulldog like Berrios or Johan. Treating every player like they’re the same personality is a piss-poor management style.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Taildragger8791