Questioning the Twins Bullpen Usage

I think the bullpen games have been a problem in having  a rested scheduled bullpen. I would rather see them stack Smeltzer and Stashak and if it does not work you lose one game. Using up nine bullpen innings and losing feels much worse.

I have no support for the bullpen games - it impacts all the subsequent games.  Get some starters from St Paul

I agree with Mike regarding the value vs cost of bullpen games. Just replace the starters who are out with starters from the taxi squad. Give Duran a look or two.

The short season does enter into the calculus as the post season isn't far off and the Twins need to position themselves as best they can. A bullpen with less wear and tear could be a huge plus in a deep post season run..

I agree with Rocco's usage, even though it's backfired once it twice from being a close game to not so close a game. And Ash is correct that if the offense starts to perform to more expected standards, that may shift some of Rocco's thinking and usage.

But 2 quick points/comments:

1] The Twins 6-9th best arms are better than most any team can throw out to the mound.

2] Used to drive me crazy Molitor would burn through our best arms to "keep it close" and then have nothing left for winable games.

A couple things:

1) Bullpen games gotta go. I don't understand how it is justifiable with a really good team. Take your chances with a spot starter from St. Paul or go with Smeltzer. To me, it seems to really mess with the next couple days. I get that they had an off day today, but they have like three straight weeks of games coming up. 

2) Is Duffey better than Rogers? I say the results so far point to yes. I don't know if it matters what the "title" is in terms of closer, but I do tend to feel a little more confident when Duffey is in the game as opposed to Rogers the past couple weeks.

3) Theilbar and Gearrin are hopefully being replaced by Littell and Hill in the next week.

When's the last time the Twins have had such a deep six with Rogers, Duffey, May, Romo, Clippard, and Stashak? I can't think of a better sextet. Go Twins!  

I have no support for the bullpen games - it impacts all the subsequent games.  Get some starters from St Paul

I think they also affect the bullpen usage of the prior games as well

When Hill comes back, I think you jettison Smeltzer (If you believe that Thorpe is better), you don't need 2 mops.  You also have Bailey and Odorizzi so have enough starters, Alacia needs to be used and see if he also can become a part of the solution.  WIth all this pitching go with the hot hands and do not use Rodgers on 2 days  in a row(just does not work).  If need be Duffey and Romo can handle those spots.  

Twins hitting will make some games not stressful and can use lesser bullpen arms.  

When Hill comes back, I think you jettison Smeltzer (If you believe that Thorpe is better), you don't need 2 mops.  You also have Bailey and Odorizzi so have enough starters, Alacia needs to be used and see if he also can become a part of the solution.  WIth all this pitching go with the hot hands and do not use Rodgers on 2 days  in a row(just does not work).  If need be Duffey and Romo can handle those spots.  

Twins hitting will make some games not stressful and can use lesser bullpen arms.  

Don't use any of them 2 days in a row! A good article last year on TD showed that it doesn't work for any of them.

I think Rocco articulated well a strategy that makes sense, particularly when you are a strong team and there are eight playoff spots. With their offense, they’re probably going to be tied or have the lead after six innings in at least 33-35 of those games. Get the win in 90 percent of those, and you’ve got 30+ wins in the bag. And with their deep pen, even the Nos. 5 and 6 guys are usually going to keep them close enough for the bats to come back and get a half-dozen wins amount the remaining games. That’s 36 wins and a pretty high seed. 

I don’t mind the bullpen games, and with Hill being so close to back, they likely aren’t going to need more than one more (assuming health). Look for it Monday or Tuesday, with Maeda pitching the other. Hill will be back by the following weekend when that spot comes around again, if not before. Beyond that, Pineda is back in a couple weeks, and Bailey is assumed to still be in the mix.

An issue with sending down a reliever to bring up Duran or another starter from St. Paul is that you’ve now lost that reliever for the next 10 days (barring an IL move, which admittedly they are very willing to use).

And speaking of the offense, if they’d exploded for 12 runs on Tuesday rather than Wednesday, we wouldn’t be worked up about it having been a bullpen game. 

I think Rocco explained the strategy well. There's a lot of merit to it. My only quibble is if the offense gets back to being a "no deficit is insurmountable" one again - then it makes sense to bring in a good arm when only a couple of runs down, if the bullpen isn't verging on exhaustion. Last night's game was a hopeful sign in that regard, although once again all the scoring occurred early so there isn't evidence of being a late-innings juggernaut.

100% agree.

The problem with never using your good bullpen guys in a "deficit" game is that you're not giving your offense a chance to come back.

To make matters worse, the Twins pitchers that do pitch in "deficit" games tend to make deficits much larger.