Bullpens

Is it just me or not to long ago it seemed bullpens were dealing. This year it seems ridiculous Obviously you get your spots they get hit but now so many games are blown up by trash bags

Thats where the games are full of shenanigans bc of all the live betting going on these days. You would never see all the bullpen meltdowns 10 years ago that we see now. Legalized gambling has ruined the integrity and true enjoyment of sports.

Also, Look at the runs we see scored these games to for ex cubs 23 wed cards 17 yesterday giants few weeks ago 18 those were a few times a season not 3 in 3 weeks let alone 2 in 3 days. And big run innings were never as often as they are now. 

Sports are just for pure entertainment now and if you wager myself included, all you can hope is your on the right side of it. Thats it. 

@smellybunty

It is because of so many things that has evolved in the game.  But mainly starters do not go as deep into the game.  Then more relievers are being used in a game.

So, now it is far easier to eventually have a reliever go into the game that the opposing team will hit, for a variety of reasons -- the reliever may not be on his game, the hitters just hit him better, etc.

The pitchers are focusing on spin rate and velocity much more.  The hitters on concentrating on swing angles and launch angels.  

So when you have the 'more' elite hitters hitting (because they are starting hitters), then you bring in 'not-so elite' pitchers constantly (because they are not starters or even first-in delivers or closers) -- what do you think happens.  Eventually, the 'elite' hitters will find a 'not-so elite' pitcher they can eat up.

That is why I have gone more and more to F5 sometimes instead of FG plays.  

The downfall of this method is the better team or pitcher does not have the extra inning or two and maybe three innings to over come an early mistake.

The same philosophy on why in tennis you see the better players go deeper in tournaments that are a best 3 of 5 and not a best 2 of 3 sets.

So, now you have more and more 'bullpen fatigue' because the reliever workload has increased and they are pitching back-to-back days or 3/4 days, etc.

When your starter has a 4-2 lead and leaves after 6 innings and 3 relievers later you are down 6-4 -- it is very discouraging.  

A lot of bets can be lost this way: The FG bet, the UNDER, the TT U, etc.

But it is more disconcerting to me for the fans.  Sometime son lead is safe because of this.  And no manager is averse to sticking with everyone else is doing and trying to use starter, setup man, closer again.

Some of it is perception.  The bullpen save % has stayed in the mid to upper 60s%.

But now you are having more inherited runners, more relievers and more late-game situations.  So, this creates the perception of more late-game collapses.

But you certainly notice them when you have a vested interest in one and remember it more.

For example, yesterday with a huge lead Washington brought in a guy that gave up 4 straight doubles.   Not bloops or lucky singles but hard-hit balls.

That would have been devastating if it had been a 1-2-3 run lead.

The game has changed a lot with pitcher use.  I do not like a lot of it.

I get that they have huge money invested in these guys but no data has really shown positive injury-prevention with this new usage.