Change Pitchers Until You Find One the Other Team Can Hit

This is one of my biggest pet peeves with the game today.

A team can be winning a game fairly easily through 6 or 7 innings and then blow it by going to the bullpen and constantly changing pitchers until they settle on one the other team can hit.

Too often a new pitcher will walk someone right away.  Then give up a hit or two.  Then the team is forced to change pitchers and that pitcher will give up a 3-run homer right away.

Today, the guy throws 74 pitches and has only given up 1 run.

They replace him.  The next guy gives up a home run.  Then he gives up a walk.

The team then replaces that pitcher.

That pitcher gives up three consecutive singles.  Then he gives up a walk.

Now the team is down a run instead of being up by two runs.

It is ridiculous how this has changed this aspect of the game.

Starters that are doing well, or even okay, are being pulled far too soon.

The bullpens then are getting used far too much.  So, more relievers are needed.  

Therefore, the quality of the pitchers coming in are not nearly what they used to be.

This has not proven to prevent injuries at all.

There are too many pitchers coming in from the bull pen.  

So, you have less-than normal MLB-level relievers facing legitimate MLB-level hitters more often.

Just my rant for the day.

Yup. Brewers yesterday. Opener went 7 flawless. Reliever pitched a flawless 8th. So they switched him out. Next guy blew a 1-0 lead with two outs nobody on

Lost 3-1

Why switch out the guy who cruised through the 8th???

@Ramanujan

 Because they have so much money invested in these guys and really think they are protecting that ‘investment’.  I get that part of it.

I would understand if the evidence was there that it prevented injuries — but it does not. 

There ought to be some weird rule that after 2 pitching changes the other team is obligated to start putting in lesser quality hitters to make it fair. 

The only saving grace if you have an interest in one team doing it — just wait, because the other team will return the favor and pull their pitchers.

I just think it has lowered the quality of baseball.  

Agreed.it fucking bizarre. It's like they forget you " play to win the game!"

I give you Boston today

Yep.  A disaster was unloaded by their bullpen -- just awful.

Garrett Whitlock threw ELEVEN pitches and got all three outs before he was pulled. He must have been exhausted 

What is going on here???

Love it excellent post. It's beyond paradoxical. They want to protect arms but want them all to break speed guns. And to throw several different pitches with varied spin. I wonder what Ed Walsh, Christy Mathewson and Walter Johnson are thinking. When I think of bullpens for baseball my strategy would be totally different. Now the rules make you look even worse if you pull Chris Sale after seven innings and then have to keep the next arm in for three batters. I know nothing can stay the same things change and evolve. But not all for the better. I can live with my 8th and 9th inning guys blowing it if they are proven, reliable with a track record. I'd never pull a starter after five innings for a long reliever or "bridge" guy. Unless the starter has a bad outing and is chased. What the hell am I paying the starter for if he can't toss 100 pitches? 

I don't need to go to medical school and be an orthopedic surgeon to explain the hypocrisy. They all want them to throw 100 mph but want to spare them injury? They all blow out their elbows throwing too hard or throwing too many breaking pitches with more and more spin. Greg Maddux brainiacs it's not ancient history either. 

I enjoy taking a L because of pitch count that was predetermined 

@MatthewJL46

 Excellent way of wording it.