Matt Williams, Bad Bullpen Manager

Matt Williams, like many other managers, doesn't always use his bullpen efficiently, especially in close games in the playoffs with his season on the line. But, as Dave Cameron delightfully laid out in Just A Bit Outside, he was pretty terrible last night. 

It's a story we have all seen too many times before. I won't lay out all the details because Cameron does that better than I can but the general gist is the that back of the Nationals bullpen lost the game, while their best relievers watched. 

However, I do want to point out Cameron's specific take down of this logic in baseball and how it would never play in other sports:

There is no parallel to this in other sports. NFL teams that trail by a touchdown don't put in their backup linebackers until their offense takes the lead again. NBA teams don't use their worst bench players in the first half, saving their good reserves for the end of the game, as long as they're winning when the fourth quarter rolls around. Baseball is the only sport where it's perfectly acceptable to lose a game because the worst players on your roster didn't create a lead for your best players to protect. Not using your best relievers in a tie game, or even down a single run -- while employing them to "save" a game where you only need to get three outs before you give up three runs -- just doesn't make sense.

What's funny is that oftentimes you will hear arguments for keeping in an ace starting pitcher because you want to go down with your best. Now, I would disagree with that statement as it's proven that even the best pitchers facing a lineup for the fourth time are less successful than regular old middle relievers, but the general idea makes some sense, even if it's factually wrong. In this same NLDS series, Matt Williams took out Jordan Zimmermann who was throwing a fantastic game for Drew Storen who ended up blowing the lead. Drew Storen for his one inning is a better pitcher than Zimmerman in the ninth, but I can at least appreciate the idea of someone sticking with their guy. Grady Little clearly should have taken out Pedro, but you can somewhat understand him wanting to sink or swim with his guy, unfortunately/unsurprisingly he sank.

By that same logic, once a starting pitcher is out, you would think managers would generally want to go down with their best of the pen. Right? But no, they go down swinging with the soft under belly of their relief, hoping and wishing for a three run lead to secure.

Old habits die hard. Kill the save.