Baseball Stew: A tale of two starting pitchers turned relievers

Ubaldo Jimenez (31). Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports

About five weeks ago I asked Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez, who, prior to 2014 had worked only one game out of the bullpen (back in 2006 during his first season in the majors), if he thought most, some, or any starters could become good closers, never thinking his starting job was in any great degree of peril at the time.

Two days after he gave his reply (which follows) he was sent to the bullpen, taking his bothersome 4.83 ERA along with him.

He then worked two games in relief. His first outing was fine, as he fanned five batters in four innings on August 23. He worked out of the pen once more some eight days later and was ineffective: 1/3 of an inning; three earned runs; three walks versus one strikeout.

Despite the inconsistency, which has dogged him over many years, he was given a start in mid-September.

It was a five-inning, 12-8 win over Toronto. In that game he had to expend 97 pitches to get through his five innings.

His next outing was another five inning one. His line: two earned runs, three strikeouts, three walks, three hits, and one hit batsman. The O’s got by the New York Yankees, 5-4, and the win went to Jimenez, giving him a 4.85 ERA and a 6-9 record. The save, his 36th, went to Zach Britton but more on him later.

As for Jimenez’s response about starters becoming closers, he said that he couldn’t even begin to answer the question, nor could he address the idea of his ever having any type of role as a reliever. Apparently, he forgot his one previous major league relief appearance.

“I don’t know. I can’t answer that because I never [really] did that before.”

No wonder—in 2010, for example, no such issue of working out of the pen ever arose. Then with Colorado, he was 15-1 through July 8th, and he wound up winning 19, with his .702 winning percentage ranked first in the National League.

I mentioned to Jimenez that it’s not rare for a starter (e.g. Sid Fernandez, Tim Lincecum, et al) to make the switch from taking the ball to open the game to working relief when the postseason rolls around.

"“It happens, yeah. As a starting pitcher you probably think about it— having the opportunity to do that in the playoffs or something like that. You’ve seen so many great pitchers doing that. Whatever you have to do to help the team, you gotta’ do it,”"

Successful managers, such as Showalter, can often get players to accept, even grudgingly, changes to their status if it helps the team. When players truly buy into a team-first concept good things can take place.

More from Baltimore Orioles

Meanwhile, the team’s superb closer, Zach Britton, with a stellar 1.70 ERA through September 23rd, is one huge part of the O’s stunning 2014 success. His adaptation to his new job has been highly impressive. Seemingly unruffled at all times, he noted,

"“I can definitely see where some people put a lot more pressure on themselves for the last three outs, especially being on the road or something like that. You know, you gotta’ be sharp right away so I think there’s a little bit of added pressure to that.”"

It would have been no surprise if he succumbed to pressure given the fact he had always been a starter before suddenly being given an entirely new and drastically different role.

"“I was surprised to be closing games. I had gone to spring training as a starter, then I started going into the relief role; then my going to closing games was something I didn’t expect. I thought I could be successful as a starter or a reliever— pitching is pitching. It’s just a matter of getting healthy and getting consistent at this level. I mean, that’s what’s important is getting confidence and being consistent here.”"

Britton analyzed the concept of a closer’s mentality.

"“I think what it is, really, is the mental part of just being focused every time you get the ball. Like I said, you could have a lot of time off or no time off at all, and you’ve got to be sharp no matter what. No matter what the situation is or the way you have to deal with getting the outs. Making sure that you’re sharp and battle. If you don’t have your good stuff that day, no one cares— it’s about getting outs. Stay mentally focused no matter what stuff you have that day.”"

As Britton observed,

"“There’s no right or wrong formula. You look at a guy like Houston Street who actually dominates. He’s probably at 90, 91 [mph] right now. His change up— he just pitches down in the zone, hits his corners. There’s no formula like, ‘Oh, a guy has to throw hard.’ I don’t think that’s the case. To keep the ball down and keep guys off balance and getting people out— that’s what it is: getting people out. But I think there’s a stigma [to slower stuff]. People think, ‘Oh, you want somebody who throw hard,’ just because in the past most of the closers were guys who threw hard.”"

Britton continued about the importance of having that one pitch you trust, in his case, the sinker.

"“It’s amazing how effective you can be when you command a pitch.”"

As for learning from other relievers, Britton said,

"“I’ve looked at a Jonny Venters because he is a guy that relied upon a power sinker. I’ve watched video of him [when I was] in spring training [working on becoming a reliever] and I kind of just picked up maybe what he would do late in the game against hitters, attacking hitters. But I really wanted to kind of figure it out on my own, too. I think that’s what’s important, especially at this level. There are a lot of times when you watch a lot of video and, not psyche yourself out, but, what’s important at this level is to try to figure it out on you own, to make adjustments.”"

It will be interesting to see what type of adjustments the Orioles make as they soon enter the postseason for the second time in three years.

Home/Baltimore Orioles

Baseball Stew: A tale of two pitchers

By Wayne Stewart | Sep 25, 2014