Cleveland Indians: Terry Francona Provides the Model for Bullpen Management

The Cleveland Indians may not have won the World Series, but manager Terry Francona put on a clinic for the rest of baseball on how to manage a bullpen in the playoffs.

Way back on October 4, the playoffs got started with the American League Wild Card Game between the Orioles and Blue Jays. Toronto beat Baltimore 5-2 on a walk-off home run off the bat of Edwin Encarnacion in the 11th inning. The hottest topic of the night, however, wasn’t Encarnacion.

When the Blue Jays slugger crushed that three-run homer into the left field seats at the Rogers Centre, he did so with shaky starter Ubaldo Jimenez on the mound rather than All-Star closer Zach Britton. Manager Buck Showalter was criticized heavily for the move, and rightfully so. This game served as reminder for the rest of the postseason teams that still had yet to play that the playoffs are a completely different ballgame, and should be managed as such.

The Indians rode their bullpen all the way to Game 7 of the World Series, falling just short of the ultimate goal. While they didn’t win the Commissioner’s Trophy, manager Terry Francona’s bullpen management was the biggest reason why they got so close.

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During the playoffs, Indians starters averaged just under four-and-two-thirds innings per start. Francona understood that the leash had to be much shorter during the postseason, so starters were not given the chance to work out of some jams like they would during the regular season. Rather than leave his starter out on the mound, Francona opted to rely on Andrew Miller and Cody Allen to get crucial outs both early and late in the game.

Sometimes the biggest outs of the game don’t come in the ninth inning. Miller, Cleveland’s best reliever, faced Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo, Chicago’s best hitters, in all four of his appearances during the World Series. He never entered the game later than the seventh inning, playing a key role in the Indians’ wins in Games 1 and 3.

Francona’s formula was simple: use your best reliever against their best hitters, because a run scored in the sixth counts the same as it does in the ninth. Would Miller be better served facing the heart of the Chicago order early in the game or taking on Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Javier Baez in the ninth? Especially in a playoff setting where many games have the potential to be your last, you want your best going against theirs every single time.

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The Indians may not be hoisting a trophy, but they can take solace in having managed their way as far as they could. With Andrew Miller under contract for another year, who knows. Maybe Cleveland gets a chance at redemption in 2017.