Phillies’ critical inning

Since the Philadelphia Phillies front office traded their 100-mph closer for a rotation flamethrower, the faithful still clamor to fill the void the ninth inning is today, but general manager Matt Klentak will probably not address it externally.

Then and now: 

In 2016, the Philadelphia Phillies were in the early stages of rebuilding after moving past-their-prime veterans from 2008’s glory days. But two years later, the team is making headway to recapture the magic diminished by time.

"IN OTHER WORDS:     “I’m in favor of progress; it’s change I don’t like.” – Mark Twain"

While pitchers and hitters make adjustments to their competitor’s strategy, managers are also adapting to their counterparts in the other dugout. A skipper wanting more wins identifies weaknesses and tries possible solutions until some work.

To illustrate, the expansion of the original 16 franchises to today’s 30 deluded the talent pool. And, so, many starters weren’t successful for nine frames even when they were at their best. Ergo, more relievers.

With the addition of new clubs, solid hurlers who were only effective one time through the lineup worked three innings for a save. Generally speaking, the top moundsmen went the distance, average starters went six frames, and the best pen arm went three innings. Their number of quality pitches determined their roles.

In the next stage, organizations without a top fireman used two or three hurlers to complete the final frames. The best reliever retired the last three outs, and the others set up the prior inning or two. Specialists all.

But managers occasionally found out they didn’t need a closer if a setup man didn’t hold off the opposition’s heart of the order. Of course, this current problem requires a strong secondary fireman for the ninth inning.

However, if the top moundsman in the relief corps retires the most dangerous batters, his only credit is a hold, and the current financial system rewards saves. On the other hand, number crunchers will spot a deficiency and fix it with a new stat: a stop instead of a hold. And agents will find the dollars.