The Pittsburgh Pirates have been playing better baseball over the past two weeks, despite injuries that have kept closer Jason Grilli and starting catcher Russell Martin on the shelf. Both veteran leaders expect to be returning to the active roster sometime before the end of May. Grilli has been out with a left oblique strain since April 21. On Wednesday at Miller Park in Milwaukee, the Pirates closer threw a side session of two simulated innings, 24 pitches overall. Reports from the session were positive, and all indications are that Grilli should be ready to either rejoin the major league team or head out on a short minor league rehab stint very soon. Catcher Russell Martin has been on the shelf with a strained left hamstring since April 26. Martin took batting practice on Wednesday for the first time since he hit the 15-day DL, and now he will begin concentrating on getting back into catching – squatting, catching, blocking balls – before ultimately heading out on a minor-league rehab stint towards the end of the month.
These injuries are significant for the Pirates. First off, both Martin and Grilli are considered leaders on this young team, and Martin is especially important for the way in which he handles the Pirates pitching staff. Without Martin, the Pirates have been going with Tony Sanchez as the starter and Chris Stewart as the backup. Getting Martin back will allow Sanchez to head down to AAA-Indianapolis and start every night, racking up the at-bats and defensive time he needs in order to potentially take over as the Pirates big league starter in 2015. Stewart has proven to be a capable backup, and once Martin is back Stewart will settle into a once-per-week start situation to give Martin a day off each week.
The major issue for the Pirates right now is how Manager Clint Hurdle will handle the bullpen once Jason Grilli is back to 100%. Set-up man Mark Melancon has once again moved into the closers spot in lieu of Grilli, similar to what happened last summer. Melancon to his credit has done a serviceable job in the role, although his blown save on Thursday in Milwaukee was a tragic way to end that series against the hated Brewers. Melancon is a different type of pitcher than the rest of the Pirates bullpen specialists. As more of a finesse pitcher, Melancon offers the Pirates a different look than teams get from fire-balling LHP Justin Wilson and LHP Tony Watson. RHP Bryan Morris has come into 2014 looking better than ever, hitting the mid-90’s with his fastball and showing great movement on all of his pitches. Add in Grilli – who when healthy, can throw just as hard as Wilson and Watson but from the right side – and the Pirates have one of the most dynamic and versatile bullpens in the National League. Melancon is a fine eighth-inning reliever, coming into the game following Watson, Wilson, or Morris and giving opposing batters a completely different look than they get from the other Bucs hurlers. With so many good, young arms in tow and Grilli not yet showing he is the dominant force he was prior to his 2013 injury, pitching coach Ray Searage and Hurdle may want to consider going with a strictly closer-by-committee approach from this point forward in 2014.
Long-reliever Jeanmar Gomez, middle reliever Jared Hughes, and RHP Vin Mazzaro offer solid middle inning production, with Gomez and Mazzaro capable of pitching multiple effective innings in every outing. Hughes has the same electric stuff that the back-end relievers can offer, so he too could be included in a committee approach to the ninth inning. The Pirates bullpen – as we noted earlier – is full of young, hard-throwing relievers, in addition to Melancon and Grilli. The latter two formed one of the best back-end combinations in baseball in 2013, with Grilli racking up 33 saves and Melancon setting the stage for Grilli with 26 holds. Unfortunately, Jason Grilli has not looked the same since his 2013 injury and despite four saves earlier this season, he was not his dominant self. Once he returns at the end of May (tentatively), will he be ready to jump back into the heat of the ninth inning? If he isn’t, do Pirates fans – or manager Clint Hurdle – feel comfortable misusing Melancon in that role? This is where the depth of that Pirates bullpen can come into use for Hurdle and Ray Searage.
The Closer-by-committee approach has been used successfully for decades, prior to the advent of the modern closer role, teams simply used the relief pitcher that had the best match-up for the inning in question. Does the opposition have two or three left-handed power hitters due up? Warm up one of your lefty specialists. Is it the top of the order, including a patient leadoff hitter and a couple high-average right-handed bats? Warm up your drafty righty with great control. Need to simply blow away the next three hitters? Warm up one of your cannon arms, which one depends on the match-ups. THIS is the method the Pirates need to employ for the next month or so until Grilli gets his “mojo” back. The Bucs have a luxury with Justin Wilson and Tony Watson – they have two lights-out, left-handed relievers, something few teams can claim. That allows Hurdle the opportunity to use either in the sixth or seventh inning and still have the other lefty to come back to should the opposition trot out left-handed power bats from the bench in a close game. For his career, Tony Watson holds a .225 BA against left-handed batters. He is even more dominant against righties, with a .200 BAA. For his career with two outs and RISP, Watson holds all batters to a .171 BAA. Wilson is just as dominating, career BAA of .216 vs. right-handed batters and .239 BAA vs. left-handed batters. In their careers in the ninth inning, both Wilson and Watson have shown they have the makeup of a modern-era closer. Wilson’s ninth-inning BAA is .139, while Watson’s holds a .221 BAA in the final frame.
Bryan Morris hasn’t been as effective over the course of his career, but he seems to be a different pitcher in 2014. Morris holds hitters to a .182 BAA in the seventh inning, and a paltry .167 BAA in the ninth inning. RHP Jared Hughes is to right-handed hitters what Watson and Wilson are to left-handed hitters. A career .222 BAA vs. right-handed hitters and .208 BAA against all hitters with 2-out and RISP. Hughes has not been able to maintain a concrete spot in the Pirates bullpen over the past few seasons, but all indications are that he is here to stay now. His “bulldog” approach and menacing appearance on the mound add another layer of effectiveness to his already solid pitching numbers. All four of these pitchers – Tony Watson, Justin Wilson, Bryan Morris, and Jared Hughes – have shown that they have the ability to pitch well in high-intensity, late-inning situations. Mark Melancon has shown that he is perfect for the set-up role, and he should immediately be reinstated to that role.
Clint Hurdle needs to take all of this into account and begin using his talented bullpen as one fluid operation. With the exception of Melancon, all five late-inning specialists (including a healthy Grilli) should be used on a per day, per game, per match-up set-up. The 1990 Cincinnati Reds “Nasty Boys” were similar. Randy Myers was the closer, but both Norm Charlton and Rob Dibble receiving save opportunities depending on the scenario. It worked out pretty well for the Reds – a World Series title and a sweep over the highly-favored Oakland Athletics. Perhaps it is time that another manager makes use of the “Nasty Boys” formula…..and who better than “The Shark Tank”?
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