Probably there are quite a few readers who weren't aware that after the 1999 season,
1. Pat Gillick acquired his old friend Arthur Rhodes,
2. Told Lou Piniella not to warm him up unless Rhodes was going to be brought into the game, and
3. In 2000, Rhodes' BB rate dropped from 7.6 per game to 3.8 per game, with Rhodes' HR rate also getting cut in half.
Rhodes became one of baseball's great relief pitchers, and an MVP of the 116-win M's, apparently based on Gillick's secret recipe.
I doubt that Hardball Times has a study on bullpen warmups and Y2 ERA :- ) but Pat Gillick was more than 60 years old at the time, and he thought that for many RP's, the warmup routine was a major key.
Wouldn't that be something if Sherrill's situation were similar, and he was set for a big 2012 based on Wedge simply not tiring him out in the bullpen.
Good stuff Paul.
Add new comment
1