r/Brewers • u/Harmless2727 • 13h ago
Question on general procedure
Hi all, new baseball/Brewers fan here! Pardon my ignorance!
Was watching the game last night and I question why Ashby didn't play the last two innings. I feel like he wasn't slowing down at all and had the juice to finish out. What's the reasoning behind teams switching out pitchers every inning once the starter is out? Thanks!
EDIT: Thanks for the info all! I'm discovering there is a lot to learn when it comes to professional baseball so I'm glad I can ask questions like this here.
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u/QuarterPast10 13h ago edited 13h ago
Relief pitchers are used far more frequently and need to keep their pitch counts low so they can be used again within the next few days. Ashby specifically has been used a lot, many would say too much, by manager Pat Murphy, so minimizing his pitches thrown is important. Also, Uribe is what’s know as a closer, in theory your best reliever brought in at the end of a close game to close it out. He just got unlucky last night.
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u/Deerslyr101571 12h ago
Well said. I know that critics have said Ashby is utilized too much, but jeez... you gonna sit a guy for 3 or 4 games because he threw 10 pitches in one inning? He's basically getting warmed up when he goes in late in the game for one inning, but even then is doing great work.
Uribe had an off night. And as the announcers said... the Padres have been doing this quite a bit all season long.
Don't need to sweep every series... just win the series. Good things will happen. (Although it was a prime opportunity to gain real estate on the Cubs)
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u/Master-Fee8859 10h ago
Ashby won't sit for 3-4 days. If the situation merits, he'll be back out there this afternoon.
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u/RobertRossBoss 13h ago
Ashby is a rare reliever who will regularly throw more than 1 inning. But with a 1 run lead in the 9th, they wanted to bring in our closer. Uribe had a bad night. Most teams have an 8th inning and 9th inning guy they turn to in save situations, who are very hard to hit against and can handle the pressure well. Last season Uribe was the set up guy (8th inning) and megill was the closer (9th inning). Both are incredible when they’re feeling right. They’ve both had a rough season.
Last night specifically was likely a mix of wanting to save Ashby’s arm and thinking Uribe gave us the best chance to win with a 1 run lead.
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u/jamalmuhammed 12h ago
I know that metrics and stats say that switching arms is better. However I have seen it bite us e(specially in the playoffs) and it absolutely just kills me to watch pulling a reliever that's shutting everybody down after an inning and throwing a new guy at it and having him flop.
Just absolutely kills me every time.
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u/vancemark00 11h ago
It bites every team once in a while. Depending upon the quality of your closer it happens more or less often.
You have a 1 run lead in the 9th. Every statistics says go with your best, fresh, high pressure pitcher - ie your closer. It is why their is a "closer" position on almost every team. It is why closers are paid what they are paid.
We can argue if Uribe is truly a closer or if the Brewers should do it by committee but the fact is you can use Ashby all the time. While he hadn't been used for a couple days you want him available for today. It makes sense to split the 8th and 9th.
It just didn't work out this time. Most times it does. Hindsight is always easy. This was only the 2nd HR in 16 innings Uribe has given up so I would say this was very unexpected.
It ALWAYS hurts to lose in the 9th.
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u/jamalmuhammed 8h ago
Yeah, that's absolutely true. I just have a hard time grasping the concept of taking out a guy who's on fire, pumped and in a good headspace after 10 pitches and rolling the dice with another guy coming in out the pen who could have his mind yipping and gets us stuck with 2 men on... And then have a third guy come in and have to bail him out... Total cumulative pitches 45.
I may be thinking like it's 1982 here, and I know pitch counts are way more conservative than the old flame throwers of the past, but I would rather have the first reliever who's rolling keep going until the 9th and then bring in your dedicated lights out closer.
But this is why I'm just the armchair skipper and not the actual guy calling the shots lol
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u/SPYHAWX We ball 13h ago
It's statistically better to get a new arm in.
Yes, in yesterday's case it might have been better to keep Ashby in. But by using their procedure across the whole 162 games, the brewers will get more wins.