6 man rotation

by easy on Aug 14, 2008 7:15 PM EDT

If I were TLR I would seriously consider a six man rotation for the rest of the season. This strikes me as a good move for a number of reasons. First off Carpenter is coming off surgery and a long lay off and it would be dangerous to overwork him. Beyond that, in '06 his e.r.a. was well below 2.00 on five days rest. Wainwright is also coming off an injury and a long lay off and could probably use a longer recuperation between starts. (I'm assuming that the latest word that he's targeted for the rotation are true. It should be if it's not.) Of the other guys, only Piniero has flirted with pitching himself out of the rotation but his last outing was more than decent. We know what Carp can do with 5 days of rest and it might be interesting to see what the other guys do with it too. Also, I suspect that every pitcher in the game could use more rest after 120 games or so (see Kyle Lohse).

For the rest of August the six man rotation could cause some roster disruption and probably someone in the bull pen would have to be sent down or DL'd. If the starters went more innings, though, the beleagered bull pen would be fresher even with one less member. After August the rosters expand and that issue is negated.

One more reason to do it. We're in a little bit of trouble in the wild card race. We need to make up significant ground on the Brewers and hold off several more teams. Since May we've been a .500 team and we made no significant additions (okay I actually like Felipe but it seems noone else does) so there is no reason to think that we'll suddenly start streaking into the playoffs. Doing something different, seeing how our starters respond to more rest, particularly when Carp and Wainwright should be handled with care might be our answer to Sabathia, Harden etc. We don't have a lot to lose.

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bad idea

i don’t think the extra day of rest really matters much in terms of injuries or effectiveness. without looking at the numbers i’d say the sample size of on Carp’s 2006 starts on 5 days rest is too small to really matter. i’d rather have Piniero not making starts. keeping him out of the rotation gives the team more chances to win in my opinion. every game is crucial if the cards want to catch up to the brewers.

by DJ87 on Aug 14, 2008 10:45 PM EDT reply actions

There is a quite pronounced effect on Carpenter

or was when the extra rest was given to him during the World Series. He shaves about one point off his ERA, IIRC. But it’s just so non-traditional, I don’t think LaRussa would consider it. It would mean carrying only one multiple innings guy in the bullpen, for one thing. But it also louses up the conditioning of the other pitchers, whose arms are expecting work every two days. Given the four days off during August, this probably won’t be necessary anyway.

by Red in Chicago on Aug 15, 2008 7:11 PM EDT up reply actions

I think it’s fair to say that quite a bit of Pineiro’s losses and bad games came from a lack of run support (I know, I know, the last couple of losses of his weren’t that way, I’m talking about earlier in the season).

Pineiro’s not a bad pitcher. I like him. I still think Looper should be put back in the pen. Were it up to me I’d go:

Carp
Wainer
Lohse
Pineiro
Welley

by Ghosty on Aug 15, 2008 12:44 AM EDT reply actions

It's a tough decision

All of our starters have been pitching effectively lately besides Lohse, but this is really the first time he’s run into problems all year except for those two starts early on vs. Chicago and Colorado. Granted he has pitched against some tough lineups during this rough stretch, the Mets, Phils, Marlins and the Dodgers who were pretty hot at the time with Ramirez and Blake being added into their lineup.

Looper or Wellemeyer would have their advantages in the ‘pen because they could just go out there for one inning and ramp it up, not worrying about having to save their arms for more innings. Pineiro could serve as a long guy, but I’d hate to be paying him that contract for that.

It seems like that preseason talk of having a surplus of starting pitching is finally coming true.

by arfuze300 on Aug 15, 2008 2:47 AM EDT reply actions

not sure I agree with the 6 man rotation (although I like it because it's a novel idea)

but I do see Felipe Lopez growing on me.

strikeouts from left-center

by Cards Fan in Chitown on Aug 15, 2008 1:48 PM EDT reply actions

Unfortunately

Carp’s placement back on the DL makes this idea (hopefully temporarily) impossible. A strained muscle injury happening to a pitcher after a long rehab indicates too much use too soon and may have been avoided by another day of rest between starts. If it really would “louse up” the other pitchers then of course it shouldn’t be done but it would be interesting to see how starters in general perform given five days of rest in the last third of the season. As for the Cardinal’s current situation, assuming Carp comes back, I still wish they’d try it for the rest of this season.

by easy on Aug 15, 2008 7:59 PM EDT reply actions

The problem is we have 7 days off over the next month and half. Meaning guys would be going on 6 or 7 days rest, which for pitchers, who are creatures of habit, the extra days off could do more harm than good. I think the days off make it more likely to see a four man rotation than a six.

by TimCo on Aug 16, 2008 5:05 PM EDT reply actions