COLUMN: Pirates can learn a sharp lesson from these playoffs

The Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t playing in October, but that does not mean they can’t learn something from those that are.

The Pittsburgh Pirates are watching the 2016 postseason from their homes, or the golf course, or on Federal Street or any other number of locales to which they have dispersed.

With the way that some of the managers still in the hunt are managing, one hopes that the club’s decision makers are taking notes.

A New Era in Bullpen Usage?

Over the course of these playoffs, the Los Angeles Dodgers have used closer Kenley Jansen in non-save situations, notably for a 2.1 inning appearance in the NLDS-clinching win over the Nationals Friday night. For their part, the Nationals had brought on closer Mark Melancon in the eighth inning in that same game. Indians Manager Terry Francona has used all-world reliever Andrew Miller in a variety of innings, most notably in the fifth inning of the first game of the ALDS, which the Indians won.

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Facing Mookie Betts, Brock Holt and David Ortiz, Francona decided to throw dogma to the side, and put his best pitcher up against the talented trio. Miller handled the trio and threw another inning for good measure. That victory set the Indians on course to sweep the vaunted Boston club.

Is this a new era dawning before our eyes? Does the October stage on which the managers involved magnify these decisions, or are they purely a function of the playoffs, where wins are obviously valued far more than in a 162 game season?

The Pittsburgh Pirates Dipped Their Toes in the Water

Early in 2016, the Pirates seemed ahead of this possible curve. Tony Watson made six appearances in the seventh inning during the season’s early goings on. Rather than embracing a new way of thinking in regard to bullpen usage, those appearances may have been a function of manager Clint Hurdle having faith in Neftali Feliz, thus seeing Watson and Feliz as interchangeable.

It was thrilling to see that. After years of steadfastly sticking to pitching certain pitchers in certain roles, Hurdle was showing flexibility and perhaps embracing the next great strategic shift before it caught on.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Francona decided to throw dogma to the side[/perfectpullquote]

Or maybe not. Watson reverted to his role. Melancon remained the closer until he was shipped to Washington, and Feliz was seen mostly in the seventh inning.

Pirates Cannot be Left Behind

For a front-office – and by extension, the managerial staff –  that prides itself on finding the next great market inefficiency and on-the-field strategy before the competition, it was a bit disconcerting to see this approach abandoned so quickly.

Next year’s bullpen will look vastly different than the 2015 version and yet still very much alike. A veteran pitcher who has been with the Pittsburgh Pirates for some time will presumably take over closer duties. A talented, fire-balling left-hander (Felipe Rivero) will likely get first crack at a “setup man” role, and the rest of the relief pieces will be constructed to complement each other.

But, perhaps the crazy, wacky, “oh my god what are they doing oh wait it worked” strategy shown by the managers still in the playoffs will make its way through to the manager’s office in Pittsburgh.

The next big idea in baseball may be catching fire, and the Pittsburgh Pirates should think heavily on how close they want to be to the flames.

Photo Credit – Keith Allison – Flickr Creative Commons