Roster balance and versatility
Andy MacPhail's announcement that the Orioles will go with a 12 man pitching staff on the Opening Day roster still gives the O's an extra arm if needed in the early season games.
If the O's decide to keep the top four starters on normal rest in the rotation, the April schedule would allow Dave Trembley and Rick Kranitz to have the 5th starter available for long relief in several of the games in the first month.
Jeremy Guthrie and Koji Uehara, the top two starters will each get five starts in April. Whoever is slotted into the #3 spot will also get five April starts and the 4th starter will get four starts.
The Orioles would need the 5th starter for only three games in April if the top four starters pitch on turn. The dates the 5th starter would pitch are April 12 vs Tampa Bay; April 21st vs Chicago; and April 26 vs Texas.
This would give Trembley and Kranitz the option of also using the 5th starter in long relief, giving the O's a 3rd long man for many of the early season games as insurance for short outings by the other four starters. It would also allow the O's to keep George Sherrill, Chris Ray, Jim Johnson, Jamie Walker and Dennis Sarfate in the roles.
There are different philosophies for starting rotations. Some teams pitch their five starters in order all season, regardless of off days. This keeps each pitcher on a routine and, over the course of the season, gives each pitcher additional rest. Many teams however prefer to skip the 5th starter to keep the top four pitchers on turn.
The rotation will be a work in progress all season, with the expected promotions of some of the O's top prospects sometime this season. Andy MacPhail is sticking with his plan of patience. It's now up to the prospects to force the issue by pitching well in the minor leagues.
The Opening Day roster is memorable because it's the beginning. But you can expect it will continue to turn over during the season.
Hope to see you at FanFest on Saturday, and then at the ballpark on Monday for the season opener. Let the games begin....
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Categories (click for archive)Jim Hunter | MASNblogs |
Jim,
I, like you, believe there will be plenty of changes to the Orioles pitching staff as the season progresses. Lets hope some of the young guns in the minors pitch well enough to force their way onto the big club.
I'm looking forward to Fanfest on Saturday and can't wait for Opening Day on Monday.
Greg, let's not forget Rich Hill is still in the plans and once he's activated from the DL Hill gives the Orioles another pitcher who has had some success in the major leagues. I'm also curious to see who makes the start on April 26 which by my pitching chart would be the third start in April by the #5 starter. If Brad Bergesen gets off to a good start in AAA might he be promoted and given a chance ? This will be a fascinating season with the pitching. Hope to see you at Fanfest. It's always an enjoyable day for me.
Jim- Good Stuff. This is probably gonna be another long one. But, exciting none the less. Historically speaking, teams that have 2 dominant ACE type pitchers, are the ones that really push deep into October. Johnson, Schilling. Pettite, Clemens. Kazmir, Shields. So on, if the O's, can get the big 3 into Ace type from, and then you add in any other 2 from the long long list from Bergy to Gleason and Zagone, they just might be able to get back to the magic of the late 60s and into the 70's. The key, is making sure you keep enough offense, and a dominant closer to win the ones you're supposed to win. Then, it is all up to Pete and Andy to keep the check book open enough to keep it all together once they hit free agency. Otherwise, Joe Jordan needs to keep churning out can't misses, and we can not have another long run of literaly nothing, coming out of the amateur draft.