Quote Originally Posted by smootness View Post
Most teams are in the dark ages in BP management. Maddon has been more in the dark ages this year than anybody.

I definitely want to see teams throughout baseball, and obviously the Braves first and foremost, use their bullpen more optimally. But we also don't really have the kind of elite BP arms that allow for the kind of real optimization I would like. And the one advantage you have when waiting to use your best arm(s) is that you have them ready whenever they need to come in. So if you use your best guy in the 8th, you have the decision to make to either pull him for the 9th or keep him out there. And if you pull him, you no longer have him as an option if the lesser guy finds himself in trouble in the 9th.

If the lesser guy finds himself in trouble in the 8th, you can bring in your best arm to get you out of that and then finish it off in the 9th.
There is built in rest for your best guy too. If you are pitching him in the biggest jams whenever they arise, he's not getting much rest.

I'm guessing that is a major reason why no one uses their pen that way. Also, closers don't like being used that way.