Moments after Buck Showalter managed his first game as Orioles skipper on August 3rd, he had this to say regarding the save rule.
“Believe me, I know the save rule and, quite frankly, it doesn’t carry much weight with me. I like the win rule a little bit better.”
That was in response to Showalter having Mike Gonzalez come in to start the 8th inning and get five outs, only then going to the closer Alfredo Simon to get the final out. Since Simon only faced one hitter with no one on base and a three run lead, he was not credited with a save.
This was quite a change from the “push-botton” managerial style that Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel, not to mention previous managers Sam Perlozzo and Lee Mazzilli, seemed to abide by when they were at the helm.
Trembley would have set, defined bullpen roles, as he believed the pitchers would perform better if they knew precisely what their roles were, and exactly when they should expect to come into the game.
Perlozzo would go to Dannys Baez in the 8th and Chris Ray in the 9th, even if he had a rested Jamie Walker in the ‘pen with three lefties due up that had great splits against right handed pitchers.
I remember a game that I covered on June 27th, when the Orioles defeated the Nationals 4-3. David Hernandez entered in the 8th inning when the game was tied 3-3. Hernandez struck out two batters on a grand total of six pitches. The O’s got a run in the top of the 9th, and Alfredo Simon came in for the save. Fortunately for the Orioles, Simon did go on to earn the save, but I couldn’t figure out why Juan Samuel didn’t leave Hernandez in to finish the game. After all, he clearly had dominating stuff that day, and Alfredo Simon by then was known for taking the team on a roller coaster ride whenever he attempted to close down a game.
I asked Juan at his post-game press conference if he had thought about letting David finish the game. He responded that if the O’s would not have scored, he would have left Hernandez in. But since the Orioles got the lead, he went to Simon.
In other words, it was a save situation, so Juan had to go to his closer; even though his closer was highly unlikely to be as effective as the pitcher he was replacing that had thrown only six pitches.
I wonder what Juan would say to Buck’s above quote. Is it a stretch to say that Juan Samuel’s actions indicated he was more concerned about the save rule than the win rule?
Luckily for everyone who wants the Orioles to succeed and win some ballgames, Buck Showalter has provided a stark contrast to those previous managers. He further supported that notion last night when he went to his closer in the 8th inning, calling on Koji Uehara to get 5 outs to end the game.
When asked about his decision, Buck responded with another gem for those against bullpen roles..
“I’ve been telling you all along, it may not be conventional, but it gives the Orioles the best chance to win there.”
Once again, Buck mentions winning. All this man cares about is winning games. Win, win, win.
Showalter also used Julio Lugo earlier in the season in LF when he wanted to get as many right handed hitters in the lineup as possible.
Lugo had two of the Orioles’ three hits that day.
That was an out of the box idea. It was unconventional. But he thought it was in the best interest of the Orioles – and he did it.
This guy gets it.
