OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - "The System" (or How Leverage Killed Conventional Pitching Wisdom)

Prodigal Son · 04-12-2012, 03:05 AM

The Oakland Athletics had Moneyball in the nineties. The Seattle Mariners have The System in 2012.

In a bid to end a decade of mediocrity, Mariners management hired a new manager with a radical pitching philosophy. At a time when all major league teams sport a five-man rotation and often have at least six or seven major league caliber starting pitchers to deal with injuries, The System calls for a three-man rotation. Those three men, "starters" by name only, perhaps, should be inexpensive, league-average pitchers. Not only that, they don't need to be starters at all, because they won't throw more than around fifty pitches in a game. If this sounds intriguing, then you will want to follow along as one organization attempts to forever change the most fundamental concepts of a pitching staff.

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What exactly is The System? Well, it's a lot of things, but let's start off with some basic points:

- The general purpose of The System is to make sure that every inning thrown by the team's best pitchers are valuable innings, while the team's worst pitchers pitch only in less valuable innings (e.g. innings that are less likely to affect the outcome of the game, for example the final two innings of a 12-2 blowout for either team). This relies on the concept of leverage, if you're familiar with that baseball term.

- There is no team closer or set-up man. There are only relievers (some better than others of course). Any reliever may come into the game at any time if the circumstances dictate they will increase the team's chances of winning. This rule takes no mercy: it is possible for even a starting pitcher to be pulled from a game after facing just one hitter.

- The starting pitchers are average quality pitchers and very rarely reach five innings. Their job is to see how far they can get into a game before running into trouble while being decent enough pitchers to remain in the game for 3-5 innings if the offense happens to break out early.

- There is a three-man rotation. More durable starters may throw up to 50-60 pitches, while less durable starters may be capped closer to 40 pitches.

- The System requires a handful of good relief pitchers plus a few more specialists, including lefty specialists along with one or two long relievers (who would be actual starters on other teams).

Follow along as The Coach builds his system team and attempts to revolutionize baseball all while traditionalists and critics hope to see it fail.

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Note: The first handful of posts will be mostly background as I make some moves to get a team in place that can run The System. After a team is in place that can do The System justice, I will post more about the actual gameday strategy aspects, which are at the heart of this dynasty.

04-12-2012, 03:05 AM	#1
Prodigal Son All Star Starter Join Date: May 2006 Location: Iahiodo a.k.a. the flyover Posts: 1,635	"The System" (or How Leverage Killed Conventional Pitching Wisdom) The Oakland Athletics had Moneyball in the nineties. The Seattle Mariners have The System in 2012. In a bid to end a decade of mediocrity, Mariners management hired a new manager with a radical pitching philosophy. At a time when all major league teams sport a five-man rotation and often have at least six or seven major league caliber starting pitchers to deal with injuries, The System calls for a three-man rotation. Those three men, "starters" by name only, perhaps, should be inexpensive, league-average pitchers. Not only that, they don't need to be starters at all, because they won't throw more than around fifty pitches in a game. If this sounds intriguing, then you will want to follow along as one organization attempts to forever change the most fundamental concepts of a pitching staff. --- What exactly is The System? Well, it's a lot of things, but let's start off with some basic points: - The general purpose of The System is to make sure that every inning thrown by the team's best pitchers are valuable innings, while the team's worst pitchers pitch only in less valuable innings (e.g. innings that are less likely to affect the outcome of the game, for example the final two innings of a 12-2 blowout for either team). This relies on the concept of leverage, if you're familiar with that baseball term. - There is no team closer or set-up man. There are only relievers (some better than others of course). Any reliever may come into the game at any time if the circumstances dictate they will increase the team's chances of winning. This rule takes no mercy: it is possible for even a starting pitcher to be pulled from a game after facing just one hitter. - The starting pitchers are average quality pitchers and very rarely reach five innings. Their job is to see how far they can get into a game before running into trouble while being decent enough pitchers to remain in the game for 3-5 innings if the offense happens to break out early. - There is a three-man rotation. More durable starters may throw up to 50-60 pitches, while less durable starters may be capped closer to 40 pitches. - The System requires a handful of good relief pitchers plus a few more specialists, including lefty specialists along with one or two long relievers (who would be actual starters on other teams). Follow along as The Coach builds his system team and attempts to revolutionize baseball all while traditionalists and critics hope to see it fail. ----- Note: The first handful of posts will be mostly background as I make some moves to get a team in place that can run The System. After a team is in place that can do The System justice, I will post more about the actual gameday strategy aspects, which are at the heart of this dynasty. Last edited by Prodigal Son; 04-12-2012 at 03:59 AM.