Fantasy Baseball Invades Real Baseball

[DOUGHBOYS]

Josh Beckett threw 128 pitches yesterday and nobody cares.
Managers hardly ever let a pitcher throw over 125 pitches. BUT, if it's for personal glory, it is ok.
Last year, Tim Lincecum threw 148 pitches in notching his no-hitter. I'm guessing Beckett would have been given the same rope to get his.
Fantasy baseball has permeated real baseball. Just in a different way.
Yu Darvish was allowed to throw 126 pitches to get his no-no, but once a hit was given up with two outs in the ninth, out of the game Darvish went.
Cliff Lee threw 128 pitches to get a Complete Game earlier this year. So did Julio Teheran.
CJ Wilson, the same thing. But, I'll come back to him in a minute...
Jeff Samarrdddzjiaaa was left in a game for 126 pitches to both get a complete game and a hopeful Win.
Dallas Keuchel, like Darvish, was pulled after 8 2/3 in trying to complete a game. He threw 128 pitches.
Over 125 pitches seems to be a Managers threshold for pitchers and personal glory.
Only two pitchers have exceeded 125 pitches without personal achievement on their side. Cole Hamels, inexplicably, threw 133 pitches in deven innings vs. the Mets after shoulder problems. Chris Sale threw 127 pitches in a game because Robin Ventura says he does not follow pitch counts closely. That led to Sale being dl'ed and a lot of folks calling bullshit on Ventura.
CJ Wilson has become the new Justin Verlander. Wilson has already thrown 120 pitches three times. And never failed to throw at least 100.
He is averaging 116 pitches a game. Verlander, the only other pitcher averaging even 110 per game.
This is a combination of both, Mike Scioscia thinking of Wilson as durable, while at the same time being terrified of his bullpen.

Number of pitches are not the only way fantasy baseball and agents have affected Manager decisions for personal glory.
The Save has become a golden goose.
Any time there is a Save opportunity, the Closer is called in to get the Save. This can only be changed if the Closer has some health issue or has pitched three straight days.
It's downright silly.
A 3-0 lead in the ninth is very secure. Unless our Closer is a pseudo-Closer like John Axford. But, in the name of personal stats and harmony with the press, Axford, even after pitching badly one day and ekeing out a Save the next, is called upon.
Fantasy baseball folks would absolutely hate the way I'd Manage.
Ernesto Frieri is a streaky pitcher. When pitching well, he would Close for me. At the same time Joe Smith would be getting Saves too. He will anyway, when Frieri gets beat up again.
I'd also give over achievers a chance at Closing a few games too. Dellin Betances would have already gotten a chance.
In a sense, most Managers in baseball are managing as if they owned their own Closer in fantasy baseball.
It shouldn't work that way.

Here is the thing that REALLY makes me laugh about fantasy numbers in real baseball.
A Closer is brought in to quell a bases loaded situation with two outs in the eighth inning. He does his job, saving a 3-1 lead. Then, his team goes crazy in the ninth and scores five runs. This situation, or situations like it, have played out a few times during the last couple of years.
It is now of no matter that Joe Closer has a seven run lead. There is a Save to be had and without fail, Joe Closer comes out for the ninth inning.
This would be the perfect opportunity to 'rest' your Closer. After all, he has sat in a dugout for a long time while his team piled up runs.
But here, the stat is is worth more than nap time.

Managers try like Hell to get their starting pitchers through five innings with the lead. Earlier in the year, Collins, the Mets Manager left Zack Wheeler in a game in which he looked crappy. The Mets offense had been good and Wheeler had a lead in the fifth. Collins let him get up to 118 pitches, a career high, to get that Win.
Not pitching well enough or not deserving the Win, never entered Collins mind. In 118 pitches, Wheeler had gotten 13 outs, till even Collins conceded and Wheeler was pulled after four and 1/3 innings.
The Mets organization and Collins are the largest offenders of the individual stat. They had Matt Harvey skip a regular season start, a counting start ! so that he would be better prepared for an All Star game start.
Jose Reyes lead off a game, then pulled, to the boo's of their own crowd, to preserve a batting Championship.
That crowd had it right.

Managers will tell us that they do not Manage for the personal gains of their players. Wink-wink.
That a Win, not who gets the Win, is the ultimate accomplishment each day. wink-wink.
All 25 players are just as important as each other in winning a game. wink-wink.
Managers say stuff to the press as we would say to a wife who asked how she looked in a new outfit.
But more and more, the almighty stat is ruling their thinking.

[NorCalAtlFan]

any post bashing the Mess, I'm ok with.

i disagree with a lot of this, but again, the overriding theme I took out of this is the Mess are horrible, and that trumps all

[mbendar16]

Any time there is a Save opportunity, the Closer is called in to get the Save.

Bo Porter didn't agree with this statement Dan. For a rare victory from the Astros, a save is stolen away from all Chad Qualls owners. Just one more bad break in a season full of them for me so far.

[DOUGHBOYS]

Any time there is a Save opportunity, the Closer is called in to get the Save.

Bo Porter didn't agree with this statement Dan. For a rare victory from the Astros, a save is stolen away from all Chad Qualls owners. Just one more bad break in a season full of them for me so far.

Fantasy aside, I agree with what Porter did last night.
Qualls is not a Closer.
Sure, he is the Astros Closer in name, but in truth, he is a journeyman who happens to best qualify as the Astros Closer.
Houston is playing to not lose 100 games.
When having a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning and a possible lefty-lefty matchup, I would do the same thing Porter did.

In fantasy, it's the price we pay for not having a 'Lock down' Closer. Somebody the Manager hands the reins over, no matter who is at the plate.
You're right though, Porter did do something that is now out of the ordinary.

[mbendar16]

I agree with you Dan. The hard-hit ball by Hosmer off the lefty was the only ball hit more than 10 feet, making it sting a little more. Just very ironic the opposite of the norm happens the day after you mention it in your daily writings.

[Captain Hook]

Baseball wise I agree with Dan and further the dumb ass managers today should be bringing in their "closer" whenever there is the most urgent need for outs in the opponents lineup whether that is the 7th, 8th, or 9th inning

Wouldn't make fantasy players happy but the Managers are there to help Win games ... which they rarely do.
NL managers should be pinch hitting for SP with men on base but they rarely do (because they have so little confidence in their bullpen pitchers)