Gabe Kapler wants to be clear. It isn’t his explicit intention to redefine bullpen usage for the analytics age. And he doesn’t wish to take the traditional approach to safeguarding a ninth-inning lead and turn it on its ear, either.
“I can assure you,” the Phillies manager said the other day, “if we had Kenley Jansen on our roster, he’d pitch the ninth inning.”
But the Phillies don’t have Jansen. Or Craig Kimbrel. Or Aroldis Chapman. Their closest facsimile of a dominant ninth-inning pitcher is Hector Neris, who came into the season with all of 5 1/2 months’ worth of experience in slamming the door for a non-contender.