Relief pitchers never have been more tactically critical to Our National Pastime.
Smart managers no longer wait until the ninth inning to deploy their best bullpen arm, especially during postseason play. Cleveland Indians playoff hero Andrew Miller is illustrating that, as is Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen.
The Kansas City Royals won a World Series title with a deep and powerful bullpen. Conversely, the San Francisco Giants paid dearly for their shaky relief corps this year. Even Bruce Bochy couldn’t work around that shortcoming with his managerial magic.
So losing set-up man Zach Duke for next season is a huge blow for the Cardinals.