FredJacket
Helluva Engineer
- Messages
- 6,243
- Location
- Fredericksburg, Virginia
Possible physical issues (injury?) notwithstanding, a major problem with using English as a reliever is timing. He has to get warm... which means he is only available to "start" an inning. And his getting warm depends on whether he's due up to hit.If English is well and truly unable to pitch, this is a 0.500 team the rest of the way.
We have no one able to come out of the bullpen and stop the other team. I have to view the bullpen’s performance @Auburn as an anomaly, given how often they have collapsed in ACC games.
Given all those constraints, I'd probably plan to use him in close games in 7th, 8th, or 9th based on when he can actually get warm.
What I don't know is how this impacts the DH thing? I'm pretty sure once he pitches, the DH is sort of burned & any subsequent pitcher would have to bat for himself. Not a showstopper, but another thing to weigh in decided when/how to use him. It is so much easier when your 2-way guy is used as a starter... not out of pen.