The St. Louis Cardinals’ choice to use a six-man rotation may seem bold and innovative, but there’s a reason why most people find it ridiculous. Jeff Jones discussed manager Oli Marmol’s reasoning for taking this course in his most recent article for the Belleville News-Democrat. Without benching fellow left-hander Matthew Liberatore, he hopes to bring Steven Matz back into the lineup.
Miles Mikolas has had a terrible season, and Matz is recovering from a bullpen stint, despite the fact that Sonny Gray, Andre Pallante, Erick Fedde, and to a lesser extent Liberatore have all thrown well to begin the season. The Cardinals are currently 9-10 on the season in the National League’s most winnable division. I can only picture how this weak bullpen will be broken down by a six-man rotation.
Marmol’s statement that this is a means of preventing future injuries is incorrect.
“You do everything you can to keep guys healthy. Every organization is trying to do that. And then baseball happens, and you can’t control it, right? So it’s unfortunate, but you have to continue to get guys ready and plan for that – and not that.”
Although the majority of St. Louis’ pitching staff this season has produced quality work, every small choice made on that side of the ball will undoubtedly have an impact on the team’s future. Later on, that might relieve some much-needed strain on the Cardinals’ bullpen and rotation if the team’s offense improves. Should it fail to do so, they might be in danger.
This six-man rotation strategy might be what works for Marmol this season, considering how the supporters feel about him.
St. Louis Cardinals’ six-man rotation could blow up in Oli Marmol’s face
I’m all for innovation, but the Cardinals’ decision to use a six-man rotation makes me very concerned about their future. Even if it works, they will only have a competitive edge in this area for a year or two before the rest of baseball realizes what they’re doing and follows suit. What worries me the most is what would happen if this poorly thought out risk went horribly wrong.
If, in the best-case scenario, the Cardinals make excellent use of their six-man rotation and win the NL Central by a wide margin, how will that help them in the postseason? In most cases, you only need three starters, and half of the rotation will be forced into bullpen roles that they haven’t used for a large portion of the season.
It’s the same kind of problem in basketball, where a team may benefit from having a deep rotation in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs, the best players play the most, and there are only a few minutes or innings available. It’s not about who your fifth-best starter or tenth man in the rotation is; it’s about your frontline dogs! There’s another thing I would worry about, though.
What if it fails—that is, if someone in the six-man rotation gets hurt anyhow? The bullpen will become even more crucial, thus you will need to change the way your team is put together. In baseball, people frequently overlook the fact that a bullpen’s and a starting staff’s overall health is one of the main reasons why we haven’t seen a repeat World Series champion in 25 years.
A six-man rotation may seem like a good concept in theory, but baseball has been around for 150 years.
