by Outta Leftfield » Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:16 pm
It looks like you've already made some changes. Perez is gone and Gullickson, Denny and Saberhagen are new. Good luck with the new starters.
My other suggestion would be that, while you're starters have sucked, it looks like you've got a pretty good bullpen. I'd suggest that you try to maximize their innings. Under manager strategy, set "bullpen usage" on aggressive. Set most of your starters on "quick hook." Then decide who you want to funnel innings to--maybe Bedrosian, Stanley and possibly Eichhorn. Eichhorn has some outstanding years on his card and I'd want to find out if he was in one of them. It's too early to tell with just 3 IP.
I'd be tempted to give Stanley the setup role against righties and Eichhorn the closer role until he wins or loses the job. Consider spotting Thurmond in as a starter (if he's better than one of your new guys). Until then give him the lefty setup role. If Davis isn't getting it done, consider cashing him in for somebody else. In general, I'd test and push the bullpen, and see if they can pitch about 40% of your innings and generally help you out.
Overall, when my starters are good and my bullpen isn't, I set the SP's on slow hook and "bullpen usage" on regular. I've several times led the league in complete games with this approach. On the other hand, when the starters aren't so hot and the bullpen is better, I try to get as many innings to the RP's as possible.