Imaginary Diamond

This bullpen situation could culminate in the end of manager Ned Yost’s tenure in Milwaukee. Every night is a mad scramble to the finish, and every night Yost presses the wrong buttons and costs the team ball games.

Eric Gagne, after a 24-hour demotion, is his closer, but no one else in the bullpen seems to understand what his role is. Gagne was unavailable on Wednesday night, and Yost put his trust in Guillermo Mota, who stumbled in the ninth to blow a 4-3 lead.

Yost used three arms in the eighth, with David Riske, Salomon Torres and Brian Shouse combining to work a scoreless frame. Riske got one out in the seventh and began the eighth, but was replaced by Torres, presumably because he’s had some success against the Dodgers’ Jeff Kent. Torres got Kent, then allowed a single to Russell Martin and got the hook with a couple of left-handed hitters due up.

To his credit, Shouse got a quick James Loney fly out and ended the inning. But, come on. Yost has to know the difference between “Available” and “Must Be Used,” and he has to establish some semblance of an order down there. When you utter the words “closer by committee,” what you ultimately end up with is neither a closer nor a committee. Every move is overthought from the sixth inning on, and each member of the bullpen is affected in a unique way.

Yost has not shown Torres or Mota that he trusts them, probably because he doesn’t. Meanwhile, he can’t get over free agent acquisition Gagne, who has a 6.27 ERA, 1.88 WHIP and five blown saves in 15 chances. He, Torres and Mota have all struggled with walks (combined 37 in 61.2 innings), so who knows, maybe pitching coach Mike Maddux is the problem.

Yost needs to make the tough decisions right now. And here’s a suggestion: establish Torres in the eighth, use Riske in the sixth, and then play matchups with Mota and the lefties in the seventh. The best bullpens operate with a trusted option 1A. Mota, Riske and Torres have the same experience and credentials for the job, but one of them must be used as a primary set-up man.

Fantasy Spin
Gagne is Yost’s guy, so don’t look too much into the fact that Mota came on for the save on Wednesday. Gagne had worked the previous two nights and was unavailable for ninth-inning duties. Results weren’t perfect, but his stuff looked more alive and he pitched a scoreless ninth in Milwaukee’s 5-3 win over Los Angeles. He featured a fastball clocked as high as 97 miles per hour and a change-up that sits in the 77-80 range. A little more confidence and desire, and the Gagne of old could still come back.

More thoughts …
Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel’s Anthony Witrado breaks down the thoughts behind Gagne’s brief demotion.

Same publication’s Tom Haudricourt points out that injuries in the rotation have also been a problem.

Adam Lindemer talks about what Yost has done for Milwaukee, but wonders if it’s his time to go.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.