House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves: An Easy Fix for the Bullpen Issues

By Jake Mastroianni

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 08: Manager Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves relieves pitcher Chad Sobotka #61 during the seventh inning of Game Four of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Turner Field on October 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 08: Manager Brian Snitker of the Atlanta Braves relieves pitcher Chad Sobotka #61 during the seventh inning of Game Four of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Turner Field on October 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 4
Next
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 05: Brian  Snitker #43 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during bullpen prior to Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – OCTOBER 05: Brian  Snitker #43 of the Atlanta Braves looks on during bullpen prior to Game Two of the National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on October 5, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) /

Know When to use Your Top Relievers

Traditional thinking says you use your worst relievers in the middle of the game, your setup man in the eighth, and your closer in the ninth.

That’s all trash now, and it’s time Brian Snitker change with the times.

This has been a problem for Snitker throughout his tenure as the Atlanta Braves manager, and it bit him again on Thursday.

Alan wrote about this a little already, but Snitker certainly didn’t do himself any favors in not only who he brought in and when, but how he let them stay out there.

Now, it’s always easy to second guess after the game, but there is a better strategy that Snitker could have used that would have given us a chance to win on Thursday.

In the sixth inning, he could have let Julio Teheran go back out there, but I realize the top of the order was coming back up.

Bringing in Shane Carle wasn’t a terrible choice, but the decision to leave him out there after the second walk was bad.

At that point, the game was still just 3-1. The game was in reach, but we couldn’t allow it to get much worse. Snitker should have brought in Wes Parsons or another dependable reliever at that point because the game was on the line.

Instead, he brought Parsons in after Carle gave up the home run. And because the pitcher’s spot was due up the next inning we only got one batter out of Parsons. That was really dumb in my opinion.

But then Matt Joyce got us back into the game at 6-3. Instead of bringing in Luke Jackson for the seventh, he should have brought in Fried at that point.

You can’t predict how things would have played out, but then maybe the Braves are a little more aggressive in the eighth with the top of the lineup coming up.

Again, there is no guarantee this would have changed the outcome, and as a manager, you have to be thinking about 162 and not just one, but using this type of strategy/thinking would have kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.

And when you consider the Braves had an off day on Friday, there is no excuse for not using your best relievers on Opening Day.

If the bullpen is going to improve, Snitker has to join the 21st Century in terms of how you use a bullpen.

Home/Braves News