Posted by Steve
Here’s a quote from Ned Yost after last night’s game. The article is from the Journal-Sentinel. Yost used Guillermo Mota with a 4-1 lead in the eight inning, even though Carlos Villanueva had just cruised through the seventh.
Had the Brewers gotten Kendall home, Yost said he would have stuck with Villanueva another inning. Why?
“It’s not a save situation,” Yost explained.
Again, the formula. Villanueva would have been entrusted to protect a four-run lead but Mota got the call with a three-run margin.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because it happened like a year ago. In fact, I ranted about it then, too. The most annoying thing is that most managers would do this; it’s not just Ned. The save stat has frickin’ ruined bullpen management across baseball.