Oakland Athletics: Bullpen games are an acquired taste

The Oakland Athletics will be playing the single game elimination Wild Card matchup in New York on October 3rd.

Any hope the Oakland Athletics had of playing the Wild Card at the Coliseum quickly vanished last night as the New York Yankees made quick work of the A’s bullpen effort.

The loss left the A’s three and a half games behind the Astros for the American League West crown and four and a half games behind the New York Yankees for the top Wild Card position.

With twenty-two games left in the season, the A’s are simply running out of time.

Rotation injuries to Brett Anderson and Sean Manaea have proven to be far more critical than fans had expected as the A’s were forced to toss their second bullpen game in four days. The timing of the injuries have forced Bob Melvin to get creative as the A’s finish their twentieth game in twenty days tonight against the Yankees.

Had there been some days off mixed in to give the starting rotation some rest, the A’s might not have had to go full-on Tampa Bay Devil Rays, but a brutal August into September schedule has left Melvin scrambling.

Armchair quarterback

Are you ready to play some armchair QB? It’s every fan’s favorite form of expression… mine included. It’s our right as a fan to do so and if you don’t believe that, then what are we all doing here?

Watch the game, have an opinion, second-guess the players and coaches, and then second-guess the second-guessers. Read the fandom contract. It’s all in there.

I choose to participate often. In fact, there isn’t much I don’t have an opinion about when watching a game and I assume most of you are the same. My opinions, like yours, are based on my own knowledge and life experiences.

Some of the opinions I share are widely embraced, while others are flat out destroyed, and rightly so. And I take it all in stride because at the end of the day, it generates discussion. Discussion is what makes the game of baseball come alive for those of us outside of the lines.

I have feelings about things like bullpen games. I know the fans around me do as well. I want to hear ALL of it. I want to know if I’m alone in my thoughts or part of the masses.

I want to experience the change in perspective that can only come when I’m met with the opinions of others. This is how I learn. It’s how I quench my never-ending thirst for baseball knowledge.

Last night, Twitter wasn’t short of opinions about Bob Melvin’s usage of the bullpen. In fact, it caught the notice of Jane Lee, the Oakland Athletics beat reporter for MLB.com. Take a look.

I’m offended. How dare she make light of the fact that all of us are experts! Doesn’t she know that each of us could potentially be managing this ball club if not for the pesky little issue of actual experience?

As certain as the sun coming up in the morning, if someone has a take on Twitter, someone ends up with hurt feelings. So if overly sensitive Twitter responses are your thing, make sure you head over to Lee’s page and catch the drama in all of its glory.

I, on the other hand, took Lee’s tweet as a light-hearted way of pointing out that every A’s fan last night believed they could have navigated through the bullpen decisions better than BoMel.

We could have… right? We knew Jeurys Familia was going to have control issues and end up walking in the tying run because he was pitching for the third time in four days.

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We knew Fernando Rodney was going to come in and serve up a meatball for Luke Voit to deposit over the left field fence for the lead.

We knew it. We knew it because as fans, it’s our job to know what should have been done in that moment when we watch the game unravel before our eyes.

I would have pulled Jeurys the minute he started bouncing sinkers into the ground in front of home plate, and I would have called for Lou Trivino from the ‘pen instead of Rodney.

Those were the right decisions. From the stands, I can make them without the burden of attaching consequences to them. Bob Melvin doesn’t have that same luxury.

Bullpen games

I understand why we tossed our second bullpen game in four days. It’s a product of the situation we have found ourselves in… but I just can’t seem to get onboard.

I will embrace any strategy that lends itself to winning, but this isn’t that. Not from what Oakland Athletics fans have seen. Instead, bullpen games are a sign of weakness. We throw bullpen games because we don’t currently have the personnel to fill out a starting rotation.

Anyone still watch NFL games? I know the number of you that do is dwindling by the day but if you’re watching and you see a pro team line up in the Wildcat formation, what’s your take on it?

Do you feel like it’s gimmicky? Do teams run it because they have the personnel to do so or is it because they lack the personnel to achieve a desired result using established formations?

The Wildcat formation in the NFL proved to be a fad, and I hope the bullpen game or the idea of having an “opener” proves to be the same.

It’s not baseball, or at least the kind of baseball I like to watch. It interrupts the rhythm of the game, not only for fans, but for players as well. Players will tell you that they get into a flow with their starting pitcher over the course of a game.

That can’t happen when nine different pitchers take the mound as was the case this last Saturday against the Mariners.

For Bob Melvin, the decision making that goes into managing bullpen games has to be a nightmare. Usually, we second-guessers only have the opportunity to weigh in on a couple of different pitching decisions during each game. If nine is going to be the new standard, we may need that master’s degree after all.

Disclaimer

As usual, I’ve criticized. I can see the hate mail already. I’ve complained about bullpen games without offering a solution.

In this case, the A’s don’t have a better option. The front office couldn’t have foreseen the injuries to Manaea and Anderson.

OK, we knew Anderson wouldn’t make it through the summer without a couple of DL stints, but that doesn’t help my rationalization here so let’s say it with a straight face.

Additionally, Mengden and Montas have been inconsistent most of the season. Each have shown hints of promise but nothing that tells you either are ready to reliably pick up the ball every fourth or fifth day.

Throw in four starters needing Tommy John surgery earlier this season and you can see how the A’s have found themselves in this situation. Short of trading for additional starters at the deadline (but at what cost to the future?), the A’s have little choice but to roll with gimmicky for now.

The good news is that should the A’s defeat the Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Wild Card matchup, the playoff schedule offers the flexibility to help the A’s avoid bullpen starts in the postseason.

For now, I’ll keep throwing pennies in the fountain wishing that the nerve irritation in Brett Anderson’s arm subsides.  Anything to say goodbye to bullpen games.