Regular Season Nov 8, 2009
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Pitching is always a key factor in postseason play. Some teams have one ace, which forces you to use him at the opportune time. Other schools have two or more solid starters, which allows for more flexibility. What is your approach? As a coach, how do you handle your staff come tourney time?
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Dan Ambrose
Heritage Christian Baseball |
 | Every level of baseball has the same issue: pitching is everything in the postseason. If one guy is pitching the game of his life on any given day, then his team - which may be weaker overall - can beat a much better team on that day. Each year we handle it differently. Some years we have one solid ace that has risen to the top of our rotation and is by far our "big game pitcher." This year we have several guys who are decent, but certainly not "studs." So that means we go about our postseason differently. We might need to manufacture runs and we might need to pull a pitcher sooner than we would an ace. |
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Jason Kehrer
Scecina Baseball |
 | While there are many different philosophies regarding pitching rotation, it is my belief that our ultimate goal is to win the respective tournament, be it sectional, regional, or what have you. Therefore, I set my rotation around what gives us our best chance to win the entire tournament and not being complacent; just to advance one game at a time. |
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Eric McGaha
Mooresville Baseball |
 | In our situation, this season we have a lot of quality pitchers on staff. However, we don't have that one dominate ace: the mid-to-high 80s guy that you would pencil in every fifth day. With that being the case, we've put our pitchers in a lot of different situations on the mound to find out who handles the pressure most effectively. By the end of the season, when tourney time approaches we will have a good idea of who our top three or four pitchers are. When the tournament starts, those guys are going to get the bulk of the innings. |
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Pat O’Neil
Brownsburg Baseball |
 | I try to develop four to five solid pitchers on the varsity – and it starts in the offseason. Playing anywhere from three to six games in a week during season is when the back end of our rotation (the No. 3, 4, 5 starting pitchers) come in handy. By utilizing them, it keeps my No. 1 and No. 2 pitchers fresh for conference games and tourney time, but at the same time gives the other three guys experience and confidence come tourney time. At tourney time, you need the one stud and usually two others to be able to start or relieve, but also know you have your No. 4 and No. 5 experienced and ready if needed. |
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