How To Run A Baseball Team, Part 4
Practical Depth
Having the best back-up 3B in the game would be a nice thing to have. However, that’s wasted if your starting 3B is Cal Ripken. The key to efficient roster management is practical depth.
When it comes to practical offensive depth, you’re usually looking at players who a) Can play multiple positions and b) Have a skill-set different from the incumbent starters. If you have three right-handed outfielders, how much value does your 4th OF have if he’s right-handed too? If your starting shortstop is a defensive stud like Rafael Furcal, would you want Adam Everett to be his back-up? Where would these guys get their playing time? If your starter is an offense-first guy, get a back-up who can be a defensive replacement. If your starter struggles against lefties, pick up a lefty-masher
For starting pitching, it is a little different. An average team will need roughly eight starters through an entire season. Obviously, only five will be slotted in to start the season. You’ll need those other three starters, but where do they go? This is where the importance of successfully drafting pitching comes in to play. Even if the veteran isn’t as good as the starter, assuming it’s not a large difference (unlike the Twins and Dodger’s examples from “The Kids Are Alright”) it might be smarter for your youngster to start the year in the minors and be the first call-up in case of injury or ineffectiveness. The other possibility is to acquire pitchers who are comfortable pitching out of the bullpen. However, this is less desirable because when they’re first put into the rotation, they won’t be able to pitch very deep into the first few games. As a depth starter, a few games might be all they’re in for.
“Health Is A Skill”
Blue Jay fans like to hold up their terrible 2007 health record as a reason why their fortunes will improve in 2008. This is a team that included health cases such as Troy Glaus, Reed Johnson, Roy Halladay, AJ Burnett, Dustin McGowan and Gustavo Chacin, then a guy like BJ Ryan who was always a question mark due to his quirky delivery, and then old players such as 35-year-old Gregg Zaun and 39-year-old Matt Stairs. Well, what did you expect?
It is a common misconception of baseball fans that acquiring a perpetual resident of the disabled list will magically cure all that ails him; a ‘change of scenery’ will erase chronic knee damage or restore a torn labrum. It’s very simple: If a player has been injured many times in the past, it’s a pretty good bet he’ll be injured a lot in the future. To quote Jack Del Rio, head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, sometimes “the best ability is AVAILability”.
Some injury cases may stay healthy, while healthy players may get hurt. However, if you stock your team with guys who have a history of injuries or who professionals project to be injured in the future, your team WILL be injured more, you will lose more man-games, and you will not go very far. Teams need to recognize that, as Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus says, “health is a skill”.
Taking a flyer on an oft-injured player to try to catch lightning in a bottle may be a good idea; placing expectations on that player to stay healthy is NOT.
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