Picking starter for opener not always simple
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — As spring training neared its conclusion, a reporter mentioned to Washington Nationals manager Dave Martinez that Max Scherzer was not precisely on schedule to start opening day.
“He’s going to be lined up,” Martinez said, with a laugh.
“Come Thursday at 1:05, he’ll be on the mound.”
Of course he will. Scherzer is, after all, one of the best pitchers in baseball, a three-time Cy Young Award winner and runnerup last season.
So it makes perfect sense that when Washington plays host to the NL East rival New York Mets this week, Scherzer will take on the pitcher who topped him in the NL voting, Jacob deGrom.
“It definitely has its prestige,” Scherzer said. “It’s symbolic. It’s an honor to get the ball in that situation.”
That’s because even in this data-driven age in baseball, when analytics and analysis are supposed to be replacing “gut feel” and sentiment when it comes to making any and all decisions, granting an opening day start to a particular pitcher because of his status rather than his statistics is something of a remnant of a bygone era.
So what if your team, say, is facing an all-right-handed lineup? If a right-hander seems like the proper guy to send out there for Game 1, managers tend to do it.
“There’s still a hierarchy on your pitching staff. And, certainly, when you have established, veteran guys, it still matters to them,” said Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch, who will be sending out veteran superstar Justin Verlander Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays and 2018 AL Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
“It also matters to your team.
“People want to name guys ‘aces.’”
Other times, though, it can get complicated, and this year is no exception.
Take the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Their natural pick would Clayton Kershaw, but the left-hander is beginning the season on the injured list. Unfortunately for the Dodgers, they also had to rule out Walker Buehler and Rich Hill,, too.
So the World Series runners-up the past two years are going with Hyun-Jin Ryu against Zach Greinke, an easier pick for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais went away from tradition for his team’s opener against the Oakland Athletics in Japan last week.
He bypassed Felix Hernandez, who had made 10 consecutive Game 1 starts, the longest active streak in the majors and surpassed by only four pitchers in history. (Hall of Famer Jack Morris holds the record of 14 in a row.)
Hernandez, the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner, boasts a 1.53 ERA in opening day appearances but struggled this spring, to the tune of a 15.95 ERA.
Still, King Felix did not hide his displeasure at giving up a slot he had held for a full decade.
But in a a move designed to do what’s best for his team, Servais used Marco Gonzalez and Yusei Kikuchi as his starting pitchers in the Mariners’ two overseas games that officially launched the new baseball season.