Real Saves

In a game on Tuesday, July 26th against the Mariners, twice interrupted by rain, CC Sabathia was breezing along until he opened the 8th inning by walking the first 3 batters. Up until that point, CC had allowed 1 hit and struck out 14 Mariners in a game the Yankees led 3 - 0. With the game on the line, manager Joe Girardi did not summon his closer. He brought in his set-up man David Robertson. Robertson has been outstanding all year but did get roughed up for 2 runs in 2/3 of an inning 2 days earlier. Mariano Rivera had to enter that game in the 8th to get a 4 out save.

Robertson has an era of 1.49 with an amazing 68 K's in 42 innings along with  a 3 - 0 record and 21 "holds". The K's are a bit surprising for this 26 year old right hander who can reach 96 mph on the radar gun despite the fact that he is only 5'11". When the great Rivera retires, he has to be high among those considered for the closer job. His one weak area is his 26 walks which is why his WHIP is a less than outstanding 1.30. I don't want to jinx him but he hasn't allowed a HR all year. 

Robertson began by striking out pinch hitter Adam Kennedy. It was his 10th straight strikeout with the bases loaded. Think about that. The last ten times he faced a bases loaded situation, he got a strikeout. The next batter, Chone Figgins, grounded to 3rd baseman Eric Chavez who bobbled it briefly but still was able to step on 3rd for the 2nd out as the runner on third scored. He then K'd Ichiro Suzuki to escape further damage.

The Yankees added a run in the bottom of the 8th on a Texeira HR to hand a 4 - 1 lead to closer Mariano Rivera who struck out 2 of the 3 batters he faced to gain his 26th save. Mariano, who will be 42 in November, has been outstanding all year. He allows less than a hit per inning and has only walked 5 batters in 40 innings for a WHIP of 1.00 to go along with his 1.79 era. He is rightfully considered the best closer of all time.

My question is "Who really saved this game?" Rivera entered the game to start the 9th. He had a 3 run lead. He held the 3 run lead. I would argue that for this effort, Mariano  deserved credit for a "hold", not a save. The game was up for grabs when Robertson took the mound in the 8th with the bases loaded and nobody out. Robertson deserved the save.

With the game on the line in the 8th inning, why didn't Joe Girardi bring in the best closer of all time? If he brought Mariano in the 8th and he didn't finish the game, he would not get credit for a save. I thought that it's supposed to be about winning games, not padding stats. I'm not picking on Girardi because almost all managers would have made the same decision in this age of 1 inning closers.

It's my opinion that the official scorer should have the leeway to award a save to the pitcher who really saved the game. What are the rules for "saves" and "holds"? As you will see below, Robertson's outstanding performance can not be rewarded with a save because he didn't finish the game. Rivera pitched the 9th.

From BaseballAlmanac.com, a pitcher can earn a save by completing ALL three of the following items:

1. Finishes the game won by his team.
2. Does not receive the win.
3. Meets one of the following three items:
   1. Enters the game with a lead of no more than three runs and pitches at least one inning.
   2. Enters the game with the tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck.
   3. Pitches for at least three innings.

The simplest way to change the rule that would allow the most deserving pitcher to get credit for the save would be to delete the first requirement.

What would be the benefits of this change?

It would encourage managers to use their best reliever when needed most. They wouldn't have to worry about depriving that pitcher of credit for a save.

What is a "hold"?

From a WiseGeek article, "What is a set-up man in baseball?":  In order to receive a hold, the pitcher must enter the game in a "save situation" - i.e., the conditions under which a save may be recorded, which is basically a lead of three runs or less - and leave the game with the lead still intact. The hold is not considered an official statistic by Major League Baseball (I didn't know that) but it is often used in player evaluation and fantasy baseball.

In some regards, set-up men face a tougher task than closers. They are much more likely to face inherited base runners, either left on base by the starter or another reliever. Today's 1 inning closers generally begin the 9th inning. It's not unusual for a starter showing no evidence of tiring to be taken out after 8 innings to allow the closer to get a save.