Overused, Overexposed and, Inevitably, Injured

The Yankees seem to be snapping out of their annual June swoon.  I say "annual" because it's certainly gotten to that point.  With the exception of 2023, when they sucked for the entire season, it's the same story every year.  They're good in April and May, awful in June and July, get their groove back in August, then go on a tear in September (in 2023, the September tear is the only reason they finished above .500). 

Why am I bringing this up?  Because the script is eerily similar each season.  They stop hitting for a little while, then, once they remember how to hit, the pitching becomes the problem.  The bullpen specifically.  Through a combination of overuse, injuries and a bunch of guys who, frankly, just aren't that good, June is usually when the bullpen becomes an issue.  Not just for the Yankees.  It's a situation that all good teams face at this point in the season.  Because they all do the same thing!

There's a direct correlation, too.  All managers have their handful of relievers that they trust in big spots.  That leads to those relievers being overused.  Then, when there's an injury to someone in that group, the number of relievers the manager trusts becomes smaller, which results in even more overuse.  And that overuse leads to overexposure, which leads to the reliever getting hit.  Or, even worse, that overuse leads to an injury and the whole cycle repeats itself.

I don't want to single out Aaron Boone because he isn't the only manager who does it, but his recent overreliance on Mark Leiter, Jr., is a prime example of what I'm talking about.  Mark Leiter, Jr. is a middle reliever.  He simply isn't good enough to be one of those trusted guys.  However, with Fernando Cruz (who is one of those guys) out with an injury, Leiter became somebody who Boone went to quite often, even though his performance didn't warrant it.  Even though Leiter continually wasn't getting the job done, Boone kept going to him.  That's on the manager just as much as it's on the pitcher.

Then we found out the reason for Leiter's struggles.  He'd essentially been pitching on a broken leg for two weeks!  Leiter suffered the injury covering first base during a game in Cincinnati at the end of June.  But, instead of doing anything about it, he kept pitching.  To disastrous results!  And where did he ultimately end up?  The injured list!  Two weeks too late!

Injuries are inevitable over the course of a six-month-long season.  Everyone understands that.  But some of these injuries are avoidable.  Especially injuries to relievers.  When they're overused, they become fatigued.  In addition to making them less effective, pitching while fatigued makes those relievers more susceptible to injury.  Whether it's to their arm, shoulder or leg, we've seen so many relief pitchers go on the injured list for extended periods of time because of something that was a direct result of pitching too much.

Of course, the way baseball is played nowadays hasn't helped, either.  The amount of bullpen usage (and how those relievers are utilized) simply isn't sustainable over the course of an entire season.  Especially for teams with postseason aspirations who'll be asking their top 2-3 relievers to pitch in high-pressure situations for a seventh month.  All of those pitches thrown in April and May add up.  Especially when the same pitcher is used over and over again, giving the league plenty of opportunities to see him.

It all comes back to how starting pitchers are being groomed in the lower levels now.  With a few exceptions, starters aren't expected (or allowed) to throw more than 100 pitches.  Once they get to 100, they know their day is done.  And that's if they even get to 100.  A lot of fourth or fifth starters get taken out at the first sign of trouble or as soon as they complete the second time through the lineup, even if they're at only 65-70 pitches.

An average of 15 pitches an inning is generally considered to be a reasonable estimate.  That would put a starting pitcher at 105 pitches over six innings, at which point you could expect the game to be turned over to the bullpen.  That's three innings out of the bullpen minimum.  If the starter averages 20 pitches an inning, that'll only get him through five.  Which means you're asking the bullpen to get 12 outs.  And that doesn't even include "bullpen games" when you're literally trying to piece together the entire game using nothing but relievers.

If your starter's only giving you six innings a night, that means you're using the bullpen for 1/3 of the game.  Every game.  You can't do that for 162 games.  If you try, your relievers WILL get hurt and WON'T be as effective.  Especially if the manager only trusts the same handful of guys in certain situations.

And, don't forget how pitchers are being taught to pitch at the lower levels.  It's all about velocity and maximum effort on every pitch.  They're trained to go all-out for short spurts of only 20-25 pitches.  Doing that two days in a row can be taxing, but is certainly doable.  These are professionals, after all.  Their bodies are trained to do just that.  Doing it repeatedly 3-4 times a week with only a day or two off in between is a very different ask, however.  That's what leads to injuries.

So, it really comes down to how much length teams get from their starters.  Which is why the de-emphasis on starting pitching is so ridiculous!  Because everyone understands the value of good starting pitching and how important it is.  That's why starters are often the No. 1 priority for teams in the winter and at the trade deadline, and that's why those starters end up getting signed to big-money contracts.  Shouldn't you want them pitching as long into the game as possible?  Six innings shouldn't be considered a "good" start.

Bullpen use has become such a significant part of the game that the graphic with all of the relievers' names and how many pitches they've thrown over the past several days is common on every broadcast.  You inevitably have the announcer rattle off the list of who isn't available because of the number of times they've been used or the number of pitches they've thrown.  And there's always that sense of dread when the starter gets hurt or knocked out of the game early when only the little-used middle relievers haven't been overused are available.  Or the sense of giddiness when the starter does give them length on a day when the bullpen is short.  Or, better still, how excited they get after an off day when, obviously, no relievers were used.

Teams will always need and use their bullpen.  I'm not suggesting they shouldn't.  But the amount of bullpen usage in April and May has a direct impact on the rest of the season.  So, those lulls in performance, whether they happen in June or later in the year, shouldn't be unexpected.  They should be predictable.  It's a long season, after all.