Sometime in the last 20 or so years, when pitch counts began to enter the equation, starting pitchers were still permitted -- encouraged even — to go seven or more innings. When the pitch count got over 90, that's when the bullpen watch when begin in earnest.
Complete games became as outmoded as flannel uniforms and scheduled doubleheaders. But you could still throw 95 pitches and still leave only a handful of outs for the bullpen.
In 2022, however, even that kind of length became a quaint notion. Seven innings? From a starting pitcher??? Good God, are you mad, man?
As someone with a decade of major league service time, Michael Wacha can remember the "good old days.'' In his third season with the St. Louis Cardinals, in 2015, he threw 181.1 innings, meaning he averaged slightly more than six innings per outing. In the current baseball environment, that sort of inning total would make Wacha seem to be from another era. Some younger teammates might ask what it was like to be a teammate of Walter Johnson or Old Hoss Radburn.
Last year, not a single pitcher reached the 200-inning milestone in the American League. There's a pretty good chance none will do so this year. Even with the recent roster cutdown, most teams are carrying 14 pitchers to guard against overuse. Don't like the job turned in by the reliever just summoned from the bullpen? Fear not -- there's plenty more from where he came.
Wacha, easily the best free-agent signing to date from this past offseason, improved to 3-0 after he and three other relievers combined to limit the Los Angeles Angels to just three hits. Wacha's ERA sits at 1.38.
And yet, in five starts so far, Wacha has accumulated just 26 innings, a tick over five per outing. And this, mind you, is from someone who is completely dominating opposing hitters, as evidenced by his 0.92 ERA.
There was Wacha in the sixth inning Tuesday night at Fenway, cruising along, having retired seven of the previous nine hitters. But when he allowed a two-out infield single to Mike Trout, who advanced to second on a throwing error by Rafael Devers, out popped Alex Cora from the dugout.
Cora doesn't make social calls to the mound, so his mere presence signaled the end of Wacha's night. He had thrown all of 60 pitches and was an out away from getting through six shutout innings. No matter. Out went Wacha and in came lefty Jake Diekman to face Shohei Ohtani.
"Understanding that he'll pitch again this weekend, after the off-day (with the bullpen rested) and having some matchups that we like,'' explained Cora. "It's like when Rich (Hill) pitched in Baltimore the other day (and came out after he allowed his first baserunner to reach following 12 up and 12 down). It's about 27 outs and winning the game. They understand that. There are certain days that you have to (leave them out there).
"But today, we felt we had Jake in that spot. Where we were in the game, 2-0 with that guy (Ohtani) at the plate, regardless of the stuff (Wacha) has, the (bullpen) matchup is better at the end of the day.''
It may sound cruel, but Cora obviously has the buy-in from his starters, who know better than to take the sudden appearance of their manager on the mound as any sort of insult. Like it or not, the game has evolved into a series of desired matchups. You can retire every hitter you face for four innings, but when the leadoff man reaches in the fifth, you're gone, as happened to Hill last Friday night, three outs shy of qualifying for the win.
Kindly check your ego -- and your individual stats -- at the door.
"In the era that we live,'' offered Cora, "they understand the value of getting outs.''
And indeed, Wacha expressed no dismay over being removed from the game despite his efficiency, low pitch count and the zeros on the scoreboard.
"I really just try to go inning to inning,'' said Wacha. "I really didn't even know what my pitch count was at the time. I try not to get ahead or look too far in advance, and think, 'Hey, this could be eight innings,' or 'This could be a CG-type game.' It's always (about) getting through the next inning and get back in the dugout as fast as we can.
"Really, I trust Cora with everything. Our bullpen came in and was lights out. It was really fun to watch them lock it down the way it did.''
No argument there -- the trio of Diekman, Ryan Brasier and Hirokazu Sawamura went through the Angels lineup for the final 10 outs even easier than Wacha had for the first 17, with just one baserunner (walk) allowed.
There's a method to the madness, apparently.
Pushing starters to get out of a jam in the middle innings is so very 1995. Now, it's more important to make sure that, on most nights, they don't face the lineup for a third time.
"It's definitely changed over the years, I would say,'' Wacha conceded.
You don't have to like it, and many done. But you'd better accept it. The strategy, unlike the starting pitcher, is here to stay.