Make Givens The Closer

[vab]

Giving him the title closer is not going to affect his trade value one way or the other.

[Frobby]

Just now, wildbillhiccup said:

 My main point was while there might have been very few save chances in that time frame there were most certainly "high leverage" situations. If it's Hyde's intent to use Givens in the most important game situations (regardless of the inning) then why did he have a week in between appearances? That's five straight games where he didn't feel there was a need / opportunity to use Givens. That just doesn't make sense to me. 

PS) And yes, I know he picked up a saved last night. 

Well, let’s look at the four (not five) games.  On April 24, Givens pitched the final 2 innings for the save.

April 25 - Off day.  

April 26 - O’s lose 6-1 and it was never close.

April 27 - O’s lose 9-2, losing a 2-1 lead in the 6th inning.    There were some medium leverage opportunities in this game but I wouldn’t fault Hyde for not going to Givens there.

April 28 -O’s lose 4-1 in a game that wasn’t close after the early innings.

April 29 - O’s fall behind 4-1 early and lose 5-3.

April 30 - Rainout.

May 1 - Givens gets the save.

I’d submit there were no high leverage situations in which to use Givens in those four intervening games.

 

 

 

[ShaneDawg85]

I rather take the opposite approach, that making Givens the closer could potentially nuke his trade value.  Givens greatest value in his career has been in the 7th-8th inning, and as others have pointed out, on a team that isn't going to have a lot of save opportunities he needs to pitch.  If he fails as a closer then his trade value is at best going to stay the same, at worse go down.  Not to mention, I like Givens but I've never been sold on him as a closer.

[jerios55]

Let him pitch 3 or maybe 4 outs, and be done.  These longer outings seem to have had an effect.

Not closer vs setup, whatever.  Just get he a more consistent like reliever innings and hope that he thrives.

[Frobby]

I really don’t have big problems with the way Givens has been used.   The fact that our starting pitchers are consistently having short outings, we have a weak bullpen, and we don’t have late inning leads very often has caused Hyde to stretch Givens more than if we had a bunch of starters going 6 innings and a host of good 7th/8th inning options.   Givens ranks 19th among MLB relievers in Win Probability Added, not bad for a guy pitching on a team that only wins 1/3 of its games.   

[Frobby]

Essentially, after the first 5 games Givens has been the closer.   Excluding those first 5 games, the team has had only 6 save opportunities.   Of those, Givens had 3:  2 saves and a blown save in a game we then won in extra innings.   Here’s the other 3:

- A 6th inning “save opportunity” Mike Wright blew for Cobb.

- An 8th inning “save opportunity” Castro blew by allowing 3 runs.   

- Yesterday’s blown save by Castro in the 9th, with Castro pitching because Givens had gotten a four-out save in the first game of the doubleheader.    

[mdbdotcom]

1 hour ago, wildbillhiccup said:

Closers pitch all the time in non save situations just to get in some work. It's not uncommon at ll. My main point was while there might have been very few save chances in that time frame there were most certainly "high leverage" situations. If it's Hyde's intent to use Givens in the most important game situations (regardless of the inning) then why did he have a week in between appearances? That's five straight games where he didn't feel there was a need / opportunity to use Givens. That just doesn't make sense to me. 

PS) And yes, I know he picked up a saved last night. 

I don't think it matters. He has a unique talent, throwing from that arm slot. If he pitches well, teams will want him.

[OsFanSinceThe80s]

Just use Givens in the limited amount of high leverage situations that the Orioles will need to protect a lead this season.

[DrungoHazewood]

It seems pretty common for a bad team to trade their closer to a good team, who then turn him into a 7th or 8th inning guy.  Zachk Britton, for example.  I assume if Givens is the Orioles closer he'll be acquired by a team that wants him to set up.

[interloper]

Looked great last night. I hope they do not waste time trading him. You won't add much by waiting to trade him, if there's a good offer, POUNCE. 

[HowAboutThat]

No

[foxfield]

The point is to increase his value and trade him. I don’t really care how they use him as long as he is comfortable and handles it well. 

[wildbillhiccup]

10 minutes ago, foxfield said:

The point is to increase his value and trade him. I don’t really care how they use him as long as he is comfortable and handles it well. 

That's fine. If we shift gears to that point (again) then why did he ride pine for essentially a week?

[foxfield]

1 minute ago, wildbillhiccup said:

That's fine. If we shift gears to that point (again) then why did he ride pine for essentially a week?

You say they shifted gears. I say he got a coupe days rest. 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, wildbillhiccup said:

That's fine. If we shift gears to that point (again) then why did he ride pine for essentially a week?

I already answered that question.