Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Mets’ Bench…

Currently, the Mets are using 13 pitchers, which leaves the 8 position starters, and a 4-man bench.

Last night, Ramon Castro started, so Brian Schneider, the only other catcher, was not used, because managers almost always save one catcher, in case of an injury to the starting catcher.

Essentially, that left a 3-man bench.

The Mets were fortunate that Tony Armas Jr. pitched deep enough into the game to have 3 at-bats.

They were also fortunate to have scored 7 runs after 6 innings, and have the lead, so they didn’t feel the need to use pinch-hitters to try to win the game.

Once the relievers entered, only one pinch-hitter, Marlon Anderson, was needed.

Last night, the lack of a bench was not an issue, but, if a starter doesn’t pitch deep enough into a game, or, they go into extra innings, this will become an issue.

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