CLEVELAND � Until further notice, Andrew Miller's role in the Indians' bullpen isn't changing. He hasn't been inserted as the Indians' closer, and he hasn't been relegated to an eighth-inning role.
It's a nod to the growing trend in baseball that a set inning for the relievers at the back end of the bullpen might not be the best way to go about things every night. There's also a growing thought that a team's best relief pitcher doesn't necessarily have to be saved for when the team is leading in the ninth inning.
It's not exactly a new thought, but compared to roughly 100 years of baseball strategy that was set in stone, it's still pretty young. After all, how long did it take for teams to consistently move an extra fielder to the pull side because certain batters hit it there a high percentage of the time?
In just under three weeks with the Indians, Miller has entered games in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings, posting a 1.86 ERA and striking out 13 batters in 9 2/3 innings. Rather than wait until the eighth or ninth every night, Indians manager Terry Francona has called on Miller for some of the higher-leverage situations when the fit has been right. There will be nights when Bryan Shaw, Miller and Cody Allen line up in consecutive innings _ and it'll likely happen often. But the Indians aren't painted into that corner 100 percent of the time.
The thinking is this: Why wait to use such a weapon? You can wait to use an elite reliever until the ninth or even the eighth inning, when they might face the bottom of the order with nobody on base. It's still an important inning, but a clean one. Or, you can bring in a pitcher like Miller during what might be the game's biggest at-bat. Say, for example, Miller enters in the seventh with one out and runners on the corners in a one-run game and the middle of the order due up. When it's all said and done, it's probable that those outs will go down as the biggest factors to determine who wins and who loses.
"There's so many times in those innings, whether it's the end of the sixth or the seventh, it's not a clean inning," Francona said. "Somebody's got to be able to come in and get 'em out now. When you have that guy, it's really big. Andrew being left-handed complements Shaw and Cody, so we try to use them when we think it makes sense."
The matchups of the upcoming lineup and usage in previous days also affects when Miller, Shaw and Allen might enter a game. Managers have the unenviable task of managing the arms of more than half a dozen pitchers in the bullpen across a 162-game season. The right situation in the game might come along, but the availability of the desired pitcher won't always line up. Francona tries to use pitchers once they warm up, since otherwise it's a wasted night of throwing in the bullpen.
"I get a little irritated when I hear "statheads," they'll say, 'Why doesn't this guy bring him in in this situation? The game was on the line, it was the sixth inning,'" Francona said. "Well one, that means you have to warm him up. And what if a guy hits into a double play? What if he hits a home run? You would literally kill your bullpen. And believe me, if you wouldn't kill your bullpen, guys would do it. It's not so much I think the old school versus the new school or anything like that. It's just common sense that you can't hurt guys."
Francona likes versatility in pretty much every situation. It's why the Indians at times carry eight relievers, which allows him to play the matchups more often. It's also why a guy like Jose Ramirez or Mike Aviles or Michael Martinez or Erik Gonzalez will have a place on the 25-man roster. The ability to play a wide range of positions allows for more pinch-hit or pinch-run opportunities.
The usage of Miller was a major question mark when the Indians sent a package of valuable prospects to the New York Yankees to acquire his services. It's warranted a deeper look. But he hasn't been the only lights-out Indians reliever lately.
Allen was hit for five runs in a blown save earlier this week. But he also, prior to that, had only given up one earned run since late June _ roughly six weeks of appearances with one earned run, which came in a 6-3 win. Meanwhile Shaw, who many have called to lose his job as a setup man, recently went through a streak of 25-in-26 scoreless appearances.
In Shaw and Allen _ along with Dan Otero, who's been terrific as well _ the Indians already had a formidable bullpen, especially lately. Miller has taken it to the next level, and given Francona a proverbial trump card when leading a close game in the later innings. As has been shown in the past couple of weeks, that new, $9 million card can be played in a wide range of situations.
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