Super-Savers

The battle for the closer is inching towards Jason Motte, in Joe Strauss's opinion. That's fine, but it means that Chris Perez will be squeezed off the roster. But will that maximize the usefulness of Cardinal Pitching?

As of right now, the bullpen would be set up like this:
Closer - Jason Motte
RH Set Up - Ryan Franklin, Josh Kinney, Ryan McClellan
LH Set Up - Trevor Miller, Dennys Reyes
Long Relief - Brad Thompson

I'm fine with almost all of this. My almost is Ryan McClellan.

McClellan has too many pitches to be used as a reliever. Why not send him to Memphis to begin the transition to starting pitcher? He needs to gradually be extended, based off his injury history. In Memphis, they can work to extend him, while paying attention to his innings and pitch counts. It's much better than coming to spring training next year expecting him to start while only pitching 70-80 innings this year.

We know he can get out major league hitters; now is the time to move him to the starting role.

With McClellan starting in Memphis, Perez can take his spot and make the bullpen better. I say the bullpen would be better bacause there are more options for closing.

The 4-man competition for closer could stay as it is; Tony tends to know match ups pretty well, so he would have 4 options against hitters. Say the Phillies are in town and Ryan Howards coming up to bat. If Tony thought Franklin's had some struggles in the past against him, he's getting the night off and one of the other 3 would have the chance to face him.

It would also make better pitchers available to face better hitters. If the heart of a line up is coming up in the 8th, you could use Motte against them without worrying about who would be available to close. It goes back to using your best pitcher in high leverage situations - would you rather use your best pitcher in a tie game in the 8th, or with a 3 run lead in the 9th? I know Baseball Prospectus has looked at it in the past.