This is an excerpt from the Joe Sheehan Baseball Newsletter, an e-mail newsletter about all things
baseball, featuring analysis and opinion about the game on and off the
field from the perspective of the informed outsider. Joe Sheehan is a
founding member of Baseball Prospectus and a contributor to Sports Illustrated and Baseball America. He has been writing about baseball for more than 20 years.
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"We’re in an era in which managers have access to information that outside analysts do not. I’m reluctant, particularly this early in the season, to indict Kapler, because he may be picking his pitchers based on pitch type or arm action or the swing plane of the opposing hitters. What does seem to be certain is that he’s not picking them based on the save rule, or the inning-and-score model than has dominated reliever usage for a decade. How Kapler runs his bullpen -- a source of considerable controversy a year ago -- will be a fascinating topic this season."