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Cutters’ bullpen hasn’t been as elite as it was in first half

By NICOLAS SEVERINI 4 min read

How important is dependence? For a baseball coach, it just might be the most important aspect of a ballclub.

Having realistic expectations for what a guy is going to do on the diamond is vital to setting a lineup, developing a rotation, and knowing who to pick out of the pen depending on what situation.

For the Williamsport Crosscutters, despite being above .500 as the second-half champion approaches its apex, the Cutters have found themselves making many decisions on the go.

No more imperative is Williamsport's lottery than the options coming out of the bullpen. An area of Williamsport's game that was elite en route to their first half title, Crosscutter pitching off of the bullpen has been less of a strategic tug of war and more the purchasing of a lottery ticket.

"I'm still looking for dependability," admitted Williamsport Crosscutter manager Kenny Thomas after Wednesday's 9-7 win against West Virginia; a contest that saw the Cutters concede 17 hits despite ending up victorious. "That's one of the hard things with this team, is dependability."

That victory proved indicative of how Williamsport has operated in the second half. After conceding four runs on nine hits in just the first two innings, the Cutters would claw back thanks to an elite relief showing from Matthew Mariano. Now armed with the lead in the eighth inning, the Cutters would fumble, bumble, and tumble themselves into a late win despite conceding runs in each of the last three innings. A common interaction with Manager Kenny Thomas after a win this month isn't the typical excitement and joy of a notch in the win column, but rather a sign of relief and a "How did we manage that?" attitude.

"I try to tell guys, I'd rather my batter be a .300 hitter that I know every day is a .300 hitter then a batter that's a .350 guy that's .450 this week and .200 the next … the same thing goes with pitching. I need to know what you are going to do, and we've had trouble with that. And that has been one thing that has hurt us this second half is that I have no idea what they are gonna do."

As for what could change to make the Cutters more consistent in the late innings, the early impression from the staff is that the aforementioned Mariano is at the heart of it. A remnant of the first half champions, Mariano's six second half appearances are fourth most out of the bullpen. In spite of that, the long arm reliever can be mistaken for a starter with his 16 innings pitched on the year in that same span for a 4.50 earned run average. With a vast majority of Mariano's runs coming in his third trip through the lineup, pressure will increase for Mariano to be used more often but for an inning or two rather than for three or four.

The issue becomes clear of Williamsport's bullpen woes when its discovered that only one other relief arm has an earned run average of five or less. Joel Tornero has been the exception, compacting a 3.21 earned run average and, with a two for two mark on save opportunities, has been the primary closer in the second half.

That isn't to say there isn't hope for a deeper pen. Coming out to Williamsport during the second-half season, 6-feet, 9-inch slinger Bobby Helt (three appearances, 5.06 earned run average, and seven strikeouts) and Tyler Muscar (two appearances, 3.1 innings pitched, one earned run and three strikeouts) show signs that the future for Williamsprot's pen can be brighter.

The pressure for it to do so will not dissipate. With four starters on the team mustering an earned run average of five or less and three wings at four and a half or less, the pressure for Williamsport to close out leads is expected to grow as the season reaches its conclusion.

Starting at /week.