Wainwright belongs in the rotation for the same reason Pujols belongs on first base. Both have nagging injuries that could suddenly spring up at any moment, however you don’t sit pujols on the bench and wait for the highest leverage point in the game to pinch-hit with him. You give him as many at-bats as possible while preserving his RBI potential.

Wainwright displaces a starter who he will be at least twice as good as, whereas in the closer’s role he displaces a talented rookie who also has the advantage of his first trip through the league on his side. His ERA will not be half of Perez’s ERA, while it could easily be half of our fifth starter’s.

Even in the nightmare scenario; Wainwright no longer has the fortitude to throw his curveball, he’s a FB/Slider/Change pitcher. While his curveball has been nothing short of ridiculous (as high as 40% swings and misses he will certainly miss it) his slider has always been very good, and his changeup is well-hidden in his fastball movement-wise. Three decent pitches does suffice for a starter.

I don’t see how the Cards can use Wainwright as the closer when Carpenter’s status is still up in the air. He’s gone for 3 starts, maybe more. Thompson did fine tonight, but so did the bullpen, providing a combined 4 innings of scoreless relief. And surprise, surprise, nary a Franklin or an Isringhausen to be seen. Garcia to McClellan to Perez looks like our best combo right now, and maybe, and save the other guys for lower-leverage situations. But Wainwright needs to start. We need a guy who gives us a 70% chance of winning on any given day, like Carp and Wainwright do, even more than we need a closer, as long as Perez continues performing the way he has been.

Has anyone else noticed that in spring training and in April, when the starting rotation was unsettled, the competition brought out the best in Wellemeyer, Looper, Lohse, even Thompson? And when the rotation was set, all but Lohse became erratic, going from quality start to horrible outing? And has anyone else noticed that now, with Carpenter’s (questionable) return and Wainright’s imminent return, the second-tier starters are humming again? Silly as it sounds, the Cards may be better off dangling Wainright as a potential starter long as possible!

On the other hand, why is it that the bullpen has not similarly responded to the competition factor? I’m guessing it’s that when Jimenez, Perez, Boggs, etc, aren’t effective, they are sent to Memphis, only to return a week or two later, i.e., other than Perez, these are all wannabe starters that see no hope of making the team as a starter, and the bullpen vs Memphis fate provides little incentive once the thrill of making it to the bigs has worn thin. And Izzy and Franklin have nowhere else to go this year.

Perhaps the sadder thing is that the unexpected foray into the pennant (or at least wild card) race hasn’t served to motivate these guys, especially the veterans. As for Wainright, he’s not one of the unmotivated. Although his ultimate value is as a starter, having him in the bullpen, yet as a potential starter, may spur the other pitchers to perform. Otherwise, his return to the rotation should bump Looper or Wellemeyr to the bullpen, not because they’re the worst of the five current starters, but because they’re strong early, and don’t seem to have those loss-of-concentration bad innings that Lohse and Pineiro have.

Last comment: Kyle McClellan has lost control of his fastball. Each outing he puts men on base in close games. Jaime Garcia’s much more impressive, in my view.

Wainwright needs to be in the rotation. I’m fine with letting Perez have an apprenticeship as closer. The experience should do him well going into 2009. And, he’s been pretty good so far. Much better than watching the nightly hijinx from Izzy.

Why do I keep seeing where people comment on his Curveball possibly not being there, but then state that he would have to be a Fastball, SLIDER, Changeup type pitcher?

Umm, you need that same pressure on your middle finger to throw your SLIDER.

If his finger can’t hold up enough to have an effective Curve, then the same is to be said about the Slider. EVEN if his Slider is more of the type thrown much like a Cutter………It all hinges on the pressure being placed on the middle finger.

As you mentioned, what good is it for Wainwright to pitch 7 shut out innings, if the bullpen is going to blow the lead? With TLR finally appearing to give in and annoint Perez as the closer, that problem is solved. I say let him start.

Why is this still a question? Perez is doing fine as the guy who happens to come in the 9th. He’s supposedly the closer of the future anyway. We used Wainwright in the closers role in the 2006 end of season as a rookie, who had been training as a starter. Why shouldn’t we continue with Perez in the same fashion?

Carp-Waino-Lohse is a valuable three.

Besides, we’re two years on from 06. Waino earned his spot at the top of the rotation. I don’t think that if the Sox or Yankees lost their closers that they’d pull their number two and make him a closer. Its just silly.

As a note to something someone said earlier. I am a believer in the Caple article.

It’s puzzling to hear Dave Duncan dismiss the idea of Carpenter and Wainwright making up 40 percent of the stretch run rotation. The fact is that Chris Perez is 4 for 4 in save opportunities, and, has looked extremely good doing that. Wainwright gives this team the best chance to win down the stretch when he is taking the ball every fifth day, not once every two or three to pitch one inning. Carpenter’s return is a big question, so why not just plug Wainwright back in the rotation and when, or IF, Carpenter comes back, you figure out what to do with Lohse/Looper/Wellemeyer/Piniero. Moving a guy who has a potential to be an ace, if he isn’t already, back-and-forth between the bullpen and the rotation is not good strategy…

As I recall there was a similar debate at the beginning of the season. There was much talk about whether Izzies legs would hold up and if Waino should be the closer. What has changed?

1. Starter throw more innings - period. Since runs count against you no matter the inning they were scored, get him more innings.

2. Closers close out games. You generally can’t close out a game without it being pitched well up to that point.

Nice try Derrick. BTW, as I recall you stated a preference for Waino as a starter during the preseason discussion.

Joepa,

Did my best not to reveal my opinion on this topic for two reasons: 1. The idea was to lay out the cases and let comments debate the way to a conclusion (if there was one), and, 2., I’ve said my opinion on KMOX and elsewhere several times. I cannot get away from the innings factor. Simple as that. If you’ve got a quality pitcher who can handle a starter’s innings then it seems to me the more better innings the better.

That said, the calendar offers a caveat. That’s the argument that others have presented that is hard to ignore: With only six weeks remaining how many starts could Wainwright have vs. how many games (read: wins) could he close for a playoff berth-chasing team.

One comment in here has taken it a step further, re-defining a team’s need not just on the role that’s open (or shaky) but also the Value Over the Current Player in that role.

dg
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