Padres Can't Afford For Craig Stammen's Questionable Pitching Management To Haunt Them In Postseason

Players always say that the game speeds up on them when the MLB postseason rolls around. Now imagine what it does for managers, who have to be looking three steps ahead, whether it is regarding the bullpen, a pinch-hitter, a pinch-runner or some other situation where a split-second decision can make the difference in winning or losing a playoff game.

In other words, where is your trust level for first-year manager Craig Stammen as he prepares to take the San Diego Padres into the postseason? There is reason to be a little wary of Stammen and his decision-making entering the biggest games of the season. And it all has to do with how he handles pitchers.

All you have to do is look back a couple weeks ago when the Friars hosted the Washington Nationals on Sept. 9. Veteran right-handed starter Walker Buehler had given up a leadoff homer and a bases-loaded RBI single to trail 2-0 in the top of the third inning.

After getting a pop-out for the first out, Stammen walked out with the intention of removing Buehler. As he continued his path to the mound, he changed his mind. But Buehler's fate was already sealed. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla had already made a trip out to counsel Buehler. Stammen chatted with Buehler, who was miffed that the manager was out there in the first place, then walked to the back of the mound as Stammen headed back to the dugout. That is when the umpires stepped in and, since it was the second mound visit, required a new pitcher be brought into the game.

Now, it all worked out for Stammen and the Padres that day. The bullpen allowed just one hit and no runs over the final 5⅔ innings in what would be a 9-2 victory over the Nationals, the fifth straight win in what would be an eight-game winning streak. Stammen fessed up in his postgame press conference to forgetting Niebla's visit. Perhaps he knew before he went out to make the change, but it escaped him as he went over that choice as he approached Buehler on the mound. That is also the reason why Niebla didn't stop Stammen. The decision had been made.

It can be brushed off considering the result, but it also has to raise the concern level for Stammen's split-second decision-making as big moments approach in a postseason game.

There have been other moments during the season where Stammen has discussed his thought process behind a pitching decision where he leaned toward trusting a pitcher when the better move was to bring in another arm. That's very understandable considering Stammen was a reliever during his career; as a pitcher, you always want to be trusted to do the job in a certain situation.

Perhaps the only times that Stammen hasn't hesitated was when the decision involved superstar closer Mason Miller. When in doubt, even with trusted left-hander Adrian Morejon on the mound, Stammen will go to Miller to secure the victory. Now, that can be the right move at any opportunity in the postseason, but it can lead to overuse in the regular season of certain relievers, while not allowing other relievers to build confidence in those situations.

Now, the Padres are making a third straight trip to the postseason, the first time that has happened in the franchise's 58 seasons, eyeing a third consecutive 90-win season after having just four previously. Stammen deserves credit for getting the Friars this far.

But Morejon, right-hander Bradgley Rodriguez, and Miller have pitched in the most games of any Padres reliever. Morejon has blown past his previous career high for innings and Miller just recently did, while Rodriguez is in his first full MLB season. Now, those three will be shouldering the load, especially if this team advances deep into October.

Stammen's choice in Sept. 19 game vs. the Miami Marlins for Miller to come in for a five-out save after Morejon had issued back-to-back walks in the eighth inning was surprising. Miller got out of the jam with runners on the corners by striking out the first two batters he faced. But in the ninth, the closer missed his spot on a 1-0 four-seamer to Griffin Conine, with the Marlins pinch-hitter taking him deep and tying the game. This was the Ethan Salas walk-off game, so again, it worked out. Would the eighth and ninth have gone differently if Morejon had faced another batter or two in the eighth and Miller began the ninth? We will never know. But the extra work that Miller has had to put in—willingly put in, too—could come back to haunt Stammen and the Padres in the postseason.

Stammen will rightfully go to Miller early in a postseason game (two innings max). You just hope that his previous workload doesn't diminish what he can do in these important games.

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