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St. Louis Cardinals 2022
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<blockquote data-quote="pruman91" data-source="post: 1783282" data-attributes="member: 3916"><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/grounded-reliever-t-j-mcfarlands-departure-symbolizes-new-whiff-to-cardinals-bullpen/article_a4528a0e-8ba3-56e0-9e5d-8124a7d6e1cd.html[/URL]</p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.stltoday.com/users/profile/dgoold" target="_blank">Derrick Goold</a></p><p>DENVER — The Cardinals’ decision to remove veteran lefty T.J. McFarland from the roster was a response to an immediate need and the best illustration yet of an ongoing trend to reimagine how they populate their bullpen.</p><p>Ground balls are so last year.</p><p>Whiffs are the current rage.</p><p>A year after the Cardinals acquired McFarland and stabilized the bullpen because he threw strikes and got grounders, they designated the reliever for assignment, preparing for his potential release. The Cardinals brought back right-hander Jake Woodford to the active roster so he can provide innings if needed at Coors Field in a series that concludes Thursday. But the choice to move on from McFarland also was a matter of style. Lefty Packy Naughton had proven more effective in the role recently and had the fourth-best strikeout rate on the team, twice McFarland’s.</p><p></p><p>“I think you’re asking about balls in play,” manager Oliver Marmol countered when asked about the shift in approach for the bullpen in just a few months. “Yeah. Correct. Correct. At the end of the day, one guy has more swing-and-miss than the other. I love swing-and-miss.”</p><p>It’s quite a pivot from a year ago when the addition of McFarland and other grounded pitchers was heralded as the Cardinals’ model to exploit their elite defense. It also was a way to get a pitching staff that led the majors in walks and hit batters back in the strike zone, back to inviting weak contact, and no longer sabotaging itself.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="pruman91, post: 1783282, member: 3916"] [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/grounded-reliever-t-j-mcfarlands-departure-symbolizes-new-whiff-to-cardinals-bullpen/article_a4528a0e-8ba3-56e0-9e5d-8124a7d6e1cd.html[/URL] [URL='https://www.stltoday.com/users/profile/dgoold']Derrick Goold[/URL] DENVER — The Cardinals’ decision to remove veteran lefty T.J. McFarland from the roster was a response to an immediate need and the best illustration yet of an ongoing trend to reimagine how they populate their bullpen. Ground balls are so last year. Whiffs are the current rage. A year after the Cardinals acquired McFarland and stabilized the bullpen because he threw strikes and got grounders, they designated the reliever for assignment, preparing for his potential release. The Cardinals brought back right-hander Jake Woodford to the active roster so he can provide innings if needed at Coors Field in a series that concludes Thursday. But the choice to move on from McFarland also was a matter of style. Lefty Packy Naughton had proven more effective in the role recently and had the fourth-best strikeout rate on the team, twice McFarland’s. “I think you’re asking about balls in play,” manager Oliver Marmol countered when asked about the shift in approach for the bullpen in just a few months. “Yeah. Correct. Correct. At the end of the day, one guy has more swing-and-miss than the other. I love swing-and-miss.” It’s quite a pivot from a year ago when the addition of McFarland and other grounded pitchers was heralded as the Cardinals’ model to exploit their elite defense. It also was a way to get a pitching staff that led the majors in walks and hit batters back in the strike zone, back to inviting weak contact, and no longer sabotaging itself. [/QUOTE]
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