PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – The Pirates added another arm to the bullpen on Friday. In some situations that could cause tension or anxiety between pitchers as to how it will change their role. Not with this group, which is partly why it's so special.
Friday the Bucs activated Rob Zastryzny from the injured list to add a second left-hander. It's not caused any issues with a group that is about the goals rather than the individuals. As reliever Colin Holderman told 93.7 The Fan, there are really no egos out there. Everyone is out there to be a good teammate and compete.
Manager Derek Shelton said the tone is set by two men-first bullpen coach Justin Meccage. Shelton says Meccage goes a great job of running the group and not worried about being second-guessed, which happens often in that position. He outlines the plan and has conversations with the players face-to-face to then discuss if they have issues.
Second-is closer David Bednar with nine saves, a 0.56 ERA, 0.75 WHIP with 21 strikeouts to one walk in 16 innings.
"When the guy that pitches last has no ego, it makes it a lot easier for everybody else to have no ego," Shelton said. "David's one of the elite closers in the game, but if we asked him to pitch in the sixth, he'd pitch in the sixth and wouldn't blink at it."
"We are going out there to do it, not just for us but for our team," Holderman said. "We are just trying to pass the torch to the next guy and eventually get it to Bednar in the ninth."
They've done that very successfully leading the National League in bullpen ERA.
Holderman with a 2.81 ERA, no home runs allowed in 16 appearances with 19 strikeouts and four walks. Robert Stephenson with a 1.64 ERA, Dauri Moreta with 29 strikeouts in 20 innings and a 1.00 WHIP, Rule 5 Pick Jose Hernandez with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP and now Zastryzny.
"No egos is huge," said Pirates catcher Jason Delay. "I think everyone wants to be out there throwing the leverage innings and not everyone can throw those innings. It's a good group of guys. No matter the situation they are out there competing and helping the team win."
Why no 100mph?
They have a couple of arms that can do it. Why haven't the Pirates been hitting the gun at 100 miles-an-hour much, if at all, this year.
"We've got some guys who probably can go to 100 mph, but 100 mph out of the zone is not as effective as 96-98 mph in the zone," Shelton said Friday. "The other thing that goes into it is, when most guys go to 100 mph, it's max effort and they lose their delivery. We need to make sure they stay in their delivery."
But what about the attention that's paid when a pitcher hits triple digits?
"I hope their ego is not based around how hard they throw because this is not a tryout camp," Shelton added. "It's a situation where they have to get outs. If we're going to a tryout camp, yeah, throwing 100 mph looks really cool, but getting big league hitters out is a lot cooler than that."
