Series stoppers

The pen is mighty come October

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Posted: Monday October 19, 1998 05:53 PM

Long walk: Bochy has watched his bullpen allow seven runs in seven innings in the World Series AP

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- As sure as the leaves turn in October and the Chicago Cubs sit at home watching the World Series, the series winner is usually the team with the better bullpen.

In any series there's bound to be a time when a manager calls on his relievers to preserve a precarious lead. The San Diego bullpen let Bruce Bochy down in Game 1 of the World Series against the Yankees, blowing a 5-2 seventh-inning lead.

"All these games, bullpens are going to play a role," Bochy said. "You have to go to them. We feel like we have a good bullpen. That is why we stuck with what got us here."

Joe Torre's pen hasn't been tested yet in New York's first two wins -- that's the benefit of strong starters and an explosive offense -- but the New York relievers have responded when called upon.

They have allowed five runs in 26 postseason innings (1.73 ERA), with three runs coming after the botched bunt play against Cleveland and the other two coming with an eight-run lead on Sunday night.

The Yankees' bullpen, which turned major league games into Little League affairs in 1996 -- if they led after six inning, the game was over -- was the major reason why New York won the World Series two years ago against Atlanta. That Braves team has won just one World Series in seven postseason trips this decade in part because of the failings in the pen.

The Yankees were eliminated in the division series last year when Mariano Rivera allowed a game-tying homer to Sandy Alomar in the fourth game with New York four outs from advancing. The Indians lost the World Series when Jose Mesa couldn't protect a one-run, ninth-inning lead in Game 7 against Florida.

The two runs New York allowed in Game 4 against Cleveland were the only two the bullpen let up in 14 innings last year, but they left an indelible mark on the season. Rivera has tried to downplay Alomar's homer all season, displaying one of the most important qualities in a closer -- a short memory.

"It's in the past," he said. "This is 1998, not 1997."

But until Rivera shut down the Indians in the AL championship series, questions about his ability to close big games were still hovering. Rivera was no longer the overpowering pitcher he was in 1996, when he struck out 130 batters in 106 innings.

Despite saving 36 games, his strikeouts per inning dropped in half, raising the specter that he had become hittable. That changed in the postseason -- he has allowed just one hit in 10 1-3 shutout innings, striking out nine.

"What can you say about Mo? It's lights out when he comes in," said teammate Mike Stanton, who has a 1.11 career ERA in 32 1-3 postseason innings.

"Right now, I think he has more of a variety of stuff and the confidence of becoming a closer last year," Torre said. "There is a little bit of a learning process, how it is supposed to feel as opposed to what you do. This year, he is one of the best right now."

San Diego also has one of the best closers in Trevor Hoffman, who saved 53 games and had a 1.48 ERA this season. Including the postseason, San Diego has won 181 consecutive games when leading after eight. But Hoffman has yet to see the mound in the World Series because his team has not held a lead into the eighth inning.

The reason for that is the Padres' vulnerable middle relievers. In the last five games, the San Diego bullpen has allowed 15 runs in 17 innings, including seven ruins in Game 1.

"They are a big reason why we are in this situation and I don't want them to get down," Bochy said. "Sure things didn't work out [Saturday] night, but you have to put tough times behind you. This club does a great job of it."

In contrast, the Yankees' middle relievers -- led by Stanton, Jeff Nelson, Graeme Lloyd and Ramiro Mendoza -- have been solid. But the biggest difference between the two bullpens may stem from the quality of the starters.

"We get so much out of our starters, in bringing the bullpen in, we don't overuse them," Torre said. "When we need a piece here or a piece there, they are there for us."  

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