Today, the Royals announced that Kyle Farnsworth would be competing for a spot in the starting rotation. My first thought was "why?", which over the next few hours turned into "why not?"
It's a perfectly good question. Why not try him as a starter? Farnsworth has long toiled as a tormented set up man all across baseball. But he has never once been a starting pitcher. He isn't really built like a pitcher, more like a UFC fighter. He's had his chances in the bullpen and he usually blew them. But the funny thing is, when he pitches in low pressure situation, the guy gets people out. He had a 19 inning scoreless streak last year (which was broken when he appeared in a late innings situation and blew a lead). My point is, why not give him no lead to work with? Baseball is a mental game and has driven men crazy (See Dykstra, Lenny). Let's face it, if you're a pitcher you have to be mentally tough. Especially if you're in the bullpen. But I think the psychological advantage of being in the rotation is that there is less pressure on you than sitting on a bench for 3 hours and then being thrust into a game threatening situation.
I don't know if I could fully endorse the move, but like I said, why not?
I agree totally. As inept as Farnsworth is in pressure situations, he usually pitches pretty well in mop-up roles. Now, of course some of that is because the game is out of hand and the opposing players do not have the same intensity. But I think its a good thing to try, if only for the fact that it gets him out of the bullpen.
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