quote:
If I was going to gamble, it would not be with Kent as, to me, he is as valuable as Long right now. I would start Larkins, Simonds, or Hill. Hendrix is too valuable as a reliever as is Vinny. But I trust Coach Childress. He has made all the right decisions.
The thing about Kent is he is the one guy on our staff that you could see getting through five innings on around 70 pitches, then being able to come back and give you 40 or 50 more on Monday if we had to play the "if necessary" game. You used to see this all the time when we had six team regionals spread over 4 days--you'd start your ace in game one, and hope to pull him early enough that he could come back and pitch on the final day.
You also have to consider the psychological effect it has on the team. If you run out a Larkins, Simonds, or Hill against TSU, you are really putting the pressure on your lineup (and your defense), and telling them you expect them to go out and score a bunch of runs to cover the gamble you are taking on the mound. The most likely result, unless our pitcher really rises to the occasion, is you end up in a very tight, uncomfortable first game. If you run Kent out there, you're putting someone that they have confidence in out on the mound which ought to give them a chance to relax and just play the game.