Notes: Josh Hader's ability to transition to relieving made it easier to keep him there
PHOENIX– They don’t hand out business cards to players with their job descriptions listed but if they did, for the first time in his career, Josh Hader’s would say “relief pitcher.”
Last spring, the Milwaukee Brewers’ talented left-hander was still considered a starting pitcher. When he was assigned to Class AAA Colorado Springs to begin the season, that was the role in which he performed.
When the Brewers summoned Hader to the majors in early June for his debut, however, they decided it would be best for him, and the team, to break in as a reliever. That decision proved beneficial to all parties when Hader took to the role like a mouse to cheese, posting a 2.08 earned run average over 35 appearances with 68 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings and 0.986 WHIP.
Hader, 23, was so impressive in relief that the Brewers’ brain trust decided to keep him in the pen at the outset of 2018, even though they had openings in the starting rotation. Making the choice easier was Hader’s total willingness to do whatever wanted of him – as long as it’s in the major leagues, of course.
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The Brewers were careful with the outset about giving Hader time to warm up last season but manager Craig Counsell said he would be treated like any other reliever this year.
“I think, from our end, we were on the conservative side of that from the start, for probably the first month,” Counsell said. “We thought that was prudent with him being a young pitcher who had never pitched out of the bullpen. So, we gave him a transition period with that. By the end of the season, I had no concerns with it.”
As for Hader’s willingness to embrace relieving, Counsell said, “Guys that enjoy relieving, one thing they get out of it is, ‘I’m involved nearly every day.’ They get the thrill of competing nearly every day. I think Josh loves that; he looks forward to that.
“He got to pitch in some really big spots, some fun spots, in games he had a huge impact in. He just got to do it more, from his perspective. The way Josh looks at this is, ‘I love to compete. I love chances to be out there a little more.’ He carries that mentality of ‘What do you want me to do?’ From my end, I love it.”
Knowing from the outset this spring that he will be used solely in relief allows Hader to settle into a specific routine with other members of the bullpen. From that perspective, Hader thinks the adjustment period is over, for the most part, in his transition from starting.
“It’s just having a routine and making sure you’re prepared every day,” he said. “I know what’s expected of me now, so that makes it a little easier. It’s still sort of new and I have a lot to learn. There’s things I need to add to my game to make myself better.
“Just being around the guys who have done it helps. It’s still a learning process. My mind set is I still have to make the team. I take nothing for granted. Each of us has something to work on. I just want to be as consistent as I can be.”
Pace of play: As expected, MLB announced Monday there will be pace-of-play initiatives put into effect for the 2018 season. Commissioner Rob Manfred decided to hold off on using a pitch clock, however, so the main change is a limit on mound visits during the game.
Teams will be limited to six mound visits per nine-inning games, with an extra one added for each extra inning played. Mound visits are not only defined by trips by the manager and/or pitching coach but also any player leaving his position to confer with the pitcher, including the catcher.
Counsell said he’d need some time to digest all of the elements of the initiatives but conceded that everyone involved needs to be aware of picking up the pace of play.
“I do think we can collectively improve the pace of the games,” he said. “But I don’t think we’ve agreed on the best way to do it. It might take some experimentation on what is the best way to do it. I’m fine with some experimentation on ways to get there.
“Everyone is going to have a different idea on this, and why everybody has a different idea is it affects different people’s jobs, where you put the pace of play procedures in. You put the clock in, it affects the pitcher. You put the batter’s box thing, it affects the hitters.
“The mound visits, it affects a lot of people in my opinion. It affects the catchers, it affects everybody in the bullpen, it affects the manager’s decision, it affects the pitching coach’s decision. I’m a little wary of it because of how many people that it could affect, and I do think there’s a little bit of a health issue (with relievers’ readiness) in some of this stuff. But we’ll see what it is, and I hope we can make it work.
“I do hope we can improve the pace. I would have that goal to do that, and it’s going to require some change for all of us. We can’t just say no off the bat to that. We have to look at it and try it. I don’t know if we’ll get a feel for it in the spring, though. I don’t think limiting mound visits, you’ll get any feel for it in the spring.”
Brewers announce spring broadcast schedule: The Brewers will broadcast 14 Cactus League games on AM-620, 12 on Fox Sports Wisconsin and webcast 12 more games at Brewers.com, the team announced Monday.
The team's usual radio team, consisting of Bob Uecker, Jeff Levering and Lane Grindle, will call the radio broadcasts while analyst Bill Schroeder will once again team up with Brian Anderson and Matt Lepay on the telecasts.
The webcasts will include a combination of the TV and radio announcers pairing up with Brewers alumni.
The first TV broadcast is scheduled for Friday from Maryvale Baseball Park, where the Brewers will host the Chicago Cubs.
In all, only two Brewers games won't be broadcast in some form this spring -- their split-squad opener that day (the team also plays the San Francisco Giants in Scottsdale) and another split-squad game on March 21 against the Seattle Mariners in Peoria.
