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Which World Series manager makes better use of his bullpen?

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

SAN FRANCISCO — Sergio Romo said something interesting after one of the Giants’ NLCS wins here last week.

Asked about switching roles in early July, when manager Bruce Bochy stripped Romo of his closer’s responsibilities, the veteran right-hander said, “My role never changed. I’m a relief pitcher.”

That is exactly the attitude I’ve long held should be ingrained in relievers everywhere. Increased specialization and a trend toward pre-set bullpen roles can frustrate fans when managers refuse to turn to their most talented bullpen arms in big spots in the middle innings, instead often leaving the game’s most difficult situations to guys who are almost by definition among the worst pitchers on their staffs.

This postseason alone, Bruce Bochy has used Jeremy Affledt in the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth innings. Javier Lopez have seen spots in the sixth, seventh, eighth and tenth. Romo typically works in the eighth but has entered games in the ninth and tenth.

“We’re used to it, to be honest with you,” Affeldt said after Tuesday’s Game 1 win in Kansas City. “We know in the playoffs, we’ve got to be ready at all times. He might view the fifth inning as the seventh if he has to. We’ve been around him enough, and he’s prepared us a little bit for that in the season. And the communication’s good, so we’re always aware of it.”

“They know me, I know them, and they know what to expect,” says Bochy. “The only way this works is they have to be unselfish about this and set aside their egos and hopefully do what’s best for the club.

“We made a change with the closers, and Romo, I mean, he didn’t come to my office and complain or anything. He stepped in that eighth inning and he’s done a great job. I’ve used Jeremy early. I’ve used him late. Same with Lopez. They’re all in on this, and hopefully they trust me and I trust them, and that’s how this works.”

By reputation, Royals manager Ned Yost is much less flexible with his relievers. In reality, the difference mostly comes down to Yost’s reliance on Kelvin Herrera for the seventh inning, since both the Giants and Royals consistently go to the same eighth- and ninth-inning specialists late in game. But all the Royals’ close wins this postseason have highlighted both the rigidness and the effectiveness of Yost’s formula: Herrera in the seventh, Wade Davis in the eighth, Greg Holland in the ninth.

Kelvin Herrera (USA TODAY Sports Images)

Kelvin Herrera (USA TODAY Sports Images)

“I think that guys get themselves mentally ready when they have consistent roles,” Yost said. “You watch Herrera, you watch Wade Davis, they know that, ‘hey, when we get to the 7th inning with the lead, that’s my territory.’ We get to the eighth inning with the lead, Wade knows that’s his territory. So they prepare accordingly.

“I think when you have defined roles, it’s easier on everybody.”

Many quibble with Yost’s methodology, but it’s impossible to argue that he did not get incredible performances out of his late-inning relievers all season. None of Herrera, Davis and Holland finished the season with an ERA over 1.50. Davis, a converted starter, emerged as one of the game’s most dominant relievers while entering 59 of his 71 appearances in the eighth inning.

“It’s good to know you’ve got a role, instead of going into the season trying to work out a role and seeing how it plays out,” Davis said. “From the start of the season, I knew that was going to be my role — mine to have and mine to lose. It’s been good getting a routine for it.

“It’s a little bit more of a guessing game when you’re not doing that. You’ve got to be ready for almost any inning. It’s helped a lot knowing.”

That makes sense: For as easy as it is to say from afar that relievers should simply be prepared to get hitters out whenever they’re asked, playing Major League Baseball is really, really hard. And it stands to reason that guys would benefit from having a sharper sense of when they’ll enter a game so they can prepare accordingly, from both the physical and mental standpoints.

And Bochy would not necessarily be so flexible were it not for his veteran personnel.

“I’ve had to set roles (in the past),” he says. “But we had a lot of interchangeable parts, I guess you could say. I think they’re comfortable, whether it’s middle or late. I’ve had the luxury of having guys that are able to do that. You don’t have to define their roles so much. Because a lot of relievers want to know, ‘Am in the sixth or the seventh?'”

Outside of a rough sixth inning for the Giants’ relief corps in Wednesday night’s game, both bullpens have been outstanding throughout the postseason. Neither club would still be playing if they hadn’t been.

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