Gone are the days of shutdown pitchers in the latter stages of a baseball game. Sure, dominating arms still exists in terms of velocity, but the true definition of “closer” is passé in today’s game. Here’s the reason: strategy. Who would have ever thought that the methodical strategy that goes into a baseball game could actually works against a team? The Pirates scored five runs in the eighth inning to defeat the New York Mets. It was interesting to watch how Mets manager Jerry Manual attempted to set up favorable lefty-righty matchups between his pitching staff and Pirates hitters. Only, it didn’t work. The Pirates played small ball to bat around in the inning en route to victory.

Teams often impose too many “matchups” in games. I’ve never been a strong believer in the lefty-righty battles, the set up man, the specialist, the closer, etc. I understand situational baseball, but ...