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Tonight, The Cleveland Guardians Brought In A Position Player To Pitch...IN THE 6TH INNING

I thought that this was a mistake when I saw the box score. We see position players coming to pitch more often than we ever have. Teams are more aware than ever about how vital bullpen depth is. What’s the difference between a 10-0 loss and a 15-0 loss? With that said, the sixth inning? Something must’ve gone horribly wrong. Well, something did go horribly wrong for the Cleveland Guardians. Lucas Giolito has been a complete disaster in the second half of the season. He made his Cleveland debut tonight and got absolutely rocked. Terry Francona waved the white flag and went with David Fry in the sixth inning.

I know there are fans out there who enjoy seeing position players take the mound. And when I say position players, I’m not talking about Shohei Ohtani. I’m talking about the backup catcher who gets brought in to throw 55 mph meatballs to save the bullpen. I’m not one of those who gets enjoyment from that stuff. It’s embarrassing. It’s almost as embarrassing as the fact that we had to watch pitchers try to hit for decades. I know that occasionally, we get a cool moment like when Kody Clemens struck out Ohtani, but for the most part, it’s pathetic. 

I’m going to get a lot of hate for this, but this is why there needs to be a mercy rule in Major League Baseball. Just forfeit the game. Putting a position player on the mound is no different than putting in your third-stringers in a football game when you’re down by 50 points. You are openly admitting that this game is no longer within reach. 

I'll admit that I'm very jaded when it comes to this. The Tigers use a position player on the mound like every other week, and I'm just traumatized by it now. But I don't think that this shit is cool. And hey, credit to David Fry. He went out there and took it like a champ. As of now, this game is still going on. I don't know what the Guardians will do for the rest of the night, but using a position player in the 6th just doesn't sit well with me.