Teach me about Bracket vs. Pool pitchers

[abbygale]

My kid has played travel since first year 12's (playing 18's now) and I have heard about this bracket vs. pool pitching before but I don't know that I've seen it in reality nor do I understand it. I am not talking about showcase - exhibition teams. I get what most are trying to accomplish in that situation.

I understand those who are somewhat new to the pitching game and the feeling that there is a big drop off sometimes in quality of pitching, so I am wondering if the better a-level teams actually do this versus platooning thru the tournament. Most decent tournaments require you to get thru 5-7 teams on top of pool play and I don't see how that bracket/pool system could be effective without 4-6 pitchers. What about those tournaments with only 12-14 entries?

Do teams in your area carry that many pitchers or do they pick up a lot of guest pitching? Is there that many pitchers available that really work on their craft for these teams or is it more of a "I work to this level so I play to this level" within a tournament?

How does this work from 14's on up? I would tell any parent to run from this at 10-12's.

 

[CoogansBluff]

I'd never heard of pool pitchers and bracket pitchers until moving to N.C. from Georgia, perhaps because the pool-then-bracket tournament format is more common here. But a pool pitcher is one that the coach believes isn't good enough yet to be effective when the games really count, that is, bracket play. A bracket pitcher is one that is counted on in bracket play.

These are just descriptions, not official roles. A ''bracket'' pitcher will often pitch in pool play as well, either to get sharp, or because the team doesn't have that many pitchers. And a ''pool'' pitcher might pitch in bracket play if needed. These terms would be like calling someone a ''middle-of-the-lineup'' hitter. Doesn't mean that's where they have to hit. It just describes how a team or coach sees the player.

Another poster on another thread expressed a disdain for these labels, and I don't care much for them either.

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Everybody has a role to play on the team. Some are more glorious than others.

The part that I hate is the "Bracket Pitcher" that shows up on Sunday. I mean teams can do what they want and all that. ANd I have seen teams do this pretty consistently without "shown-on-surface" issues. But I always wonder about the peace and tranquility of a team where the princess bracket pitcher just drops in on Sunday.

 

[riseball]

I have never been able to have a staff of more than 3 quality pitchers. More than that and somebody will not be happy. Typically I run with 3 plus another "mop up" pitcher where pitching is not her primary position.

 

[abbygale]

Have you seen this happen with teams playing less than an 18gold type schedule?

 

[RubberBiscuit]

Have you seen this happen with teams playing less than an 18gold type schedule?

We had an 18U TB-A level team that would get back their Corona Angels (TB-Gold) "hired gun" from the west coast just in time for Sunday's ASA-state. Again, that entire team looked very peaceful with this..... So it happens.

 

[pctrips]

We have 3 pitchers and they all rotate through pool and bracket play. No specialists at this point but this is first year 12u.

 

[riseball]

We had an 18U TB-A level team that would get back their Corona Angels (TB-Gold) "hired gun" from the west coast just in time for Sunday's ASA-state. Again, that entire team looked very peaceful with this..... So it happens.

Such was the case with my DD last summer. She was a "hired gun" and only used when needed. Had some tourneys where she got her share of innings, others where she did not get to the circle. Everyone was fine with the arrangement.

 

[FP26]

This may vary by region, but my understanding of the terms is similar to how major league baseball teams adjust their rotations for the playoffs. During the regular season, the standard is a 5 man rotation. Once the playoffs start, this typically gets reduced to a 4 man rotation. The odd man out is sent to the bullpen.

In our region most tournaments include 3 pool games on Saturday followed by single elimination on Sunday. You could plan to have 3 starters on Saturday, but unless you play a minimum of 3 games on Sunday, someone will be left out or will need to pitch in relief. So basically Saturday is the "regular season" and Sunday is the "playoffs".

 

[riseball]

Have you seen this happen with teams playing less than an 18gold type schedule?

I think it will work at any level. Then again I platoon my pitchers and catchers in and out. Rarely does a pitcher throw a complete game unless we are deep into Sunday. I have found it is much easier on both pitchers and catchers to do multiple appearances throughout the day than single long sessions. However, that requires a significant leap of faith to pull a pitcher and catcher in the 4th inning when they have a no-hitter going to swap them out. Hopefully we are up by 2-3 runs otherwise you can have some pretty anxious moments.