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I still think of rotations as five men in five days, with “normal” rest being four days. That’s really not the case any more. Rasmussen, to pick a guy, made seven starts on four days’ rest, 18 on five days’ rest, and five on six or more days’ rest. Peralta made ten starts on four days’ rest, 22 on five or more. Across MLB, just 29% of all starts were made on four days’ rest. The five-man rotation has really become a six-day rotation, another contributing factor to the diminishing workloads of starting pitchers. (Fantasy players have surely noticed the decline of two-start weeks over time.)
So knowing he’s getting just one more start from Rasmussen and Peralta each in this series, Cash has chosen to keep them on their usual six-day rotation rather than the every-fourth-game calendar that is more typical for the postseason. I don’t think it’s how I would have done it, but I can see the rationale. I would imagine, if the Rays advance, Cash will then use the two on four days’ rest in the first two games of the World Series.
(There’s a conversation that begins, “If they’re only going to pitch every sixth day or so, why can’t they pitch deeper into games?” that we can have in December. Pitcher development and usage are broken.)
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