Have the Sox adopted (officially or unofficially) the "third time through the batting order" penalty as a primary constraint for handling the pitching staff? It sure seems that way to me - except perhaps for Eovaldi.
I'm not even sure that's an actual thing - I think that the science is far from settled - some smart folks contend that the batting order penalty is really just a pitch count penalty viewed from another angle.
Even if it is a real thing, further shortening the length of starter outings would seem counterintuitive - even with an efficient rotation and a deep, quality bullpen, neither of which the Sox have.
Forgive me if this is being discussed elsewhere, but I haven't been a regular here for many years. Still, I wanted to bounce this question off the smartest baseball folks I know because I can't find the answer elsewhere.
I'm not even sure that's an actual thing - I think that the science is far from settled - some smart folks contend that the batting order penalty is really just a pitch count penalty viewed from another angle.
Even if it is a real thing, further shortening the length of starter outings would seem counterintuitive - even with an efficient rotation and a deep, quality bullpen, neither of which the Sox have.
Forgive me if this is being discussed elsewhere, but I haven't been a regular here for many years. Still, I wanted to bounce this question off the smartest baseball folks I know because I can't find the answer elsewhere.