When Bryan Woo walked out to the Seattle Mariners’ bullpen in the third inning of their ALCS Game 3 loss Wednesday, it certainly raised some eyebrows.
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While there appeared to be no chance he would be appearing in the game that night, the possibility arose that he could be used out of the ‘pen in his return rather than as a starter for Game 5, as many believed. After the game, manager Dan Wilson was asked why Woo had gone to the ‘pen.
“I think a good chance for him tonight to just get out there and get acclimated in case that’s a place where he comes out of later in the series,” Wilson said. “So a chance to just get comfortable out there and see what it’s like. So that’s really what it was about tonight for Bryan.”
It wasn’t the first time Woo has spent time during a game in the bullpen. In college, 25 of his 31 pitching appearances were as a reliever. But coming out of the bullpen for his first appearance since leaving his Sept. 19 start in Houston with tightness in his pectoral muscle is an interesting option that makes sense in the case of Woo.
While celebrating the Mariners’ 15-inning, ALDS-clinching win last Friday, analysts and former Mariners relievers Ryan Rowland-Smith and Charlie Furbush brought up on the radio postgame show the question of how Woo would be brought back, cautioning that it may not be as easy of a reentry into games as most.
Wednesday night, Rowland-Smith took a closer look at the situation.
“It’s a different speed,” Rowland-Smith said. “It really is. I can only speak from personal experience – coming out of the bullpen, I didn’t have time to think and I was just, ‘Let’s go.’ I was fired up and I didn’t have to over-process or play it out in my head. Some guys are different, man. Some guys need that. (Pitchers that) I’ve talked to, it’s 50/50. Some guys are just built for that.”
Rowland-Smith could not say whether or not Woo falls into that category, but he did point out that Woo will not have the benefit most pitchers have in coming back from time off the mound, because Woo is dealing with what he called an “in-between” injury, one you don’t really shut down for a significant amount of time.
“It wasn’t this severe, shut it down, slow up, get it right, let’s slowly build it back up,” Rowland-Smith said. “This is one of these ones where it’s kind of, to give you an idea, feels like it’s kind of cramping. It grabs, and then like, oh, what’s that? So it plays in the back of your mind.”
Woo’s injury has taken longer to come back from than previously expected, with the team saying Woo wasn’t placed on the injured list at the time largely because they didn’t believe he needed 15 days to get back. There was optimism he could perhaps pitch in the Division Series after throwing 15 pitches from the T-Mobile Park mound following a full warmup in the bullpen (in full uniform) before the Mariners’ intrasquad game on Oct. 2, but he didn’t face hitters again until a live batting practice session Monday before ALCS Game 2.
As Rowland-Smith pointed out, this hasn’t been the usual rehab from an injury in most part because it wasn’t a serious injury. Good news there, but what Woo hasn’t had – and could have benefited from had there been time – is rehab starts.
“He hasn’t gotten to game speed,” Rowland-Smith said. “There’s been none of that. And so a couple of things. First of all, you talk about game speed in the big leagues. (Postseason games are) another speed, pitching at this level. If you were to have him come out of the bullpen, it may serve him well to say, ‘Look, Bryan, just have at it. Go as hard as you can. Just empty the tank. And we’re not leaning on you heavily to be the same guy who went six-plus (innings) all year long – unfortunately, because we can’t, because of the situation we’re in.’”
Woo will be on a limited pitch count, and even if it is just a few pitches, it’s impossible to believe there won’t be some sort of adjustment that needs to be made pitching in a game for the first time in over a month. Throw in the stakes, what’s on the line and the fact that Woo has not pitched in a postseason game before, perhaps coming out of the ‘pen makes more sense. He won’t have an entire day to think about it.
“If you have him have a start and he’s trying a little extra, ’cause you’re a little rusty, man, you’re not at game speed and you’re getting a 2-0, 2-1 (count), man, you can get hit,” Rowland-Smith said. “And maybe that’s the perfect scenario coming out of the bullpen. It’s gonna be a lot to ask if you’re looking at a Game 5 and it’s on his shoulders, and it could potentially go back to Toronto after that?”
Another scenario? Bryce Miller makes the start and Woo “piggybacks,” starting a clean inning later in the game. He’s given two, maybe three innings and told to go out there, follow Cal Raleigh, use the adrenaline of the situation and just let it eat.
It’s a tough decision for the Mariners, but one Rowland-Smith is confident will be well-thought-out.
“We sit up here and discuss, and they’ve sat with multiple people around the table – and the player included and Cal Raleigh – and gone through, if this happens after the first inning, then we do this. If this, this, this happens… They map it all out the best they can on a daily basis. So you’ve got to have a little bit of confidence there knowing they know their guys. They know their guys way more than obviously we do and obviously everyone else does. So it’ll be interesting.”
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