Bill James writes a great piece at his site on how, over a ninety year period, pitchers get used more regularly (subscription required). Bill believes, having done the study, that regular, consistent use of pitchers, both starters and relievers, helps them pitch better. He even suggests that the great pitching of the 1960s was due to a final shift away from leveraging starters (pitching the best against the toughest opponents) to using them in a regular rotation.
My question is, if regular use is so important, would a four-man rotation work, if the pitchers were used regularly?
Hat tip, The Hardball Times.
I believe the 1971 Orioles demonstrated a bit of success with a four man rotation. Apparently they were not scared of pitch counts either. http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BAL/1971.shtml
How about a 4+ man rotation?
Convert the fifth starter, and a middle reliever, into two ultra-long relievers who come into the game when one of the four starters get into trouble or run too high of a pitch count in the early innings. And then stay there for four or five innings. And also would be available to fill gaps in the rotation caused by injuries.