I don't really care how a bp is set up and who pitches when. I see value in being flexible and using certain pitchers in certain ways in certain situations. If it's to 'close', it's to close; if it's to piggy back in long relief, great; or using analytics to decide the best matchups between our pitchers and their batter. I really don't care. Traditional or new method, the bottom line for me, which is in the title of the article ... middle relief ACES. That's what you need. It's why the Royals were so good in '14, '15 ... because they had a shut 'em down, close it up bp, not because the bp had tradition roles. It matters the arms they had to rely on once the starter was done, whether that was 4, 5, 6, 7 innings or whatever. Reliable bp arms ... that's the secret, that will always be the secret, no matter the method you set up within your organization. Relief aces are not a dime a dozen and cannot be done by reclamation alone. And you will need to pay for it. Maybe not as much as a costly starting pitching ace, but ... relief aces will cost. My frustration with this year isn't using analytics and matchups, I'm good with that. It's not having reliable choices that has cost us, not when we use how.