His 9.69 ERA certainly doesn’t show it, but Cincinnati Reds right-hander Robert Stephenson feels his time in the bullpen has been good for him so far. It’s breaking him of his dependence on routine.
When he was a starter – and he still may be in the future – the 24-year-old Stephenson stuck to a closely followed schedule between starts. He’d throw only this much, lift only that much. When things were off – if a game was rained out and his start was pushed back – everything was off.
Pitching in long relief has not afforded him that predictability, and Stephenson has stopped placing too much importance on being so regimented.