You know, you're actually right !
Let me expand on this a bit further...
Starting pitcher - #1 is flat out awesome. Usually pitches a CG, but is occasionally pulled in the 6th/7th.
#2 usually makes it to the 5th and is then pulled, but usually does well for the first 4+ innings.
#3 is sometimes on / sometimes off, when he's on, great, but when he's off, he gets hammered.
#4 is always on, but is often hit hard. Cannot say why - good speed, good control - just one of them things...
#3 and 4 often come in as relief and #5 occasionally does. When they're off, they're pulled fairly quickly and one of the other 2 replaces them as the 3rd pitcher of the game. This quick switch has happened several times, which should indicate the relative lack of true quality these 3 have in terms of reliability and success. Don't get me wrong, all 3 throw hard and have control - the other teams just tend to hit the h*** out of them.
It's at this 3rd change that I begin to take issue. More often than not, as in maybe 75% of the time, the choice of that 3rd pitchers winds up being a mistake. We've lost or almost lost several games as a result of hitters preying on the 3/4/5 pitchers who come in to close, yet (and I hate to say it this way) my son never gets the opportunity to even appear. It's clear that the 3/4 pitchers have some success and #5 shouldn't be ignored, but they fail as much as they succeed and if that's the case, why not give the #6 (my boy) a shotat least once in awhile? With his limited opportunity and success in varsity summer ball last year, he definitely has the potential.
There's also a #7 and a #8, but let's not go there... 7 has a terrible attitude and 8 should be playing s****r or something other than baseball...
I would agree with the "why change" question, but after you get past #2, 3-4-5-6 are all very similar on the mound and 4 vs. my son at the plate is a no brainer - 4 simply cannot hit a ball - ever. (3 and 5 hit quite well)
I know, I'm a dad and of course biased, but I just don't understand why a coach warms up a pitcher in the bullpen only to enter a "cold" one off the field...