Bullpen Mismanagement?

You're dealing with a club team run by players, operating on the buddy system, they're not listening to you and you expect them to change? Good luck. They obviously don't understand pitching by what they are doing. And they've told you what they expect.

First, it is very difficult to manage the bullpen even in pro baseball and these guys are running a club team so what do you expect?
Second, its not uncommon for a reliever to get up to warm up then sit down then get up again.  And very often they warm up and never get into the game.
I am not understanding your dilemma.  Are you the only reliever?  Do they do this just with you or with everyone else.  You seem to have lots of issues with this team so why not just finish up the season and be done with it.

It's tough managing a bullpen.  It also drives the starters nuts when they see the pen constantly getting up.  Here's my advice.

 

1)  Don't get warm, get loose.  You'll get seven pitches on the mound (plus any you get in the pen), so don't leave your game in the pen going near full intensity.  Play catch, do some form toss or drills, do some running between innings, do some light bands.  Whatever it takes so you're ready to ramp up to full speed at a moments notice.

 

2) See if you can work with the coach to have him tell you how many more batters he's willing to have the current pitcher face.  If the dugout can signal to the pen that the pitcher is on his final batter, you know when to start getting serious in your throws.

 

If you're role is a reliever, getting ready in a hurry is a skill you must develop.  It's not sitting along the outfield line eating seeds and waiting for someone to give you a 15 minute notice.

 

CVJ

Curious, how do you think it should be run? 

Without meaning to sound harsh... Don't worry about how the pen is managed.  Or how the team, the lineup, the staff, or the game is managed either.  Be a player...  focus on producing at whatever role you've been assigned. You have a hard time getting "warm" and then sitting and then getting warm again 3-4 times a game? Good luck pitching 3-4 innings in a game... You'll get extremely warm competing against hitters and then will sit between innings, with luck for long periods of time sometimes.  I know it's not exactly the same thing as warming up and sitting in the pen repeatedly, but close enough.  It's up to you to know your arm, know your coaches, and understand the game situation so that you can manage yourself each time you're asked to get up in the pen.  Where is the other team in their lineup, how many outs, how many on, how many pitches have been thrown?  As CVJ mentioned, getting loose doesn't mean leaving your best stuff in the pen. That's on you to manage. And to respectfully disagree with CVJ, I wouldn't ask the coach much of anything.  He'll manage the game... Your job is to be ready when called upon. Relief situations are often critical times in a ball game, especially HS games. Not many coaches are going to sit and discuss their contingency thinking in the heat of the moment with a player. They're coaching on the fly using their experience and instincts. When he points to you, just go get em. 

For anyone's info this player is a pitcher on a college club team. His coaches are players his age.  Most likely they have no clue how to run a pen, obviously.

It is up to the player to find his own method to be and remain ready. Once you get past high school you have to act like a big boy and figure it out, no matter where u are playing.

Aha. I didn't realize this was club ball situation, thought it was HS.  So I would have worded things a little differently, but still the same opinion from me.  Coach or Player-Coach(s) may or may not know what he's doing, but they're running the game. Player needs to put his focus on producing at his role. Worry about what you can control, not what you can't. 

Soylent,

 

I would say it depends upon the coach for what you request and how you do it.  Always avoid confrontation and don't come off as needy.  My son has never been on a team where the coach hasn't signaled "last batter" so perhaps this common practice is not as common as I think it is.

 

Agree that it is on the player to get ready on his own.  My son's eyes were opened when he arrived at college and found out what coaches expected and tolerated. 

 

CVJ