Baseball

Well yesterday was something, with potentially series-altering hits in the 8th inning of both games. I do think several of these managers are pushing things a bit too far in terms of how they manage their bullpens, rather than mostly relying on what worked over 162 games, with a few adaptations sprinkled in. And the media doesn’t help by glorifying the brilliance of these guys when their calculated gambles pay off. In any case, what madness will today bring?

Also, with any luck, there will be at least one more day in 2021 with two MLB games - if the ALCS gets to game 7. But no guarantees, so enjoy!
 
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hatfieldpdx said:
Well yesterday was something, with potentially series-altering hits in the 8th inning of both games. I do think several of these managers are pushing things a bit too far in terms of how they manage their bullpens, rather than mostly relying on what worked over 162 games, with a few adaptations sprinkled in. And the media doesn’t help by glorifying the brilliance of these guys when their calculated gambles pay off. In any case, what madness will today bring?

Also, with any luck, there will be at least one more day in 2021 with two MLB games - if the ALCS gets to game 7. But no guarantees, so enjoy!
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The sport changes completely in how teams will manage games with the limited amount of them. I've seen arguments for expanding the series to more games (and likely cutting off some games in the regular season) so it is closer to how the regular season is managed. I saw Grienke went 1.1 innings yesterday after only giving up a 2-run HR?? that's madness. Teams with strong bullpens do well because they need to get outs when there may not be a next game for that team.
 
wokeupnew said:
The sport changes completely in how teams will manage games with the limited amount of them. I've seen arguments for expanding the series to more games (and likely cutting off some games in the regular season) so it is closer to how the regular season is managed. I saw Grienke went 1.1 innings yesterday after only giving up a 2-run HR?? that's madness. Teams with strong bullpens do well because they need to get outs when there may not be a next game for that team.
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For sure, and a 5-game series is entirely different than a 7-game series. But this trend of bringing in a starting pitcher for an inning or two late in games on their "throw day" seems to be all the rage at the moment, despite patchy results:
  • Scherzer comes in to pitch late in game 5 vs. Giants, struggles with dead arm in game 2 of NLCS
  • Urias comes in to pitch late in game 2 of NLCS, gives up 2 runs.
  • Eovaldi comes in late in game 4 ALCS, gives up 4 runs.
We will see if Urias struggles today - or Eovaldi in a few days - but regardless, asking a starting pitcher to warm up quickly and play the part of a relief pitcher doesn't appear to be a brilliant strategy (unless it works, with no ill effects a few days later). It messes with their mindset and workflow, and seems to have at least some impact on their next performance. In these playoffs, SPs have been giving up the lion's share of runs late in game. I think the strategy of utilizing SPs as RPs should be reserved for winner-take-all games. Not every SP is Madison Bumgarner.
 
hatfieldpdx said:
Well yesterday was something, with potentially series-altering hits in the 8th inning of both games. I do think several of these managers are pushing things a bit too far in terms of how they manage their bullpens, rather than mostly relying on what worked over 162 games, with a few adaptations sprinkled in. And the media doesn’t help by glorifying the brilliance of these guys when their calculated gambles pay off. In any case, what madness will today bring?

Also, with any luck, there will be at least one more day in 2021 with two MLB games - if the ALCS gets to game 7. But no guarantees, so enjoy!
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The Sox/Astros game was decided by Laz Diaz, the home plate umpire. His balls & strikes calling was atrocious. He missed 21 calls last night.
 
Sonicpharmacist said:
The Sox/Astros game was decided by Laz Diaz, the home plate umpire. His balls & strikes calling was atrocious. He missed 21 calls last night.
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I wouldn't necessarily say he decided it, as he blew impactful calls for both teams. And I saw elsewhere that the pitch in question only had a 22% probability of garnering a strike call, so no guarantees another umpire would have called it any different. But yes, his track record has long been abysmal. Seniority should not determine which umpires are behind the plate during the playoffs, in my opinion.

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This old school NL West World Series is a battle for the heart and minds of the Southern baseball fan. Until the Marlins came along in 93 the the Gulf and Mid Atlantic States basically had the Braves and Houston (and the Cardinals) to root for. I remember seeing Atlanta Braves baseball in Nashville and Astros Baseball in New Orleans and being momentarily confused before realizing that those cities were apart of each respective teams market.
 
TenderLovingKiller® said:
This old school NL West World Series is a battle for the heart and minds of the Southern baseball fan. Until the Marlins came along in 93 the the Gulf and Mid Atlantic States basically had the Braves and Houston (and the Cardinals) to root for. I remember seeing Atlanta Braves baseball in Nashville and Astros Baseball in New Orleans and being momentarily confused before realizing that those cities were apart of each respective teams market.
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Should be a good series!
 
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