MLB: October 2017 — Welcome to the Postseason

The Game Room
21

They didn’t “overuse” their best pitchers at all. That’s just not true. They gave the innings the injured guys couldn’t replace to other pitchers and it worked out great:

ALDS: The Indians swept Boston, and did not stretch any other their starters (Kluber, Bauer, and Tomlin.) Kluber threw 104 pitchers; Bauer and Tomlin did not make full starts at all.

ALCS: After three full days off Cleveland beat Toronto in 5. No pitcher was stretched:

Game 1: Kluber 100 pitches
Game 2: Tomlin 85 pitches
Day off
Game 3: Bauer 21 pitches, injured and removed; no reliever threw more than 28 pitches
Game 4: Kluber 89 pitches
Game 5: Merritt 49 pitches; no relief pitcher threw more than 21

They then hadfive full days off before the World Series, so by the beginning of Game 1, we have a pitching staff that has not been at all stretched in the previous two rounds and that is fully rested.

Game 1: Kluber 88 pitches, Miller 46 in relief
Game 2: Bauer 87 pitches
Game 3: Tomlin 58 pitches
Game 4: Kluber 81 pitches

Now it’s at this point Cleveland is up 3-1, and of course Chicago won the last three to win it all. Was it because pitchers were tired? Well, none of them should have been…

GAME 5: CHICAGO 3, CLEVELAND 2. Obviously not a game lost due to bad pitching. Bauer got hit in the fourth, when he hadn’t thrown many pitches and he had not been stretched in Game 2. He just had one bad inning.

GAME 6: CHICAGO 9, CLEVELAND 3. Tomlin is knocked out in the third, and the game is basically over. Tomlin was hardly exhausted; as you can see above not a lot had been asked of him. He just got his ass kicked. Josh Tomlin’s a pure control guy and the Cubs were a very strong hitting team. It happens. It wasn’t that Tomlin was pushed too hard, it’s that he’s just not a front line starting pitcher.

GAME 7: CHICAGO 8, CLEVELAND 7. The blame here lies across a number of pitchers. Corey Kluber did not pitch well, and was pitching on short rest, so maybe you can argue he was stretched, but starting him 3 times did help the Indians win two games and his previous two starts were relatively short. Andrew Miller was hit hard, but he hadn’t pitched at all in three days. Bryan Shaw lost the game but he had two full days of rest, and had not been previously overworked.

Chicago just hit well. Whaddya gonna do?

22

Some fun statistics from FiveThirtyEight using recent fastball velocity to predict which pitchers are riding hot or cold streaks into the postseason.

Chris Sale (BOS), Dallas Keuchel (HOU), and the Cubs’ John Lackey and Kyle Hendricks are looking good. The Dodgers could have issues with Rich Hill and Clayton Kershaw both cold, along with Max Scherzer (WAS) and Drew Pomeranz (BOS).

23

Twins up 3-0 in the first with only 1 out. Girardi already called to the bullpen to warm some guys up. FIRST INNING.

24

Shaping up to be an instant classic. 3-3 bottom of the 1st after Didi Gregorius three run jack.

25

Any ideas about the longest first inning, by time, of a postseason game? I’ve got this one at about 45 minutes.

26

I’m counting by the heart attacks

27

I believe Buxton has surpassed Kevin Kiermaier in terms of outfield defense and is now the premier defensive center fielder in the AL.

28

Coughed up $25USD for MLB.TV post season. If there many playoff games, it will only be about 10 pesos a game. What a bargain.

And the picture is super! Couldn’t be happier.

29

I’ve not read anyone talking much about the Cubs this post-season. Cubs were 49-25 after the All-Star break, which is like .662 baseball. That’s easily the equivalent of the overall records of the various 100-win teams. I think the Cubs are hot, and will go far this year. Not sure why they seem to be after-thoughts…

30

It was an ugly, ugly world series hangover to start the year. It’s been better since the All Star break, but the Cubs haven’t really gotten on the type of hot streak I repeatedly predicted. The Cubs can win it all, but they’re certainly not the sexy pick right now.

31

Kudos to the Yankee bullpen- 8 2/3 innings, 1 run allowed. Not sure when if ever was the last time a team won a postseason game with the starter retiring one batter, but give the Yankees some credit for not panicking. I think the Yanks can and will knock off Cleveland, Boston beats Houston, and the Yankees beat Boston in the ALCS.

In the NL, I’ve got Colorado over Arizona, LA over Colorado, Washington over Chicago, then LA over Washington.

WS- Yanks and Dodgers again.

32

Wow, what a game. Quite probably the greatest postseason performance by a bullpen ever. 8 & 2/3rds innings = 1 Earned Run.

I think and hope this was just a case of nerves for Severino, but not the way I ever expected this game to go. Greene & Robertson were amazing.

Nice to see Judge off to such a good start, bodes well for the Cleveland series.

33

He’s certainly the most spectacular. That was an amazing catch. I was at the game and most of the Yankee fans gave him a hand after that catch.
Also beating out the potential DP ball in the third showed his hustle and speed. Too bad he got hurt and had to leave the game (not sure if it was the catch, the run to first, or both that did it).

Buxton’s raw athleticism is amazing - he’s always a joy to watch. Here’s hoping he continues to add polish to his game and becomes truly special over the years to come.

34

Is an ERA of 81 the highest ever in the postseason?

The game reminded me of why I don’t really like the AL.

35

There is probably some poor relief pitcher sometime in Baseball history that gave up 1+ earned runs without recording an out but 81 has got to be one of the worst.

36

I was thinking for a starting pitcher but didn’t write that.

37

According to Statcast, Buxton is the fastest MLB player, slightly quicker than Billy Hamilton, who can fly.

As for the Yanks, I’m pleased as punch, but I’m not fooling myself. They have a chance, sure, but Cleveland pitching is much tougher. The Yankees only have a shot if the starters can lock things down for several innings. They can’t have a repeat of the wild card game. In fact, if Tanaka isn’t sharp on Thursday, Girardi is going to have some tough decisions. It might have to be Adam Warren and Dellin Betances bridging some innings to Chapman.

38

Erik Goeddel’s current postseason ERA is infinity. He pitched in one game in the 2015 NLDS, gave up three runs without getting an out, and hasn’t been in a playoff game since.

There might be another pitcher or two like that in the annals of baseball history.

39

Was very happy to see the veteran Joe Mauer get a single facing Chapman.

It made the loss more bearable.

40

I have not been able to follow baseball nearly as much as I’d like to this year. I’d normally try to make predictions but don’t feel like I’m in much of a position to this year. But based on what I think I’ve seen the last 4-6 weeks, I’ll rank the teams from top to bottom in terms of the best chance to make it to the Series.

AL

  1. Cleveland
  2. Houston
  3. New York
  4. Boston

I know it’s a cop-out but 2, 3, and 4 are close calls. I’ll take Houston because I don’t think Boston’s pitching staff wants to face Houston’s lineup, especially in Houston. But the Sox are still a capable veteran squad. New York seemed to get better as the season went on and they got the better of Boston later in the year in the games I saw. Cleveland, though, has set itself apart. Hopefully they avoid choking in the heat of the moment.

NL (not easy to call this one)

  1. Chicago
  2. Arizona
  3. Los Angeles
  4. Washington
  5. Colorado* (WC)

Chicago started playing better and on a consistent basis later in the year. This is not to say they don’t have some concerns, but without a team that played lights-out ball down the stretch, they’re probably just as good a bet as any team in the NL. The Nationals looked good all year but that status of Scherzer and Harper are question marks and Dusty Baker’s not exactly the best situational manager I’ve ever seen. I like the Cubs to steal the series against the Nats 3-2. After that, I’d say the odds are pretty much even for any of the NL West teams. I’d say the D-backs played better down the stretch.

Possible WS match-ups (and results)

Indians beat Cubs 4-1
Indians beat D-backs 4-2
Indians beat Dodgers 4-2
Astros beat Cubs 4-3
Astros beat D-Backs 4-3
Astros beat Dodgers 4-3

Or none of this happens - like I said, haven’t followed it much this year.