2022 MLB Postseason Thread

[casimir]

17 minutes ago, oblong said:

It is the World Series though. After the win they enter a best of 3 contest so you want all arms ready to go. 

Now that its best of 3, you can still have different philosophies at play.  If either starter is going well tonight, do you ride them with, say, a 3 or 4 run lead later than normal to preserve those other arms for games 6 and possibly 7?  Do you ignore that and go to the bullpen as normal, and maybe add the game 5 starter to the bullpen mix for an inning in game 7?

The stature of relievers has grown so much in the past decade that the theories of how to handle these kinds of World Series questions has had to have changed as well.  I would imagine tonight's starters are due to empty their tanks on their personal seasons tonight, but that might not be the case necessarily.

Verlander was known to be quite the grouch on his game days.  Can you imagine his temperament today?

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, casimir said:

Now that its best of 3, you can still have different philosophies at play.  If either starter is going well tonight, do you ride them with, say, a 3 or 4 run lead later than normal to preserve those other arms for games 6 and possibly 7?  Do you ignore that and go to the bullpen as normal, and maybe add the game 5 starter to the bullpen mix for an inning in game 7?

The stature of relievers has grown so much in the past decade that the theories of how to handle these kinds of World Series questions has had to have changed as well.  I would imagine tonight's starters are due to empty their tanks on their personal seasons tonight, but that might not be the case necessarily.

Verlander was known to be quite the grouch on his game days.  Can you imagine his temperament today?

when you get down to two games, and in fact once you get to the end of Verlander's start tonight - however many innings it goes, from that point on there is no bullpen/starters - it should be every pitcher all hands on deck at any point for the remaining innings.

[oblong]

If I see Verlander coming out of the bullpen in Houston I might get excited..... shades of Max against Oakland in 2013.

God, the good old days.

[casimir]

33 minutes ago, oblong said:

If I see Verlander coming out of the bullpen in Houston I might get excited..... shades of Max against Oakland in 2013.

God, the good old days.

Good call.  I was thinking Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling, but that Arizona pitching staff was a different than what Houston has.

[casimir]

49 minutes ago, gehringer_2 said:

when you get down to two games, and in fact once you get to the end of Verlander's start tonight - however many innings it goes, from that point on there is no bullpen/starters - it should be every pitcher all hands on deck at any point for the remaining innings.

Yeah, makes sense.  There is the benefit of the day off tomorrow night and probably added adrenaline on Saturday & Sunday (although that could work both ways).

[chasfh]

This is where the managers really earn their pay.

[CMRivdogs]

Great battle between Justin and Nick. The kid from Goochland, Va wins in the end. 
 

Good outing by Verlander

[casimir]

8 minutes ago, CMRivdogs said:

Great battle between Justin and Nick. The kid from Goochland, Va wins in the end. 
 

Good outing by Verlander

That was a fun at bat.  11 pitches?  Harper on 2nd as the tying run with two outs.  Surprisingly neither cracked a smile.

I thought his outing was ok.  4 walks and 4 hits in only 5 innings.  I know reliever roulette starts early these days, but Houston could have used a more efficient and longer outing.

[chasfh]

JV needed this game for his legacy. If he got shelled again everybody would remember that about him. Not that it would affect his Hall of Fame credentials even one iota, but nobody wants that hung on his legacy.

[chasfh]

Also, seeing Christmas ads during the World Series is fucking bonkers.

[casimir]

Just now, chasfh said:

Also, seeing Christmas ads during the World Series is fucking bonkers.

We’re past Halloween.  ‘Tis the season.

[lordstanley]

JV's win is at risk of going poof, through no fault of himself. 3-2 Houston in 8th, Phillies with runners on 1st and 3rd and only 1 out.

Edited November 4, 2022 by lordstanley

[lordstanley]

This has been a very good Series. McCormick's big catch against the CF wall keys a 5-out save for Pressly. Verlander for the win. 

[RandyMarsh]

Was just thinking earlier while flipping between the WS and Thursday Night Football on Amazon "Could you imagine being a Philly sports fan right now, got your baseball team playing in the World Series and an undefeated football team on prime time?" Then it occurred to me that believe it or not Detroit was in a similar spot in 2011 with the Tigers playing in the ALCS while the 5-0 Lions were playing on MNF across the street at Ford Field. Crazy to think that now, might as well have been another lifetime ago considering the state of Detroit teams. 

[RandyMarsh]

I'm not much of an Astros fan but Im pulling for them to close this one out. Nothing against the Phillies as a franchise but I just hate when averagish teams get hot at the right time and win the championship instead of the team that has been consistently great all season. 

[casimir]

7 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

Was just thinking earlier while flipping between the WS and Thursday Night Football on Amazon "Could you imagine being a Philly sports fan right now, got your baseball team playing in the World Series and an undefeated football team on prime time?" Then it occurred to me that believe it or not Detroit was in a similar spot in 2011 with the Tigers playing in the ALCS while the 5-0 Lions were playing on MNF across the street at Ford Field. Crazy to think that now, might as well have been another lifetime ago considering the state of Detroit teams. 

[casimir]

47 minutes ago, RandyMarsh said:

I'm not much of an Astros fan but Im pulling for them to close this one out. Nothing against the Phillies as a franchise but I just hate when averagish teams get hot at the right time and win the championship instead of the team that has been consistently great all season. 

I agree with you about the timing part.  Generally I'm in favor of seeing the better team throughout the season winning it all.  These teams aren't close along those lines.  106-56 vs 87-75, almost 20 games difference, winning percentages of .654 vs .537.

I also would like to see Dusty Baker get a ring as a manager.  He has one as a Dodger player in 1984, so his baseball career wouldn't be incomplete necessarily.  He's had his chances for sure, he's taken all 5 of the clubs that he's managed to the playoffs.  He has a winning regular season record and a winning postseason record as a manager.  But this would be the cherry on top of his career.  Heck, looking back at his stats, I didn't realize he started managing at 44 years old.

I think a lot of us here probably know this, but Baker was on deck when Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run.  That was in 1974.  That's damn near 50 years ago.  That's a helluva lot of baseball in between.  He seems like a quiet guy, but I'd bet he has some yarns to spin.

[RandyMarsh]

Yeah I always liked Baker,too young to remember him as a player but as a manager I liked him and thought he may have gotten a raw deal in some places. 

I know at one point he had a rep for overusing young pitchers which led to injuries but was there ever any real evidence that pointed to him being at fault? We see young pitchers get hurt all the time even when teams do things "right" so who is to say that what he did was wrong and why they got hurt?

Regardless though seems like a class guy and would definitely like to see him get a ring. 

[CMRivdogs]

34 minutes ago, casimir said:

 

I think a lot of us here probably know this, but Baker was on deck when Hank Aaron hit his 715th career home run.  That was in 1974.  That's damn near 50 years ago.  That's a helluva lot of baseball in between.  He seems like a quiet guy, but I'd bet he has some yarns to spin.

Probably sucking on the same toothpick. I saw a few shots of him last night without it. Almost didn't recognize him.

19 seasons as a player, 25 managing, .521 W-L percentage. There has to be a seat in the HOF for him

Edited November 4, 2022 by CMRivdogs

[Tenacious D]

F the Astros.  I want the Phillie Phanatic to get a ring this year.

 

[chasfh]

8 hours ago, RandyMarsh said:

Was just thinking earlier while flipping between the WS and Thursday Night Football on Amazon "Could you imagine being a Philly sports fan right now, got your baseball team playing in the World Series and an undefeated football team on prime time?" Then it occurred to me that believe it or not Detroit was in a similar spot in 2011 with the Tigers playing in the ALCS while the 5-0 Lions were playing on MNF across the street at Ford Field. Crazy to think that now, might as well have been another lifetime ago considering the state of Detroit teams. 

Not that we pay attention to that stuff in Detroit, but Philadelphia also has their team playing in the MLS finals tomorrow night, too.

[casimir]

28 minutes ago, Tenacious D said:

F the Astros.  I want the Phillie Phanatic to get a ring this year.

 

We can all agree that between the Phillie Phanatic and Gritty, Philadelphia is by far the best pro sports mascot town in the world, yes?  Because if you disagree, you are just flat wrong here and in all possible alternative universes.

[Tenacious D]

I see that Nick isn’t the only combative personality in the Castellanos household.  Telling the Phillies fans that they suck is in the first year of a long-term contract is going to be rough.

 

[casimir]

1 hour ago, CMRivdogs said:

19 seasons as a player, 25 managing, .521 W-L percentage. There has to be a seat in the HOF for him

I'm good with combined accomplishments as a player and coach/executive as qualifiers for enshrinement.

   

Just a cheap snippet of his baseball career.  19 years as a player, he was an all star in 1981 and 1982.  I would argue that his 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, and 1980 seasons are darn close to, on par with, or better than his all star seasons.  Alas, we have timing of the all star votes & nominations which don't necessarily reflect the entire season and team representation quotas and roster sizes working against him.

On the flip side, 19 seasons is quite lengthy and doesn't really prop up his WARs, JAWS, etc into the neighborhood of LFs.  So, he's got some rather pedestrian seasons on his resume.

I don't know if this is a fair comparison, but Joe Torre strikes me as a bit of a comparison.

  

Torre was the better player, but got in as a manager.  Torres has a lengthier managerial career and more postseason success.  But all of his success comes with only the Yankees, and in a time where there were fewer postseason bids.

[chasfh]

Dusty Baker did not have a Hall of Fame career, but he probably will qualify as a manager, especially if the Astros win a ring for him.