ALCS: Blue Jays vs Fighting Titos
- Thread starter DeadlySplitter
- Start date
Indians on a run of 75 innings of not giving up more than one run in an inning.
Last time they gave up more than one run in an inning was October 1, against KC. It happened in the 6th inning. Crazy.
Last time they gave up more than one run in an inning was October 1, against KC. It happened in the 6th inning. Crazy.
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I listened to a lot of the game on the radio tonight... Listening to the Jays struggle is practically identical to listening to the Sox struggle last week. I think it's clear that the Indians are doing something pretty special here.
I would be very surprised if either L.A.or Chicago could beat Cleveland, but then I'm often surprised by baseball.
He really is hitting all the right buttons.
Tito vs. Theo and Maddon would be great.
So much focus on Miller and Allen, but the rest of that pen is pretty fucking good too.
And I don't think too many of those guys are too heavily burnt to be available, no one threw 40 pitches like earlier in these playoffs, and some of them are so well rested they pitched a simulated game to get work in after Game 2.
And I don't think too many of those guys are too heavily burnt to be available, no one threw 40 pitches like earlier in these playoffs, and some of them are so well rested they pitched a simulated game to get work in after Game 2.
The Indians are the first team in MLB history to win a playoff game without having any pitcher get more than 5 outs.
That's wild.
That's wild.
Having Pedro and HR on opposite ends of the desk on the postgame could not be more appropriate.
Edit! That's Jimmy Rollins- my bad
Edit! That's Jimmy Rollins- my bad
If the Indians do make the series there's a chance they get Salazar back in the pen.
Aside from the pen, recognize the little things like Nap breaking for second on that pitch in the dirt. Lots of those the Tribe have done right this series.
And they're mostly getting the bounces. That ground rule double was one of the few to go against them.
Aside from the pen, recognize the little things like Nap breaking for second on that pitch in the dirt. Lots of those the Tribe have done right this series.
And they're mostly getting the bounces. That ground rule double was one of the few to go against them.
I mean, it's gotta be. You're talking about a team that hasn't even won one game, and suddenly they're supposed to win four in a row? Let's say they're lucky enough to win the next two (which is two more than they've won yet). Then they find themselves back on the road again, chasing their third. It'd be a miracle if they even managed to tie the series, much less win it all.
Maybe- and this is just a hypothetical, I'd like to point that out- if there was a rain out or something that caused the last 4 or 5 games to be played back to back, or (again, speculation) games that went extra innings, caused both pitching staffs to be depleted, maybe something weird could happen, but even if that did, how would it favor the team that lost the first 3?
Never should have fired Belichick. Get a local scribe to write a "Curse of the Hoodie" book.
All this is true but it helps when every guy Tito throws out there puts up zeroes, game after game after game. Not just Miller.
Also helps when opposition batters hit liners right to fielders. Obviously Tito deserves a lot of credit for putting these guys into position to succeed but the Indians have had their fair share of luck.
Cleveland's bullpen so far in the playoffs:
ALDS: 10.1 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 2 er, 4 bb, 14 k
ALCS: 14.1 ip, 8 h, 2 r, 2 er, 3 bb, 21 k
TOT: 24.2 ip, 16 h, 4 r, 4 er, 7 bb, 35 k, 1.46 era, 0.93 whip, 12.8 k/9
Over six games, this means the bullpen has averaged just over 4 innings of work per game. There's no way - not even for Miller - that this would be anywhere close to sustainable over a regular season. Yes, the Sox' bullpen during the 11 game winning streak was awesome, so it's obviously possible over short stretches to get this kind of dominance. But Tito really isn't doing anything crazy special. Yes, he's using Miller in key spots against the heart of opponents' lineups, whether that's in the 9th or 5th, and that's been awesome. But Miller's performance has been otherworldly. You'd think at some point someone would get to Miller. And everyone else has been great too. Normally if you throw that many relievers out there SOMEONE is going to get tagged.
The point is, Tito is making good moves, yes. That his relievers - basically all of them - are pitching lights out is sure making those good moves look superlative. If the Red Sox bullpen pitched like this Farrell would look like a genius too.
Yes, but last night wasn't really "putting guys in a position to succeed". In fact, he puts Miller in the situations LEAST likely to succeed - always against the opponents' best hitters. And last night, because of the Bauer injury, he had to have guys coming in relief in every inning. That was just plugging whomever he had into the breach, and they all came through for him.
Tito keeping his foot on the gas - starting Kluber today on short rest instead of rookie Mike Clevinger.
Love his aggressiveness here:
Love his aggressiveness here:
The hypothetical doesn't apply here, though, since the Rogers Center has a domed ceiling that can be closed. So, no Toronto rainouts that would result in back-to-back-to-back-to-back games being played in this year's ALCS.
Agreed- and I think Cleveland has the better and deeper bullpen, so any extra inning games would probably give them the edge. Even yesterday, Tito did a great job of making sure nobody pitched too much.
The Tribe had a number of bullpen games coming down the stretch where relievers picked up 7+ innings. I think it was 4 scheduled bullpen games in September, the one game where Carrasco had his hand broken in the first inning, and then last night. There was a graphic on the broadcast last night detailing the dates, innings pitched, and the W-L result. They won 4 of the 6 if I remember right. Several relievers have comments in articles today that doing that in September made it more comfortable when they had to do it last night. And everyone knew even before the game started it could go that way. So Playoff Tito is having people ready.
I don't disagree with your larger point vis a vis unsustainability, but I think you're pretty seriously glossing over the fact that Tito flipping his closer and setup man due to matchups (each covering more than an inning) is a move that 29 other managers simply wouldn't have made. Your comment about "putting guys in a position to succeed" strikes me as overly cavalier as well. "Putting guys in a position to succeed" doesn't mean everyone gets to face the shittiest hitters. It means that when there is a predictable tough part of the order, you don't ask your 4th best reliever to mow them down, you ask your best one based on matchups.
If you honestly think John Farrell or most (any?) other MLB managers would have navigated a bullpen as well as Tito has been doing, then we'll just have to agree to disagree.
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Good for you! What a great way to do good and support Nap! When I ordered they were at $100,000...
108 Stitches@108StitchesIf you need us...we'll be packing #PartyAtNapolis shirts all day tomorrow. Closing in on $200K for @ClevelandClinic w/ @MikeNapoli25.
Rem, that is the pinkie finger of Indians pitcher Trevor Bauer, who hurt it playing with his drone. They had hoped he could pitch with it, but it began to pour out blood (bandages not allowed) and he had to leave after 2/3 of an inning, making the Indians win, all with bullpen arms, even more impressive.
