How many times do you think a team's confidence "shot up" at the time and then they lost anyway? That statement means less than nothing.Of course they're being made over the numbers.
You don't remove a starter at 58 pitches unless you're terrified about the prospect of what his numbers say he'll do in the future. I just don't buy into the fact that humans are numbers machines. It was obvious the moment Whitlock came in that something wasn't right and the game went off the deep end immediately.
It's like the Dodgers saying that once Snell came out in the World Series last year, their confidence shot up.
Also, Whitlock struck out a guy who finished top 4 in mvp voting each of the past 2 years on 3 pitches to start the inning so your second part is complete revisionist history too.