In a regular season - or a regular ALDS - managers would need to their preserve bullpens. It's old school: You grind the opposing staff, so tomorrow they'll be gassed.
Not this year. Not this series. Here, managers pretend it's the All-Star Game, yanking pitchers each inning, or as soon as they finish their mandatory three batters.
And what an exciting game it delivers!
Last night, NY and KC treated America to 15 different pitchers, replacing them like sticks of Juicy Fruit, without concern for workload. That's because MLB didn't want to break God's 4th and greatest Commandment: Thou shalt do no work on the Sabbath, which belongeth to the NFL. (Frankly, with the KC Chiefs on another network, it's a wonder MLB didn't postpone last night.)
Thus, after the 4th, each inning begat a new hurler, with a new Wikipedia thumbnail from Bob Costas. If anyone hiccupped, out he came. We sat through 11 pitching changes - how many times did that wiseass Buffalo jabber with Jason Kelce? - running the game to 3:07, well above the lowered durations that MLB prided itself for achieving this season.
Of course, Yank fans got to suffer the added indignity of watching Carlos Rodon stay - gulp -too long! In the 4th, after Salvador Perez hit one to - as Costas said - "Staten Island," didn't everybody but Boone know it was shower time for Rodon? We'd only seen him fall apart all season. In the last three batters, Austin Wells had to stand on tiptoes to catch his fastballs. And soon, it was 4-1.
So, here's a pop quiz. What happens tonight?
Answer: Absolutely nothing.
The teams will take a well deserved night off, to rest their bullpens. This guarantees another night of pitching changes, and that the ALDS will last to the weekend, though not the Sabbath. Who knows, maybe we'll get the world series in before Election Day! In KC, we'll actually play two games in two nights. The end is near, and everyone will get to pitch.
Final note: In case you missed it, deep into the 9th, here's John's HR call for Jazz Chisolm.
"Jazz making beautiful music! He hits one deep into the right field seats! And all that Jazz!"
Sorry to say, but rather disappointing, eh? Over the years, it's often taken The Master several HRs to perfect a call. I wonder if he'll get that chance?
Extra final note: The hell with mentioning Danny Tartabull. I thought he might be a juju talisman. One more chance.
Tartabull needs a night off too!
ReplyDeleteWhere is Dr. Olu? Remember him? Maybe he met up with ALLCAPS and they're taking a wild ride across the country, chugging castor oil and streaming baseball games with the top down in their convertible. Oh, right... Rodon. Duque, I agree with you about everything - 100% and completely - but I am also grateful that we still have The Master around for ANY new HR call. It's an unexpected gift.
ReplyDeleteI stream baseball…..I stream……baseball
DeleteNot enough hitting, as expected, in the first 2 games. If the Royals pitchers didn't walk so many batters, we'd be down 2-0.
ReplyDeleteThe constant pitching changes are boring to watch, but I think Boone has actually done well managing the pen so far.
ReplyDelete9.1 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 11 K, 0 HR
The bullpen has not been the issue.
As always, it's hitting with RISP (3-19).
Forget all the pitchers. Our batters were in a listless, nine-inning torpor.
ReplyDeleteRodon sucks. What was with all that overpumped testosterone crap in the first inning? Then he gives up a homer and completely falls apart. That's our Carlos! What a nutjob this guy is. There is no scenario on earth in which he is a #2 starter. None.
ReplyDeleteLOB is the big metric that I have been screaming about for years with these fuckheads. We leave more guys on base than any Yankee team in history and it has been going on for most of the Cashman era.
ReplyDeletestreaming and screaming
Deletedribbling down my face and legs
WHERE IS MY TOWEL?!
See? The process is working. Results don't matter.
DeleteLet me try this again:
ReplyDeleteGrandpa Ray won a ring
Papa Bob did too
Not so son
Very true, Duque—and it's yet another thing that the Lords of MLB don't get about baseball.
ReplyDeleteThe pitcher is the hero of the game. He initiates every play, his performance by itself can win or lose the game—and he gets stuck with those credits or debits.
Okay, when you had closers, that was also pretty heroic. Guy came in from the bullpen like a Western gunslinger, ready to "save" us or not. Now? Nobody can go more than 3-5 innings. It's just a big bore.
Baseball's a big bore
ReplyDeleteIt's not worth watching it
But we do, always
A very predictable loss to any observant fan. The lack of situational hitting and the team’s complacency instilled by its sycophantic manager are fatal flaws. How in the AF did this team finish with the best record in the league?
ReplyDeleteCan't win a game by scoring two runs...as Judge goes so does the Yanks...
ReplyDeleteRIP Luis Tiant...
Tiant's windup will live forever.
DeleteAny Jets fans here? Per The Athletic, the team has fired HC Robert Saleh
ReplyDeleteSame old Jets
ReplyDeleteAaron Rogers must not like Saleh. He has a say in these kinds of moves.
ReplyDeleteOf course he was behind it.
DeleteRogers is going to be on the Pat McAfee show at 2:30 to talk about why he fired Salah...
DeleteIf this is a best of five series (I'm not even sure, as MLB seems to make up the rules as they go along), then they're not coming back from K.C.
ReplyDeleteIt is, and they're not.
ReplyDeleteAs for Rodgers, as a Packers fan, I have to say that, had Green Bay managed to just get two or three more guys on defense who could play, he would've won more titles than Brady...and THAT said, it was more than time for him to go. He and Matt LaFleur, the coach who cannot get to the Super Bowl, were the dueling geniuses there for too long. Time for MLF to go, too.
What's with Boone using Weaver in the 9th? WTF? In a game they're losing by three in the 9th? Even though there is the off day, he should be saving his best relievers. The more looks the other team gets, the more likely they'll hit a pitcher. Baseball 101. But Yankee management has to re-invent the fucking wheel every game. The stupidity of Boone is truly awe inspiring.
ReplyDeleteSaleh getting fired is just one in a long list of Jets fuckups. I'm convinced Joe Namath sold his soul to the devil to win Super Bowl III. In return, he gave the New York Jets a lifetime of fuckups. The Jets have lost for the last fifty years in ways that would impress Bill Buckner. The curse will not be broken until Namath passes to the great beyond. And Woody Johnson goes with him.
ReplyDelete