Brandon Lowe, Blake Snell, and Rays Bullpen Even Series

It seems pretty clear that the Dodgers are not going to pitch their starters on short rest. This hasn’t worked in prior post season years and they feel they have the depth to wear out their opponents and so far it has worked. On the other hand, it’s hard to believe the team with the best record in baseball can’t put a starting pitcher on the mound for the World Series. We scored 4 runs against a great starter and good bullpen. 4 runs usually wins games. Oh well. Go Blue!

Rays earned this one. That can’t be denied. They’ve also shown themselves to be a class organization and spoken with much respect towards Dodgers after game one. They dealt, I just wish they hadn’t dealt so good and won’t deal so great moving forward THE REST of this series.

If all goes as planned, Buehler pitches 7 innings in game 3. Urias 6 innings in the pivotal game 4. Kershaw pitches 7 in the game 5 clincher. Dodgers win WS championship and 32 year drought is over.

Maybe now you see why I did not predict how quickly this series would be won. Roberts, Friedman and Company know what kind of battle it is going to be. Some of you are losing your minds at how Doc used the bullpen last night, but this was a page out of Sun Tzu’s “The Art of War.” The bullpen usage was an organizational decision. DOC, AF and the brass likely scripted it. They knew that if Snell were on his game, this would be a tough one to win… and he was! So, essentially, they lost the battle by not throwing everyone in the bullpen, so as to live and fight another day. That day will be Game #3, where they are going to need all hands on deck.

Hopefully, Buehler has some “magic” for 5 or 6, and then you will see Treinen, Baez, Graterol, Kolarek, and Jansen… and maybe a couple from last night. The Ray have worked their pen pretty hard so far. The Dodgers have worked the weaker side of their pen so far. The strong side is now ready to go. You pick your battles and it looks like the Dodgers have picked Buehler and Urias to lead the charge in Games 3 and 4. These are the biggest starts of their respective careers!

Wood looked very useful last night. Floro and Gonzalez looked better and I still think Gonsolin and May will play an important role. When Glasnow got roughed up the first game, the Rays did the same thing the Dodgers did last night – they sucked it up and lived to fight another day! They could have smoked their pen, just like the Dodgers could have last night… and still lost. Last night’s bullpen usage was a strategic, planned action. Watch and learn!

One thing I still see is when a hitter pinch hits and makes an out “Doc is an idiot.” Of if he brings in a pitcher who gives up a run – “He can’t manage the pen.” It evidently has nothing to do with the hitter… or the pitcher. Doc is not responsible for their execution… just their lack of it! Geeeezzzzz!

Here’s something to think about:

Nick Anderson is extremely good! But, Anderson has had to face almost as many hitters in this postseason (51) as he faced all season (58). Is he tiring? That could be an issue!

If we lose this series:

Not a second guess. Many of us said way back our starting pitching was vulnerable. We lost price, hill, stripling, ryu, and maeda. We were hoping the young guns could do it. May and Gonsolin are getting worse as the series moves forward. Doc would have to think long and hard before using these guys again. But, he doesn’t have anybody else.

Second, why In the he.. did the national league series end after the American League? That just seems unfair. I’m sure it is about money. Usually the best record goes first ends first. That should be the advantage of having the best record.

Dylan Hernandez of The LA Times has it figured out too:

Woulda-coulda-shoulda turning point in 4th inning. Gonzalez does his job by getting Choi to hit a perfect double play ground ball to Hernandez for inning ending double play, but Kiké bobbles the ball, only gets one out, and Rays get two runs. No error charged under scoring rules, but Kiké makes that play 99 times out of 100. Will Smith’s line drive to third base was smoked! Very seldom do I see a major league player flinch like Joey Wendle as he was making the catch.

I am really becoming a Will Smith fan. He is the real deal. I used to believe he was a solid defensive backup Catcher, but after they re-tooled his swing, he has shown that he is going to be an All-Star.

Will he stay at Catcher or maybe move to 3B? I guess that depends upon the other options and Ruiz’s progress. I can see him being an All-Star Catcher however – he is reminding me of a young Buster Posey. Posey is s little bigger, I but I still see similarities.

I am happy to be wrong in cases like this.

The Rays are in the WS for a reason. They’re not going to roll over. Still, I like our chances. We get a day’s rest, and then Buehler, Urias, and Kersh. That’s a formidable combination. And we are stronger offensively than the Rays. If we can do some damage in the first 6 innings, we should be fine.

We got outpitched. 5 hits and 15 strikeouts? Yoiks. The Rays are the best team in the American League. Anyone who thought we would sweep is not being realistic.

It wasn’t ruled an error but everyone who saw it knows 2 runs were unearned. And Kiké knows it. You could see it on his face. Can’t blame Doc for that, though I’m sure some might try.

I don’t know what’s wrong with May but his outing last night was terribly disappointing. His stuff is undeniable, but obviously he has a lot of work to do. Gonsolin got the L, but he wasn’t the loser, May was. And about Gonsolin, I saw it again last night, his splitter isn’t working. If he doesn’t have that pitch he’s hittable.

I agree with everything Hernandez wrote.

Well said Badger and David!!! Snell was lights out with total command of his pitches… It hurts to repeat, that good pitching beats etc. etc.

May or Gonsolin… Have I got it wrong, or could a few games at the AAA level, helped them both for the pre season??? But then again it’s 2020 with all it’s problems…

A day off is good…Play with the family and lock and load for Fri…

Excuse my ignorance, but why did Gonsolin get the loss last night? The dodgers lost by 2 runs. Gonsolin gave up 1 in 1.1 innings. May gave up runs 3,4,&5 in 1.1 innings. I would have thought that he would take the loss.

I said I thought the Dodgers would sweep the Rays in 4. Well that didn’t happen and going against there best pitcher with us our 5th starter seems the obvious outcome would not be victory last night. But by loosing but just two runs there was a possibility if a few things went our way the second win could have happened. I’m thinking the Dodgers got this and on Sunday we will all be celebrating!

What would have helped May and Gonsolin would not being over used in the NLCS but we had to to win that series. The fact we got only one day off to their two a total disadvantage to the team with the best record. Third game game is crucial. Buehler needs to out duel Morton. Lots of high heat. Don’t try to get cute with off speed in the zone like May. Morton shut us down two years ago so could be a tight low scoring game. We need the early lead!

I just don’t get these bullpen games. Basically your saying that we are probably going to lose so let’s use the relievers to get through this defeat and move on. But, if we happen to pull off an upset, awesome. In the World Series?? I can maybe see doing this during a long season where the starters might have injuries or need rest, but during a World Series. Who thought this was a good idea? Some quant, who’s never played baseball, sitting in a dark room thinking about he or she can come up with bizarre scenarios for the game of baseball.

I mean Gonsolin wasn’t even allowed to settle into the flow of the game. His performance during the playoffs is well off what he was doing during the season. I assume he’s a little anxious mentally anyway because he is pitching in the playoffs. But, to add in the factor of the first mistake you make you’re out of the game. If that’s the case don’t even bother starting him. Same with May situation. I was hoping they would be assets during the playoffs, but that has not happened. The playoff pressure and usage has made them ineffective and basically useless. It’s how they have used Urias during his time with the Dodgers. You’re a starter, but for now you might be a reliever, but we might need you make a spot start, but only for an inning or so, or maybe for several innings, or until you make a mistake then we’ll have to take you out and decide that maybe you aren’t a starter after all and should be a reliever, but what kind of reliever? An innings eater? Eight inning guy? Closer? Opener? Please, don’t let that happen to these two talented pitchers. Decide their role and develop them to succeed in that role.

Meanwhile, let’s watch the Dodger starters dominate the Rays the rest of the WS and let the Rays to continue to use their playpen, excuse me, bullpen to try and stop the Dodger hitters. I think the Dodgers will prevail.

Carry on.

Even though we lost one last night, there were some high points. Seager continues to make the case that he is a good choice for MVP with his defensive play and home run. Kudos to Smith, Floro and Gonzalez. I thought Wood showed why he made the roster. He came through when we needed him and pitched very well.

The Rays are a very good team and deserve to be in the World Series. That said, my money and heart are still with the Dodgers to win it all.

Several thoughts about the Series so far:

1 – Gonsolin and May don’t appear to be ready for post-season baseball but the way that they’ve been used doesn’t help. Guys get into the mindset of being a starter or a reliever and some have trouble switching back and forth. I don’t think that the way that they’ve been used has put them in the best chance to succeed, but neither one of them have executed either. Also, Gonsolin didn’t pitch for 19 days between the end of the regular season and his 1st appearance against the Braves. This didn’t help either.

2 – Looking at the way that the rotations set up, Game 2 looked like the one that the Dodgers were most likely to lose. The Rays had their ace going and the Dodgers had it set up to be a bullpen game basically. They still only lost by 2 and knocked Snell out before the 5th. I like our chances to win in 5 if Buehler, Urias and Kershaw do their jobs in the next 3 games.

3 – The Dodgers’ hitters are just too much better than the Rays’. They have been grinding them down with their patience. And the more that they see these pitchers that they really don’t know well, the better that they should be – like they did to the Braves in games 5 – 7. I predict big things for the offense as the Series goes on, and they’ve been pretty successful already.

4 – New age baseball – I prefer set rotations. That’s just not the way that it’s done any more, but I don’t have to like it.

Roberts got all these commendations for the use of the bullpen in Game 7 of the Braves series, so he thought he would do it again; or more likely, that is just what he always does, try to create a masterpiece of selected brush strokes. He starts Gonsolin, who gives up a run, and has a runner on third with one out and then, puts in Floro, who does a a good job, stops the rally, pitches one more inning; and then he takes him out and puts in May. He leaves in May to give up four runs, and the game is essentially over, though the Dodgers did rally pretty well, but you are unlikely to make up a five-run deficit against Tampa Bay. He then uses more relievers, including Kelly, who immediately gives up two hits and a run. The more pitchers you use, particularly with our staff, the more likely you are to land on one or two who are not effective. Roberts doesn’t have Tampa Bay’s bullpen, and he shouldn’t play it like he does.

Now, one may ask, what else was he supposed to do? With our short-handed starting staff, we have a problem. These “bullpen games” for us in a world series are almost embarrassing. Of course the management did not do anything to reinforce the starting staff when it was learned that Price would not pitch, so we were always going to have this problem, which was hidden in the regular season because of level of opponents and relative lack of scouting by the opposition. We started Gonsolin in Game 2 of the Braves series, and he left with the score 7-0 in their favor. Last night, Gonsolin and May left us with 5-0. It is extremely difficult to win a series against a very good team, when you are almost conceding two of the games. Do we think that Gonsolin or May is going to beat Snell in Game 6? That means that unless we somehow win the next three games, we are going to face a Game 7 at best, Buehler against Morton and the entire Tampa Bay bullpen which never gives up a lead after six innings..

The management thought that we could win the title with only two proven starters, or maybe they just hoped we would. We have gotten this far. But we are depending on a major start from Urias,, and somehow one good start from Gonsolin or May. We have a better lineup than Tampa Bay, but they have the asset which we never have, which is a virtually impregnable bullpen. They also have more proven starting pitchers than we do, and a manager who is very adept at using his staff. We’ve only played two games, but the problems for us are evident. We will see if we have enough talent to deal with them. A number of people who were confident that our rookie pitchers were going to be just fine in the playoffs, were being very optimistic.

I immensely dislike the opener. And i am pretty sure most pitchers do not like it either. May definitely did not have good stuff last night in his first inning. He looked better when he went out in the second inning of work, but then he hung one and Lowe did not miss it. I honestly think I would have went with Wood as the opener. He has the experience, and the moment would not overwhelm him. He did a very good job last night. But like Badger said, you have to hit to win. This was one of those games where the offense just never really got untracked. I think the most maddening thing for me is that with two strikes, these guys just do not protect the plate. They take pitches right down the pike and the bat never leaves their shoulder. Barnes did that a couple of times in game one. Smith and Bellinger did it last night. I still think that overall, the Dodger offense will get the job done. But they need to be a little crisper on defense, and aggressive on pitches in the strike zone. It wasn’t all on him, but last nights ump had a pretty generous strike zone. Some of those strike calls were way out of the zone. Go get em tomorrow.

I must have been watching a different game. Last nights ump missed so many low strikes it was comical.

A couple of notes. Manfred wants to keep the man on second extra inning rule, but I think that will be a hard sell to the players union. He also likes an expanded playoff format that would not be the 16 team deal we had this time, but a 14 team playoff with the two best records getting a bye. They will have to be negotiated with the players union after the season. The universal DH will also have to be addressed. Dodgers are the road team the next 3 games. Just a mention here, there were much better as the road team than as the home team this year. Charlie Morton, tomorrow’s starter has a 0.67 ERA this post season. Morton is more a breaking ball pitcher than throwing heat. The Dodgers at least this season have not been really great against those kinds of pitchers. And they faced Morton in the 17 World Series and were not too good. But, he is a career plus 4 ERA pitcher, so he can be hit. He just has been exceptional this post season. Dodgers need to be ready for his off speed stuff.

With all the complaining about May and Gonsolin remember they both started out okin the playoffs. I think a few days of rest will help them.

Pitchers are creatures of habit even young ones. May and a Gonsolin took the ball every 5 or 6 days during the season. Now they’re being thrown out there every couple of days as openers doing what the team has asked them. Price or no Price if they were allowed to pitch the way they had during the season they would be fine.

Tough loss last night. We are fine with plenty of bullets left. Some thoughts:

* As a coach, I used to stress with young pitchers the importance of dominating the bottom of a batting order. The Rays pitching dominated the Dodger’s 6 – 9 guys including the pinch hitters. We were 1 for 14 with 8 K’s. That was unusual as we’ve had a strong line up throughout when we have won.

* While Betts was 0 for 3, he again showed his attention to detail in doing the little things well to try to win games. On the ball rocketed to right over his head he took the perfect angle to play the bounce off the wall, whirled and threw a perfect one-hopper to 2nd holding the batter to a single. He obviously knew how that ball would ricochet. Yeah, they’ve been in that park for 3 weeks but I’ll bet he spent time reading fungoes off the wall. He seems to leave little to chance.

* With the exception of Floro and maybe Wood, none of the 7 pitchers pitched well.

* I’m not going to comment on the use of a “Bull Pen” game in the 2nd game of a World Series. If it worked, Doc would be a genius. But it didn’t. But, like stevieD, I do find it odd that after 74 games, the Dodgers are still searching for a 4th starter. And maybe a 3rd if the plan to use Urias as a Bulk guy with an opener.

* A-Rod, who we all love, did have an interesting comment post-game. He said “the decision to make this a bull-pen game and not start Buehler was not trying to out-talent the Rays but to “Out-Smart” them.” Something, I will say, Doc loves to do.

* I’m trying to be open minded and get use to the new way run a rotation and a bull-pen. While I could see this style coming 3 years ago, like dodgerrick, I’m not sure I like it. I’m learning on the run here.

Useless fact; The home team has lost 10 of the last 11 WS games.