Forum
Forum Navigation
Around the League...non Padres
#781 · October 16, 2020, 12:50 pm
Seems like we discuss this concept ...
https://www.mlb.com/news/dodgers-braves-pitching-for-rest-of-nlcs
In that immortal first inning of Game 3, the Dodgers had a window to do something bold, brash, possibly unprecedented and perhaps even a little disrespectful to their opponent. They could have made a move that would have dramatically changed the outlook for their pitching plan the remainder of this series, which at the moment rates as pretty iffy.
The Dodgers could have pulled Julio Urías after three batters.
#782 · October 16, 2020, 1:41 pm
That's interesting...I wonder if Dave Roberts even considered this at the time?
It's not a big deal unless it does reach a game 7...but then it "is" a big deal.
I can't even articulate how happy I will be when the Braves win one more game.
I SO want Manny to be right when he said the Padres will win a World Series before the Dodgers do.
#783 · October 20, 2020, 1:29 pm
Robert Arthur at BP:
The gun always lights up in October—that’s been a rule of postseason baseball since the PitchF/X era began—but this year’s playoffs have been special... Not only is the average fastball velocity far and away the highest on record, but the gap between the regular season and the tournament is also the biggest in the last 12 years...
There are all sorts of reasons velocity might have increased so much this postseason, from the shorter regular season to the particular teams that made the tournament (though which teams are playing is partially a product of the arms they fielded). Some strange patterns unfolded with fastball speeds this season, despite it normally being a remarkably stable statistic. For example, older hurlers seemed to defy their normal aging curves and toss extra quickly. Clearly, the pandemic-modified year had some unusual effects on pitchers’ arms.
But the pitchers generating this velocity are familiar names. Dustin May leads the pack, averaging almost 3 mph more on his fastball than anyone else. Tyler Glasnow and Walker Buehler are up there, alongside (of course) Aroldis Chapman. The sauce comes from all the teams, albeit some more than others—the Dodgers lead the way. Between May, Buehler, and Brusdar Graterol, they have plenty of arms capable of touching the centennial mark.
Overwhelming pitch velocity also contributes to (but does not fully explain) some of the eye-popping exit speeds we’ve seen this postseason...
The connection between speed coming and going out does help to explain the all-or-nothing nature of scoring this postseason. It’s felt like nearly every run comes from a homer and indeed, a remarkable fraction of the scoring this year has been done via long ball...
Past postseason trends have often presaged shifts in the following regular season. With years of velocity gain under MLB’s belt, there’s little doubt that it will keep increasing in future seasons. But this October may suggest a further acceleration in that increase, over and above what we’ve seen recently.
#784 · October 25, 2020, 6:57 pm
re: Game 4 ... Wowe! (See what I did there? :-))
In the first three games of the World Series, there was not a single lead change.
I enjoyed this piece by Jeff Passan, now at ESPN ... his comment was the first I'd read pointing out that Jansen had not backed up the throw ... hmmm ...
#785 · October 26, 2020, 10:38 am
re: Margot's attempted steal of home
For the record, here's a link with video and some analysis ...
QUESTION: at what point is the falling off helmet not taggable for the out?
It will be fun when we get more examples to help us/them figure THAT out 🙂
#786 · October 26, 2020, 11:33 am
Looks like the Catchers bare hand came into contact with Margots left forearm while holding the catchers mitt "with" the ball in it....so that's an out.
I think the helmet is a non factor.
I think it was a good play...they weren't gonna drive him in there and if Kershaw hesitated just one more second he's safe.
Rays just need to win game 6 to give us hope!
#787 · October 26, 2020, 1:25 pm
In that sequence it was Adames’ AB that drove me crazy. Runners on 1st and 3rd, one out. LAD had Muncy holding the runner on 1st and the other three INF on the left side of the INF by a big margin. An gigantic gap on the right side of the INF.
Adames has not been hitting. Just making contact of any kind to the right side scores a run (probably is a hit). Good grief, just a bunt to the right side would have scored Margot.
But NO, Adames swings for the fences and, yes, strikes out on a breaking ball a foot outside. That AB set the stage for the Margot gamble since hitting him in did not seem an option.
It was Adames AB that set-up the loss.
#788 · October 26, 2020, 4:27 pm
Quote from fenn68 on October 26, 2020, 1:25 pmIn that sequence it was Adames’ AB that drove me crazy. Runners on 1st and 3rd, one out. LAD had Muncy holding the runner on 1st and the other three INF on the left side of the INF by a big margin. An gigantic gap on the right side of the INF.
Adames has not been hitting. Just making contact of any kind to the right side scores a run (probably is a hit). Good grief, just a bunt to the right side would have scored Margot.
But NO, Adames swings for the fences and, yes, strikes out on a breaking ball a foot outside. That AB set the stage for the Margot gamble since hitting him in did not seem an option.
It was Adames AB that set-up the loss.
And ... then they let Adames hit again for the final out of the game ... why?
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.fcgi?id=adamewi01&t=b&year=0&post=1
I guess his .319 post-season OBP isn't horrible ... and maybe relative to the options, this wasn't as bad of a decision as I think was ...
But I wanted anybody-but-Adames up at the plate for that final PA ...
#789 · October 27, 2020, 8:47 pm
Congrats to the team that won......I can't type that name
Never should have taken Snell out.......he was dealing
#790 · October 28, 2020, 7:37 am
They who shall not be named are a juggernaut. Now that they're over the "can't win the big one" hurdle, the dialogue should change. Remember, the short season was supposed to hurt this team by impacting their depth advantage.
Even with our great season to remember, were never really that close. They never missed a beat & were dominant all season long.
Impossible to say what would have happened over a full length "normal" season, but extrapolate their record out & it's one of the best teams ever.
3fingersplit has reacted to this post.
3fingersplit