There’s a Reason for Rest

I applaud Terry Francona‘s unconventional use of his pitching staff in the post-season. It allowed him to take a team with a starting staff diminished by injuries and come within a run or two of winning the World Series. The Indians shut down three great offenses, the Red Sox, the Blue Jays, and the Cubs for a while by pulling his starters early and letting his bullpen take over.

Joe Maddon‘s bullpen use, especially in the last two games of the series, struck me as motivated by fear more than strategy. He lost confidence in the bullpen other than Aroldis Chapman.

Both managers ended up pushing pitchers beyond their limits. Corey Kluber started two games on short rest, and had little in game seven. It was obvious at the end of the second inning, when all seven batters put the ball in play, and six of them hit fly balls. Kluber would give up four runs in four innings. The third inning would have been a good time to give Ryan Merritt a chance. It would be a bold move, but his ability to throw strikes and keep batters off balance might have worked well against the Cubs. Later, Andrew Miller, despite two days off, was not sharp. He allowed two runs, including the unlikely home run to David Ross. If Ross doesn’t hit that unlikely home runs, the Indians might have won in regulation.

Of course, Maddon did the same thing with Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman. Lester pitched well over all, but his first inning in was hurt by bad defense. David Ross came in with Lester, and his bad throw and falling down on a wild pitch led to two runs. The same with Chapman. Having worked a lot in the previous two games, he was not sharp when he entered the game, and allowed the second unlikely homer fo the game as Rajai Davis took him deep. My guess is Maddon’s big mistake was not allowing Hendricks to continue in the game. He had thrown 63 pitches when he allowed a two-out walk. He led the NL in ERA. Maddon should have given him one more batter to finish the fifth, then he could have Lester start the sixth. Maybe Maddon saw something wrong with Hendricks, but it struck me as a panic move.

Despite all the mistakes, all the overuse, either team could have won the game. Maddon took a great team all the way. Francona took an injured team to the brink of glory. Overall, 2016 proved they are two of the best managers in the game.

from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2fhBPuu