Toronto Blue Jays vs Texas Rangers - ALDS - Page 2 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

jayswin · 10-04-2016, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Bullpen isn't good enough. Losing Benoit was catastrophic.

Yeah, without being a knowledgeable baseball fan it almost seems like it would make sense to have a starter ready for the bullpen each game in a 5 game series.

Our current bullpen is almost guaranteed to blow one or more games in a short series, which would likely be enough to seal our fate.

Jiggy_12 · 10-05-2016, 12:03 AM

Sanchez would be on regular rest for a game 2. Happ for a game 1.

So you can line up Estrada/Happ/Sanchez how you want. Knowing whoever pitches game 1 or 2 can also pitch game 5. (Game 2 is Friday, game 5 would be Wednesday giving that starter the regular 4 days rest)

flames_fan_down_under · 10-05-2016, 12:13 AM

I like how that lines up for the Jays Jiggy_12.

I am guessing the Rangers will be going with Hamels, Darvish, Colby Lewis and Perez?

Biagini looked fantastic tonight I hope that bodes well for the remaining games

St. Pats · 10-05-2016, 12:33 AM

The way they got to this series was not good but hey who cares now they got there. Let's hope the series is a great one.

Roof-Daddy · 10-05-2016, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Bullpen isn't good enough. Losing Benoit was catastrophic.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jayswin

Yeah, without being a knowledgeable baseball fan it almost seems like it would make sense to have a starter ready for the bullpen each game in a 5 game series.

Our current bullpen is almost guaranteed to blow one or more games in a short series, which would likely be enough to seal our fate.

Thing is that the bullpen is bolstered in the playoffs because they don't need 5 starters. As we saw tonight Liriano was huge out of the pen, and if the Jays only run with 3 starters for the best of 5 ALDS, Stroman could come out of the pen too.

Roof-Daddy · 10-05-2016, 12:40 AM

Losing Benoit was awful though.

0.38 ERA as a Jay.

Just ridiculous.

flames_fan_down_under · 10-05-2016, 12:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by St. Pats

The way they got to this series was not good but hey who cares now they got there. Let's hope the series is a great one.

I agree!

Dion · 10-05-2016, 01:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Bullpen isn't good enough. Losing Benoit was catastrophic.

And yet we managed to win 2/3 from the Red Sox to win a wildcard spot. On top of that the bullpen was spotless in the win over the O's to get us to the ALDS. If our starters can have a solid 6-7 innings in each game I like our chances in this series.

FireGilbert · 10-05-2016, 03:49 AM

Yep I guess we were right about the horrible start times. Game 2 at 11am? Seriously?

The weekday games should all be prime time even if it means more than one game is on at once. They would probably get the same number of viewers anyways. One of things I love about the NHL playoff first round is being able to flip between multiple games at the same time.

Resolute 14 · 10-05-2016, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Bullpen isn't good enough. Losing Benoit was catastrophic.

That hurt badly. But if Liriano can come out of the pen and do what he did last night, then we effectively gained a pretty good bullpen arm, right when we need it.

Lefty too, for those key match-ups.

Senator Clay Davis · 10-05-2016, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FireGilbert

Yep I guess we were right about the horrible start times. Game 2 at 11am? Seriously?

The weekday games should all be prime time even if it means more than one game is on at once. They would probably get the same number of viewers anyways. One of things I love about the NHL playoff first round is being able to flip between multiple games at the same time.

Yeah never happening. MLB is a slave to TV just like the other sports. TBS and FOX aren't paying to have direct competition against each other if they can avoid it. And obviously the MLB can work the schedule to avoid it. Only teams who can be guaranteed consistent prime spots are the New York teams, LA teams, and Chicago teams. Otherwise enjoy 1:37 start times.

GirlySports · 10-05-2016, 08:08 AM

Bullpen loses Benoit but gains Liriano. If Biagini and Grilli step up it should be ok.

Or a Sanchez complete game.

----

Early Friday game? Extended lunch!

corporatejay · 10-05-2016, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GirlySports

Bullpen loses Benoit but gains Liriano. If Biagini and Grilli step up it should be ok.

Or a Sanchez complete game.

----

Early Friday game? Extended lunch!

But you're pitching on 20 hours rest and you need as many arms as you have those guys. Losing Benoit is massive.

JayP · 10-05-2016, 08:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by corporatejay

But you're pitching on 20 hours rest and you need as many arms as you have those guys. Losing Benoit is massive.

Nah, Pitching on back to back days isn't really an issue. Guys do it all the time in the playoffs - it's just a fact of life.

With so many off days and relievers being asked to get extra outs, bullpen depth isn't really critical in the playoffs. It's all about match-ups and having 3-4 guys who take on 95% of the bullpen innings. Between Osuna, Grilli, Biagini, Cecil, and Liriano the Jays have a good enough back end that close out most games. It's not a super bullpen, but it's good enough to get the job done.

EDIT: Here's a pitcher usage list from the playoffs last year (all teams):
SP1: 24%
SP2: 18%
SP3: 13%
SP4: 8%
RP1: 8%
RP2: 8%
RP3: 7%
RP4: 5%
rest: 9%

As you can see, the innings really shift heavily towards the back end of the bullpen.

Hockey · 10-05-2016, 09:11 AM

I'm not liking the early Friday start.

The Big Chill · 10-05-2016, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hockey

I'm not liking the early Friday start.

Ya these start times suck. I've watched a lot of baseball over the past 2 seasons and barely had the chance to watch any playoffs. Luckily my schedule has worked out so that I'll see game one, but I might not see much after that.

DiracSpike · 10-05-2016, 09:14 AM

Liriano can come out of the bullpen no problem. So for the first few games at least you have 3 great starters capable of going deep into a game, with Grilli, Biagini, Liriano, Osuna, and a seemingly revitalized Cecil available in the pen. I'm comfortable with that.

Jiggy_12 · 10-05-2016, 10:55 AM

#BlueJays Jose Bautista is now batting .391 with 6 Runs, 4 HR & 9 RBI in 6 career potential elimination games in the postseason.

TheAlpineOracle · 10-05-2016, 11:50 AM

If the Jays can get their offence back on track, I'll think they'll win this series. That's a big if though. Pretty hard task. Darvish kills the Jays.

I think Sportsnet made a pretty good point last night. The Jays have been playing playoff baseball against incredible hard AL East teams for the past 2-3 weeks. Rangers have been playing meaningless games against weaker opponents during that time. Jays may be more ready for this series than the Rangers are.

GirlySports · 10-05-2016, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAlpineOracle

If the Jays can get their offence back on track, I'll think they'll win this series. That's a big if though. Pretty hard task. Darvish kills the Jays.

I think Sportsnet made a pretty good point last night. The Jays have been playing playoff baseball against incredible hard AL East teams for the past 2-3 weeks. Rangers have been playing meaningless games against weaker opponents during that time. Jays may be more ready for this series than the Rangers are.

If the Rangers were playing anyone else then yeah they might be rusty. But I think they'll be up for the Jays and revenge for last year.