MLB Daily Thread: 10/4/2017: Dirt wins! Twins lose 13th straight postseason game

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Agree

No chance he goes in Game one

They were discussing it on Baseball Tonight and were saying they (the talking heads, not the Yankees) wouldn't start him until Game 4.

 

[packerzrule]

Yankees have eliminated them from their last five postseason berths. That's obscene.

The Yankees are ruining baseball

 

[Omar 382]

Yo, what's up fellas. I don't post much in these daily threads (though I sometimes read a little bit of them- you guys are a good, entertaining group).

I watched the first 5 innings of the AL Wild Card game last night, and saw Didi Gregorius hitting cleanup, a spot they said he hit ~26 times in the regular season (I can't remember the exact number, somewhere in that range).

I was wondering- when was the last time a team hit a shortstop cleanup for a playoff game? I couldn't remember any. Does anyone know where you could even find such information?

Thanks!

 

[StanMarsh51]

I just looked at the Indians' ALDS starters' numbers in Sept/Oct. Fucking crazy:

Kluber ~ 6 GS ~ 5-0 ~ 10.47 K/9 ~ 0.84 ERA
Carrasco ~ 6 GS ~ 5-0 ~ 10.76 K/9 ~ 1.48 ERA
Bauer ~ 5 GS ~ 3-1 ~ 10.16 K/9 ~ 2.90 ERA
Tomlin ~ 6 GS ~ 3-0 ~ 6.75 K/9 ~ 3.52 ERA

Then they have Clevinger out of the bullpen, who was 5-1, 9.55 K/9 with a 0.99 ERA.

I've been told they have a pretty good bullpen, too.

They did play largely below average (if not bad) offenses that final month though...just keepin it real .

Betweem Carrasco, Bauer and Tomlin, 15 of their 17 Sept/Oct starts were against below average offenses...with the other 2 starts being against the Twins.

 

[PolarVortex]

The Yankees are ruining baseball

Word. FTY.

 

[Omar 382]

I just looked at the Indians' ALDS starters' numbers in Sept/Oct. Fucking crazy:

Kluber ~ 6 GS ~ 5-0 ~ 10.47 K/9 ~ 0.84 ERA
Carrasco ~ 6 GS ~ 5-0 ~ 10.76 K/9 ~ 1.48 ERA
Bauer ~ 5 GS ~ 3-1 ~ 10.16 K/9 ~ 2.90 ERA
Tomlin ~ 6 GS ~ 3-0 ~ 6.75 K/9 ~ 3.52 ERA

Then they have Clevinger out of the bullpen, who was 5-1, 9.55 K/9 with a 0.99 ERA.

I've been told they have a pretty good bullpen, too.

Carlos Carrasco still hurts. I remember when we traded him (for Cliff Lee) in '09. I was going through an extremely homosexual period, and was at Boy Scouts Summer Camp for like a week somewhere in the middle of nowhere near bumblefuck Pittsburgh.

Anyway, the child molesters, er, Scout leaders, didn't let anyone have any phones or anything to access the internet for the entire week. There weren't even newspapers, so I told my parents before the trip to go to Phillies.com and print out every headline from the news section and to mail them all to me (we were allowed mail). We were right in the middle of a playoff run, and there were intense rumors about trading for a premier SP before I left.

I got the mail twice during my trip. The first time, (obviously, IIRC) it said we were swept by the Dodgers in LA, and that Amaro was balking about sending Domonic Brown as part of the package for Roy Halladay.

Second mail delivery was the last night of camp, and it said that we acquired Cliff Lee. I was fucking ecstatic. I saw that we gave up Carrasco, who I knew was a really good SP prospect, but we got fucking Cliff Lee- the guy that went like 22-3 in '08 and won the AL CYA!!!

FWIW, I'm not mad about the trade. I'd do it again, not knowing the outcome. Obviously, if we had won the WS in '09, I'd definitely do it again, but whatever. Prospects are all a gamble, and we wouldn't have even been good during much of (all of?) Carrasco's career.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

They did play largely below average (if not bad) offenses that final month though...just keepin it real .

Betweem Carrasco, Bauer and Tomlin, 15 of their 17 Sept/Oct starts were against below average offenses...with the other 2 starts being against the Twins.

Fair point.

Here's the numbers from August, when 18 of their 28 games were against top offenses (BOS, NYY, COL, MIN).

Kluber ~ 6 GS ~ 5-1 ~ 10.57 K/9 ~ 1.96 ERA
Carrasco ~ 6 GS ~ 3-2 ~ 10.59 K/9 ~ 4.50 ERA
Bauer ~ 6 GS ~ 3-1 ~ 10.15 K/9 ~ 2.31 ERA
Tomlin ~ Didn't pitch

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Carlos Carrasco still hurts. I remember when we traded him (for Cliff Lee) in '09. I was going through an extremely homosexual period, and was at Boy Scouts Summer Camp for like a week somewhere in the middle of nowhere near bumblefuck Pittsburgh.

Anyway, the child molesters, er, Scout leaders, didn't let anyone have any phones or anything to access the internet for the entire week. There weren't even newspapers, so I told my parents before the trip to go to Phillies.com and print out every headline from the news section and to mail them all to me (we were allowed mail). We were right in the middle of a playoff run, and there were intense rumors about trading for a premier SP before I left.

I got the mail twice during my trip. The first time, (obviously, IIRC) it said we were swept by the Dodgers in LA, and that Amaro was balking about sending Domonic Brown as part of the package for Roy Halladay.

Second mail delivery was the last night of camp, and it said that we acquired Cliff Lee. I was fucking ecstatic. I saw that we gave up Carrasco, who I knew was a really good SP prospect, but we got fucking Cliff Lee- the guy that went like 22-3 in '08 and won the AL CYA!!!

FWIW, I'm not mad about the trade. I'd do it again, not knowing the outcome. Obviously, if we had won the WS in '09, I'd definitely do it again, but whatever. Prospects are all a gamble, and we wouldn't have even been good during much of (all of?) Carrasco's career.

He's good, but sometimes I think he's mentally soft. Speaking of soft, how were the scout leaders' hands?

 

[navamind]

They did play largely below average (if not bad) offenses that final month though...just keepin it real .

Betweem Carrasco, Bauer and Tomlin, 15 of their 17 Sept/Oct starts were against below average offenses...with the other 2 starts being against the Twins.

"Astros pad their offense against bad pitching"

 

[Omar 382]

He's good, but sometimes I think he's mentally soft. Speaking of soft, how were the scout leaders' hands?

Hard and still grimy from the last tent they were just in.

 

[navamind]

tonight's a great pitching matchup

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

"Astros pad their offense against bad pitching"

They did.

 

[navamind]

They did.

Just like the Indians padded their numbers against weaker competition.















Newsflash: most good teams do that.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

Just like the Indians padded their numbers against weaker competition.















Newsflash: most good teams do that.

No shit, but at the halfway point, it was the vast majority of what the Astros had faced.

When I brought it up, it was because their offense was being compared to the '27 Yankees and many thought the team was head-and-shoulders above anything in the AL. I felt the entire team was a bit overrated. Guess what? Their performance in the second half supported my position.

That shit really bothered you, huh?

 

[StanMarsh51]

Fair point.

Here's the numbers from August, when 18 of their 28 games were against top offenses (BOS, NYY, COL, MIN).

Kluber ~ 6 GS ~ 5-1 ~ 10.57 K/9 ~ 1.96 ERA
Carrasco ~ 6 GS ~ 3-2 ~ 10.59 K/9 ~ 4.50 ERA
Bauer ~ 6 GS ~ 3-1 ~ 10.15 K/9 ~ 2.31 ERA
Tomlin ~ Didn't pitch

It should be interesting to see how long of a leash Bauer is on, since he seems to struggle after the first time through a lineup...

1st time through lineup - .232 AVG, .689 OPS against
2nd-4th time through - .284 AVG, .820 OPS against

Francona's not afraid to make bold moves, so I wouldn't be surprised if he goes to the pen the first sign that Bauer's in trouble, knowing that Kluber will likely give them innings in game 2.

 

[navamind]

No shit, but at the halfway point, it was the vast majority of what the Astros had faced.

When I brought it up, it was because their offense was being compared to the '27 Yankees and many thought the team was head-and-shoulders above anything in the AL. I felt the entire team was a bit overrated. Guess what? Their performance in the second half supported my position.

That shit really bothered you, huh?

they had a 111 wRC+ in the 2nd half. It regressed, but it was still the highest of any MLB team. No team comes close to their 121 wRC+ on the season (Yanks are the closest at 108, Indians had a 107 wRC+).

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

It should be interesting to see how long of a leash Bauer is on, since he seems to struggle after the first time through a lineup...

1st time through lineup - .232 AVG, .689 OPS against
2nd-4th time through - .284 AVG, .820 OPS against

Francona's not afraid to make bold moves, so I wouldn't be surprised if he goes to the pen the first sign that Bauer's in trouble, knowing that Kluber will likely give them innings in game 2.

Are those career or 2017 splits?

Bauer is a weirdo. I think it'd be tough to look at splits like that, because it's like he's two different pitchers. One is really fucking good, and one is pretty mediocre. Of course, that begs the question, which Bauer do we get Thursday night?

I agree that Francona won't let Bauer let the game get out of hand. Hopefully it's not an issue.

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

they had a 111 wRC+ in the 2nd half. It regressed, but it was still the highest of any MLB team. No team comes close to their 121 wRC+ on the season (Yanks are the closest at 108, Indians had a 107 wRC+).

In other words, "not the '27 Yankees, and not head and shoulders the best team in the AL."

Thanks.

 

[navamind]

Are those career or 2017 splits?

Bauer is a weirdo. I think it'd be tough to look at splits like that, because it's like he's two different pitchers. One is really fucking good, and one is pretty mediocre. Of course, that begs the question, which Bauer do we get Thursday night?

I agree that Francona won't let Bauer let the game get out of hand. Hopefully it's not an issue.

You'd think Bauer would have put it together over a full season by now. He's shown flashes of being an All-Star caliber pitcher (1st half 2015, 1st half 2016, 2nd half 2017).

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

You'd think Bauer would have put it together over a full season by now. He's shown flashes of being an All-Star caliber pitcher (1st half 2015, 1st half 2016, 2nd half 2017).

Yeah, no shit. He's a bit of a head case. Fairly entertaining on Twitter at times.