NL Playoff Matchups

[Frayed Knot]

Cards lefty-on-lefty HRs in 2014: 8 HRs in 555 ABs
Cards lefty-on-lefty HRs in this series: 5, including 2 off Kershaw (Carpenter & Adams). Also Carpenter off Ryu, Carpenter off Howell, and Wong off Elbert.

Carpenter had 8 HRs all year, 2 vs LHPs

[metirish]

Ugh, how I loathe the Cardinals......anyway, I know a lot of people don't like Harper but dammit he is fun to watch....didn't catch the end of this game...too freaking late

[Edgy MD]

LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I know we've been watching them all year, and I KNOW he actually exists, but it still totally feels like "Aaron Barrett" is a guy the Nats had CGIed just before the playoffs started.

Yeah, that guy totally took me by surprise. I endured a lot of dis-spiriting Mets-Nats games this season and that guy didn't leave a mark on my psyche at all.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Crazy how it seems every game came down to pitcher fielding foibles.

I know crappy pitcher fielding practically torpedoed the Mets' season back in June or whatever, and there was plenty more of it here.

PFP247

[bmfc1]

Good analysis of Matt Williams' handling of the bottom of the 7th:
http://www.foxsports.com/mlb/just-a-bit-outside/story/matt-williams-nationals-manager-nlds-game4-bullpen-100814
Does anyone think that Terry would have acted differently (and not said "this is the way we've done it all year")?

BTW, Aaron Barrett got the win on Opening Day (which I'd blocked out):
http://newyork.mets.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2014_03_31_wasmlb_nynmlb_1&mode=recap&c_id=nym#gid=2014_03_31_wasmlb_nynmlb_1&mode=box

[Frayed Knot]

Edgy MD wrote: I know we've been watching them all year, and I KNOW he actually exists, but it still totally feels like "Aaron Barrett" is a guy the Nats had CGIed just before the playoffs started. Yeah, that guy totally took me by surprise. I endured a lot of dis-spiriting Mets-Nats games this season and that guy didn't leave a mark on my psyche at all.

And the bigger question, why Aaron Barrett while Tyler Clippard never even gets out of his chair?

And that onto why Matt Williams pulls his 4th starter - but then only uses his 5th starter for 2/3 of an inning
Brings in the LOOGY Thornton - but then leaves him in to face Posey with a runner on base (which set up the go-ahead run)
And not only did Clippard not appear in the close-out game but neither did whoever of Strasburg or Zimmermann (apparently Strasburg) wasn't slated to start game 5

Not a good week for the Washington bats obviously (9 runs in 4 games - 5 really counting the extra innings) but not a great week for their rookie manager either.



oe: cross-posted with bmfc1

[Frayed Knot]

btw, how prescient did Smoltz sound talking, just before the two wild pitches, about Barrett getting tight and spiking his breaking pitches?
I like Smoltz on the mike and on the occasional local games he does for the Braves he's the same only less restrained being off the network and therefore a bit goofier.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: Edgy MD wrote: LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr wrote: I know we've been watching them all year, and I KNOW he actually exists, but it still totally feels like "Aaron Barrett" is a guy the Nats had CGIed just before the playoffs started. Yeah, that guy totally took me by surprise. I endured a lot of dis-spiriting Mets-Nats games this season and that guy didn't leave a mark on my psyche at all. And the bigger question, why Aaron Barrett while Tyler Clippard never even gets out of his chair?

Yeah, the Nats and the Dodgers were so locked into roles they both went down with their best cards still to be played.

Dallas Green in 1980 --- he had a hot hand in Tug McGraw and pitched him whenever he needed him. Say what you want about Dallas Green, but he knew the playoffs were an opportunity that may never come again.

[Edgy MD]

Frayed Knot wrote: btw, how prescient did Smoltz sound talking, just before the two wild pitches, about Barrett getting tight and spiking his breaking pitches? I like Smoltz on the mike and on the occasional local games he does for the Braves he's the same only less restrained being off the network and therefore a bit goofier.

The Braves games I saw suggested he didn't pay attention to any baseball he wasn't paid to look at, and only had references from his playing games. Didn't even seem to know his own team's roster that well.