MLB: The 2017 Post-Season

[CDu]

Big evening for this Chicago sports fan:

4pm ET - Cubs host the Nationals in game 3 of the NLDS
7:30 pm ET - should be finishing up the Cubs game, time to start nighttime routine for CDu Jr
8:30 pm ET - Da Bears!

I don't have high expectations for the Bears game, but hopefully the Cubs will bounce back at home. Could be 7+ hours of joy or misery. Can't wait!

[Blue in the Face]

Chris Sale's 2nd playoff appearance didn't work out much better than his 1st. We'll see if Luis Severino can bounce back and keep his team in the playoffs a little better than Sale did.

[CDu]

Oof! A double error by Schwarber on an easy fly with 2 outs followed by a double by Zimmerman wastes a great start by Quintana. He leaves with a line of 5.2 IP, 7 K, no ER, but on the hook if the Cubs can't get on the board.

Schwarber should get a chance to make amends. Hopefully the top of the order can help him too.

[CDu]

Double oof! The Cubs run themselves out of a big inning with Heyward (the trail runner) getting doubled off first on a flyout to CF. Lots of self-inflicted wounds for the Cubs: 4 errors, plus the baserunning gaffe there. Lucky to be tied in this one.

Battle of the bullpens now. Scherzer an even tougher-luck no decision, with just one hit allowed.

[JBDuke]

Double oof! The Cubs run themselves out of a big inning with Heyward (the trail runner) getting doubled off first on a flyout to CF. Lots of self-inflicted wounds for the Cubs: 4 errors, plus the baserunning gaffe there. Lucky to be tied in this one.

Battle of the bullpens now. Scherzer an even tougher-luck no decision, with just one hit allowed.

The Cubs' defense has been really weird in this one. There have been at least four great defensive plays, but also four errors. Agreed that it feels like the Nationals should have a bigger lead than they do.

[CDu]

The Cubs' defense has been really weird in this one. There have been at least four great defensive plays, but also four errors. Agreed that it feels like the Nationals should have a bigger lead than they do.

Yeah, right after I posted, Zobrist added a gem. Strange, strange game.

For drama, I would have LOVED to see Scherzer face Schwarber in the 7th. Talk about fun storyline potential. As a Cubs fan, I will take the result. But oh would that have been fun to watch power v power.

[JBDuke]

Yeah, right after I posted, Zobrist added a gem. Strange, strange game.

For drama, I would have LOVED to see Scherzer face Schwarber in the 7th. Talk about fun storyline potential. As a Cubs fan, I will take the result. But oh would that have been fun to watch power v power.

And now Rizzo drops a blooper into no-man's land. Despite the errors, all the breaks seem to be falling the Cubs' way in this one.

[CDu]

And now Rizzo drops a blooper into no-man's land. Despite the errors, all the breaks seem to be falling the Cubs' way in this one.

Yep. Aside from one inning (and really just one play), things fell just in favor of the Cubs today. Scherzer was amazing out there. He showed his Cy Young form. Quintana was almost as good. Crazy that neither factored in the decision, despite both throwing so well.

The one constant in this series: great starting pitching. All but one starter has been amazing, and a combined 5 earned runs allowed through three games. And one of those 5 was given up after the starter left. Who would have thought these were two of the best offenses in the NL?

[Mal]

And now Rizzo drops a blooper into no-man's land. Despite the errors, all the breaks seem to be falling the Cubs' way in this one.

One of those breaks possibly being Dusty pulling Scherzer after giving up his first hit of the game. His stuff had been trailing off and he's obviously playing with fire with that hammy, but still. Almora's RBI hit seemed as inevitable as Zimmerman's when Maddon took out Quintana, who was dealing and improving as the game went on. His pitch count was 96 but it's the playoffs and he hadn't thrown in a week and a half. Heck, I might have let Quintana start the 7th even if he gave up an unearned run, with at best 6-8 coming up.

I'd like to see some numbers that break down SP effectiveness in later innings vs. parade of relievers for matchups. I'm not convinced, without stats to tell me so, that the latter is necessarily the way to go when the starter's on his game. If he's given up 4 on 6 hits and a couple walks and thrown 110 pitches, fine. But when you've got the varied repertoire of those two starters out there today, who haven't let any runs across, a third time through the bottom of the order for them doesn't seem like something to be avoided like the plague.

Anyway, all in all, you're right on. This was a stolen game for the Cubs. No hit through 6 1/3, mental and physical mistakes all over the place, and scrape out a win nonetheless.

A little redemption for Edwards, too. 11 heaters in 14 pitches.

[weezie]

Big evening for this Chicago sports fan... Could be 7+ hours of joy or misery. Can't wait!

Grrrrrrr....all my teams STINK except Duke....

[JBDuke]

One of those breaks possibly being Dusty pulling Scherzer after giving up his first hit of the game. His stuff had been trailing off and he's obviously playing with fire with that hammy, but still. Almora's RBI hit seemed as inevitable as Zimmerman's when Maddon took out Quintana, who was dealing and improving as the game went on. His pitch count was 96 but it's the playoffs and he hadn't thrown in a week and a half. Heck, I might have let Quintana start the 7th even if he gave up an unearned run, with at best 6-8 coming up.

I'd like to see some numbers that break down SP effectiveness in later innings vs. parade of relievers for matchups. I'm not convinced, without stats to tell me so, that the latter is necessarily the way to go when the starter's on his game. If he's given up 4 on 6 hits and a couple walks and thrown 110 pitches, fine. But when you've got the varied repertoire of those two starters out there today, who haven't let any runs across, a third time through the bottom of the order for them doesn't seem like something to be avoided like the plague.

Anyway, all in all, you're right on. This was a stolen game for the Cubs. No hit through 6 1/3, mental and physical mistakes all over the place, and scrape out a win nonetheless.

A little redemption for Edwards, too. 11 heaters in 14 pitches.

The continued inability of Trea Turner to get on base is hampering the Nationals' offense. I certainly can't lay all the blame at his feet, but he's now 0-12 and completely failing to set the table for the hitters behind him, or drive in those on base when he comes up in later innings. His defense has been fine, but the offense has been mostly absent, and he's a big part of it.

[CDu]

The continued inability of Trea Turner to get on base is hampering the Nationals' offense. I certainly can't lay all the blame at his feet, but he's now 0-12 and completely failing to set the table for the hitters behind him, or drive in those on base when he comes up in later innings. His defense has been fine, but the offense has been mostly absent, and he's a big part of it.

To be fair to Turner, he's not alone. Murphy is 1-11 (with 1 BB). Rendon is 1-10 (albeit that 1 is a HR, and he has 2 BB). Werth is 1-10 (with 2 BB). Turner has certainly be the worst performer, but the lineup as a whole has not hit. Even Harper (who has a good excuse as he's surely still rusty from injury, and even still had the massive HR to save game 2) is just 2-12. Only two regulars are hitting over .200, only one regular is over .300 in OBP, and only one above .700 in OPS.

The Cubs hitters haven't been much better. They have gotten good total production from Rizzo (.333 avg, 1.000 OPS) and Contreras (.455 OBP, 1.026 OPS), meh production from Bryant (.273/.333/.364), and everyone else has been awful.

That's what happens when both teams' starters dominate over 3 games. The work of the starting pitchers in this series - especially considering the amount of talent in both offenses - has been really amazing.

Now, watch today's game be an 11-9 bash-fest.

[CDu]

Nationals may be about to catch a huge break. A storm has delayed the start of tonight's game, with a real chance that it gets postponed to tomorrow. They had the option of playing this game earlier (they knew yesterday that the weather looked bleak for tonight), but elected not to do so for financial reasons (2pm start would hurt ratings).

Why is this a break for the Nationals? Well, if the game gets postponed to tomorrow, it would allow them to skip Roark and go with Strasburg on regular rest in game 4, with Gio going on normal rest Thursday in game 5.

Not sure if this will come to pass, as no decision has been made yet. But if you are a Nats fan looking for the momentum to change, this is at least a strong glimmer of hope.

[Blue in the Face]

Not sure if this will come to pass, as no decision has been made yet. But if you are a Nats fan looking for the momentum to change, this is at least a strong glimmer of hope.

Postponed to 4PM tomorrow.

[CDu]

Postponed to 4PM tomorrow.

Yep. Huge break for the Nats. It eliminates the Cubs' advantage in rotation depth. Now, the Nats will get to skip their 4th starter (Roark) and go to Strasburg on full rest.

Hopefully the Cubs do better against him this time around. I don't want to have to rely on another total shutdown of the Nats' bats to have a chance.

Edit: apparently Dusty is planning on making a bad decision and going with Roark anyway. Odd, to say the least. If I were him, I'd be all about going with Strasburg there tomorrow.

[JBDuke]

Yep. Huge break for the Nats. It eliminates the Cubs' advantage in rotation depth. Now, the Nats will get to skip their 4th starter (Roark) and go to Strasburg on full rest.

Hopefully the Cubs do better against him this time around. I don't want to have to rely on another total shutdown of the Nats' bats to have a chance.

Edit: apparently Dusty is planning on making a bad decision and going with Roark anyway. Odd, to say the least. If I were him, I'd be all about going with Strasburg there tomorrow.

Strasburg is an odd duck - very much a creature of habit. A fellow Nats fan at work describes him as psychologically fragile. The littlest things throw him off. In this case, he's used to throwing a bullpen session off the mound two days before his next start, and he didn't throw a bullpen yesterday to prepare for a start tomorrow. Perhaps that is why Dusty is sticking with Roark. Or maybe this is just Dusty being loyal to his guys and wanting Tanner to have a chance to show his stuff. The bad thing is that if Roark struggles early, I'd think that Stras would have a really hard time coming in out the pen. I'd much rather have Strasburg start, but have Roark ready to come in if he struggles. Roark has come in out of the pen before - with mixed results, but he's done it. He's a little more flexible than Strasburg.

We'll see if Dusty sticks with this.

[CDu]

Strasburg is an odd duck - very much a creature of habit. A fellow Nats fan at work describes him as psychologically fragile. The littlest things throw him off. In this case, he's used to throwing a bullpen session off the mound two days before his next start, and he didn't throw a bullpen yesterday to prepare for a start tomorrow. Perhaps that is why Dusty is sticking with Roark. Or maybe this is just Dusty being loyal to his guys and wanting Tanner to have a chance to show his stuff. The bad thing is that if Roark struggles early, I'd think that Stras would have a really hard time coming in out the pen. I'd much rather have Strasburg start, but have Roark ready to come in if he struggles. Roark has come in out of the pen before - with mixed results, but he's done it. He's a little more flexible than Strasburg.

We'll see if Dusty sticks with this.

I guess that makes a little more sense. Still, in an elimination game, I would think I'd go with the best starter. But, who knows? Maybe Strasburg is so routine-oriented that he wouldn't be the best starter. And maybe Roark seizes the moment. He has had some good games against the Cubs, though his overall track record against them is iffy.

It seems like a big roll of the dice. But maybe it works out great. Certainly Strasburg is the guy you'd want in game 5 (if there is one), but gotta get there first.

[JBDuke]

I guess that makes a little more sense. Still, in an elimination game, I would think I'd go with the best starter. But, who knows? Maybe Strasburg is so routine-oriented that he wouldn't be the best starter. And maybe Roark seizes the moment. He has had some good games against the Cubs, though his overall track record against them is iffy.

It seems like a big roll of the dice. But maybe it works out great. Certainly Strasburg is the guy you'd want in game 5 (if there is one), but gotta get there first.

More info from the Nationals blog I monitor - apparently Strasburg fell ill a couple of days back and hasn't fully recovered. This wasn't just a Dusty call, either - Maddux (pitching coach), Rizzo (GM) and Strasburg himself all agreed this was the best course.

http://www.masnsports.com/nationals-...e-4-start.html

[Blue in the Face]

The twitterverse is now saying Strasburg will in fact start.

[Mal]

The twitterverse is now saying Strasburg will in fact start.

My guess is that this is because every baseball pundit and sports radio host, and most fans, were absolutely obliterating Strasburg (and Baker) overnight and into the day today. Elimination game, you've got a $175M contract, you're on normal rest and you don't want the ball because you ran half a mile and were wheezing a little? The air conditioning and Fall mold/mildew? Abnormal bullpen session timing? Come. On. Strasburg's reputation would have been permanently destroyed if he let his team down by demurring under the circumstances. Unless subsequent reports show he was at Northwestern Memorial hooked up to IV's last night, the world is under the impression that the situation absolutely, 100% called for him to DEMAND to start today and he shrugged his shoulders until the public pressure became unbearable.

Even if he's as good today as he was last week, I think this leaves a mark on him as unreliable, selfish and fickle. I wouldn't be surprised if he got a text last night from Bryce Harper that said "Don't ever look at me again unless you're starting tomorrow."