now that was a simplistic response, but yeah look at the run totals in Vegas for AL games versus NL games..the run totals are higher in AL games.....

I would also bet that the production of the DH in the AL is greater than NL pitchers that hit....hopefully the bookies dont know that..

Los Doyers.

Let's go!

AL v NL
 

Can argue all we want about DH output v pitchers but you have to say at least it makes the games much more interesting in the NL about when to pull your starter/relievers based on when your pitcher is hitting etc.

Lots of drama in pulling Chacin after 2 innings which would not have been a decision to make in the AL for example...also pulling Hader for pinch hitter..

The managing impact appears to involve a lot more strategy in NL v. AL....again a simplistic statement but thats me...

Counsell overmanaged. Period. Thanks Craig.

A lineup of craig counsels probably scores more than 1 run though


Its not like Vegas picked the brewers...he went 7 games...never understood how losing managers can be blamed when they cover the spread

if coach loses every game but covers spread every game...no way i would fire him..

+1. And if they ever go all DH it will be a crying shame....

I wholeheartedly agree. Both leagues used to play the same game. The DH created the bifurcation. The old game, the current NL game, increases the complexity of managerial decisions during the game. During the playoffs Roberts always appeared to be watching, while Counsell always appeared to be thinking. Counsell made a number of questionable decisions. Many worked out to my surprise. A few didn’t.

Should Counsell be fired? Hell no. The Brewers, a small market team with a low payroll, got within one game of the WS with a single ten game winner.

Counsell was playing chess with 12 pieces on the board. Their opponents played with 16.;)

with the new analytical approach, the baseball manager role has been marginalized. imo dave roberts is nothing more than a mouthpiece for the front office, a liason in communication between the fo and the players, and a day-to-day motivator for the players. he probably gets a folder everyday with different situational approaches and what moves need to be made to counteract that. lineup cards, pitch count, matchups etc, there's no way dave roberts is acting on his own in any of those decisions. i mean last year in the playoffs against the cubs the outfielders were wearing gps trackers so they would know the EXACT spot to stand on the field...this front office is leaving nothing to chance and pushing every .01 percent they could so roberts is mainly the RAH RAH guy.

saying all that red sox is the superior team, sox in 5.

Nice outing by Clayton.

He knew where to stand.

tough outing..again all inherited runners scored and he did pitch into the 5th...unlike Chris Sale so he didnt do any worse than him

Still when throwing 91 mph...cant really say choked..doing the best he can with 91 mph against best offense in baseball in AL park with DH...if throwing 95 mph like the last 10 years thats a different story ..

now Sale had the better stuff and still did had a tough outing...

Jake, forget the spin. He had a BAD night and got shelled. Period. He remains inconsistent post-season IMO. I don't know what the issue is but there is a disparity between his playoff self and his regular season self which we can no longer write off as small sample size -- IMO again.

Its not a small sample size hes been very good the past 4 years.. for throwing 91 mph he's been great.

You cant compare him at 91 mph versus his Cy Young years.....its not a mental issue. Chris Sale had all his stuff and it didnt matter. Playoffs are a different animal now with how starters are used. Thats whats amazing about kershaw last series in which you jumped on him for his first game performance with the 3 errors by his team .. then he came through for the most key game of the series..game 5..then closed out game 7..... the narrative has simply changed versus what it was going into 2014 or so.

But again, you take off 5 mph from Scherzer and then question why he isnt the same... its a physical issue on kershaw not mental this year..... but still doing fine...they are in the world series after all...


Also you are going to get hit by the Red sox at home a lot harder than you will facing 90 loss NL Teams in NL parks......you cant expect playoff stats to be better than regular season stats

The reality is that playoff batting averages are significantly LOWER than regular season. Here's a post from a guy online who looked into this a few years back.

Did some quick research, and this is actually a little harder to get at than I thought to find for all-time, but here's what I dug up for the last 10 years:

Regular Season vs Playoffs
2013 MLB Average (as of 10/6/13): .253 vs .239
2012: .254 vs .235
2011: .255 vs .252
2010: .257 vs .209
2009: .262 vs .241
2008: .264 vs .245
2007: .268 vs .233
2006: .269 vs .251
2005: .264 vs .254
2004: .266 vs .256

Looking at those numbers, obviously there's less variance for regular season averages due to much larger sample size (2430 regular season games vs ~35-40 postseason games per year), but for the last decade, batting averages tend to be about .20 points lower in the postseason than in the regular season.

So again -- stop the spin. Stop the excuses. Stop. Clayton STILL has a post-season problem.

His postseason ERA the last 3 years has been 4.03, slightly better than his career of 4.28, but definitely not good.

Good news Jake. The Dodgers will not lose today and Kershaw will not give up a run.

Even better news is that Jake will not have to spin anything tonight.

Even if Dodgers manage a win, they are brutal. Terrible at bats. Over managing. Garbage execution. Singlehandedly changing Price's post season narrative and making Porcello out to be a world beater. Gross.

That's just who they've been under Friedman and the philosophy. Just like NBA with the 3s they take big hacks feast or famine, there's no grinding at bats or working the pitchers. Like I said it's more of a baseball simulation than a real live game and it's not very entertaining to watch.

I've always liked eovaldi, we could've gotten him back wonder why Friedman didn't make a deal for him. Great stuff throws hard right hander we have good relationship with Tampa fo. Maybe injury concerns, but it's a minimal gamble with big upside in an area of needs.

Dodgers are in the WS and only down one game, not sure what you guys are complaining about?

How many of you stayed up to watch the end of game 3?

I thought I was a big fan, but seven hours? really?


.

Didnt stay up to watch.

91 mph Kershaw still did decently.....they not in world series without him beating Brewers in key post season game...far from mediocre when you are the key reason (in the postseason ) your team is in the world series....People forget how unstoppable everyone thought the brewers were.... 1 bad and 1 good start for many pitchers makes some great post season pitchers...its when you had the good start versus the bad...all in the timing... nobody cares or remembers the bad start v the brewers? Yeah 91 mph Kershaw wasnt great v Red Sox as with the whole Dodger team besides Rich Hill basically pitching wise.

People too hung up on numbers..

Livan Hernandez won the World series MVP and look at his numbers