Tillman's Performance

[Orioles4Life21]

Tillman's performance against TOR has not been talked about much since its been buried beneath the talk about how Britton should have been used and how bad the offense was. I actually thought Chris looked pretty darn good. Yes his velocity was not what it was mid season, but I thought he had good command and made good pitches for the most part. He just ran into some really bad luck in that 5th inning. Saunders hit that bloop double. I saw something that said 2 of the 500+ balls hit at that velocity with that trajectory went for a double all season. I'm 90% sure those were the numbers stated. And then Pillar tomahawked that ball that I'm still not sure how Bourn didn't catch. That pitch was the second highest pitch that went for a hit ALL SEASON. It was 4.6 feet off the ground.

So overall, I thought Chris looked pretty damn good, but fell victim to some horrible luck.

[Frobby]

I thought his fastball command was a little off, but breaking stuff was good. Decent game but Buck picked the right time to yank him.

[CanadianOriole]

I thought Buck was too late with the hook. I believed we would treat it like KC did Chris Young's starts last year in the postseason. Get 3 or 4 in and get him out. The win rule doesn't matter in a win or go home game - but we left Tillman in until he couldn't get a win interestingly enough - foreshadowing the save rule debacle to come. Anyway, once Chris was through 4 and we were up 2-1 - that left 5 innings to cover with Givens/Hart/Brach/O'Day/Britton. The pen had plenty of length to get us home from there - especially with Givens and Britton both able to pretty comfortably take us home. The strategy in a 1 game win or go home situation has to be different than what you use all year long if the situation warrants it. Given Tillman's shakiness down the stretch and historic shakiness in Toronto - it was time to start rolling out the bullpen arms after 4. I'd have even considered it after 3.

[Aristotelian]

His curveball was good. FB command was off. I was pleasantly surprised that Buck took him out when he did. Although who knows, maybe if Tillman gets a few more outs we don't need Ubaldo...

[Redskins Rick]

I think more importantly, if the team had scored 1 more run, then extra innings, would have never happened.

Time to stop playing the blame game on Ubaldo and Buck not pitching Zach.

[sportsfan8703]

I thought his fastball command was a little off, but breaking stuff was good. Decent game but Buck picked the right time to yank him.

Well said. His FB command was terrible. He had a good feel for his breaking pitches though. He stayed away from the big inning and got the game to the pen. That was a playoff level AL start.

[PaulFolk]

I think more importantly, if the team had scored 1 more run, then extra innings, would have never happened.

Time to stop playing the blame game on Ubaldo and Buck not pitching Zach.

You can play the blame game on all of them. They were all factors in the loss. But this is a Tillman thread.

[TINSTAAPP]

It was definitely the right decision to start Tillman over Ubaldo in the Wild Card game. Ubaldo looked petrified when Buck sent him out to the mound in 11th inning. If he had started the game, I believe his nerves would have gotten the better of him and he would have been hammered like Cole Hamels did yesterday.

[weams]

Cole Hamels wishes he pitched like Tillman.

[Redskins Rick]

You can play the blame game on all of them. They were all factors in the loss. But this is a Tillman thread.

Its pretty simple, 1 more run in regulation play, and the Orioles probably win that game and Tillman starts Game 3 and the first home ALDS game.

[jtschrei]

I thought Buck was too late with the hook. I believed we would treat it like KC did Chris Young's starts last year in the postseason. Get 3 or 4 in and get him out. The win rule doesn't matter in a win or go home game - but we left Tillman in until he couldn't get a win interestingly enough - foreshadowing the save rule debacle to come. Anyway, once Chris was through 4 and we were up 2-1 - that left 5 innings to cover with Givens/Hart/Brach/O'Day/Britton. The pen had plenty of length to get us home from there - especially with Givens and Britton both able to pretty comfortably take us home. The strategy in a 1 game win or go home situation has to be different than what you use all year long if the situation warrants it. Given Tillman's shakiness down the stretch and historic shakiness in Toronto - it was time to start rolling out the bullpen arms after 4. I'd have even considered it after 3.

100% agree with this. And that's exactly why Britton needed to be in the game earlier. Buck got lucky that Brach and O'Day got out of the 9th. Like, Buck rolled the dice there. If we would have gone home in the 9th, people still would have been furious that he didn't bring in Britton to pitch earlier. I just wanted to see Buck have a little more urgent strategy.

I felt Buck's not urgent enough strategy was also on display when he put in Reimold. I'lll never understand why he didn't hit Mancini and then put Stubbs in LF. Because he didn't want to burn Mancini? Like why save players for super late innings?

[jtschrei]

I know this is about Tillman, but watching Francona put in Andrew Miller in the 5th last night was like turning the knife in my heart.

[Redskins Rick]

I know this is about Tillman, but watching Francona put in Andrew Miller in the 5th last night was like turning the knife in my heart.

Which is why I am not watching the games.

I can't wait until OD and Tillman will get the nod, and I am sure some OP will want Gausman or Bundy!

[notyourbuddy]

Your fully rested ace gives you 4 1/3rd, which is pretty much what he averages in his postseason career.

It is what it is I guess.

[PaulFolk]

It was definitely the right decision to start Tillman over Ubaldo in the Wild Card game. Ubaldo looked petrified when Buck sent him out to the mound in 11th inning. If he had started the game, I believe his nerves would have gotten the better of him and he would have been hammered like Cole Hamels did yesterday.

I seriously doubt Ubaldo was "petrified." He's been around a long time, and this isn't his first taste of October baseball. He pitched pretty well in the 2007 playoffs for the Rockies, then had one great start and one bad one in the '09 playoffs.

Ubaldo struggles because his mechanics get out of whack and his command abandons him, but that has nothing to do with being petrified.