Bullpen Struggles and Possible Changes

[Frobby]

21 minutes ago, rm5678 said:

In Hyde's post-game press conference, he was clearly angry about the PFP play. He mentioned it twice and said it almost screwed up the game for them.

Deservedly so.  If Perez gets to 1B right away as he’s supposed to, Cano never has to pitch in the game, and Bautista is facing 7-8-9 with a 3-run lead instead of 9-1-2 with a 2-run lead.   That play had a huge impact. 

[Since1984]

3 hours ago, spleen1015 said:

Maybe the Astros are just good.

At least their top 4-5. Bautista faced them both times. What happens if he steps in facing 7-8-9?

And Tucker fouled off a bunch of 100+ strikes….he may have practiced that in the cages. Someone posted a video analysis of his at bat against the mountain. Was to bitter the next morning to watch it, but Tucker’s AB and success in those conditions deserve recognition.

[Frobby]

7 minutes ago, Since1984 said:

And Tucker fouled off a bunch of 100+ strikes….he may have practiced that in the cages. Someone posted a video analysis of his at bat against the mountain. Was to bitter the next morning to watch it, but Tucker’s AB and success in those conditions deserve recognition.

Very generally, the Astros did a great job all series long fending off good 2-strike pitches.  They are extremely tenacious.  

I also think the O’s don’t vary the location of their 2 strike pitches enough.  They shoot for the outside corner almost every pitch and the hitters know it.  They need to pitch inside more often IMO.
 

[Natty]

Any pitcher rejected by any team who is cheap we will take a chance to build our playoff run bullpen . 

[Uli2001]

37 minutes ago, Since1984 said:

And Tucker fouled off a bunch of 100+ strikes….he may have practiced that in the cages. Someone posted a video analysis of his at bat against the mountain. Was to bitter the next morning to watch it, but Tucker’s AB and success in those conditions deserve recognition.

Any competent major-leaguer can time a fastball if they see it enough. After so many foul-offs, Bautista should not have insisted on the fastball. Throw him a breaking ball, even if you do not have a good one going. He's in fastball-hitting mode. That's part of the guile of pitching. Do not give in.

[Uli2001]

46 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Deservedly so.  If Perez gets to 1B right away as he’s supposed to, Cano never has to pitch in the game, and Bautista is facing 7-8-9 with a 3-run lead instead of 9-1-2 with a 2-run lead.   That play had a huge impact. 

Good point. This team has not been playing tight defense, not as tight as they were in the first half. This may have to do with the bullpen coming out of sorts too. Pitchers suddenly do not thrust their defense behind them.

[panick]

One change that should be made is that Baumann should be brought into a game if there are men on base.  He lets too many of those runners score.

[AnythingO's]

Just now, panick said:

One change that should be made is that Baumann should be brought into a game if there are men on base.  He lets too many of those runners score.

I think you missed a "NOT" in there maybe

[panick]

1 minute ago, AnythingO's said:

I think you missed a "NOT" in there maybe

You're right. My bad.

[dystopia]

19 minutes ago, panick said:

One change that should be made is that Baumann should be brought into a game if there are men on base.  He lets too many of those runners score.

Which of our pitchers do you bring in then? They all suck with inherited runners. 

[oriolediehard]

I think too much rest for Bautista affects his momentum.  I think Bautista should save every game in the 9th with a 2 or less run lead. He should only pitch in the 9th. Just about every team has their closer ready every 9th inning.  Hyde is the only manager that is so careful with when to use Bautista. Closers have their routine to be ready everyday. This why Bautista has been shaky his last 2 outings.  I rather win than worry about Hyde's pride and decisions.

[Fan4Life]

5 hours ago, ledzepp8 said:

It amazes me how people discount the opponent they face and expect the pitchers to never give up any hits or runs. We were playing the Astros. Defending world champs and a good team.

But as things currently stand we will have to get passed them to get to the WS. So.. measuring our performance against the likely road block in our way isn't unwarranted.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Uli2001 said:

Good point. This team has not been playing tight defense, not as tight as they were in the first half. This may have to do with the bullpen coming out of sorts too. Pitchers suddenly do not thrust their defense behind them.

I don’t really agree.  Urias, Frazier, O’Hearn and Mountcastle all made excellent plays today.  Perez caused his own problem. 

[sportsfan8703]

13 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I don’t really agree.  Urias, Frazier, O’Hearn and Mountcastle all made excellent plays today.  Perez caused his own problem. 

Agreed. Perez let the Astros get some momentum going. Just a really dumb play by Perez. He’s so small. He should be able to beat Jon Singleton to 1B all day. Huge mental error by Perez not covering 1B on time. 

[vab]

You can't always knee-jerk and cut guys or move them out of their roles when they struggle a bit. Sometimes you just have to work with guys and get them back on track. That's largely the case with this bullpen. Elias determined the price of the relievers out there was either too high or they weren't significant enough upgrades. I don't know if he was right but he gets the benefit of the doubt with me.