Arm injury for Bautista?

[doctorbj]

Each pitcher must face 3 batters

[Malike]

There are a million articles by reputable sources that are data driven that suggest using your best reliever to get the last 3 outs is probably not the best time to use that reliever. The closer position is definitely overrated and oft times the best reliever should be used in the highest leverage situations and getting 3 outs in the 9th isn't always the highest leverage situation in a game. We are going to miss what Bautista brings to this team, but we'll get the last 3 outs, likely as much as we would if Felix were closing the games out. I'm hoping the silence we're getting today isn't deafening. If it were just soreness we'd likely have heard it from Roch or someone by now if the tests didn't show something bad.

[Malike]

1 minute ago, doctorbj said:

Each pitcher must face 3 batters

With the exception of bringing in a reliever to get the last out in an inning. If you bring him back out he has to face to two more, but you do not have to bring him back out. You couldn't mix and match in the 9th, that is correct.

[Sports Guy]

46 minutes ago, MacAdoo said:

Not going to understate his loss. It’s huge figuratively and literally. He’s the best closer in baseball. But his value is somewhat diminished in the playoffs because part of what makes him so valuable is his ability to strand runners via strikeout—particularly in reference to the reg season extra inning ghost runner. He’s probably won us an extra half dozen games this year that more of a “pitch-to-contact” closer may not. 
 

That all goes away with playoff rules. 

This is true however in the playoffs, he would typically pitch in the 8th and 9th innings…his value is enhanced in the playoffs, not diminished.

[baltfan]

2 minutes ago, Malike said:

There are a million articles by reputable sources that are data driven that suggest using your best reliever to get the last 3 outs is probably not the best time to use that reliever. The closer position is definitely overrated and oft times the best reliever should be used in the highest leverage situations and getting 3 outs in the 9th isn't always the highest leverage situation in a game. We are going to miss what Bautista brings to this team, but we'll get the last 3 outs, likely as much as we would if Felix were closing the games out. I'm hoping the silence we're getting today isn't deafening. If it were just soreness we'd likely have heard it from Roch or someone by now if the tests didn't show something bad.

There are also a ton of guys that have held that position and then gotten a chance to be part of baseball management only to determine that not everyone is cut out to close and there is a big value to defined roles.  These guys are not automatons. 

[Malike]

4 minutes ago, baltfan said:

There are also a ton of guys that have held that position and then gotten a chance to be part of baseball management only to determine that not everyone is cut out to close and there is a big value to defined roles.  These guys are not automatons. 

I don't buy the "closer mentality" thing. You're either a good reliever or you're not. There are a ton of examples of teams who were playoff teams who stuck with "proven closers" too long, only to get burned. It took the Red Sox leaving Uehara as the setup man through two "proven closers" who couldn't get the job done before he had his run as the most dominant in the sport for a spell. If you put a good pitcher in in the 9th, he'll likely get 3 outs.

[Roll Tide]

 

[Roll Tide]

 

[spleen1015]

Elias speaking to the media after last night tells me it's bad news.

[Uli2001]

Losing Bautista is bad, but here's an open secret: the Orioles bullpen has closed a lot of games already without Bautista: he's rarely available to pitch two days in a row. Hyde has handled him with kid gloves, and now we can see that justifiably so. Each reliever now will have to play a little harder to pick up their injured teammate.

[Malike]

2 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

 

Well that sounds awful.

[Malike]

The Orioles bullpen has also blown more saves than any team not named St. Louis, CWS, or the Nats, even with Felix who had blown 1/3 of our saves. Again, we need him and I don't want to diminish that, but we've blown a lot of saves and still have the best record in the AL.

[murph]

4 minutes ago, Roll Tide said:

 

Good to hear but was that because he had some good spirits before Danny saw him.  

 

Anything positive is good to hear for sure.  Hoping for not the worse case scenario.  

[Frobby]

I’ve heard Elias is having a presser at 4 pm.  That doesn’t sound good.  

[Can_of_corn]

6 minutes ago, Malike said:

The Orioles bullpen has also blown more saves than any team not named St. Louis, CWS, or the Nats, even with Felix who had blown 1/3 of our saves. Again, we need him and I don't want to diminish that, but we've blown a lot of saves and still have the best record in the AL.

I think some folks here overate his actual level of performance this year.