Stone on the debacle

[Cascade Kid]

I thought that using Ray for just a few outs as a lefty out of the pen was the best option for him this series, and a good option against Alvarez. It didn't work out, and they may need to do something different in the future. That was my opinion before yesterday, and I'm not going to use hindsight to act like it was a stupid decision.

Kirby had never been a reliever, was it a stupid decision to use him instead of Swanson against Toronto simply because he hasn't been a reliever and Swanson has? I liked that decision at the time as well.

Then what didn't make it "work out" if RR was the best bullpen option? Something happened here. Do you know what it is? IMO it is 100% pitch sequence. Ye ole straight ball, ye ole straight ball by RR. Should've been a series of sliders away. But I think SS got caught up in the moment with him bringing in RR and wanted to go right after Alvarez. But I don't think SS took a look at RR 16% flyball/HR rate for the month of September. Major miscalculation by SS.

That ones easy.

Ray wasn't our best bullpen option.

Not that easy. SS still has to formulate his risk/reward plan on the mound with any given pitcher.

[bpj]

Then what didn't make it "work out" if RR was the best bullpen option? Something happened here. Do you know what it is? IMO it is 100% pitch sequence. Ye ole straight ball, ye ole straight ball by RR. Should've been a series of sliders away. But I think SS got caught up in the moment with him bringing in RR and wanted to go right after Alvarez. But I don't think SS took a look at RR 16% flyball/HR rate for the month of September. Major miscalculation by SS.

That ones easy.

Ray wasn't our best bullpen option.

Not that easy. SS still has to formulate his risk/reward plan on the mound with any given pitcher.

Well, I guess now he has a better frame of reference, doesn't he.

So, next time, it will be easy..

[Michael K.]

That ones easy.

Ray wasn't our best bullpen option.

The other two guys that choked were, and how well did that work out? All of a sudden Swanson and Boyd are heroes, only because they just in the bullpen as they have for some time now. Good Lord, they went to a guy that everyone this off season was creaming their underwear over. Former Cy young, went Leftie on Leftie. A good hitter hit a mistake pitch. Fucking happens. Verlander is probably the Cy Young award winner, and we have knocked him around twice now, shit happens.

All this consternation over whether Robbie was our best bullpen option, fuck guys, look at the other two who supposedly were our best options? We don't have a good option. There is a reason the Astros are the #1 seed and we lost September series' to the Rangers, Angels, A's Tigers and fucking Royals. And it's not because we are so loaded with talent that every loss is on the manager.

Two of our go to guys in the bullpen shit the bed. The manager got a little desperate. This game was lost when that pussy Sewald plunked a chump rookie on a full count. Sorry, it was. Robbie Ray, Swanson, Boyd....Kirby, don't fucking care. The Astros were on a roll and we were cooked. Was a terrible outing by the guy we apparently tabbed as the closer. Joke show, and Munoz was no better before him.

We had the easiest schedule in baseball to close out the season and sputtered down the stretch. Glad we beat the Blue Jays, but it doesn't change the fact that the Astros are head and fucking shoulders better than us. SS getting heat for using a starter as a bullpen guy, well, look at the result from the two bullpen guys he used! We aren't as good as them. Should have won, yes, but we lost it when Munoz and Sewald stunk. I don't care who he went to to face Alvarez, this game was going to be over. Everyone talking about walking him. Fucking Bregman had homered the fucking inning before! Give me a break....and he did it off the guy that is supposed to be our high leverage guy!

I can hear it now. WHY THE FUCK WALK THE WINNING RUN TO FIRST TO FACE A GUY THAT HIT A HOMER LAST INNING. But, now we have guys saying he should have done it. Put SS in the Stros dugout and Dusty in ours. We aren't winning this series without luck. This wasn't SS, our roster is vastly inferior.

[Cascade Kid]

RR success by pitch. Slider is his most dominate pitch. So why FB, FB? Just a silly sequence against Alvarez.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-p ... tching-mlb

[Michael K.]

Have you even watched the last month of Baseball. Robbie Ray has literally been one of our worst pitchers on the entire roster over the last month. In my opinion He should have been left off the roster after his performance in Toronto. Instead he gets put into a situation like that. Its mind boggling.

You want to argue management decisions? Throwing Robbie against the Right Handed lineup in Toronto was criminally stupid.

[Michael K.]

RR success by pitch. Slider is his most dominate pitch. So why FB, FB? Just a silly sequence against Alvarez.

https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-p ... tching-mlb

Yep, and again, the much bigger question than why was he in is why did he throw that pitch second?

[Lamda]

That 2nd FB down the middle was brutal. Bringing in Ray was a mistake - pithing Seawald in the 9th was a mistake. He's been horrific the last month as has Ray. Calling for the FB isn't really my issue - the problem is, as the guys during his last start called out - Ray has been struggling lately and throwing all his stuff in the middle of the plate and that is why he's been getting shelled. Whoever called for the FB probably called for it on the inside or outside corner but Ray just doesn't have any ability to do that right now - its just down the middle stuff right now. IF, sad to say that, we get to the 4th game we gotta go with Marco and not Ray to start that game.
On a side note - this is why bullpen by committee is stupid. This is why getting rid of Diaz was stupid. Dip or our new GM - not sure how much freedom from Dip he will have - needs to get a legit closer for next year to have a real run at this.

[Captain 97]

That ones easy.

Ray wasn't our best bullpen option.

The other two guys that choked were, and how well did that work out? All of a sudden Swanson and Boyd are heroes, only because they just in the bullpen as they have for some time now. Good Lord, they went to a guy that everyone this off season was creaming their underwear over. Former Cy young, went Leftie on Leftie. A good hitter hit a mistake pitch. Fucking happens. Verlander is probably the Cy Young award winner, and we have knocked him around twice now, shit happens.

All this consternation over whether Robbie was our best bullpen option, fuck guys, look at the other two who supposedly were our best options? We don't have a good option. There is a reason the Astros are the #1 seed and we lost September series' to the Rangers, Angels, A's Tigers and fucking Royals. And it's not because we are so loaded with talent that every loss is on the manager.

Two of our go to guys in the bullpen shit the bed. The manager got a little desperate. This game was lost when that pussy Sewald plunked a chump rookie on a full count. Sorry, it was. Robbie Ray, Swanson, Boyd....Kirby, don't fucking care. The Astros were on a roll and we were cooked. Was a terrible outing by the guy we apparently tabbed as the closer. Joke show, and Munoz was no better before him.

We had the easiest schedule in baseball to close out the season and sputtered down the stretch. Glad we beat the Blue Jays, but it doesn't change the fact that the Astros are head and fucking shoulders better than us. SS getting heat for using a starter as a bullpen guy, well, look at the result from the two bullpen guys he used! We aren't as good as them. Should have won, yes, but we lost it when Munoz and Sewald stunk. I don't care who he went to to face Alvarez, this game was going to be over. Everyone talking about walking him. Fucking Bregman had homered the fucking inning before! Give me a break....and he did it off the guy that is supposed to be our high leverage guy!

I can hear it now. WHY THE FUCK WALK THE WINNING RUN TO FIRST TO FACE A GUY THAT HIT A HOMER LAST INNING. But, now we have guys saying he should have done it. Put SS in the Stros dugout and Dusty in ours. We aren't winning this series without luck. This wasn't SS, our roster is vastly inferior.

You're basically saying that since Munoz and Seawald struggled that Boyd or Swanson would have struggled as well. That's Illogical.

[Michael K.]

You're basically saying that since Munoz and Seawald struggled that Boyd or Swanson would have struggled as well. That's Illogical.

Oh, so saying that they would have been any different is?

I didn't say they WOULD have struggled, I am saying that there is no proof they wouldn't have. The way that game had turned? I am not sure we have ever had a reliever that wouldn't have given up a big hit to Alvarez. Jesus, zero chance any Mariner fan watching wasn't nervous, but you guys act like if Boyd had come in we would have just turned it off because we knew we won! There is a reason he has never been in that situation before, and it isn't because he has the stuff Munoz and Sewald have.

[Michael K.]

Seriously, read this shit. After the fact we have guys saying walk the bases loaded to face the dude that hit a bomb the inning before!? Can you imagine if he simply hit a double and drove in the guy we just fucking walked to first to win the game!? Jesus. Again, this bullpen was the last one in baseball to blow a 7th inning lead, but now all of a sudden the guy that was managing them then is a dope.

Our talent is FAR inferior, and we had two guys who we want to pitch the 8th and 9th choke. Sorry, that is not on SS.