Quote:
Originally Posted by BobbyStrawberry
Good point about the short series. Still, I was surprised - I believe they said on the broadcast it was the first time a starter under Kevin Cash ever went more than 6 in the playoffs.
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Absolutely right on your part and what you mentioned, but again, the playoffs are a whole different season and logic. Don't know much about Cash, but Terry Francona is no fool, and one of the smartest managers in baseball, now, and maybe of all-time. He is the manager that helped break Boston's curse of the Bambino. And look at his team today.
The Indians/Guardians are playing small-ball as in the old days. They have, I believe, the youngest roster in MLB, along with at least three good starting pitchers, including the last MLB pitcher to win the coveted pitching Triple Crown. With all the talk of Ohtani and Judge for MVP, Cleveland's Jose Ramirez should be getting some love, and MVP votes as well. You want to talk about a player being valuable to his team.....just look at the 5'9" Ramirez. And he continues to perform and produce, year in and year out. And I had mentioned once before in another post about their rookie, Steve Kwan, as a very possible ROY candidate. Francona knowns how to play the game, and bring along his young players and get the most out of them as a team. They have been one of the hottest teams in MLB over the last month and a half or so. Francona knows you go with, and stay with, what is working for you, especially when you get to the playoffs.
Oh, and interestingly enough, the game ended up as a 2-1 victory for Cleveland, in a playoff record time of just 2 hours and 17 minutes. That is the fastest playoff game in the majors since 1999 I believe. If this is part of where MLB is looking to direct the game in the future, Cleveland and Francona are already ahead of the curve. LOL
And Tampa Bay seems to be following similar thinking/tactics. This playoff series looked to be a low scoring, pitcher's type duel from the start. And in addition to both starters in today's playoff game going 7+ innings, both teams only used one reliever to then finish the game. If you like that kind of baseball and play, it should be a great series to watch. Figured it would go three games, but with Cleveland taking game 1, they may just end it the next game with their 1A starting pitcher on the mound.