The way everyone on both teams bullpens seem to be struggling right now, I see no reason to cast Giles completely aside anymore. I’ve seen enough. As bad as he has been, it’s not just him. I bet we see him pitch again this series. Yes, he will probably screw it up, but I bet we see him out there again at some point.
All these guys seem like better options... till they actually get into the games. Its the backup QB syndrome in full effect. At this rate, I expect LMJ/Morton/Peacock to be the bullpen guys going forward.... with Musgrove available as being simply the best of the worst.
I trust no one. Astros just scored 13 runs in a game that had a fully rested Kershaw with Jansen. Verlander until Astros win or his arm falls off. If it goes to Game 7, someone needs to fake an injury to allow Astros need to bring up Whitley. He can't do any worse at giving up hard contact and he is more likely to get Ks.
He's got what could be described as yips for closers. Honestly feel bad for the guy but he's a pro so it comes with the territory.
we've seen the best closers and bullpens in baseball give up games. its just unfortunate giles is on that list as well
I trust in Jesus, but not Ken Giles. Jesus walked on water. When Giles goes in everybody walks. (or hits homers)
At this point I don't care if he closes. The whole bullpen is terrible. There is not anyone in there I trust. Win or lose this needs to be priority this off season.
Who is going to replace him? Wade Davis is the only real FA option and doubt we sign him. Not a terrible market for setup and 7th inning guys. Maybe there is a trade out there, but I'd bet on him coming back as the closer. Could end up like Lidge though and lose the job early in the season. Ultimately end up traded.
Remember when Giles was the answer for this? Where does the improvement come from? Most of the guys available aren't going to be improvements to Harris/Devo/Gregerson(FA himself). The best options are Britton in a trade and Wade Davis in FA. Davis is highly unlikely, and Britton is high risk right now.
I want to know where all the 'old heads' are in here? Where is the defense team of one, Kenneth Robert Giles? Somebody please makes sense of it all and give me the numbers of his great season. NAILS!!!!! (it makes sense hes nails cause he gets hammered all the damn time)
It took till game 5 of the WS, but even LA's bullpen (as a whole) has been exposed. At least now they have this same problem as well.
Not terribly surprising; we've seen posters at every stop of this season fall victim to recency bias and small sample sizes. He'll undoubtedly be the closer next year because he's actually a very good closer who is having an awful postseason. If this postseason is a preview of what's to come.... then he'll at some point lose that job. Having said that, I think it'll be VERY interesting to see what role McCullers and Martes play going forward. One thing to remember about Giles - they've invested a lot in him, and while that's no reason to keep using him if he proves ineffective - it DOES impact your ability/willingness to throw more resources at the problem, which is why I think Martes is really intriguing. His stuff is electric and I wonder if they see him as a viable internal candidate.
Id be a fan of putting him in as the first pitcher to take over for Velander as long as it isnt the 8th or 9th inning. 5 thru 7 would be optimal.
You either trust him. Or you don't. Game 6 will be high-leverage, 1-9. Unless you have a commanding lead (there's no such thing in this series), 5 = 6, =7, =8, =9. Ordinarily, I might argue the line-up might dictate degrees of high-leverage - but, again, not in this series. I fear the Dodgers 1-3 (4, if it's Bellinger - btw, can we talk about Dave Roberts batting KiKi Hernandez FOURTH! last night? Dumb, dumb, dumb...) - but in this series, at least, 5-9 hasn't exactly been a picnic.
if not the closer role, why not put him in as one of the set up guys? Especially when we have a 3 or more runs lead... give the poor guy another chance.
I totally agree with Martes as a possible internal option. But what about Musgrove? He was awesome in September, but needs more experience out of the pen to be fully trusted. I would think as a former starter, he could eventually be the type that can go 4 - 6 outs when needed.
Thats a 2-way street. Also, I dont see how you can call it a small sample size? Thats now 6 of 7 appearances by him allowing runs in these playoffs. That is 86% of the times he has been used. Thats a pretty good sample size to me in a high pressure situation. That was his deal right? He needed to be in a high leverage, pressure packed situations to succeed correct?
