Are we supposed to be impressed with Buehler's 65 pitches and four innings as a postseason tuneup? Granted his stuff was great, but I would liked to have seen him stretched out more.
he looked at his pitching hand walking back to the dugout blister may have been an issue if not, i completely agree
Unfortunately, I think this is what we’re getting in the postseason too. They aren’t going to push him, and they are going to aim for getting some quality innings over quantity. I don’t expect Buehler to carry us or anything like that.
If true, our boys are in trouble. Going into the postseason with one reliable starter (one with a sketchy postseason history) is a recipe for disaster. I see their only hope is outslugging the opposition.
Saw that, too. In the postgame interviews, Roberts didn't seem concerned and neither did Buehler, although he didn't seem very confident about it.
He was on a limit regardless but I hope they let him go all out in the playoffs. Can’t be fucking around and getting cute when losing two games means you’re out
I'm really curious how the Dodgers approach this. It probably comes down to information that we don't have, but I wonder if they pencil Buehler in for Game 3. That way if you win in 2, that's one less game he needs to pitch, but if he needs to pitch in a Game 3 then you just let him go with no limits. You're not getting more than one game from him the next round anyway (again, you could pencil him in for a potential Game 5 of the NLDS), but also if he messes up his finger and can't pitch the rest of the postseason it will be for a good cause.
I like this idea a lot, Walker’s proven that the big moment is something he thrives in rather than shrinks away from
FWIW, with the win last night, the Dodgers have locked in Home Team Designation Advantage for the entire postseason. They have the NL #1 seed and own the tiebreaker over the AL #1 seed Rays.
It's similar to the thinking behind a "Closer" - you save him for the highest-leverage innings (or in this case, games). After one of his earlier starts, I think Buehler said that the blister didn't really affect his pitching, so the concern in any given game is "his next start". Realistically, we could be looking at only 2 starts from Buehler this postseason, so we should save him for when it matters the most.