Well said. It gets tiresome hearing people blame AJ for Game 7 rather than just accepting defeat and the fact the Nats just got us. Grienke was going through the order for the 3rd time, homer and walk given up, tight game. Harris was the fireman all year long and made an incredible pitch to Kendrick that Kendrick put an even more incredible swing on, props. In an alternate reality Kendrick flies out to deep right, or even grounds out to first base. We were 1-8 with RISP in Game 7 and left TEN guys on base. I guaranty if we had a larger lead by coming through with just one or two of those ABs, Grienke's leash would've been longer - tight games call for tight decisions. As far as Cole, the plan was to have him take us home in the 8th and 9th if we escaped the 7th with the lead, it didn't happen. We lost, it sucks. Any loss in any game you can play coulda woulda shoulda all day - not one managerial decision that occurred in Game 7 was a "no brainer" bonehead mistake, and if you think it was, you're lying. Now lets get back at it and win the whole MF'ing thing next year!!!!!
If he was going to let Cole pitch the 8th and 9th then he should've used Osuna in the 7th. This isn't second guessing, I said this at the time. Oh, I like Hinch but he screwed that one up big time.
I blame Verlander more being 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA, gave up 3 HRs, 6 BBs, and had a 1.636 WHIP in his starts in the World Series... but yea pile on Hinch.
Yea, love JV but his World Series resume has been about as good as you would expect from a 4th starter and not an ace. In three WS trips he has an ERA of 5.73, 11.25, 3.75, and 5.73. I think maybe he gets too ratcheted up and overthrows then ball. His division series and LCS ERA is measurably better. That tells me he isn’t all of a sudden getting tired. So has to be something upstairs. Maybe Kate needs to speak into his microphone or something before a World Series start to calm him down. But if we get back to the World Series we need our ace to ace.
He pitched well enough to win in the two games in Dodger Stadium in 2017. He was definitely gassed this past post-season... his LDS and LCS numbers were all down compared to the season.
Don’t let Cole off the hook for game 1. Offense struggled at home for the most part. This was a team loss all the way.
2017 was the only 1 of the 4 that was respectable. I’ll take it since that resulted in a ring. His ALCS that year was outstanding. Obviously an outlier but damn fun to watch. Especially that one strike out of I think Frazier where he looked like he swung an hour late and like a little leaguer. That was amusing.
Agreed. Not many pitchers out there can take the ball every 4th day without fail and deliver. Verlander did not miss a start this last season. In hindsight, they could have tried to limit his workload heading to the post-season, but he's a creature of habit and was unlikely to change his approach mid-season (especially given his effectiveness into the final month). But, he will likely have some load management applied to these upcoming 2 seasons in order to try and eliminate some of the post-season wear/tear regression.
So your saying the Stros wouldn't have stood a better chance of winning if Cole had pitched an inning or 2 in game 7?
So me criticizing Hinch for not using his best pitcher in game 7 is piling on? SMDH and I like Hinch but he screwed that up.
It has been beaten to death on this forum. Not just you. Hinch set the rules for him to pitch before the game. If Cole was locked into a long term deal I would feel differently. He was literally an hour from being the biggest free agent pitcher of all time and I totally get limiting the risk to certain circumstances considering Cole was about to receive generational wealth.
He was also a few innings away from being a possible World Series champion and the hero for it. If you were to ask Cole in that moment to pitch, he takes it 10 out of 10 times. I dont think a long term deal would have affected that decision. Its not like his arm was gonna fall off.
You are right on. I was at game 1. The numbers don't lie... The Astros just didn't score runs at MMP in the World Series, I know 4 games is a small sample size but they never had a home break out game. Hinch is usually spot on, but I think Grienke was still in control. Going to Cole would have been a gamble that most likely pays off but who really knows? Game 7 wasn't the only loss either. JV was 0-2. Bregman and Jose missed key opportunities to help. Plenty of blame to go around. The Nats were just a little bit better in 7 games.
No offence guys. But, I'm not all about re-hashing last year. This is the off season thread. Can never get over the past if I continue to have it relived for me on a daily basis. Can we move on, or start a different thread. I just want to concentrate on what's next. Sorry if this seems b****y.
