There was very little "serving it up" last night. You have to at least admit that. Giles has an elite K tool based on an elite pitch. Devo is very much the same, but has the ability to throw multiple innings. This bullpen could be downright filthy. Especially in the playoffs.
Who said it was a meltdown? It was just him being unsatisfactory yet again. I am not saying ditch everyone in the bullpen. I'm saying make decisions to limit or change the gilies/gregerson roles. We have plenty of other competent bullpen guys. BTW, W/L for a closer is not a fair metric for effectiveness, I am more concerned with guys getting on and runs scoring.
Giles had 12 appearances prior to this one and he accomplished his mission in all but one. He had also retired 21 of the last 22 batters he faced since allowing a lead off triple on April 15, very unsatisfactory.
I was ready for a lost after we blown the lead, but the boys did not give up on the road and won it in extra innings. This is a real encouraging win for us after our ace and closer failed.
Why is it that when I bring up all the times he's been poor the only retort is "well he's had stretches of not being poor." I get that.
Probably because it's relevant. If you want to change roles every time someone gives up a run, then you're not going to have a bullpen or a team for very long.
Yeah. because that's definitely what I am advocating. Giles has a proven track record of inconsistency. Its not arguable. Just admit it, Devo should have been in for the 9th last night. Thats originally what I was saying but people only react to my bashing of Giles.
Giles is the Astros closer. He had pitched 7 consecutive games where he gave up a total of 1 hit and no walks. 5 of those games were save situations and he converted all 5. Included in those 5 saves were two games he should not have had to be brought into (6-2 and 7-2, 9th inning leads). What manager in all of major league baseball would NOT have brought his closer in when the situation unfortunately warranted it?
Simply saying "Giles is the astros closer." is the issue here. Who cares what he is? Devo is the much better pitcher, and this situation should have been his. The days of the "conventional closer" are coming to an end, where a guy has to come in for the ninth. It's great that Giles has been better and I want him to do well, but Devo was required here.
All major league teams have a designated closer and their designated role is to close games, generally in a save situation. Like it or not, Giles is that guy for the Astros. You can argue that perhaps Keuchel should not have started the ninth or been pulled after hit 1 or 2, but as I wrote above, every single major league manager would have brought their rested closer in to the situation Giles was brought into.
Why *this* situation? Should he have been in for the last 5 closing opportunities too? If not, why not?
Can he hit with RISP? If so, he needs to bat cleanup or 5th and if he has a good OBP, he also needs to bat 1st or 2nd.
I missed most of the game, but will say Giles is on eggshells more often than not. If he delivered more 1-2-3 innings, fluky situations get more benefit of the doubt, but he doesn't 1-2-3 enough. He hasn't had more than one this season and last year <5. If I'm wrong, good, I speak from a genuine viewpoint... please prove me wrong more often, Ken. 1-2-3
This specific situation, because it was super high leverage, and runners were already on. I am fine with giles coming in for save situations that are more conventional, I don't recall what the last 5 were, but I'm definitely not saying always use devo, and never use giles. Say for instance, we are up 1-2 runs or more and he starts the inning. I'm fine in with giles in those situations for now. Yes, most of the major leagues is still set up in the more conventional way, but most teams don't have devo, miller, or that kid from Arizona. I don't agree that francona would have certainly brought in allen over miller last night. I am comfortable making that comparison because I'm not sure who else to compare devo to at this point. I am confident in saying that the paradigm is shifting for relievers, even though most of the league isn't fortunate enough to partake yet.
Last night was anything from conventional from the get-go of him finally being summoned. That being said, he induced a dying quail from mr baseball, struck out the guy who has tormented the Astros for decades, induced a bad luck chopper on a former Astro who has a flair for clutch hitting, and was a grounder (that should have been fielded clearly... but honestly should have been a strikeout) away from getting out of said unconventional situation. The eggshells perception really dates back to last year. He's had a more sound approach this year, but has had such infrequent appearances, that he's having to get his work in when he can. Hence the only 1 blown save.
