Presuming no health issues, they had the full bullpen available. Lefty-righty no longer matters as much with the 3 batter rule… any manager that doesn’t PH right-handlers against Raley should be fired. I would have no problem, with a 1 run lead in the 6th, going Javier-Stanek-Graveman-Pressly. I hope this is what happens in the playoffs as well in a similar situation, where starters will rarely pitch past the 6th.
Dusty tried Javier in that spot last week and it ended up in a grand slam, and everybody blasted him for that decision, remember?
Graveman's ailment is that he's a great reliever, but he has been handled gently as a former starter in relief (few back to backs, allowed a lot of time to warm up). There are more opportunities for him to pitch than the Astros are comfortable for him to pitch. I don't have any issues with the times he's been used, and he's probably being used at a rate the FO and Strom are comfortable.
Pressly is probably pitching 2 innings if it is the postseason in this situation. I'm not sure, but Astros may do the same with Graveman. While I hope Astros use their full pen to keep Pressly and Graveman rested in the regular season, I am really hoping for the Graveman-Graveman-Pressly-Pressly with a 1-run lead in the 6th during the postseason.
If they’re up for it. Pressly does seem like he needs a couple of hitters lately to get his command honed in. maybe they all need more time to get warm… also would that now make Javier the 4th-5th inning guy?
Bases weren’t loaded last night. Javier has first pitch command issues… but that also doesn’t mean he should groove it in there which is what he did last week. Dusty is obsessed with Raleys experience with coming in with guys on… he’s had a lot of those opportunities this year, whether warranted or not.
Javier is likely the guy that ideally gets a 3 or 4-run lead in the 5th or 6th and they see if he can go 2-3 innings.
Don't know why you are getting hypertechnical about bases being loaded. Point is men were on base and the lead was slim, Javier was in that situation last week and he collapsed. Had Dusty put in Javier last night and he gave up runs, everybody would be calling him stupid. Bottom line when it comes to middle relief, there is nobody lights out on this roster. We used to have Harris, healthy Devo, Peacock, and later on McHugh to help in these spots. Unless its Graveman or Pressly, anybody Dusty throws out there is going to be shaky. That's just the way it is.
I like Javier more than most, but generally agree that there is a big step down from those 2. Stanek has looked better lately. Taylor has lost command and hasn't looked good the last month or so. Maton looked better in Cleveland. Yimi has looked great most outings, but had a couple of stinkers. I'm a little surprised Maton has been used more than Yimi.
FWIW, I’ll take Javier over hit-a-wall mid-season Devo, Peacock, McHugh (who didn’t pitch all that much in relief for those teams). My main issue is that Dusty/FO hasn’t really helped cultivate a role for him that is consistent.. which I do believe is impacting his on-again/off-again relief outings… which is now feeding back on Dusty’s willingness to use him. And I’ll certainly take all of those guys… plus some guys on last place teams… over Raley. The Mariners just picked up Doolittle off the scrap heap and he would be an instant upgrade to Raley.
Yeah, Javier when he is on is every bit as good as those two.... but too often this year he has been a little up or down. Last year he didn't have control issues and really only struggled with the long ball. I want to say his era outside of runs scored on homers was like 1.00 ..... this year he has cut the homers down but he is walking too many batters..... Still, I am going with Javier over Maton, Yimi, Taylor and Stanek in a playoff game. I don't want Jake Odorizzi coming in to the game in relief in the playoffs either.... maybe Valdez if he is pitching better can come in for an inning in a key game. Maybe you roll the dice and go to Baez and hope his off speed is good enough to cover for the velocity dip........ we could really use another top bullpen arm, but I guess that is true every year and with just about every team as well. I know we are well below our anticipated record, and I do think the pen and Baker are the reason why..... Pythagorean W-L: 83-48, 699 Runs, 522 Runs Allowed
I doubt Baez comes back from the IL this season. Click's offseason looks pretty bad/unlucky right now with Castro, Baez, Raley, and Odorizzi all underperforming or injured. Stanek was a good get for 1.1 million and a couple more years of control though.
Javier has been a very weird pitcher. He's probably gotten a little lucky with the ERA in relief, but he's still very tough to score on without the homer. Though his giving up a lot of walks and some singles works better when he comes in without anyone on.
It still makes me angry that we have to watch weeknight games late into the night or not watch them at all when the Astros face their west coast division opponents on the road while those fans on the coast get to come home from work with games waiting for them when their teams come to Texas.
Baez has only given up 2 hits(one homerun) in 4 innings back. I know he only throws 91 mph but that's faster than Greinke. He can't be worse than Raley.
