It seems to me, from Dusty's quotes, that experience was the most important factor in this decision. Considering how different the playoffs are from the regular season, and how close the pitchers are in talent, i can't argue against it. It's not like Josh Fogg was chosen over Wood.
And while Wood has pitched well enough to start in the playoffs, he has around 100 innings pitched in the majors. It's hard to say anyone would know his true ability yet.
Last edited by TheNext44; 10-03-2010 at 02:54 PM.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
That Dusty Baker dude got this team of youngsters to the playoffs. I promised not to second guess him in the playoffs if he got us here. I will just sit back and admire his misunderstood genius.
We have a playoff rotation.
We have a PLAYOFF rotation!
WE HAVE A PLAYOFF ROTATION!!!!
"This field, this game, is a part of our past. It reminds us of all that once was good, and what could be again." -- Terence Mann
Disappointing to me.........I'd have thrown Wood. Here's hoping we get to the NLCS.
Disappointing but not surprising. In fairness to Dusty, he knows Wood a lot better than I do. Protecting Wood's psyche would be a better reason than Arroyo's experience. The only thing Arroyo has proven in the playoffs is that elite offenses (esp. with lefties) can torch him.
Also if we're going to talk "experience," Arroyo has post-season bullpen experience. Wood does not.
Oh, and do we know for sure that Wood will even be on the 1st round roster?
Stick to your guns.
We don't know for sure, but Dusty was quoted saying Wood and Bailey would be in the pen.Originally Posted by cincinnati chili
All my posts are my opinion - just like yours are. If I forget to state it and you're too dense to see the obvious, look here!
On FSOhio, Dusty also said that Wood would start if/when a 4th starter was needed, which could happen in the NLDS with an injury or early exit from someone.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge." -- Albert Einstein
This is something I'm simply not going to get worked up about. All 5 of our starting pitchers had solid cases for being in the post season rotation. 2 were going to be disappointed. ANY of the 5 would've been good choices.
Arroyo is well known for his trouble with lefties, but he has clearly been our most consistent starter all year. It is really a no-brainer that he is one of the three starters in a five game series.
Wood is shaky, has been for awhile and has no stamina, but he has been very effective one time through the lineup. I could see him giving us an inning against lefties if Dusty gets itchy trigger finger in a close game.
"Rounding 3rd and heading for home, good night everybody"
I can understand holding back Wood in series 1 (even though I'd prefer to see him in there), but why not pitch Cueto 2 and Arroyo 3? I would be much more comfortable with that. The idea of Arroyo having to pitch twice against the Phillies if the series goes deep doesn't inspire me.
Does anyone remember 1990 and the Pirates starter in game 6? I will never forget thinking how foolish Leyland was, and then the Reds end up scoring only 2 in the game.... Of course they ended up on top.
Tim McCarver: Baseball Quotes
I remember one time going out to the mound to talk with Bob Gibson. He told me to get back behind the batter, that the only thing I knew about pitching was that it was hard to hit.
So here's the matchups:
Game 1: Roy Halladay (21-10 2.44 ERA) vs Edinson Volquez (4-3 4.31 ERA)
Game 2: Roy Oswalt (13-13 2.76 ERA) vs Bronson Arroyo (17-10 3.88 ERA)
Game 3: Cole Hamels (12-11 3.06 ERA) vs Johnny Cueto (12-7 3.64 ERA)
Ted Power, right?
"Baseball players are smarter than football players. How often do you see a baseball team penalized for too many men on the field?" ~ Jim Bouton
Lets be honest Arroyo was going to pitch in the post season. It really shouldn't have shocked anybody to see him get the nod. I think he is the pitcher that makes the most sense. I put more faith in Arroyo to go late into the game than any other pitcher on the Reds staff.
I think starting Volquez first is a great move. To be honest no one in the Reds rotation has the stuff that Halladay has. No one has shown the ability to work deep into games the way Halladay has. But on any given night Volquez can go out there with the best stuff around. He can pitch 6-7 great innings and it wouldn't surprise you. He also has the freshest arm out of any of the Reds starters. If anyone can throw up zeros on the board like Halladay can, its Volquez.
As for Cueto I would have leaned towards Wood or Bailey. I worry with Johnny about him letting the moment become too big. I worry about him getting too amped up. I also wonder if his arm is starting to tire a little bit. Lets not forget all the time Homer spend on the DL this year, making his arm more strong right now. Its a judgement pick and I don't have any real adversion to that pick.
I'm surprised more managers don't throw "bullpen games" in the postseason. It would have been interesting if the Padres had made the playoffs given the fact that they had 3 or 4 lights-out arms in the bullpen and iffy starters.
Particularly when teams do strict platoons, I'd be up for seeing more trickery like starting a lefty pitcher, drawing a totally right handed lineup, and then bringing in a starting righty pitcher in the second inning.
Stick to your guns.
So two of the three Reds starters have better won-loss records than their Phillies counterparts. Of course, wins aren't the best measurement ...
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