Ha ha ha!

Now I know to put this troll on ignore. S/he's also the one who posted that hilariously dumb post about 'Andy Sonnastine sent a message to Joe Maddon'.

I can say I am definitely watching the World Series. Why wouldn't I? I am a baseball fan, and at this point I don't have a lot in invested in either team. I did grow up in the Philadelphia area, so I am rooting for the Phils.

Well lets see if the Philly troll comes back on after tonights game....Yes I'm watching the series and after seeing Philly play, one has to realize that this is a good team..It was last year..They have a good manager and the fans are just that..Once in a while they too have a More-on show its head..I did not see the Yankee troll that said we were an embarassment come on after last nights game...Could it turn out that we both got beat by a better team??? Anything can happen in a short series..As that ole ( fill os o fur) Yogi once said,"It ain't over till it's over"...And this could be "De-jes vous all over again"...LOL..

Funny how the biggest obstacle to cheering for the Phillies is the trolls that come over here!

Amen coach.

Well heck ya I'm watching the world series.....isn't that what baseball fans do this time of year. And since the Yanks are in our division and the AL.......
Go PHILLIES

I'm not watching it , i hate both teams so much that i can't bring myself to.

Interesting games so far ... using Mariano Rivera for 2 inning saves is the most interesting.

He nails down the win to get them to the WS and he nails down the game 2 win. Shades of Rollie
Fingers and the A's dynasty teams.

Hopefully Clueless Joe is taking notes. Get three solid relievers and use them for two innings every three days to close out games. Easy on the arms and good for the win column - make the playoffs. Trash this musical relievers idea.

You can do it with two relievers but he that is a bit of a strain on the arms over a 162 game season.
Perfect jobs for Garza and Price ... now all we need is one more. Move JB to start so you have a lefty starter. Plug Hellickson in as the other starter. Check out Erik Bedard. If his shoulder is okay, he would be the perfect fit, since no one can hit him over any 2 inning stretch when he is healthy.

Print the playoff tickets on opening day.

While I might agree with the philosophy of leaving a reliever in for the ninth if he pitches well in the eighth, and having a couple guys who can do that, but not sure Garza & Price would be good choices.

Well, Garza and Price have big time stuff ... whether they are 'built' psychologically for closing is something we should try to find out ... maybe yes, maybe no. We have the depth of pitching to find out and not be hung out to dry.

I think the 2 inning save thing is really the way to go in the future. It's hard for pitchers to do the one inning thing and consistently be good or not fall to injury from overuse. In a 2 inning scheme,
you get an extra days rest and if you can have a starter pitch a complete game or you get blown out, that takes the pressure off quite a bit in that sometimes you might not have to use a guy whose turn it would be and that would help in crunch time at the end of the season.

Who do you think we have that can do the job? And who would you like to get if possible to do it?

I think Garza could make his mark in baseball as a two inning closer. He can deliver some violent heat if he doesn't have to pace himself. He came into Tampa throwing right at 100, although obviously not for any extended time period. He already takes every hit too personal, which I believe has caused him some "mental" issues on the mound as a starter. I really think you have a great point here with the two inning closer, and I'd like to see it tried out by several teams and players.

<<<<Anyone else watching the world series?>>>>>

It looks like Son you have your priorities mixed up, we are not the team to beat!!!!!! Good luck against the Bankees!!!!!!!!!111111111111111111111

You would not have a used up pen if you had 4 primary two inning at a clip relievers and 2 other guys to fill in and 5 starters and you rotated the 4 primary guys in such a way as to insure they have three days rest between outings.

Starters go 7 ... a reliever goes 2. Or a starter goes 5 and two relievers each go 2. Also any outing should be thought of as a 2 inning outing for the pen pitchers, so if you have 6 or 7 pen pitchers, you should be able to always have a fresh arm to put in. Plus, you can have these pitchers pitch 3 innings if they need to as the recovery time is probably the same if the pitch count is less than 70
counting warm ups.

<<<Starters go 7 ... a reliever goes 2. Or a starter goes 5 and two relievers each go 2>>>>>

The back end of the game has changed since the old days. Baseball in not played now as it was in the 60's where a starting pitcher for the most part is going to go 7 plus innings. You mentioned Rollie Fingers in an earlier post. He was brought in to face either a right or left handed hitter.

The relief game is not played that way now. You cannot designate certain pitchers for certain days.

The basic game has not changed, just how you play it. Video has given the hitters a huge advantage DURING the game. They can go into the Clubhouse and watch their ABS and then
adjust. Pitchers usually have three sequences they can use to mix things up. After that, it's problematic for even the best pitchers to consistently get people out.

5 Innings get you thru the order 3 times. If a pitcher is EFFICIENT that third time can play out to the 7th. So unless you have a Halladay or Lee or Carpenter who can get people out the 4th time thru the lineup, you need to play the game so you are not at a disadvantage. Most pitchers today
are just NOT GOOD ENOUGH or effiecient enough to do that. So your pen is the answer.

Take Sonnastine. He is pretty good for 5 innings. He tends to meltdown in the 6th or when he has to face people for the 4th AB. He keeps you in the game up to that time. It is silly, to leave him
in just so he can go another inning. He is a 'soft tossers' relatively speaking, so you yank him
at the end of the 5th inning NO MATTER WHAT and replace him with a hard thrower, preferably a lefty, so the hitters need to adapt fast to both the change in speed and side. This way you can use Andy on 4 days rest or if you go with the normal 5 days, you have a fresh arm in August and September. The point is that as a starter, some days he will be really good and some days not, but he will eat 5 innings and most of the time the team will still be in the game.

Now I know you can play it differently. But it's my opinion of the best way to play today given the personnel available. There is no law that says you can't pitch an different pitcher every inning.

What you need to do is match the players you have with their skill sets and set that up so they give you the advantage. For example: Can Garza or Price start? Sure. Not a problem. But is that the most effective way to use them to WIN games and a playoff spot, given the rest of the pitchers we have available - I don't think so.

But, I could be wrong. Which is okay, since if I am, you can always put them back into the starter roles and try something else.

It seems, everyone thinks that what you do HAS to be writ in stone and never changed. If you are not winning, try something new, if it works keep doing it, if not try something else. But no matter what you do you have to take into consideration the personnel you have at hand.