With Game Five’s suspension going long, it might just change the strategies that the Phillies and Rays employ. While unlikely, it’s now possible that Cole Hamels could continue whenever the seventh inning kicks up, while the possible rest makes it possible, if implausible, that the Rays could use James Shields in five and seven. Maddon has said that he’ll start with Grant Balfour, who is “in the game” now. On the downside, the Rays might only have David Price available for one or two of the games.
The player side of things is still wide open, with the benches full and plenty of moves to be made there if necessary. The Phillies have Hamels leading off the seventh, so they’ll need to use someone there, but the Rays could make a number of moves to combat it.
How would you handle things?
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Also, I’m told that MLB officials put forward the idea of moving Game Five’s conclusion to Tampa on Wednesday with the intention of playing out Game Five and, if necessary, starting Game Six. The idea was quashed by both the Phillies and Fox. Remember that Fox cannot move the gametime up on Wednesday, having locked in the 8-8.30p Eastern slot for a campaign ad. With Pennsylvania and Florida both big swing states, the Obama-Biden campaign is counting on big viewership there.
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If MLB actually asked the Phillies to give up home field for what could be a massive celebration, I hope they keep that half-rat, half-human moron out of the stadium entirely tomorrow. Persona non grata.
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But but but but.... FAUX is owned by the GOP! They should be THRILLED to have an excuse to not show a half hour Obama commerical in two battleground states less than a week before an election!
I see Balfour as a place holder. I think Maddon will have Price prepare as if it were a normal start (with all of his usual pregame routines) and as soon as Manuel goes to his bench, bring in Price. This is a unique opportunity for the Rays, one that they must take full advantage of. Either way, with the game on Halloween night, it could be one of the strangest sporting events that no one ever sees.
This was the solution I decided I would use in Maddon's place -- have David Price treat the remaining 4 innings of Game 5 as a starting pitching assignment, and go all the way with him if he's on.
I agree with with the comment as Balfour as a place holder. Assuming Manuel pinch hits a lefty (Jenkins or Stairs?) for Hamels, Price has to come in and then stay in and pitch for as long as he can, which Maddon has to be hoping is at least through the ninth. Another alternative is to bring in Miller to face the lefty PH and then go with Bradford to face Werth (one of those two should face Rollins, depending on his splits), and then go with Price to face Utley/Howard and leave Price in for at least a couple of innings. Assuming he's pitching well, there's no reason Price cannot go as long as necessary. He is a starter. And with no tomorrow, Maddon must burn Price in order to get to Shields and Garza at home.
Before I share my "strategy" for the resumption of Game 5, I'd like to make a note. Don't ever say Phillies fans are grasping for straws when Major League Baseball, yes, Major League Baseball, suggests taking the rest of Game 5 away from Philly, moving it to Tampa, and then preparing to start Game 6, as if Game 5 is already a forgone conclusion.
As for Game 5, I'd throw out either Stairs or Dobbs. You want to get Maddon to go to Price right there. If he goes to Price, you have to counter with Bruntlett. The hook here is, Price is due up 4th in the top of the 7th, so its likely he's only going to pitch 1 inning. If the Phillies go to Stairs or Dobbs and Maddon doesn't use Price, he's setting himself up for massive second guessing if he leaves Balfour in, or if he brings in Howell or Miller and they struggle. Rollins is a switch, Werth is RH, and Utley can hit lefties.
If I'm the Phillies, my hope is that Maddon burns Price in the bottom of the 6th and only gets 1 inning out of him.
Moving game 5 to Tampa would really screw anyone who bought tickets for game 5 in Philadelphia, particularly those who paid the extremely high premiums on MLB's sponsored site StubHub.
I think phuturephillies has it right, and therefore TB should stick with Balfour vs. Stairs/Dobbs, Rollins, and Werth. Ideally TB fans would want to see Balfour get out of the inning 1-2-3, and then make sure they don't do the same in the top of the 7th so they can pinch-hit for Balfour, clearing the stage for Price to come in for multiple innings starting by facing Utley and Howard. If Utley comes up in bottom of the 6th, then it gets real interesting. But for the reasons stated, would probably be a mistake to go with Price and risk burning him after just one inning (theoretically you could start off with an immediate double-switch, which would be hilarious to see right off the bat, but that wouldn't be appropriate in this case given who's batted recently for TB).
Why go to Price in the 6th? Balfour's a good pitcher, he looked good Monday, and he'll have a day's rest after throwing 9 pitches. Why throw him away when you can get an inning out of him?
With a PH up first followed by a switch hitter, no Rays pitcher will have a platoon advantage at the start of the inning.
Have Howell warming up. Let Balfour pitch all the way through Werth. If the inning is over, great. If not, re-evaluate at that point. Utley doesn't have huge platoon splits but Howard does. If Howard bats in the 6th inning, that means at least two batters have reached and it's a crucial situation, which means using Howell -- even for one batter -- is warranted.
I'm surprised no one is raising a bigger stink about MLB's refusal to make a decision about the potential travel day--basically, whether or not one will be provided before Game 6 if the Rays can pull out Game 5. That variable has huge ramifications for the options Will mentioned above--if there is a travel day and Game 7 is moved back to Saturday, Hamels would be able to start the potential decisive game on normal rest. That possibility would almost definitely preclude throwing him on Wednesday night. On the other hand, with no extra travel day and no full rest, sending him back out there on his "between starts" day is much more enticing.
The only explanation from MLB is courtesy of DuPuy, who said, "No decision has been made as to the off-day yet...Some of that depends on the day we play and the ability to get accommodations and travel." Really? Major League Baseball doesn't know if it will be able to provide timely transportation and lodging to two teams in the middle of the World Series? Come on. The indecision seems absurd to me.
I'm sure Obama will win a lot of Philadelphia votes for delaying the World Series... call me crazy, but I don't see how that is _not_ considered a distraction from the World Series... Meanwhile, A-Rod's contract rumors got both him and Scott Boras last year blasted during last year's World Series were a distraction...
Actually, the Obama ad is preempting the tedious FOX pregame show - that alone should bring him some votes, except from the pro-Zelasko/Kennedy demographic. The game would have started at 8:37 regardless.
The postings I had read stated that the World Series would be delayed 15 minutes to accommodate Obama's advertisement. The original game time was slated for 8:20pm ET.
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If MLB actually asked the Phillies to give up home field for what could be a massive celebration, I hope they keep that half-rat, half-human moron out of the stadium entirely tomorrow. Persona non grata.