NLCS Pitching and Gametimes (rotation discussion here)

[strawbossisevil]

I think Marcum is capable of throwing a decent outing. It was either him or Narveson, and I guess I'm not so sure I want the Brewers season resting on our #5 pitcher. Marcum has the stuff, we just need him to bring it for 1 game.

[razzzorsharp]

I have faith in Marcum. He just needs to locate, especially to the sluggers.

[PrinceEatMeat]

The biggest thing Marcum needs to do is keep the ball down. If he does that he should be fine. His last 2 outings, he did the exact opposite of that.

[Big Cat Dad]

The thing with Marcum, I think the book is out on him. The St. Loius pitchers are just laying off all the balls he throws and waiting till he grooves one down the middle. His MO is getting batters to swing at balls. If they aren't swinging at balls.....he's in serious trouble. His strikes don't miss bats.

[Invader3K]

His strikes don't miss bats.

To be fair, Greinke wasn't missing too many bats last night either, and he has way better "stuff" than Marcum.

[SconnieKid]

2. Greinke missed two bats all of last night. One of the more incredible stats I've ever heard.

[joepepsi]

It won't matter who starts if the defense keeps playing like a tee ball team.

[RockCoCougars]

In my view, Marcum gets five batters to get out of the first tomorrow. If he can't accomplish that, he should be gone. This team simply cannot fall behind by multiple runs early again. This situation is so similar to the Soup playoff start in '08, it's kind of scary.

[pebadger]

Sad as it is, if Marcum merely gives up 2 runs in the first inning he will have started more than a half-run better than the average start in a 2011 Brewer post-season loss.

[PrinceEatMeat]

Looks like it'll be a 7:05 PM gametime. Works out nicely with the Packer game at noon.

[DuWayne Steurer]

I have been pretty good this entire post season, not too high, not too low.

 

But now, hoping/expecting Marcum to get to the bullpen with this game still intact........

 

It reminds me of 2000, when we went on a family vacation, and we were on the way home in the ol' 86 Riviera, and coming over Little Bighorn Mountain in Wyoming, the engine overheated, and I was pretty sure the block cracked. We couldn't get the car to go anymore than 60 mph. Once we hit Minnesota, we were topping out at 55, and once we got to Wisconsin, she was screaming to go 45 mph. That kinda feels to me where Marcum is at right now. Just struggling to stay up to speed.

 

When we got back to Janesville, I couldn't get the car to go anymore than 35 mph, and got in the driveway and turned off the key, she shuddered, shimmied, shook, and groaned for 45 seconds, then heaved/sighed, and finally gave it up, and I kid you not, that car never started again.

 

Now, I don't think Marcum's going to blow out or anything, I just have next to zero faith he can get the Brewers to game 7 tomorrow. Honestly, best case scenario that I see is he gives up like 3 runs in 4 innings, and we're scoring off of Jackson, and RRR hands it over to the pen, and we outscore the Cards the rest of the way, and take this one like 7 to 6 or something.

 

I hope and pray (well, I won't pray on it) that Marcum proves me wrong, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.

[chickinbrickin]

The thing with Marcum, I think the book is out on him. The St. Loius pitchers are just laying off all the balls he throws and waiting till he grooves one down the middle. His MO is getting batters to swing at balls. If they aren't swinging at balls.....he's in serious trouble. His strikes don't miss bats.

 

He has been in the league a pretty long time the book should have been out all year. His problem is all those balls he is throwing now, he was throwing for strikes the first half of the year. He isn't locating his breaking stuff and his change and hitters know they can just sit on that blistering fastball. I remember at the start of the year when every pitch he flipped up there was on the corner for a strike.