Playoff Roster

[djoctagone]

Its a 28 man roster?

yes.

[adambr2]

In past playoff series matchups we have had to make some tough choices and leave off guys who could have really contributed.

 

This time around it's challenging just coming up with 28 players good enough to be on the roster.

[rickh150]

I don’t think its clear that Houser starts game 1

 

I’d go with Suter

 

Me too

[adambr2]

Again, you're going to need innings out of less than ideal options in this series. You'll get 4 innings out of Suter at best.

 

That said, I wouldn't let Houser go more than 2 or 3 either.

[TURBO]

That said, I wouldn't let Houser go more than 2 or 3 either.

 

...and NOT as a starter...

[liveforoctober]

I don’t think its clear that Houser starts game 1

 

I’d go with Suter

 

Me too

 

I'm also starting Suter if I get the decision. I can't imagine Counsell let's Houser get 2 turns through their lineup.. so then it is either Suter or Houser to get the first 3 innings and Suter has just outpitched Adrian.

[adambr2]

I can't overstate how much losing Burnes sucks and changes the outlook of this series entirely.

 

If you have Corbin, you line him up for G2 and Woodruff for G3 and you feel pretty good about that.

 

Now you've got one legitimate starter and everything else you're just trying to piece together. It's a bummer. You feel great about Williams and pretty good about Hader.

 

Don't be afraid to eat Game 1 if it starts to go south quickly. Might be best to go all out to win Game 2 and then you just have to hope to get lucky in Game 3. But let's see what happens on Wednesday.

[brewmann04]

It going to be like Buster Douglas facing Mike Tyson and we know how that ended up.

[SRB]

Why would Houser be in play to start Game 1 when he pitched today?

[DHonks]

I can't overstate how much losing Burnes sucks and changes the outlook of this series entirely.

 

If you have Corbin, you line him up for G2 and Woodruff for G3 and you feel pretty good about that.

 

Now you've got one legitimate starter and everything else you're just trying to piece together. It's a bummer. You feel great about Williams and pretty good about Hader.

 

Don't be afraid to eat Game 1 if it starts to go south quickly. Might be best to go all out to win Game 2 and then you just have to hope to get lucky in Game 3. But let's see what happens on Wednesday.

 

Why would you have waited to give Corbin extra rest? I would have started him Wednesday on 5-days rest, then Woodruff Thursday on normal rest.

[rickh150]

Guys like Knebel and Rasmussen play huge in the series.... several guys looking to bridge starters to the 7th when Williams and Hader take over.

[Eye Black]

The Brewers have a 25 year old pitcher with the following career stats versus the Los Angeles Dodgers...

 

 

[pre]W L ERA G GS IP WHIP SO9 PA AB BA OBP SLG OPS

5 0 2.11 7 7 42.2 1.031 9.1 174 161 .199 .254 .354 .608[/pre]

 

 

 

 

[timpep]

The Brewers have a 25 year old pitcher with the following career stats versus the Los Angeles Dodgers...

 

 

[pre]W L ERA G GS IP WHIP SO9 PA AB BA OBP SLG OPS

5 0 2.11 7 7 42.2 1.031 9.1 174 161 .199 .254 .354 .608[/pre]

 

 

 

Yuck. I forgot how much I missed Davies, now I remember.

[Frisbee Slider]

How about Game 1?

 

Innings 1-2: Devin Williams

 

Innings 3-4: Josh Hader

 

Inning 5: Claudio or Yardley

 

Innings 6-7: Brent Suter

 

Innings 8-9: Freddy Peralta

 

Game 2:

 

Brandon Woodruff on full rest - 7 innings?

 

Game 3:

 

[shrug]

[Oxy]

I've been trying to figure out a way to start Williams or Hader on Wednesday, but I don't think I like it. The innings are just too low leverage to make it worth it.

 

Now Rasmussen, Knebel or Justin Topa I could see starting. Really anybody except Williams or Hader.

 

ALSO, if the Brewers somehow get an early lead I could see going to the closers in the 5th inning or so if you think you can get 2 SO innings from each of them.

[Frisbee Slider]

I hear what you are saying about innings 1-4 being considered low leverage. However, if we fall behind 5-0 early in game one, my concern is the entire series becomes low leverage from that point on.

 

Let’s get Williams and Hader in the game when it is tied or when we have the lead. The only way to guarantee that in Game One is to start with them.

 

We can hope for the best from Woodruff in Game Two. No reason to save anyone for Game Three.

[Ron Robinsons Beard]

The Brewers have a 25 year old pitcher with the following career stats versus the Los Angeles Dodgers...

 

 

[pre]W L ERA G GS IP WHIP SO9 PA AB BA OBP SLG OPS

5 0 2.11 7 7 42.2 1.031 9.1 174 161 .199 .254 .354 .608[/pre]

 

 

 

 

You know, that is is the kind of outside the box thinking that I like. Without a surefire pick to start the game, why the heck not? He'll be in a familiar park, in a familiar role.

 

If Burnes was OK, the combo of Burnes and Woody would have given the Brewers a puncher's chance against the Dodgers in a 3-game series. Few teams could match up with those two if there were on their games. But without Burnes, I'm all for throwing caution to the wind.

[Oxy]

I think Justin Topa is my pick. 0 BB 12 Ks on the year. Give him the first 6-9 batters then go to Suter for another 6-9 batters. Don't let either of them pitch to anybody twice.

[KeithStone53151]

I think Justin Topa is my pick. 0 BB 12 Ks on the year. Give him the first 6-9 batters then go to Suter for another 6-9 batters. Don't let either of them pitch to anybody twice.

 

This strategy sounds great in theory, until all 4 of your best relievers get used and it's only the 6th inning. So now you have claudio and yardley and knebel trying to close out 3 innings. And then what if woodruff isn't super efficient game 2 and needs 100+ pitches to get through 5+ innings? Your bullpen is gone.

 

Lindblom and houser should start games. I'll add that I anticipate those guys being more like 3-4 inning guys like suter unless they happen to be particularly effective. I'm more than happy to let williams and hader pitch the last 4 combined innings if we manage to get a lead game 1.

 

One thing to note, suter is significantly more effective against rhb than lhb. I'll not necessarily sure the dodgers would load up rhb if we went suter to start game 1.

[liveforoctober]

I think Justin Topa is my pick. 0 BB 12 Ks on the year. Give him the first 6-9 batters then go to Suter for another 6-9 batters. Don't let either of them pitch to anybody twice.

 

I don't hate this but I think you just start Suter at that point. He has been spot starting successfully up to this point and is a vet. Asking Topa, in his first playoff experience (and first season, etc) to start Game 1 against the Dodgers might be a little much to ask. Adrenaline/nerves would have him throwing 106mph over the backstop lol. Suter -> Topa is a drastic change in styles as it is. Just start Brent I think?

[Oxy]

I think Justin Topa is my pick. 0 BB 12 Ks on the year. Give him the first 6-9 batters then go to Suter for another 6-9 batters. Don't let either of them pitch to anybody twice.

 

I don't hate this but I think you just start Suter at that point. He has been spot starting successfully up to this point and is a vet. Asking Topa, in his first playoff experience (and first season, etc) to start Game 1 against the Dodgers might be a little much to ask. Adrenaline/nerves would have him throwing 106mph over the backstop lol. Suter -> Topa is a drastic change in styles as it is. Just start Brent I think?

 

I want Suter to face their lineup setup against a righty. They may pinch hit anyway, but I want them to do that early too. If the moment seems too big for Topa (or Yardley or whoever) then bring in Suter even earlier.

[Oxy]

I think Justin Topa is my pick. 0 BB 12 Ks on the year. Give him the first 6-9 batters then go to Suter for another 6-9 batters. Don't let either of them pitch to anybody twice.

 

This strategy sounds great in theory, until all 4 of your best relievers get used and it's only the 6th inning. So now you have claudio and yardley and knebel trying to close out 3 innings. And then what if woodruff isn't super efficient game 2 and needs 100+ pitches to get through 5+ innings? Your bullpen is gone.

 

Lindblom and houser should start games. I'll add that I anticipate those guys being more like 3-4 inning guys like suter unless they happen to be particularly effective. I'm more than happy to let williams and hader pitch the last 4 combined innings if we manage to get a lead game 1.

 

One thing to note, suter is significantly more effective against rhb than lhb. I'll not necessarily sure the dodgers would load up rhb if we went suter to start game 1.

 

Ahh. If this is truly the case and not an anomaly, then I'd go with Suter first.

[DHonks]

To be honest, game one is all about trying to have a chance. We need game 2. I’d be tempted to start Rasmussen, but encourage him mix in his pitches more like he would as a starter. Get through 2-3 innings, the. Go Suter to cover innings 3 or 4 through 5. If all goes well, they can combine for 5-6 innings. If Lindblom is game 3, then I’m even tempted by Houser for a few innings. I’d try to keep Williams and Hader fresh for games 2-3, unless we have a chance to win game 1 after 6ip

[Oxy]

 

Lindblom and houser should start games. I'll add that I anticipate those guys being more like 3-4 inning guys like suter unless they happen to be particularly effective. I'm more than happy to let williams and hader pitch the last 4 combined innings if we manage to get a lead game 1.

 

Lindblom and Houser have been consistently terrible to start games all year long. They'll need to start at some point in the playoffs, but not in a 3 game series against the Dodgers that is bookended by 2 off days on either end.

 

Game 2 is Woodruff's game. Count on him for 7-8 innings or 110 pitches. Win game 1 at all costs, then count on Woodruff and either Williams or Hader (but preferably not both) to go in game 2 after Woody. Count on Williams and Hader to cover innings 7-9 in game 1.

 

So now you are covering the first 6 innings of game one with your entire pitching staff other than Woodruff, Williams and Hader (And Burnes/Anderson). There is no possible world where either Adrian Houser OR Josh Lindblom should be pitching in those 6 innings when you've got Suter, Peralta, Topa, Claudio, Yardley, Knebel, Rasmussen and Black to cover those 6 innings--and have guys left over. That's 8 guys for 6 innings.

[wildcat83]

 

Lindblom and houser should start games. I'll add that I anticipate those guys being more like 3-4 inning guys like suter unless they happen to be particularly effective. I'm more than happy to let williams and hader pitch the last 4 combined innings if we manage to get a lead game 1.

 

Lindblom and Houser have been consistently terrible to start games all year long. They'll need to start at some point in the playoffs, but not in a 3 game series against the Dodgers that is bookended by 2 off days on either end.

 

Game 2 is Woodruff's game. Count on him for 7-8 innings or 110 pitches. Win game 1 at all costs, then count on Woodruff and either Williams or Hader (but preferably not both) to go in game 2 after Woody. Count on Williams and Hader to cover innings 7-9 in game 1.

 

So now you are covering the first 6 innings of game one with your entire pitching staff other than Woodruff, Williams and Hader (And Burnes/Anderson). There is no possible world where either Adrian Houser OR Josh Lindblom should be pitching in those 6 innings when you've got Suter, Peralta, Topa, Claudio, Yardley, Knebel, Rasmussen and Black to cover those 6 innings--and have guys left over. That's 8 guys for 6 innings.

 

To be quite honest, if we somehow manage to have a lead in Game 1, then Williams and Hader should each throw 2 innings. With that being said, if I'm Counsel I try to get a lead through 5. If you are purely looking at 5 innings I think some combo of Suter, Topa, Yardley, and Knebel can cover 5 innings. If that group gets through 5 clean, which I know is unlikely, then you throw Williams and Hader 2 each and put all your apples on Woodruff in Game 2.