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re: The ATL Thread 9!20: Oh No We Suck Again Edition

Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:16 pm to
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:16 pm to
quote:

Wringing your hands because the bullpen has hit a rough patch through a few meaningless games in September is beyond stupid.



The bullpen has been bad for more than the meaningless games. This has been a trend since August.

We have an historically great offense, we also have a really bad bullpen. Yadda yadda'ing this as a mere bad stretch is pretty stupid.

Let me ask you this, when it comes to the bullpen, what numbers should matter more when trying to project what they will do in October? How they performed from April-July or how they performed from August-September?
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:17 pm to
Steelers gets a lot of shite for sunshine pumping and rightfully so but the negative stuff said about this team over the last 5 months has been much dumber.

People freak out over 7 day rough patches. This is an organization that hadn’t lost 5 games in a row in six seasons.

We have the best roster in the sport and very little to play for. Acting as though this stretch somehow has more predictive value in the playoffs than the previous 150 games is mind numbing imo.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:19 pm to
quote:

We have the best roster in the sport and very little to play for. Acting as though this stretch somehow has more predictive value in the playoffs than the previous 150 games is mind numbing imo.



I don't know if you're purposefully being obtuse, but again, the bullpen has been bad for more than a 7 game stretch.

No one is saying anything about the offense, so that's a strawman that you keep bringing up to make it sound like people are being negative about the offense so you can act like you're the one being rationale while everyone else is being negative. No one is doing that, so stop.
This post was edited on 9/20/23 at 3:20 pm
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:22 pm to
quote:

April-July or how they performed from August-September?


I don’t believe either really matters because performance and usage are drastically different in the playoffs.

Bullpens are very difficult to predict. We had the best bullpen in the sport in the second half last season and the worst bullpen ERA of any team in the playoffs in 2021.

Velo is up in the playoffs for most relievers and the usage is drastically different.

The lack of super high velo guys in the pen is my only real concern with the roster construction.
Posted by Pettifogger
Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone
Member since Feb 2012
81237 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:24 pm to
It's still going to be really annoying when this all timer type team that looked like it might pretty easily challenge the '98 win total sleepwalks its way to 101 wins and loses home field.

But otherwise I agree, I've thought at several points we were about to really fall off and we've usually rebounded in pretty strong fashion. Obviously the close of the season is different, but would be nice to see another of those cycles kick off in the last couple of series and go into the playoffs playing some decent ball.
Posted by Smoke7024
Member since Jun 2010
22998 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:24 pm to
All of this is hypothetical right now, but I hope you're right.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:24 pm to
quote:

The lack of super high velo guys in the pen is my only real concern with the roster construction.



My concern is that and the walks. Yates has a WHIP over 2 the last two months and Iglesias this season has one of the highest WHIP among closers on teams that will be in the postseason.
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:24 pm to
People have been complaining about various parts of the team all year. You legitimately compared Matt Olson to Dan Uggla in June iirc. I’m just pointing out how silly the overreactions are in this thread based on small stretches and samples.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:26 pm to
quote:

It's still going to be really annoying when this all timer type team that looked like it might pretty easily challenge the '98 win total sleepwalks its way to 101 wins and loses home field.



I don't give a shite about final win total, same way I don't care about Ronnie and Spencer in the MVP and Cy Young races. If they get it along the way, awesome, but it's all cosmetic.

The only thing I care about in terms of wins is that we have more than the Dodgers. I think whoever has homefield in the NLCS goes to the World Series.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:27 pm to
quote:

You legitimately compared Matt Olson to Dan Uggla in June iirc. I’m just pointing out how


Yeah, I was wrong now. He was on a historic strikeout pace then. It's a fricking message board. You said Marcell Ozuna was a terrible signing.

I'm happy I was wrong. Doesn't mean what I'm saying now about the bullpen is any less cause for concern.
This post was edited on 9/20/23 at 3:28 pm
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:27 pm to
I don’t mean that to call you out and I’m sure I’ve said stupid shite too but emotions run high when we lose just a few games.

These games do mean less than ever so I’m just not understanding the freak out or projections of doom.

In a small sample size playoff series anything can happen but we are going into any series we play with a better roster than our opponent. If we lose I have a hard time believing it will have anything to do with how we’re playing through this random stretch.
Posted by VADawg
Wherever
Member since Nov 2011
46067 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:28 pm to
I just don't believe that they can coast over the next 10 games, have 6 days off, and then flip a switch and be unbeatable again. I think they need to be clicking going into the playoffs (like the 2021 team was) because there is no time to find your bearings in a 5 game series. Have to be ready to go from the first pitch.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:30 pm to
quote:

If we lose I have a hard time believing it will have anything to do with how we’re playing through this random stretch.


Let me be clear, IF we lose I don't think it happens because our players will be so downtrodden that they went 1-5 against Miami and Philly this past week.

If we lose, I think it'll be because our bullpen has proven over the last two months that they put a shite ton of runners on base and can't get strike 3.

I still think we have the best shot of any team in the postseason, but I also think our bullpen is a huge problem that can ruin it all.
Posted by bigbenlsu
New Orleans
Member since May 2005
1112 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:31 pm to
Is it possible to avoid having to use Elder in the LDS for game 4 without bringing Fried or Strider back on three days rest?

I don’t think that’s the case huh? It’s either throw Elder or throw Fried/Strider on three days.
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:32 pm to
quote:

Is it possible to avoid having to use Elder in the LDS for game 4 without bringing Fried or Strider back on three days rest?



Fried and Strider will be able to pitch 4 and 5 on regular rest if it comes to that.
Posted by Smoke7024
Member since Jun 2010
22998 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:32 pm to
nm
This post was edited on 9/20/23 at 3:33 pm
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:33 pm to
I don’t think winning or losing is going to carry over with all the days off. We are going to need a spark when the actual playoffs arrive.

The Phillies were beyond bad over the final month last year. One of the worst Septembers for any team who’s ever made the playoffs. They slept walked through game 1 of the WC series before they exploded in the 9th due to some sloppy play by the Cardinals and the rest is history.

We totally slept walked through game 1 of the NLDS in 2021 and really played with fire in the 9th of game 2. Then Joc’s homer in to the chop house in game 3 seemed to change the entire feel and attitude of the team the rest of the postseason imo. I don’t think it was anything that happened in September.
Posted by VADawg
Wherever
Member since Nov 2011
46067 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:33 pm to
quote:

Is it possible to avoid having to use Elder in the LDS for game 4 without bringing Fried or Strider back on three days rest?


Yes. There are 3 off days built into the NLDS schedule this year as opposed to 1 last year.

Game 1
Off
Game 2
Off
Game 3
Game 4
Off
Game 5
Posted by Broski
Member since Jun 2011
74645 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:37 pm to
But even in game 1 the bullpen kept us in it after Morton settled in and then Matzek was great in game 2 to keep it 3-0, from there the rest of the bullpen was spotless outside of Luke the rest of the way.

Maybe someone in this pen turns into what Tyler was for us that postseason, but I just don't see who that can be right now. Maybe it's Johnson, idk. You get that one guy who goes in the game and you know will likely give you 1 or even 2 scoreless innings, it kind of stabilizes the rest of the pen around that.
Posted by volfan30
Member since Jun 2010
41130 posts
Posted on 9/20/23 at 3:42 pm to
It’s a good point. Jimenez is probably the guy with the best chance imo. I am not overly concerned with Minter either as he’s typically a guy who’s added velo in the postseason.

Anyone outside of Minter/Jimenez/Johnson/Iglesias/Hand against lefties is going to be hard on the nerves for me.

Yates’s usage is my biggest worry. I think Wright’s stuff could play up down there in a big way, too.
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