World Series, Game 5: Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Houston Astros- C. Kershaw vs. D. Bag -10-30-17

[BCmaiden]

Kenley choking. This is criminal.

 

[beefchopper]

FUCK. 2 of those were strikes.

 

[beefchopper]

Kenley choking. This is criminal.

I honestly think he's exhausted,

 

[BCmaiden]

Hitting McCann w/2 strikes. Horrible.

 

[BCmaiden]

Our 2 best pitchers fail badly. CHOKERS.

 

[beefchopper]

It cannot possibly get any worse than this.

 

[grabarkewitz]

Pay for playing Ethier on defense. Zero arm. Just too much to ask for Kenley go long and these fucking baseballs.

 

[ocmike24]

Why did you fucking hit fucking brian McCann. Are you fucking dumber than Kershaw?

 

[Matthew]

Byun-jun Jansen.

 

[NewportDodger]

This just felt like not if but when with the game. We were out of pitchers. Kenley isn’t built for that many pitches apparently.

 

[grabarkewitz]

Our 2 best pitchers fail badly. CHOKERS.

Yeah, because he hasn't pitched in every game in this series. Geez, maybe put the blame on the right assholes, like Roberts.

 

[BCmaiden]

Yeah, because he hasn't pitched in every game in this series. Geez, maybe put the blame on the right assholes, like Roberts.

I meant Kershaw & Jansen not Morrow.

 

[beefchopper]

I'm sure that slick ball surface is a factor. That's why he threw virtually all fastballs, He never does that,

 

[NewportDodger]

KJ didn’t choke. He is a one inning horse. Our shit BP left us with two horrible options in Fields and BMac. Should have had other options. Poor BP construction before the series.

 

[grabarkewitz]

This just felt like not if but when with the game. We were out of pitchers. Kenley isn’t built for that many pitches apparently.

No closers are. They are developed to throw 15-20 pitches at full effort and take a seat. There are no Mike Marshall's or Rollie Fingers' anymore who can go three at the end. Blame it on the game, not the player.

 

[Matthew]

Kenley really is the like Mariano Rivera... circa 2001.

 

[NewportDodger]

No closers are. They are developed to throw 15-20 pitches at full effort and take a seat. There are no Mike Marshall's or Rollie Fingers' anymore who can go three at the end. Blame it on the game, not the player.

I agree. He is a specialist and does that well. We are carrying two piles of shit as our only other options. If it didn’t happen this inning, Fields or BMac would be facing their heart of the order. It was game over either way.

 

[grabarkewitz]

I meant Kershaw & Jansen not Morrow.

I know who you meant. Back off on the condescention. Kershaw had one pitch, thanks to either the baseballs or the lack of stuff. It happens. As for Jansen, guy was gassed like Morrow. The fact that he got through one was amazing enough. Again, this is on Roberts and his by the numbers running of this team. Not on the hitters, 12 runs should win a game. Not on the pitchers, they had to fight Bill Miller and shit baseballs all night long. Fuck Roberts for his inability to run a team any better than a little league manager. If he had any kind of guts, brains or balls, he would've called Miller out for being a crooked piece of shit and he would actually trust some of his players to go beyond what the fucking book says.

 

[BCmaiden]

KJ didn’t choke. He is a one inning horse. Our shit BP left us with two horrible options in Fields and BMac. Should have had other options. Poor BP construction before the series.

I do lay that blame on the FO who was going by the book & taking a RH, BMac, over Avilan. Then you have Stripling who had a meltdown in the last 2+ months, but Baez gets the boot.

 

[Matthew]

KJ didn’t choke. He is a one inning horse. Our shit BP left us with two horrible options in Fields and BMac. Should have had other options. Poor BP construction before the series.

You are correct about the bullpen construction, but it still doesn't negate the fact that Jansen choked. Like Kershaw, he is paid an elite amount of money to get the job done in these moments and he's shit the bed twice now in this series. It's far from unusual for closers to have to pitch multiple innings in the postseason. The great ones get it done; unfortunately, post-game 1, he has not. It doesn't make Roberts any less of an idiot, but it doesn't make Jansen's performance less of a choke job, either.