During Saturday's Fox telecast, Ken Rosenthal surmised the Dodgers' playoff starters could consist of:
- Randy Wolf
- Clayton Kershaw
- Hiroki Kuroda
- Jon Garland or Vicente Padilla
Conspicuously absent from this list was Chad Billingsley. This spirited exchange ensued in our comments section, and it boiled down to this: Does Joe Torre go with the pitcher with the better recent performance (e.g., Garland) or the pitcher with better stuff (Billingsley)?
What do you think, SoSG readers? Should Chad Billingsley start for the Dodgers in the playoffs? Answer in the poll in our sidebar!
17 comments:
If the playoffs start today, the answer would be, "No. Bills should not start."
However, we have two weeks to see if he can get his jiggy back.
I think it's a bit premature to set the playoff rotation today.
But...its not trending well for Mr. Chad.
"Chad, you won my respect, and all you had to do was pitch a shutout in game seven of the World Series."
I want Chad to start in the playoffs
1. I really hate Robothal.
2. His rotation seems sound.
3. Any poker player will tell you, a hot hand is a good thing to have.
i think he should start against st louis, but probably not against philly and the lefty dominated line up. if chad shows the slightest bit of wavering in any game he starts, torre will pull the plug and hand the game over to his bullpen. this is the advantage the dodgers have over these other teams, bullpen skill and depth. philly's pen is upside down and is it just me or are you really scared of ryan franklin? his career numbers suggest that we shouldn't be.
Vs Philly:
Wolf
Kuroda (only Dodger to beat them last post season)
Kershaw
Garland
Vs StL
Billingsley
Wolf
Kuroda
Kershaw
This just in:
David Hasselhof taken to hospital with alcohol poisoning.
Nothing to do with baseball other than the fact that the Hof may have had a few at a Dodger game once. . . or twice.
I'd probably still start Chad, but definitely not #1 and probably not #2. Though I suppose it can be argued that he'll never build the confidence for a high-pressure situation if you never put him into one.
I would probably go:
Wolf
Kershaw (if healthy)
Bills
Kuroda
If the roster allows for it, use Padilla and Garland as long relief. Or use Chad as Kershaw's backup and if he has to come in, bump Kuroda to #3 and Garland to #4.
Totally unrelated to Billingsley:
SUCK IT TROGEN FANS!!!
Thank you.
I wouldn't let Chad start my car right about now. But if he can get it together in the next few start maybe he could start in the back of the playoff rotation.
@rbnlaw 11:14a: How could Hasselhoff have possibly gotten poisoned by alcohol at Dodger Stadium? I mean, he may have made a little bit of money off of German teenagers with no music taste, but getting drunk on $12 beers is a pretty spendy way to go.
The playoff format really only calls for a 3 man rotation (assuming a few starts are on 3 days rest).
Last year the 4 spot didn't come up in the NLDS or NLCS (even if it went 7). Another question would be Wolf on 3 days rest or Bills/Garland?
@Sax: I heard he cashed his last "America's Got Talent" check and went straight to the loge level lounge where he purchased several Corona "bombers" and had many others bought for him by Susan Boyle and Grandma Lee.
And much hilarity ensued.
I don't trust Bills at all right now. I'd be scared to death that he'd have one of his four-run sixth innings in the first, second, or third. He lacks the confidence to be a playoff starter at the moment.
As another commenter said, any poker player will tell you that a hot hand is a good thing to have. I like Kershaw, Wolf, Kuroda, Garland, with the order depending on the team we face.
It would be interesting to see how many of the people who advocate for Bills would also advocate for Hudson over Belly #2 to start, based on their "dance with the one who brung you reasoning" as opposed to the "hot bat" school of thought.
haha
hot stuff coming thru~
dad why did u bring me to a gay steel mill?
Dusty- I would start Hudson because he can, you know, field the position. Giving up offense at second for defense is fine.
Hey, if Manny and Kemp and Ethier all go 0-4 in their last game of the season, bench those fuckers, let's start Pierre and Repko and a bag of balls! Hot hand, hot hand!
Tim Wakefield gave up 5 runs in 5 innings today but is probably getting the win.
Trade Chad for him.
Veteraness.
Dusty Baker-My reasoning is "better player over hot hand".
Marlon Anderson didn't do shit in the playoffs. I think people forget that. :o
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