Playoff Notes following Game One's of the NLDS

With the “actual” playoffs underway, one thing has rung true, nobody in the National League has a legitimate bullpen.

Not even the best team in the National League Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers turned to Kenta Maeda for valuable outs with a two-run lead when he came in with an out in the 7^th inning. Maeda until this year was one of the starters Dave Roberts turned to for a playoff start. Now, he’s entered the Phil Hughes phase of his career where the only value he has on a contender is a balls-to-the-wall, who cares if I blow out my arm, relief pitcher. It’s only a matter of time until the curtain is pulled on the front of the Dodgers bullpen—and it might cost them yet another shot at a World Series title. What I don’t understand is why Roberts didn’t turn to the guy he used in the 9^th, Joe Kelly in the 7th, then going to Baez in the 8^th, and if the score permitted, Kenley Jansen. That to me is the Dodgers magical bullpen formula to getting to a third straight World Series; while also giving them the best chance to win that World Series. If they continue down the path of turning to Maeda in detrimental points in the most valuable games of the season. The same can be said for their opponent in this division series—the Washington Nationals.

The team that plays in our nation’s capital is in the same case, but with completely different circumstances. If the three guys that came out of the pen for Washington continue to trot out and toe the slab, Washington will continue to get embarrassed on national television. The Nationals bullpen actually could be the worst bullpen pitching in a postseason. The only guys Washington should trust is Sean Doolittle (in an extremely limited role), Daniel Hudson (if they ever have a lead in the 9^th), and Anibal Sanchez. That’s it.  Every person associated with the Nationals need to throw a grenade of hope that their starting pitchers have the game of their lives every time they go out on the mound this postseason. Washington’s run this season is astonishing simply because they continued to win basically without a bullpen. Tonight, we will see if Steven Strasburg can bounce back four days after his first relief appearance since he pitched in college more than almost a decade ago. If he does, there is a glimmer of hope with Scherzer coming home in a tied series. If not, go ahead and start to plan your last golf outings, and the days you want to pumpkin and apple picking with your families.

In the other division series, the baseball world got to see two teams that are almost exactly the same to one another. Both Atlanta and St. Louis are extremely talented teams, but both seem to be in the phase of title contention where they are both almost ready to truly contend for a championship. Even with relief aces, Carlos Martinez and Andrew Miller, the Cardinals are one pitcher short of being the National League representative in the World Series. They only have Martinez and Miller as trustworthy arms out of the pen. Their lineup is also in a weird spot where they seem to have enough pieces, but majority of the guys haven’t had enough playoff reps yet. The same could be said about St. Louis’ starting rotation with Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, and Adam Wainwright. Flaherty and Mikolas haven’t had any playoff experience and you are banking on them to come through when it matters. That is a ton of hope to bank on with two young power arms; with that hope usually blowing up in their face.

Atlanta has the same problem as Washington, except, I don’t trust any pitcher in the Braves bullpen. I watched a Braves-Mets game in the middle of June and one thing stuck in my head, I didn’t think they had anybody to turn to when they would need to in the postseason. Even with the Atlanta front office completely retooling that bullpen, the same assumption that I had in mid-June has yet to be disproven. Their young core has shades of 2015-16 Kansas City Royals and could be around for a longtime, but this year will have a crushing end. Atlanta will taste the brutal reality of defeat before they can appreciate the sweet taste of championship champagne. Both these teams are a year away, that’s not a bad thing, but if there is a series that could end in a tie, this is that series.

What the National League side of these playoffs has shown so far is that whoever wins the American League, the Astros or Yankees, will be hosting another championship parade at the end of October.