11-1-2019 Passed Ball Show. John makes the case that postseason baseball teams have gone too far with the use of their relievers. Over the course of a seven game series, the more a particular reliever faces the same hitters on the same team, the advantage goes to the hitters. We saw that in this year's World Series with Will Harris. It happened with the Yankees in the ALCS against the Astros and it also has derailed the Los Angeles Dodgers the past three seasons. The last three World Series Champions have one thing in common- they relied on their starting pitchers. Not just to give them length throughout the postseason, but most importantly to piggy back off of each other. It is amazing the Astros decided to move away from something that already worked in winning a World Series title. It is interesting to see if teams view the failure of the repetitive use of relievers in the same series as a means to adapt and rely more on starting pitchers. Perhaps the use of starters as relievers (on their throw day, etc.) can make up from what was lost when their role as 8-9 inning pitchers changed to be just 5-6 or 6-7. John uses more lemans terms (for those who have a hard time understanding) to describe the role of a MLB manager in 2019. If you think a good manager can win your team an extra ___ games, John says "with all due respect"- that your baseball acumen is currently in concussion protocol. He then reminds the listeners what exactly a manager is responsible for. Finally, John talks about Jimmy Garoppolo's current 16-2 record as a starting quarterback and its means in rating his performance.
