Game 6 of the World Series couldn’t have been a more perfect scenario for the Chicago Cubs; the Cubs get a big lead, and the need for key relievers goes down. Aroldis Chapman can get an extra day’s rest a day after throwing 2 1/3 innings and prepare for the winner-take-all Game 7 the following night.
Or at least that would have been the script of just about every baseball manager, regardless of if they’re old school or new school. Simply, there’s no reason to tax key pitchers in scenarios where they really don’t need to be used.
Instead, despite the fact that the Cubs were up 7-2 in the 7th inning, we saw Aroldis Chapman warming up in the bullpen; at first, I figured it was just a routine bullpen session, just to keep loose. But then two Indians hitters were on base, and Maddon was walking out to the mound, tapping his left arm, signaling for the unleashing of the All-Star closer. Chapman only needed two pitches to get the third out of the inning, but not before he stepped awkwardly on first base and came off the field with a noticeable limp.
I hoped that the one out would be Chapman’s only action of the night, but it wasn’t surprising when he took the field in the 8th inning. FOX’s commentary duo of Joe Buck and John Smoltz were schnoodling each other with predictions and reminiscing of Smoltz’s career and how it related to Chapman’s continual use, while Chapman continued to fire bullets in a low-leverage situation. Eventually, he would get out of the 8th without any incident.
I understand Maddon’s logic of taking care of today to ensure that there is a tomorrow, but a 7-2 lead after seven innings and a 9-2 lead after eight just aren’t instances where an ace like Chapman is even necessary at all, especially a day after throwing a career-high pitches. Buck touched on the idea that Maddon probably used Chapman because going into a game 7, he would have all his starting pitchers available to use from the bullpen, thus lowering the need for his regular relief pitchers. He’s not wrong, but if such is true, Maddon and everyone who believes this to be a solid game plan is severely discounting the importance of shutdown relievers, especially versus starting pitchers.
For starters, starting pitchers are used to giving up runs. This is not the mindset you want coming out of the bullpen when the game is tied, or at a critical juncture where giving up runs is not the best idea. It doesn’t matter if it’s Clayton Kershaw or Mike Leake, starting pitchers will occasionally give up runs; it’s no big deal when a run here and there is extrapolated into a season’s body of work. But in high-stakes situations, like a World Series game 7, giving up any runs at all is not a smart tactic.
Furthermore, starting pitchers are strange creatures of habit, where emerging from the bullpen, where the game is already underway, after warming up outside of their typical routine and rest patterns, doesn’t always end in the best results. Sometimes they get the job done, but then there are often times where they put up clunkers, just because everything seems just a little bit off to them.
Relief pitchers are conditioned to understand that the only acceptable number when they’re called is 0. Anything else is pretty much a failure. Aroldis Chapman is very good at putting up zeroes, and it would be, in my opinion, an optimal situation if he were at his most rested and ready to put zeroes up in game 7. It’s easy for Chapman and anyone on the Cubs’ staff to talk about how he’ll be ready regardless of how much use he’s had in previous games; no pitcher will ever admit to being tired or unable to go, because their willingness is their livelihood, and Chapman wants to get paid for as long as his arm can fire baseballs. But fatigue works in fairly predictable ways, where in the case of a pitcher, the more he throws, the less effective he becomes, without adequate rest.
Make no mistake, I’m still rooting for the Cubs in game 7, but I write all these words because I’m genuinely concerned over the tactics and decision-making of Joe Maddon after game 6. If the Cubs win, Maddon will be immortalized in Cubs lore, for his choice to ride Aroldis Chapman for 2 1/3 innings in game 5. However, if the Cubs lose, because Jon Lester and John Lackey came out of the bullpen and give up runs, and Chapman emerges and can’t clean up their messes because his arm is tired and the Indians have now seen a whole lot of him and have got his timing figured out, then game 5’s heroics are forgotten and the haphazard use of Chapman in game 6 will undoubtedly be the one thing remembered and looked back upon.
I like Joe Maddon, and I most certainly am hoping the Cubs can somehow figure out how to get to Corey Kluber, rout the Indians, end a century-old drought and send David Ross off as the ultimate winner, but after game 6’s unnecessary use of Aroldis Chapman, I can’t help but feel this dreadful concern that the Cubs are going to be just a little bit short-handed, going into this championship game.
