Arm Breaker Baker Uses BULL Pen To Protect Starters?

How weird is it in today’s world of modern medicine, state of the art training & Nostradamis like analytics “relievers” started Game 4 of the World Series for both sides? Yet, there we had Dylan Lee pitching for the Braves & Zack Greinke pitching for the Astros. Enter “Arm Breaker Baker.” [More on that in a bit.]

As it turns out, the bullpens did good. And, regardless of the Series winner (Astros fought back after 1st inning Braves grand slammer in Game 5 to survive to Game 6), the days of the 4-man post-season starter rotation would seem to be over. Not only are we seeing more 3-man rotations in October, but now this “bullpen” approach, too.

Would Sandy Koufax and his arthritic left arm have made it to the mound for the Dodgers today as he did before retiring thanks to the unbearable pain he long endured? Doubtful. Ironically, some might argue it was Astros Manager Dusty Baker who did most to affect MLB’s conventional wisdom on the current Series rotation dilemma when he was nearly run out of Chicago after supposedly over-pitching & wearing out young star starters Kerry Wood and Mark Prior in the regular season circa 2003. To this day, the Chicago papers still suggest Baker wear dark sunglasses (and lose the ever-present toothpick) when he visits Wrigley Field so’s not to be too noticeable & egged. Yet, as the Arm Breaker, er, Dusty insists, he and other managers do everything possible to protect their pitchers in the regular season. Well, they certainly appear to be doing so now when the playoffs start … after their young starters' overused arms are about to fall off.

Davd Soul