On MadBum
We probably would have won if they didn’t have him. But they do have him.
Lorenzo Cain
Unbelievable, man. I don’t know if he’s even human. Seriously. He’s like a machine.
Gregor Blanco
Bumgarner is a great starting pitcher. We’ll see what kind of reliever he is.
Ned Yost
We don’t have to face Bumgarner no more.
Jarrod Dyson (after game 5)
Real Rob Lowe is the “don’t be this me” version of Madison Bumgarner.
Joe Posnanski
He don’t come with a lot of flair, but he goes out there and sticks it right up your butt.
Tim Hudson
Designers including Michael Kors
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Saks Fifth Avenue
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So, I’m very much not a baseball fan.
But my parents have very much become fans in recent years, and the week I drove up to visit them just happened to be the week of the world series. I watched or listened to all but one of the games. I’m pretty sure I’m a baseball fan now. I just spent the last 2 hours reading Wikipedia articles about baseball.
I blame Nate Silver… And the bean dip from the game 3 party.Report
Also, before your post, I was a MadBum fan. But now that I’ve read those quotes, I think Tim Hudson might be my favorite pitcher.Report
That’s the one that suggested this be a quotes post. (I like the Posnanski too.)
All the quotes are real. If I were going to invent some, we could start with:
“I don’t always pitch on 2 days rest, but when I do, I prefer Kauffman Stadium”.Report
All credit to the Bum and your team; at the end of the day, they all won and that’s the only thing that counts. But, really, they were one swing away from being second guessed for all eternity.Report
1) That’s baseball.
2) Following #1, had they taken him out sooner they still would have been a swing away from that given how he was pitching. And had they not put him in, they probably would have been second guessed forever even had they gotten the win (which they wouldn’t have).Report
The conditions were perfect for letting Bumgarner close it out – AL rules, possessing the lead when he took over*, and of course, never allowing more than one guy on base at a time.
There was a bit in the 8th and 9th where Bumgarner looked liked he was tiring a bit and his control was starting to allude him, but KC played Lori Petty rules and never laid off the high ones. I imagine if KC was able to get *two* people on base (and/or tie it up at any point), Bumgarner would have been pulled. Bochy’s boldest move of the night was to pull Hudson early, I’m sure the manager wouldn’t have put the rest of the game in autopilot (as is say, Yost’s MO)
But, like I said, max credit to Bumgarner – the team put the entire series – the entire season – on his shoulders, and he carried the day. That’s what a champion does.
*though one of the announcers said the scorers were going to give him the win, not the save – but google is showing him earning the save at this point.Report
Win vs. save was a judgment call: was Affeldt’s 2.1 innings of 1-hit ball “effective” enough to earn the win? After the game ended, the official scorer decided “yes”, so MadBum got a save instead.Report
The official scorer is a Royals’ employee, yes? So maybe they were feeling vindictive, as in “No pitcher gets three wins against us in one World Series.”Report
Why was there any question about whether Affeldt deserved the win? Relief pitchers get wins for retiring only one batter, who just happens to be the last batter before his team scores the winning run, all the time. I recall a game from several years ago when the reliever retired no batters — the only out during his time on the mound was a runner caught stealing — and I don’t remember anyone questioning his right to a W.Report
OK, now I’ve looked into this a bit. It’s kind of intricate, but not, I think, unclear. The general rule (10.17(a)) is
The official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher that pitcher whose team
assumes a lead while such pitcher is in the game, or during the inning on offense in
which such pitcher is removed from the game, and does not relinquish such lead,
unless
(1) such pitcher is a starting pitcher and Rule 10.17(b) applies; or
(2) Rule 10.17(c) applies.
So far, it’s Affeldt, because he pitched the entire third and the Giants went ahead for good in the fourth.
Now let’s look at the exceptions. First, 10.17(b):
If the pitcher whose team assumes a lead while such pitcher is in the game, or during
the inning on offense in which such pitcher is removed from the game, and does
not relinquish such lead, is a starting pitcher who has not completed
(1) five innings of a game that lasts six or more innings on defense, or
(2) four innings of a game that lasts five innings on defense,
then the official scorer shall credit as the winning pitcher the relief pitcher, if there
is only one relief pitcher, or the relief pitcher who, in the official
This doesn’t apply, because Affeldt didn’t start. The other exception is 10.17(c):
The official scorer shall not credit as the winning pitcher a relief pitcher who is
ineffective in a brief appearance, when at least one succeeding relief pitcher pitches
effectively in helping his team maintain its lead. In such a case, the official scorer
shall credit as the winning pitcher the succeeding relief pitcher who was most
effective, in the judgment of the official scorer.
That certainly doesn’t apply. Affeldt was damned effective for a full two innings plus. So, Affeldt should get the win. But according to Deadspin the three official scorers actually disagreed and took a while to come to a conclusion, which is why the initial report was Bumgarner but the final decision was Affeldt. I honestly don’t see any other possible conclusion. At least they finally got it right.Report
The only consolation to the world is that the Yankees didn’t win the series.Report
I thought envy of the successful was a liberal vice.Report
Heh, it’s an all-to-human vice, @mike-schilling, and I’m still bitter for the Tigers. But in all seriousness, congrats to the Giants. 3 championships in 5 years is a helluva achievement.Report
3 in 5 is, almost, but not quite, jeter-like. As is bumgarner…Report
That was an outstanding game. Congrats, Mike, even if I was pulling hard for the Royals on grounds of always rooting for small market teams.
When that ball got through in the 9th, I was pleading for the 3rd base coach to send Gordon to try for the inside the parker. I figured with MadBum on the mound pitching lights out, some very average hitters due up, and 2 outs, the odds of the cutoff man making a bad throw to the plate were a lot better than the odds of getting another hit. I wanted to see that so badly, too – it would have been one of the five or six most memorable plays in history almost no matter how it turned out, maybe even enough to get some people excited about baseball again.
Turns out I wasn’t alone in thinking about this, and that my instinct was probably right, even if we pretend that there’s no such thing as a hot hand pitcher (and there totally is, because screw facts): http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/send-alex-gordon/Report
As a general rule, Gordon was right to stop at third; the outfield had got the ball back under control and it was sailing on its way back in. Nate Silver says that there was (depending on how you read it) anywhere from a 75% to an 85% chance that had Gordon gone for it, he’d have been tagged out.
Nate Silver would know that sort of thing.
With that said, Kirk Gibson had batted .154 in the NLCS before his pinch-hit, and Dennis Eckersley had given up all of five home runs for the entire year.
In any other game, stopping at third and awaiting an RBI single would have been the right thing to do. Two out, bottom of the ninth, game seven of the World Series, is not just the eleventh hour but the very stroke of midnight at hand. So maybe you go for it anyway because at that point, “go big or go home” is not just an aphorism but the only way to survive. (Which is why the Giants were right to play their ace for five innings, notwithstanding only two days’ rest.)
Props to the Giants; three Serieses in five years is a very impressive achievement, and Bumgarner more than earned his MVP. We’re coming at you next year!Report
There may or may not be such a thing as the hot hand, but there is very definitely such a thing as a disadvantageous matchup. I feel that as good as MadBum is, it’s also the case that the way he pitches matches the Royals hitters weaknesses very, very well.Report
I only watched the 9th inning but fell asleep with two outs in the bottom and woke up to see celebrating. I didn’t miss anything… did I?Report
A weak foul popup. No big deal.Report
I’m glad I didn’t miss what would have been one of the most exciting plays in WS history. Thanks, Alex Gordon!Report
I gotta ask, @mike-schilling , are you going to get yourself some MadBums?Report