And AJ is now managing the pitching staff with his gut instead of the stat sheet!
The stat sheet has its uses, and it's a fool who doesn't use those uses.
But notice two things:
a) Hinch was willing to trust his vision and Dave Roberts---who should have seen Darvish
had nothing after not having pitched since Game Three of the NLCS---wasn't. Why else
would Roberts let Darvish get pounded for four runs in the second on a night when he
clearly didn't have even his C+ game?
b) The two most important games of the Astros' season---Game Seven of the ALCS, and
now Game Three---were saved by
starting pitchers. No matter how many men he
warmed up along the way, Hinch still doesn't really trust his actual bullpen. Not even Ken
Giles.
And, it begs a question:
c) For Game Four, where does Hinch turn if the Dodgers get frisky against Charlie Morton?
He won't go to Peacock after tonight's three and two thirds. And he doesn't trust most of
the rest of his pen. Game Four should prove to be a very interesting chess match . . .
