Isaiah Page starting game 2 tonight, Criswell available out of the bullpen
#Michigan will not go with Jeff Criswell tonight as the starter. Erik Bakich and Co. will go with Isaiah Page, who has 5 1/3 innings of work in the postseason. Have to believe Bakich really likes the option to bring Criswell out of the bullpen for extended relief if need be. #CWS
— Kendall Rogers (@KendallRogers) June 25, 2019
I love the way Bakich is using Criswell. He is their best remaining card to play (with Kaufmann on short rest and Henry essentially done). Using him out of the pen assures you get the most out of his innings. UM has 2 games to get a lead after 5 innings. then you would have Criswell with a lead and four innings to close for a Championship.
Interesting plotline: it's storming in Omaha right now. My understanding is that if the start of the game is delayed, they have 3 hours from the scheduled time to start the game or else it is delayed until tomorrow (and game 3 if necessary would be Thursday).
Doesn't appear weather will be a problem this evening.
https://radar.weather.gov/radar.php?rid=oax&product=N0R&loop=yes
Yeah my opinion this is the only way to go. Michigan has only 3 CWS worthy arms against Vandy's seemingly unlimited number. Kaufman isn't available until Wednesday and Criswell is the only true option Michigan has out of the bullpen whether short or long relief. If Criswell is used tonight then there's nothing out of the bullpen Wednesday. Baseball isn't a game to game momentum sport. It's an in-game momentum sport. Michigan should throw their 4, 5, and 6 pitchers out there tonight and see what happens. If there's a lead going into the 8th then by all means put Criswell in there to shut it down tonight. But the fact is Michigan needs to have their 2 best pitchers available for a 2nd win in this series and that's Kaufman and Criswell. Kaufman isn't available until Wednesday so that's the game to go for the win.
This is tournament ball at its finest when a team has limited pitching.
Edit: now if there's a rain out tonight, then go with Kaufman/Criswell on Wednesday for the win.
Is there a world in which if that happens and we lose game 2 that we go back to Henry on 2 days rest in game 3? Henry has been nothing sort of the best player in Omaha. We would build the kid a statue if they did they and we won.
Henry threw 111 pitches Monday. If there were a rainout of G2, yeah he'd have 2 days rest for G3 but 111 is a lot of pitches so at most he could throw 1 inning of relief in an emergency.
Now if you wanted to throw Kerr's grandpa out there I'm sure he could go another 313 pitches.
Not plausible
That last outing Kauffman put forth was gusty but extra taxing given early inning struggles. He may not yet be ready and needs another 24 hours of rest. So this isn't about playing the odds, this is about getting your best pitcher right for game 3 and having your best closer (Criswell) also available for game 3. Those two guys may not be fully ready as a tandem for game 2.
You have to trust the coach and his evaluation of win probabilities ... just have to win one game out of two ... it is not do or die in game 2. Go Blue !!!
If we're gonna win this fucking thing tonight our bats will probably need to be more lively tonight than they were last night. Take the over.
It's a risk, but with the way Bakich has been managing and the way M's been playing, it's obviously a calculated risk.
If Kumar is mowing guys down and we're destined to lose either 2-0 or 12-0, who cares, we can rain fire on them in game 3. On the other hand, if M knocks Kumar around a bit and can string some hits together, you can bring in Criswell half way through to shut them down and win today. It's not like this is going to be easy regardless, but it will be interesting to watch.
He obviously knows Criswell can’t give him 100 pitches or he would have gone to him. Paige is one of the team leaders in ERA, he walks very few batters, and is a probable weekend starter next year. He hasn’t started much because they like him out of long relief on weekend series. He throws mid to high 80s, this sets up well to go to Criswell in the mid 90s after Paige instead of vice verse if you know neither guy can give you a deep outing.
I actually like the move, but it will be thoroughly questioned on here and I’ll be told something is wrong with my brain if it doesn’t work out. As well, I was really hoping to see what goblue85 had to say about this decision.
Offense needs to score runs anyway. If they don't it's all a moot point. If they continue they're streak of, shall we say good playing, then they're giving the pitchers a chance and making it not such a high pressure situation each inning.
It's a challenge to the offense to keep making good plate appearances and getting runs across, even if it's against one of the hottest/best pitchers in the nation.
Will be tough regardless who is on the mound. Vanderbilt is not here by sheer luck and they are not going to lay down because they were beaten last night. Michigan has been on a ungodly roll though and it has been been a combination of everything it takes to win in baseball from pitching, hitting, defense (the throw to third last night) and aggressive base running. Really exciting to watch and Michigan's momentum is a tremendous boost going into the possible win it all game tonight.
Does anyone expect Vanderbilt to lie down?
could be Bakich is trying the Opener, knowing that Criswell can’t go 9. This way if the reliever blows up, bot Criswell and Kauffman would be fresh for Game 3. If the reliever does well, he brings in. Russell for the last six or seven today.
Yes, glad you mentioned this. The opener is a recent but increasingly common tactic in MLB, especially with some analytics focused teams.
for those who don't know, the idea is you get a relief pitcher going through the top of the order (i.e. best hitters) throwing at max effort, typically like 4-6 guys, but it can be more. Then you bring in your main pitcher who can throw normally, starting with the bottom of the lineup. Typically, if things go well, you will bring in another reliever before the main pitcher faces the meat of the order for the third time. So he doesn't face the studs 3x, but still pitches to like 23 batters or whatever.
With an ace who can pitch into the 8th/9th, you just go with him. But with Criswell having pitched yesterday, this is an common tactic.
So... when one person posts an opinion, it automatically becomes every members opinion?
Down 4, runner in scoring position with no outs..... Trying to bunt? What the motherfuck?