Teams have this pirate mentality in elimination games; "all hands on deck." It means everyone has to be ready to contribute to the cause. There is no tomorrow. Backs to the wall. Do or die.
Both teams tried to kill themselves off during the rollercoaster contest.
The 7 out Wade Davis save was cringe worthy since Davis barely got out of the 8th inning.
And this shows how managers lose their baseball IQ during the playoffs by trying to force players to do something they had never done in the real season, like having Davis pitch in three consecutive innings.
His teammates said after the game Davis had "big stones." The real issue is whether he has any arm left to pitch on Saturday night in LA.
Or whether any pitcher has any viable arms to start Game 1 of the NLCS. Maddon used both Lester and Quintana in relief. That was his playoff rotation used up in the last two games. For some unexplained reason, Maddon refused to warm up Lackey for either Game 4 or 5. If you are on a playoff roster, you should be able to contribute. But Maddon lost confidence in his bullpen (as shown by carting out Edwards in every single game).
For most people it does not matter because last night's game was so insane.
A rested Dodger team will start Kershaw in Game 1. The logical choice would be the Cubs starting Lackey in the large confines of Dodgers Stadium in Game 1, but some people think Maddon will try to start Quintana on one and one-half days rest. If Lackey is not going to start a NLCS game and Maddon has no confidence in him coming to pitch in relief, then Lackey should be dropped from the playoff roster. In close, wild games like last night, you cannot run out of players. The Cubs almost did.
