A familiar ninth inning face for the San Francisco Giants watched in despair from the bullpen as his team imploded in game 4 of the NLDS to the Cubs.
While it was hardly the blemish on San Francisco Giants manger Bruce Bochy‘s postseason career as a similar inaction was earlier in the month for O’s skipper Buck Showalter, it begs the question — could Santiago Casilla have helped his club escape safely from a Game 4 collapse at the hands of the Cubs in order to force a deciding Game 5?
Showalter, of course, previously failed to use the best closer in all of baseball during the one-and-done Wild Card playoff game versus the Toronto Blue Jays. This came with considerable criticism from media outlets everywhere after Ubaldo Jimenez was summoned from the bullpen in extra innings and proceeded to put forth one of the worst October pitching appearances in recent memory.
As Zach Britton — a legitimate Cy Young candidate — watched from the bullpen, Jimenez gave up two singles on four pitches. A mound visit followed, and in stepped Edwin Encarnacion to the batter’s box, belting a first pitch fastball to the second deck in left field for a decisive Blue Jays walk-off victory.
The San Francisco Giants’ collapse was not cut from the same cloth, however. They did not fall in extra innings, with a tie game being broken via the long ball. Instead, five relief arms squandered a brilliant start from Matt Moore. After being lifted before the top of the ninth inning with a 5-2 lead, Moore’s line was 8 IP, 1 ER, 2 BB and 10 SO.
Collectively in the top of the ninth, Derek Law, Javier Lopez, Sergio Romo, Will Smith and Hunter Strickland gave up four runs on four hits and blew the lead. Casilla, the club’s Opening Day closer, meanwhile sat and watched from the bullpen. This rally emphasized how scary the Cubs’ offense can be at time, but also how vulnerable the Giants’ cast of relievers can be.
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Many know-it-alls thought the bullpen would ultimately be the Giants’ undoing. In 2014, Casilla saved 19 games in 23 opportunities for San Francisco and in 2015, he went 38-for-44. Not terrible, but his ERA/FIP splits grew from 2.79/3.63 last year to 3.57/3.94 in the present.
The fact of the matter is, since 2012, there has been a revolving door at closer mostly between Casilla and Romo. Neither was particularly sharp in 2016. The postseason was no exception. While Romo (2 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR) was far worse than Casilla (0.2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H), should Bochy have called on his veteran reliever amidst an impending collapse?
Casilla reportedly wept in the clubhouse after the game, discouraged that his services were not requested. Giants fans could only wonder “what if” in bewilderment as their organization put up no fight in the bottom half of the ninth inning against 100+ mph fastballs from Aroldis Chapman.
Slated for his age 36 season in 2017, Casilla is a free agent this offseason. He will likely find work in someone’s bullpen, though it’s doubtful he’ll be back with the Giants. Romo will also be a free agent before 2017.
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If the San Francisco Giants choose to not address the closer role in a trade or signing, Hunter Strickland is probably best suited for closing games out of spring camp next year. The 28-year-old has posted a combined 2.80 ERA, 3.04 FIP and an 8.6 K/9 in 112.1 IP from 2015-16.