Baseball’s evolution has played out before our eyes in these playoffs. Most notably, Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona’s progressive — and aggressive — use of All-Star reliever Andrew Miller earned him rave reviews as the Indians staged a stunning sweep of the heavily favored Boston Red Sox in their American League Division Series, providing yet another template to deploy relief weapons in the postseason.
But the bullpen evolvement has been matched by an equally aggressive devolvement, one involving the game’s highest-priced commodities.
We are witnessing by far the worst Division Series performance by starting pitchers in the five years of Major League Baseball’s two-wild card format, a meltdown that’s led to incessant pitching changes, interminable games and potentially frayed bullpens as the postseason continues.