World Series- Royals vs Giants

[JGreenMachine]

And the Giants strike early and often to take game 1

[MaineDolFan]

I ultimately feel KC wins this in 6, but the Giants did what they always do last night.  Win, and leave me wondering how.

[EDGECRUSHER]

The Giants are a mystery because there is no blueprint, they just win. Middle of the pack with their starters, slightly above average with their offense. It just boggles the mind.

The only thing I know is that Bumgarner is the best there is right now.

[JGreenMachine]

The Royals evened it up last night with a big showing offensively.  I must point out that they won their wild card "play in" game in extra innings, and their first two divisional round games in extra innings.  That makes them the seventh team in MLB history to win at least three postseason games in extra innings.  Of the previous six that did it, all of them went on to win the World Series.

[Sunstroke]

The only thing I know is that Bumgarner is the best there is right now.

In this series? Sure. In all of baseball? No chance. There's this cat named Kershaw who is still the best pitcher in the game.

[Spider-Dan]

I'm no baseball fan, but I thought Kershaw was considered strictly a regular-season hero.

Looking at his playoff stats, he has 1 win in 8 starts, with a playoff ERA of 5.12 and an NLCS ERA of 7.23.

[Sunstroke]

Peyton Manning had some pretty memorable postseason collapses, but I still consider him the best QB in the game. When calling Kershaw the greatest pitcher in the game, I am going solely on his ability, not the record of his team in a limited sample size group.

[Spider-Dan]

If Kershaw's postseason ERA was in the 2s, I'd agree with that analogy, but it's in the 5s.  Peyton's postseason passer rating is 89.2, which is still very good (just not as good as his incredible regular season rating).

Furthermore, I think baseball pitchers (and hockey goalies) have unique roles as players that can almost singlehandedly dominate games.  In comparison, even football QBs and basketball point guards have significantly less impact.

But, leaving Peyton aside, if you want to say that you don't think Kershaw's horrible postseasons outweigh his brilliant regular seasons, that's fine too.

[Sunstroke]

I ultimately feel KC wins this in 6...

Yeah, KC in 6 would be my pick as well.

[JGreenMachine]

KC held off San Fran last night to regain their home field advantage

[MaineDolFan]

In this series? Sure. In all of baseball? No chance. There's this cat named Kershaw who is still the best pitcher in the game.

If we played the "you're starting a franchise and you can have one of the two to start your team with," game...

I'm wondering why you're being so cruel, making me choose.  And then I'm picking Bumgarner.

Is Kershaw sick?  Yes.  Is Madison off the rails ridiculous?  YES.  People focus on what he has done in the WS.  Look at this past season:

Kershaw:

21-3, 1.77 ERA, 198 IP, 0.857 WHIP.  Ridiculous numbers. 

Madison wasn't too shabby:

18-10, 2.98, 217 IP, 1.09 WHIP.

19 additional innings, a WHIP which is basically within comparison, and while no one can sneeze at an ERA under 2.00 for a season...can anyone say jack-diddley about an ERA under 3.00 for a season? 

Now, because it's not all about the regular season, let's take a look at both pitchers once they get to the post season:

Kershaw:

1-5
5.12 ERA

Bumgarner

7-3 (including the 4-0 in the WS)
2.27 ERA (including a SUB 1.00 ERA in the WS)

I'm taking Bumgarner. 

[JGreenMachine]

Giants have the lead. Royals have the field.  Game six tomorrow and it's do or die for the Royals.

[Sunstroke]

If we played the "you're starting a franchise and you can have one of the two to start your team with," game...

I'm wondering why you're being so cruel, making me choose.  And then I'm picking Bumgarner.

Kershaw and Bumgarner, both with identical teammates, both with identical opponents and schedule.

I still take Kershaw. His stuff is nastier.

19 additional innings, a WHIP which is basically within comparison, and while no one can sneeze at an ERA under 2.00 for a season...can anyone say jack-diddley about an ERA under 3.00 for a season? 

The difference between Kershaw's WHiP and Bumgarner's is roughly the same as the difference between Bumgarner's WHiP and Wily Peralta's.

The difference between Kershaw's ERA and Bumgarner's is roughly the same as the difference between Bumgarner's ERA and Bartolo Colon's.

I like Bumgarner, and agree that he is an excellent pitcher.
Kershaw, on the other hand, is the best pitcher in the game.

[MaineDolFan]

^^Who, time after time, hasn't figured out how to get it done when the lights are the brightest.  I love the kid, but I'll take the guy who is nails when it means the most.

[Spider-Dan]

I'm usually one of the most outspoken opponents of overvaluing the postseason, but in this case:

- Kershaw is a dominating regular season pitcher and, frankly, a bum (ahem) in the postseason
- Bumgarner is a very good regular season pitcher and a dominating postseason pitcher

It's certainly valuable to have a pitcher that can get you into the playoffs, but when you have a playoff ace that can basically take over every 3rd-4th game (and hand an L to the opposing team's best pitcher in the process), there really isn't a substitute.