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MLB Los Angeles DodgersMLB PlayoffsSt. Louis Cardinals

Dodgers-Cardinals Series Came Down to Bullpen Play

By @AnthonyIrwinNBA

Getty Images

Getty Images

You always hear the cliché: “In the playoffs, it comes down to starting pitching.” So, when the Los Angeles Dodgers faced the St. Louis Cardinals, one would think the Dodgers have the better matchup. But the Cardinals are actually built to win in today’s MLB postseason.

With such a deference to pitch counts and so many specialty pitchers coming out of the bullpen, the aforementioned cliché doesn’t hold nearly as true as it did in previous years. St. Louis recognized this and built their team around their bullpen. Their hitters prioritize wearing starting pitching down to take advantage of poor bullpens. Sound familiar, Ned Colletti?

That he didn’t do anything substantial to fix that bullpen either at the trade deadline or during the waiver period is a fireable offense.

Priority No. 1 this offseason has to be doing whatever he can to bring a couple power arms Don Mattingly (or whoever replaces him) can rely on. Enough with the cutters and changeups that need to be thrown perfectly to be effective. Fall baseball is won with 97-plus mph fastballs. Brian Wilson and Brandon League should be looking for work.

Enough has been made of Clayton Kershaw’s struggles – especially in the seventh inning. Thing is, if the Dodgers had any semblance of a trustworthy bullpen, he wouldn’t have needed to pitch into the seventh inning on three days’ rest. That curveball to Matt Adams that ended the Dodgers’ season had considerably less snap than it usually does. That’s what fatigue does to pitchers.

15 of the 18 runs the Cardinals scored in this series came in the seventh and eighth innings. The number of runs the Dodgers scored during those innings? Three. Mr. Colletti, you have some work to do.

Anthony F. Irwin is an NBA, NFL, MLB and NCAA Football contributor for www.Rantsports.com. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. Send him an email at .

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