Quote:
Originally Posted by dlphg9
Ok I won't question Zobrist. He did help a ton, but Cueto was less than good for the most part.
|
No. This revisionist history needs to stop. Cueto pitched 2 of the top 3 all time postseason starts for the Royals. Any pitcher who pitches two 2 hitters in the playoffs is absolutely worth the trade. We likely do not make it out of the ALDS without Cueto.
"But, Mr. Chiefspants, we scored 7 runs in Game 5, any pitcher could have kept the Stros below 7 runs."
Nope, completely wrong, hypothetical poster. If you remember, we were shutout until the 4th inning. Had we gone with Chris Young (a flyball pitcher facing the Stros a second time - yikes) and the Stros rushed him for 5 run - the Stros pitch sequencing, strategy and use of pitchers completely changes. Most importantly - Hinch likely doesn't pull McHugh, whose reliance on soft tossing offspeed pitches was a
perfect matchup against the aggressive free swinging Royals - and he likely makes it out of the 5th with minimal damage. Remember, he only got in trouble because an offspeed pitch got away from him to hit Sal, and the Stros outfield positioning turned a flyball out into a double for Gordon.
That doesn't even begin to get into the importance of Game 2 of the World Series. After we exhausted our bullpen in Game 1, Cueto gave our entire pen critical rest before we again relied heavily on them in Games 3-5. After watching the Mets' pen collapse, are we really going to discount his incredible complete game 2 hitter he threw against the Mets on the baseball's biggest stage?
Sorry - I love Cueto, but this continued criticism just baffles me. The dude was a legendary ace when we needed one the most - and do we actually miss John Lamb, Brandon "bullpen" Finnegan, and Cody "still in the minors" Reed so much that we're still questioning this trade? No way.
Cueto and Zo both were critical for our title - and I'd argue they were both equally important in the 2015 postseason.