2 minutes ago, Autumn Dreamin said:

Taylor was available today, but Burke's short start means they never get to him.

If Taylor opened, maybe Burke's second time through (where he gave up his 2 runs) is in the 5th or 6th instead of the 3rd. Instead, Sims gives up the deciding runs because Burke can't go a third time through and the 6th is still too early for a leverage-only Taylor.

And that's totally a worthwhile tradeoff if a now rested Taylor gets a couple leverage innings that matter in KC. Hopefully he does!

But the shortage of reliable arms remains the reason I liked seeing them get more creative with Taylor's usage.

Every time the starter doesn't make it into the 6th, they are asking that "3 legged table" to cover the toughest pocket of a lineup twice at a minimum without guaranteeing Taylor or Dominguez gets either attempt (assuming Dominguez is pitching the 9th regardless of pocket).

Arms that you could feasibly hide with favorable matchups vs. the 5-6-7 hitters with 1 out will keep getting overexposed against one of those pockets, then they'll burn better arms anyway trying to put out the fire and/or having to get them work in decided games.

If the opponent's best get two tries against your starter and two tries against your pen, then how does neutralizing one of those latter two opportunities early compare to hoping for a chance to do it late? Considering the middle relief options available, well...

Personally I'd take a situational approach with it. I'd probably open for Burke more often than not right now. But I'm not saying there's a "right" answer here, especially without seeing how/if the pitching stabilizes over a larger sample size. Starters getting 16+ outs with any consistency would work wonders.

And if they can get the game to Taylor in leverage twice in their next 3-4 games, I'm totally fine with it not using him today. I just think it's a shame if it ends up that he was "saved" to throw in an 8-3 game in Kauffman instead.

If Taylor opened today, they still needed the same crappy bridge guys who blew the game in the first place. At least now they had the best guys available. Honestly the Sox were gifted their runs today anyway, so GT is probably a waste if the Baltimore pitcher wasn't a dumbass.

I think they just got out-talented, and I can still deal with that, even if by not as much as last year. There needs to be progress in the wins column this year.