I've seen a lot of criticism thrown at Washington/Maddux for not using Feliz (use your best pitcher already!!!!!!!!!1111) against Posey in the 8th. Some points to consider here:

- O'Day is a very good pitcher. In two years as a Ranger his era is 1.99, his HR rate is a miniscule 0.6 per 9 innings, and he doesn't walk many guys. He's a guy with a great track record.
- If Feliz comes in the 8th you risk having him throw more pitches than you might be comfortable with if you want him to be available both Sunday and Monday.
- According to fangraphs pitch type information, Posey is a good fastball hitter, but doesn't handle the slider too well.
- According to post game reports, Molina (who presumably knows Posey pretty well) told O'Day to use a slider away in their mound conference. It worked.

I presume that the Rangers know Posey is a good fastball hitter, and certainly Molina helped out there in a big way. The national writers (and some local ones) wondering how on earth Wash could not use his best pitcher in such an important situation are using one general sabermetric saw while neglecting more detailed info that overrides it. If this situation comes up again, I'd applaud seeing O'Day trotted out there.

Agree with you, t ball.

If the Rangers are going to win the World Series, the Rangers will need Feliz for multiple games. The same situation in a game 7 and I think you would have seen Feliz. O'Day has been dependable during the season and the Rangers needed him to get them to the ninth. Feliz is now available today, so fortunately it worked out for us. We really need six solid innings out of Hunter today.

Wrong. Feliz should have been out there. This was another bad call by Wash. Even a great hitter gets out most of the time. This time, O'Day (who IS a good pitcher, don't get me wrong) got it done. But Feliz also has a filthy, filthy slider. He should have been inb the game. I also have NO doubt that if Wash had done the RIGHT thing and gotten Feliz up and warming once Colby gave up the HR to Torres, Feliz would have come in for Posey. But since he wasn't warm, Wash had no choice but to pitch O'Day to Posey.

And, ONCE AGAIN, why is it O'Day and Oliver getting warm instead of the MUCH BETTER Alexei Ogando. Ogando is at least the 2nd best arm in the 'pen (after Feliz), if not the best. Where the HELL is he, while the entire bullpen is struggling during the playoffs. It's not like Ogando has good stuff but is struggling, or has good results but mediocre stuff. He's got fantastic stuff and has had fantastic results. Get him on the damn bump!!!

Feliz' slider isn't that filthy according to the numbers, though the sample isn't large.

ARod will tell you different.

That was the last out in the 9th inning, Rodriguez is a veteran HOFer whereas Posey is a rookie, etc. etc.