Like a lot of you last night, I went to bed after the game and did not stick around for the postgame comments from Dusty and the players following a great win over the Mariners. I was shocked this morning when I heard Jake Odoroizzi's comments.
Anybody that has watched Odorizzi pitch this year knows that he has simply not been very good when he is left in after five innings. He has been very solid when he only faces the opposing batting order two times. The proof is in the numbers.
As you can clearly see here, letting Jake Odorizzi face the opposing lineup for a third time in a game is a bad idea. We live in a world where numbers control decisions in baseball and that is no different here. The Astros are in the business of winning baseball games and to do that on the nights that Jake is pitching, to give yourself the best chance of winning, you have to pull him after his second time through the order.
I can completely understand his frustration for being pulled, if we were him, we would be pissed too. We would want to be out there for seven innings every single time we get the ball. I will never have an issue with his desire to go deeper in games, but this is about self awareness and know your time and place. He lacked all of that last night. You are in the middle of a September push to the postseason and your team does not need this distraction. You were selfish last night and made it about you, on a night that your team pulled off a great comeback win. If I was a teammate I would not be pleased with him pulling this last night. Be pissed, but do not do it publicly.
I doubt the Astros will do much in response to this, but I am confident they will handle it behind closed doors, like Odorizzi should have done. As we sit here today, I would put a lot of money on this being Jake Odorizzi's only season in Houston.