HOU 7, TB 4

The broadcast booth couldn't stop talking about the no-days-off thing and how that would cause managers to get second-guessed. It would have the opposite effect, logically -- if you follow the game and think about certain decisions re: the pen for longer than five seconds, you understand that a skipper may have no choice vis-a-vis pitching guys in back-to-back (-to-back) nights, or using guys who have nothing. Plus he's no longer allowed to go out and pull a reliever after a single batter, even if it's clear the guy is gassed. 

I'm not saying they shouldn't discuss it; I'm not saying it has no effect, because it clearly does. But in the context of...Dusty Baker having to justify decisions? When his team's in the middle of a legendary comeback being compared with compulsive frequency to the '04 Red Sox? And then they're kind of like, hmm, looks like the great Rays bullpen is crumbling, anyway back to Dusty Baker. 

I'm not new here. I know they get These Storylines and have difficulty raising their eyeballs to see what's happening outside of that. But the decision that actually fit one of Those Storylines and could have been discussed at length -- not negatively, either; if it had worked, Cash would look prescient -- was the one to pull Snell. This is the booth that isn't actively repellent; I expected better.

I have come to expect better from Springer in the points department, but it's just one apiece from our Houston and Tampa picks:

Springer 1

Lowe 1

With the exception of opening Fell 2's lead slightly, no effect on the money, so let's move on to the next update...