WASHINGTON -- When it comes to the postseason, managers arent always saving their best for last.Closers have taken the mound for five-out saves, in non-save situations and even as early as the fifth inning so far in the 2016 playoffs. In one perplexing case, the best closer in baseball this season didnt take the mound at all.No longer is it easy for a manager to merely hand the ball to his closer for three outs in the ninth. Chicago Cubs skipper Joe Maddon considers managing the bullpen his biggest concern on a daily basis, and its all magnified in October when one decision backfiring can mean the end of the line.Thats what happened when Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter used six other relievers in an 11-inning loss at the Toronto Blue Jays in the AL wild-card game, leaving Zach Britton in the bullpen despite the All-Star closers 47 for 47 save success rate and 0.54 ERA in the regular season. Showalter was immediately second-guessed by everyone except his fellow managers who know their next call to the bullpen could be scrutinized just as much.I never question what anyone else does because youve got to make tough decisions, said Blue Jays manager John Gibbons, who got a five-out save and a six-out win from closer Roberto Osuna in the AL Division Series against Texas. You know what, most people dont ever agree with your decisions regardless.Showalter said playing on the road and the course of the game affected the decision-making process, not his philosophy. Across the majors, traditional closer practices are being challenged.In Game 1 of the Indians ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, Clevelands Terry Francona brought Andrew Miller into the game in the fifth inning because hes really good. Miller threw two scoreless innings and got the victory, brushing off the idea that what he did was unprecedented.The playoffs are a different animal, Miller said. Theres 30 closers, and most teams have a setup man. Theres seven (relievers) for most teams. The other five guys have to pitch from the first inning to the ninth every day. ... Whenever Tito asks anybody to pitch, were all going to be ready to go.Maddon tends to be less tolerant in the playoffs than usual and everyone has a shorter leash. Rookie Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has learned quickly that this time of year, you act a little more aggressively.Francona going to Miller in the fifth was about as aggressive as it comes, though players wonder if its more the start of a trend than an anomaly.Bullpens are being used a lot differently than they have in the past, as far as when youre going to use guys and when youre going to get your closer in the game for five outs, Dodgers third baseman Justin Turner said. The whole closer-pitches-the-ninth-inning thing, (it) doesnt mean those are always the biggest three outs of the game. Sometimes those three outs come in the eighth or the seventh.After preparing him with inning-plus saves during the season, Roberts wasnt afraid to use closer Kenley Jansen for two outs in the eighth and then three in the ninth in the Dodgers win over the Washington Nationals in Game 1 of the NLDS. That same night, the Nationals Dusty Baker put closer Mark Melancon in while trailing in the ninth to get important outs and give his team a better chance.Days off during the playoffs make it different than the regular season as far as bullpen usage, Baker said. Then theres also the immediacy of the situation that takes over.Theres in essence no tomorrow, Red Sox manager John Farrell said. So you may have the ability and the luxury to be a little bit quicker with some of your decisions, not balancing recovery or rest.Roberts bases decisions off his staff, his pitching coach and his gut. Sometimes a managers gut backfires, like when the New York Mets Terry Collins put closer Jeurys Familia into a tied NL wild-card game and watched as he allowed a three-run homer to the San Francisco Giants Conor Gillaspie.Hes got 51 saves and over 90 saves in two years? Ill take that, said Collins, while acknowledging Familias three blown saves against the Kansas City Royals in the 2015 World Series. He was the guy I wanted out there in the ninth inning, and well try to do a better job to make sure hes a little more rested going into the postseason.With no perfect recipe for relief, managers often resort to using top-tier starters out of the bullpen. The Blue Jays did it with David Price and the Mets with Noah Syndergaard last year, and over time that strategy has had mixed success.Managers generally want to put their players in the best positions to succeed. What pitchers want is the ball when it matters, no matter the situation.To me it doesnt matter -- sometimes it is in the seventh or the eighth, those might be the toughest times, Jansen said. Youve just got to put in your best pitcher. Cheap Hydro Flask 32 oz Wide Mouth Mint Water Bottle . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Cheap Hydro Flask 40 oz Wide Mouth Mint Water Bottle . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.flaskwaterbottle.com/hydro-flask-16-oz.html .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Hydro Flask Water Bottle Sale . The team said Saturday that Lopez was hurt during its 121-120 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Friday. The Nets said they would issue another update next week after consultation with their doctors. White 40 Oz Hydro Flask . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. BOSTON -- Wade Miley knows he hasnt been very good since coming to the Orioles.On Monday night, he was even worse.Miley retired just four batters -- giving up four runs before recording an out -- and allowed six runs as the Boston Red Sox ran away from Baltimore for a 12-2 victory.Since being acquired from Seattle on July 31, the left-hander has gone past the fifth inning just twice in eight starts. Hes failed to get out of the second a pair of times.It just happened fast. Real quickly it was over it, he said. Everything I threw they just hammered.Miley fell to 1-5 with Baltimore in the shortest start of his career.He had a good fastball, but command got him, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. Theyre a really good offensive club -- like we are -- and theyre going to make you pay for those mistakes. He made a lot of them. I kept hoping hed find his stuff, but he didnt.David Ortiz hit his 536th home run to tie Mickey Mantle for 17th on baseballs career list, and David Price allowed just a pair of solo homers to lead the Red Sox, keeping Bostons AL East lead at two games over second-place Toronto. The Orioles dropped to three out, but still one game ahead of Detroit for the second wild card.Miley (8-13) allowed five runs in the first inning before loading the bases in the second.Asked how he thinks hes done so far with Baltimore, he said: Obviously, thats not really a good question, its not been very good.Chris Young homered, doubled twice and singled, and Hanley Ramirez also homered for the Red Sox, who maintained a two-game lead over Toronto.The Red Sox won for the fifth time in six games, scoring in each of the first seven innings before going down in order in the eighth. Ramirez hit his eighth homer in his last 15 games as Boston, the top-scoring team in the majors, got 11 runs or more for the fifth time in 10 games.Price (16-8) allowed two runs on two hits and zero walks, striking out nine in eight innings for his seventh straight victory. Its the longest winning streak in his career for the left-hander, who signed a seven-year, $217 million free agent contract over the offseason.Dustin Pedroia and Xander Bogaerts led off the bottom of the first with singles and then Ortiz lined one to the warning track in left-center. Left fielder Steve Pearce jumped to glove the ball,, but it came out as he tried to avoid crashing into the Green Monster.ddddddddddddBogaerts had already begun retreating to first before Ortiz, rounding the bag, signaled for him to run in the other direction. The Orioles claimed Pearce had possession of the ball before dropping it, but the review upheld the original call and Ortiz had a single.Mookie Betts then hit a liner that stymied Pearce and went over his head for a double. When Ramirez followed with a single to left, Pearce was nonchalant in getting the ball back in; Betts, having stopped at third, scored to make it 4-0.Miley finally recorded an out, then got another on Sandy Leons sacrifice fly that gave Boston a 5-0 lead. Jackie Bradley Jr. was caught stealing to end the inning.Boston scored single runs in each of the next five innings, including Ortizs 33rd homer of the year into the Baltimore bullpen in the sixth. The Red Sox scored two more in the seventh.DIFFERENT OPINIONShowalter and Pearce both thought the LF caught Ortizs drive in the first.I know I caught the ball, Pearce said.Replays showed he didnt appear to ever have control as the ball fell to the ground.I thought he caught it, Showalter said.HOLD EVERYTHINGShowalter asked for a review of the game-ending double play as the Red Sox players were coming out of their dugout to celebrate.Dirty Water by the Standells was played over the PA -- as they always do in Fenway Park after Red Sox victories -- and Bostons players stood in foul territory, milling around waiting for confirmation that the game was over.Once the 55-second review confirmed the call, they joined their teammates on the field.TRAINERS ROOMOrioles: RHP Darren ODay is scheduled to pitch in a simulated game on Tuesday. He has been on the DL since Aug. 12 with a right shoulder rotator cuff strain.Red Sox: Knuckleballer Steven Wright hasnt resumed throwing yet. Manager John Farrell said he is getting better from a right shoulder strain but it will be challenging to get him ready with just a few weeks left in the season.UP NEXTOrioles: Game 2 of the series is Tuesday night, with righty Dylan Bundy (8-5) scheduled to start.Red Sox: Lefty Drew Pomeranz will start for Boston. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '