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Last night's starting pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers http://www.yankeesfa...abe-ruth-jersey , Wade Miley, only threw聽five pitches and faced one batter before being taken out of the game. Was it an injury? No. Was he ejected by the umpires? No. It was a planned, strategic move on the part of Brewers manager Craig Counsell.In an effort to force opposing Los Angeles Dodgers manager, Dave Roberts, to set a lineup based on left-hander Miley as the starter Counsell put the southpaw out there to start the game. But Miley was only a decoy and after pitching to the first batter (he walked Cody Bellinger on聽five pitches) Counsell went to his bullpen for right-hander Brandon Woodruff.advertisingCounsell was obviously hoping that the Dodgers would start an all right-handed lineup as they did for Miley's last start in game two of the series. However, Roberts didn't give them exactly what they wanted and ended up starting two left-handed batters (Bellinger being one of them). via: barstoolsports.comESPN, quoting Roberts after the game, talking about his starting lineup, saying, "Obviously our lineup today was different than the other lineup when we faced Miley. So you gotta prepare for the unexpected. So I like where we were at [after Miley was pulled]."It's been 16 years since the Oakland "Moneyball" A's shocked the baseball world and won the AL West with a record of 103-59 (which included a 20-game win streak). Since then, the use of analytics has only gotten more entrenched in the league and when it comes to pitching, the Milwaukee Brewers, this season Lou Gehrig Jersey , have taken it to a higher level than anyone else ever has.advertisingCounsell regularly goes to his bullpen in the聽fourth and fifth innings and has even referred to his starters as "initial out-getter." They, like all the other pitchers on the team, have roles and Counsell has figured out the best way to use them all for as long or as little time is needed in every game. And obviously, it has worked - getting the team to the NLCS.Now, had the team been down 3-1 in the series instead of tied 2-2 going into game聽five, then Counsell has said that Miley would have been the real starter. And having lost game five, Miley is penciled in as the game six initial out-getter with his team's season on the line tomorrow.advertisingHe will almost definitely throw more than聽five pitches on Friday. But how many more? Who knows! HOUSTON (AP) — Felix Hernandez vowed Saturday that his first-ever stint in Seattle’s bullpen won’t last long.“I’ll be a starter before the end of the year,” Hernandez told The Associated Press. “No question about it.”The struggling Mariners ace has made 398 career starts in 14 seasons, never once pitching in relief. He was bumped from the rotation on Thursday night, the latest setback in a tough year in which he has a career-high 5.73 ERA and is 0-4 in his last five starts.For the longtime face of this franchise, it was difficult to digest the team’s decision to have him pitch in relief and he said it took him a couple of days to come to terms with it. Conversations with family and friends and encouragement from his wife Sandra, who he has been with since he was 14, helped.“My wife is here. She flew here http://www.yankeesfa...dimaggio-jersey ,” Hernandez said. “We had a good conversation. And she told me: ‘Just go out there and be the leader that you’ve been all these years. Be you. Be you.'”And that, Hernandez said, is exactly what he plans to do. Though the 2010 AL Cy Young Award winner sees this only as a temporary setback, he’s prepared to embrace his new role for the good of a team that’s in contention to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2001.“I’m just part of the team and I’m going to do whatever’s possible to help the team,” he said.The 32-year-old Hernandez is 8-10 with a 5.73 ERA in 23 starts for a Mariners team chasing a playoff spot.Hernandez, who has the fourth-most starts in MLB history without a relief appearance, has spent two games in the bullpen, but has yet to appear in a game. He shared his first impressions of the experience.“It’s boring. I’m telling you,” he said with a laugh.Both nights he’s trotted with closer Edwin Diaz to the bullpen in left-center field at Minute Maid Park, where the Mariners are playing the AL West-leading Astros. Hernandez said he’s picked his brain about relieving, but he’s far from the only one he’s reached out to for advice on the move.“I’ve been talking with everyone in the bullpen him, Alex Colome, everybody Mickey Mantle Jersey ,” he said. “(They said) just go out there and have fun.”Hernandez pointed out that he’s appeared in the All-Star game several times out of the bullpen, but admitted that he “might need some time” to get warmed up to enter a game.He said the team didn’t tell him anything specific that they need to see from him for him to get his starting job back, but he knows that he’ll have to improve his fastball command to turn things around.“The problem is my location of the fastball,” he said. “If I locate my fastball, I’ll be good because I’ve got many weapons to go out there and have good games so I have to locate my fastball.”Hernandez said he believes the problem is mechanical and said he’s trying several different things to try and get back on track.When facing reporters following his recent tough starts, including his last one against Texas in which he allowed a career-high 11 runs — seven of them earned — he seemed discouraged and a bit down.It was a different Hernandez who spoke on Saturday. It wasn’t quite the King Felix who threw a perfect game in 2012 and led the AL in ERA in both 2010 and 2014. But there were unmistakable notes of the swagger and bravado that were hallmarks of the presence he had on the mound when he was one of the game’s most dominant pitchers.He smiled easily and cracked jokes, his glossy ringlets bouncing around as he laughed. He said instead of getting mad about the move or letting it hurt his feelings, he’s using it as motivation.“All it does is encourage me to get back,” he said before flashing one last smile.