James Shields Must Earn Back 'Big Game James' Reputation in World Series

Returning to the postseason for the first time since 1985, the Kansas City Royals were a force of nature in ripping through the Oakland A's, Los Angeles Angels and Baltimore Orioles to get to the World Series. They shouldn't want anything to change as they prepare to take on the San Francisco Giants.

Save for one thing: It sure would be nice if "Big Game James" Shields actually lived up to his nickname for a change. If he can't, the Royals' chances of winning the World Series will be in peril.

Granted, there's no question that Shields is the best starting pitcher the Royals have. The former Tampa Bay Rays great pitched to a 3.21 ERA across 227 innings in 2014. Just as it did in 2013, FanGraphs WAR fancied Shields as easily Kansas City's top pitcher.

It's no wonder Royals manager Ned Yost said, via MLB.com's Dick Kaegel, that "there's never been a question mark" about kicking off the World Series with Shields in Game 1 at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday.

Yost also recently told this to The Associated Press (via Fox News): "He's earned the nickname Big Game James for a reason."

Uh, yeah. About that...

In three starts this postseason, the 32-year-old right-hander hasn't looked much like a big-game pitcher:

Game	Opp	IP	H	R (ER)	BB	SO	HR	Game Score
AL Wild Card	OAK	5.0	5	4 (4)	2	6	1	45
ALDS G3	LAA	6.0	6	2 (2)	2	6	2	56
ALCS G1	BAL	5.0	10	4 (4)	1	3	0	33

The only start in which Shields actually resembled something like a No. 1 starter was his start against the Angels in Game 3 of the ALDS, and he barely resembled a No. 1 starter in that one.

Overall this postseason, you're looking at a guy with a 5.63 ERA. That's not befitting of a guy who goes by the name "Big Game James." Neither, for that matter, is the 5.19 ERA Shields now owns in nine career postseason starts.

Rob Carr/Getty Images

This is how you find yourself looking for how Shields got his nickname. That's when you come across a story by Tim Rohan of The New York Times that tells a tale of Shields getting his moniker from a minor league teammate who happened to be a fan of hoops great "Big Game James" Worthy.

So no, Shields hasn't quite earned his nickname. For the Royals to maximize their odds of riding their 8-0 postseason romp to the franchise's second championship, that will have to change.

Maybe you don't think so. Maybe you think that if the Royals could survive just fine without vintage James Shields for three starts, what's one or two more?

Well, for one thing, there's the guy Shields is set to face in Game 1 in Kansas City and, potentially, Game 5 in San Francisco:

Madison Bumgarner.

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Just as it was no surprise that Yost tabbed Shields as his guy for Game 1, it shocked no one that Giants skipper Bruce Bochy named Bumgarner his Game 1 starter. The only thing the 25-year-old lefty has been doing recently, after all, is terrorizing the opposition.

Bumgarner has lasted at least seven innings in each of his four postseason starts, striking out 28 and allowing five earned runs in 31.2 frames for a 1.42 ERA. And such dominance has been going on for a while, as Bumgarner now has a 2.07 ERA in 17 starts since July 18.

Shields has been matched up against a pitcher of Bumgarner's caliber just once so far in the postseason. That was when he squared off against A's southpaw Jon Lester, he of a 2.46 regular-season ERA, in the American League Wild Card Game.

That, of course, didn't go so well.

Though the Royals got to Lester for six runs in 7.1 innings, he had allowed only three runs through seven. Had A's skipper Bob Melvin left it at that, the A's might have won the game, and the narrative would have been that "Big Game James" Shields got beat by a superior pitcher.

If Shields doesn't bring his best stuff to the World Series, that could be the story in Game 1 and, if it gets there, Game 5 as well. If so, him getting outpitched by Bumgarner could ultimately be the reason why the Royals' amazing postseason surge ultimately fell short.

Now, maybe you're thinking there's less pressure on Shields to be at his best. All he has to do, really, is get through six.

Ed Zurga/Getty Images

If Shields can do that, then he can hand the ball to Kelvin Herrera, Wade Davis and Greg Holland, a trio that combined for a 1.28 ERA in the regular season and has allowed only three earned runs in 25.2 innings in the postseason. So yeah, they're pretty good.

But here's the thing: While this amazing trio is an advantage for Shields and the Royals, it might only be a slim advantage.

ESPN's David Schoenfield had the right of it in pointing out that the Giants bullpen is darn good in its own right. In fact, it's been a huge strength in each of the club's three pennant runs since 2010:

"

[Sergio] Romo, Santiago Casilla, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez have all been with the Giants since their first World Series run in 2010 and the bullpen collectively has been superb in the postseason over three postseasons: 11-2 with a 2.40 ERA, .182 batting average allowed, 126 strikeouts, 37 walks and just 11 home runs in 127 1/3 innings.

"

The Giants bullpen is thus hardly incapable of matching up against Kansas City's golden trio of relievers. Especially if the Giants offense is able to do one of the things it does best against said golden trio.

A big reason why Herrera, Davis and Holland are effective is because they can bring the heat. According to FanGraphs, all three averaged over 95 miles per hour with their fastballs, making them easy death on clubs that can't handle high velocity.

The Giants, though, are not one of those clubs.

According to BaseballSavant.com, San Francisco's .275 average against 95-plus heat was the highest in baseball this year. To boot, its .393 slugging percentage against 95-plus heat checked in at No. 4.

As such, Shields going six innings and then turning the ball over to Herrera, Davis and Holland isn't a foolproof idea. It would mean giving the Giants offense a chance to do something it excels at, which could make it even tougher for the Royals bullpen to match up against the Giants bullpen.

The safest option, therefore, is simply for Shields to be Shields. If he can do his usual thing of pitching deep into games and keeping runs off the board, he stands a chance of outpitching Bumgarner and leading the Royals to victory in Game 1 and possibly Game 5 as well.

The Royals have seen him do his thing in the regular season for two years. Now they just need to see him do it in the World Series.

It's time for Shields to become who he's supposed to be: "Big Game James."

Note: Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless otherwise noted/linked.  

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