Or easy! (I mean, I really don't think this season will change his market value that much and the Phillies know they will have to offer more than they did in the off-season, but if another team jumps to meet Nola's ask, they won't fight it either.)
I often think of how bad Cliff Lee was in five or six of his 12 starts for the Phillies in 2009 before being so great in the playoffs. Or how bad he was for Texas in the 2010 World Series after being so great in the earlier rounds. Nola has been more consistently disappointing this year but if he can string together a few good starts at the right time it will be forgotten. And he could also drop a playoff elimination game just as easily coming off a great year as this one (and already did last year I suppose).
That's the real issue. He would have to pitch that badly for the rest of his starts to not get the nod in Game 2. If he's just okay, or has a couple of good ones like that two before this one, he's a lock. I am not sure I actually do have more confidence in those guys though. They'd all probably be at the top of de facto bullpen games even when they are good. Winning one game a (longer) series that way, and hopefully also with, Walker the real x factor.
