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Has there ever been a more controversial win in baseball playoff history than the Blue Jays’ 8-4 victory over Texas in Game 4 of the American League Division series?

Second-guessing managers in playoff baseball is about as traditional as peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack. But it’s hard to think of a time there was so much heat directed towards the manager whose team won the game. And with good reason.

R.A. Dickey has been about as good as any pitcher in baseball during the second half of this season. Better, in fact, than he was during the latter half of his Cy Young Award-winning season with the Mets in 2012.

So what were the odds of the Blue Jays winning a game with a pitcher of that quality on the mound and six-run lead? Without consulting a computer, let's go out on a limb and say extremely high, even without Brett Cecil or Aaron Loup available on Monday.

David Price gave the Blue Jays the advantage of a lefty to face the meat of the Texas lineup. And while Price wasn’t stellar, he got the job done - the Blue Jays got the win and for a lot of folks, that’s all that matters.

But here’s the critical question...would you rather use David Price in a game where you enjoy a six-run lead or save him for Game 5, when the situational need for an elite, hard-throwing lefty might be much more critical?

John Gibbons has acknowledged his decision to allow Price to throw 50 pitches on Monday has taken him out of consideration for use in Game 5. That leaves the Blue Jays without a lefty option beyond Loup, who last threw more than an inning-and-a-third on April 12.

We’ve known for some time how high the Blue Jays are on 24-year-old Marcus Stroman. But the realization that Gibbons and company have more faith in him in a one-game, winner-take-all contest than Price is stunning.

Credit Gibbons for having the courage of his convictions to go with the young right-hander over the lefty Price, who still might win the American League Cy Young Award.

But none of that explains why Gibbons felt the need to burn out Price on Monday afternoon and let it all on Stroman in Game 5.

The fact is that win in Game 4 means nothing without a win in Game 5 and it's hard to see why Gibbons wouldn't want to have both Stroman and Price for a one-game contest to reach the American League Championship Series.

Maybe Stroman will be lights out against former World Series MVP Cole Hamels. But if he’s not, what are the Jays options?

Marco Estrada on two days rest?

R.A. Dickey on one?

Or a parade of relievers that Gibbons didn’t believe could protect a six-run lead in Game 4?

It’s a puzzling set of circumstances which, should the Blue Jays lose, figures to keep the city buzzing this entire off-season.