Going for 3rd! RIP

Wow! Stephen Drew in the A's/DET game just became the third high profile mistake of trying to stretch a double into a triple this post season.

1. Bryce Harper did it in Game 2 vs the Cards. Costly.

2. Our Brandon Phillips of course yesterday. Ouch!

3. Stephen Drew just now after driving in Coco Crisp to put the A's just one back of Det. If the A's lose this game and thus exit the post season, this will be singled out (not so fairly) as the reason why.

What's up with the eager rookie and two seasoned vets making these baserunning mistakes? They're amped up, sure. But they're trying to win, right? New trend or happens every year like this?

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Originally Posted by 1940757690

Wow! Stephen Drew in the A's/DET game just became the third high profile mistake of trying to stretch a double into a triple this post season.

1. Bryce Harper did it in Game 2 vs the Cards. Costly.

2. Our Brandon Phillips of course yesterday. Ouch!

3. Stephen Drew just now after driving in Coco Crisp to put the A's just one back of Det. If the A's lose this game and thus exit the post season, this will be singled out (not so fairly) as the reason why.

What's up with the eager rookie and two seasoned vets making these baserunning mistakes? They're amped up, sure. But they're trying to win, right? New trend or happens every year like this?

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I saw all three & I'm still trying to figure it out...What surprised me is Brandon said when asked would he do it again & he said yes..."that's who I am" :confused::confused: Seriously Brandon?? He just couldn't own it....

Too bad Phillips' was the only one that changed the outcome of the game and series.

From his Twitter.

11h Brandon Phillips ‏@DatDudeBP
#WellDAMN... Everybody, it's not the END OF THE WORLD! Baseball is a game of WHAT IFS! All u can do is give it your BEST w/a SMILE! #BELIEVE

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Originally Posted by redsrolen

I saw all three & I'm still trying to figure it out...What surprised me is Brandon said when asked would he do it again & he said yes..."that's who I am" :confused::confused: Seriously Brandon?? He just couldn't own it....

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Interesting. Harper had similar comments and of course those would be more dismissed since, as we've all heard ad nauseum, he's but a "teenager." The common thread to both comments though (Phillips and Harper) was that sometimes you just guess wrong. It's about calculated risks. For better players, they work out much more often than not. But still don't work sometimes. I buy that. If someone did an analysis of this, I bet it'd show exactly what Phillips and Harper are both saying. No different than throwing a heater straight down the pike to a power hitter after setting him up with off speed. Minority of times he'll put it over a fence. But most of the time doesn't work that way.

It's a split second decision and it just happened to be the wrong one, this time.

My belief is that there are very few situations that you should go for third unless you are absolutely sure you are going to make it. Brandon was already in scoring position with Cozart, Votto and Ludwick coming up and nobody out. No need at all to risk it in the first inning. Do not make the first or third outs at third base.