Narron blaming fans and media for switching Coffey to closer?

[CincyReds2003]

http://rotoworld.com/content/story.a...&storyid=22388

After bringing in Esteban Yan in the seventh inning to give up a tiebreaking grand slam in Saturday’s loss to the Cubs, Reds manager Jerry Narron decided hold the media or the fans at fault. It’s hard to tell which.

''Few guys will have the success Todd Coffey had in that role, that seventh- [and] eighth-inning role with guys on base. Or even the sixth inning,'' Narron told MLB.com. ''Todd Coffey did a great job for us. I don't think people appreciated what he was doing. Everyone said, 'Just put him in the closer's role.' This shows you how huge those outs are in those middle-to-late innings.''

Then why’d you make the switch, Jerry? David Weathers had a 3.24 ERA when he was pulled from the closer’s role. He had blown four saves, but the Reds won two of those games. More importantly, Coffey was doing an absolutely brilliant job of bailing starters and relievers alike out of jams. He was the Reds’ lone reliever that Narron should have wanted entering games with men on base. Now he’s being utilized in a role in which he’ll come in with the bases empty the vast majority of the time. The whole bullpen sets up worse, and the Reds are a weaker club as a result. Nicely done.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

http://rotoworld.com/content/story.a...&storyid=22388

After bringing in Esteban Yan in the seventh inning to give up a tiebreaking grand slam in Saturday’s loss to the Cubs, Reds manager Jerry Narron decided hold the media or the fans at fault. It’s hard to tell which.

''Few guys will have the success Todd Coffey had in that role, that seventh- [and] eighth-inning role with guys on base. Or even the sixth inning,'' Narron told MLB.com. ''Todd Coffey did a great job for us. I don't think people appreciated what he was doing. Everyone said, 'Just put him in the closer's role.' This shows you how huge those outs are in those middle-to-late innings.''

Then why’d you make the switch, Jerry? David Weathers had a 3.24 ERA when he was pulled from the closer’s role. He had blown four saves, but the Reds won two of those games. More importantly, Coffey was doing an absolutely brilliant job of bailing starters and relievers alike out of jams. He was the Reds’ lone reliever that Narron should have wanted entering games with men on base. Now he’s being utilized in a role in which he’ll come in with the bases empty the vast majority of the time. The whole bullpen sets up worse, and the Reds are a weaker club as a result. Nicely done.

So insert Coffey into that role for that specific situation, Jerry.

There was no game to for Coffey close by bringing in Yan anyway.

[zombie-a-go-go]

So insert Coffey into that role for that specific situation, Jerry.

There was no game to for Coffey close by bringing in Yan anyway.

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

[dabvu2498]

Let's get down to the real issue... we need more than 1 guy that can serve that (6-7-8 inning with men on base) role effectively. With Coffey closing and Weathers ailing, we don't have any.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

But that would mean manager's would have to use their own common sense and not the "safe" list of baseball's unwritten rules.

[BuckeyeRedleg]

Let's get down to the real issue... we need more than 1 guy that can serve that (6-7-8 inning with men on base) role effectively. With Coffey closing and Weathers ailing, we don't have any.

Exactly and until the off-season we will not be able to remedy this problem. So until then, you bring in the best you got when the game is on the line.

[HBP]

Let's get down to the real issue... we need more than 1 guy that can serve that (6-7-8 inning with men on base) role effectively. With Coffey closing and Weathers ailing, we don't have any.

Exactly. Even if Coffey is best suited for that role, he can't be relied on to do it every game. He's probably thrown too many innings to date as it is.

[westofyou]

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

You mean one day again... I'll argue that back in the day guys like Jim Bronson and Clay Carroll came in in that exact situation.

I blame the save stat and the Rolainds Fireman award.

[RedsBaron]

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

That is how ace relievers were used until the last couple of decades. In the 1970s guys such as Goose Gossage and Rollie Fingers were not always "saved" for the ninth inning; they were used at the critical part of the game, and if the critical part was the seventh inning, in they came.

[dabvu2498]

I blame the save stat and the Rolainds Fireman award.

Blame big salaries too.

[CTA513]

So Narron is making decisions based on what the media and fans say?

[smith288]

Coffey is busy eating bannaise sandwiches until the 9th...couldnt be reached in the bullpen. :P

[Danny Serafini]

The way that tidbit was written is a joke. I'm not going to argue against using your best reliever in spots other than the 9th, I think that's the right thing to do and closers are misused today. But to suggest that Narron was blaming fans and the media or that they were the reason for the switch is absurd. That's taking a quote and stretching it badly just to try and create a story where there isn't one. Rotten case of supposed journalism.

[Roy Tucker]

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

You'll see good managers do this in the playoffs. They realize when the turning point of the game occurs you need to bring your biggest gun to bear, be it the 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th.

But like others have said, they can't bring Coffey and Weathers into every tight situation. I think this was Yan's test to see how he'd do. He flunked test #1 spectacularly. It will be interesting to see if he gets more chances.

[Chip R]

Someday this will be common (baseball) sense. Use your best reliever in your tightest situation, no matter what "title" he's been given.

So what happens when you have more than one tight situation? Put your best reliever in RF until he's needed again?