C. Trent (4/8/8):Originally Posted by mlbfan30
"Shouse is a killer on lefties. He's the one guy I've heard Hatteberg say he wants nothing to do with. I mean, he's nearly impossible for lefties to hit. And a rookie against him?"
C. Trent (4/8/8):
"Shouse is a killer on lefties. He's the one guy I've heard Hatteberg say he wants nothing to do with. I mean, he's nearly impossible for lefties to hit. And a rookie against him?"
So much for support for the Reds...here's how they do it in the big leagues...if Cordero doesn't get work in after a few days, he'll make a bullpen session where he'll get 20-30 pitches in to Stefanski. Or, he'll come in and pitch an inning where the game is out of hand and get some work in. Either way, he'll maintain a decent work schedule.
Also, it's not the Baker doesn't have faith in Votto. It's the fact that you have a submariner throwing left handed against a left-handed batter. That's hard to work against, especially with a young man that's currently struggling. Going with a right handed batter was a better strategic move. Unfortunately, Dusty chose the wrong person. It should have been Freel, I think.
thats greeat too bad they cant erase this loss with a bullpen session, this game was there for the winning there is no do over, you lose a tie game with your best reliever not a retread
The decision to have EE bunt in game 2 vs. the D'Backs. He has never laid down a successful bunt. Let him swing away or put in a PH who can bunt. Just because EE failed to lay down the bunt twice and then was forced to swing and win the game does not mean Dusty managed well.
Johnny Cueto is an amazing pitcher but a horrible hitter. Tonight, with the Reds down 1-0 in the 7th, a runner on 2nd and one down, Dusty lets Cueto hit against Suppan with Hatte on the bench. Cueto had thrown 85 pitches already and clearly wasn't pitching past the 7th. We had Burton ready to go. The OBVIOUS decision is to PH there. Instead, DB lets JC hit. With 2 strikes, JC is lucky enough to top a ball to the SS, resulting in the runner moving to 3rd with 2 down. Corey then delivered a single which scored the runner. Not good managing. The ends do not justify the means.
In the 10th inning, Jason Kendall should have been walked. We would have had 1st and 2nd with one out rather than runners at first and third with one out. Considering that one run wins the game and a runner at first sets up the DP, pitching to Kendall (who is swinging one of the hottest bats in the league, btw) makes NO sense. None. His run means nothing at first. Of course, Kendall singled and only CPat's hustle kept the runner at 3rd.
Next batter - Rickie Weeks, he of the fleet feet. Seems obvious that we'd want to walk him - not only because he is not a good DP candidate because of his speed but because an IBB creates a force out at all bases. No..makes too much sense. Dusty pitches to him and he singles. Ballgame.
Please do not try to pass these baffling and horrible decisions off on Dusty being "unconventional." Would you describe some dude performing a handstand with a blindfold on in a busy freeway as suicidal or unconventional?
Last edited by TheBigLebowski; 04-09-2008 at 12:14 AM.
“The crows seem to be calling my name,” thought Caw.
The OFFENSE lost this game tonight. The Reds had tons of opportunities to drive a run in and they did not get it done. The game may not have even gone to extras if the guys were actually hitting the ball with guys on base. Stop blaming this on them not using Cordero. That makes no sense at all.
"I tried to play golf, but I found out I wasn't very good." -Joey Votto on his offseason hobby search
An MLB.com reporter asked what one thing Votto couldn’t do. “I can’t skate or play hockey,” Votto said. “Well, I can skate ... but I can’t stop.”
That's the thing you're not understanding, redsupport! The game wasn't there for the winning! That's why Coco wasn't in there in the first place. We were trying to maintain the game while we were on defense. There is no potential for scoring on defense in baseball, unlike our other major sports. So when you are on the field, you are just trying to get the other team off the scoreboard. Granted, it didn't work this time, but generally, you are not going to find a manager who will put his closer in the tenth inning where both teams are struggling to score. It's just not going to happen.
the game was "lost" by weathers, The offense was incompetent that does not justify idiotic managing. The closer sat idle against the first place club in extra innings. Weathers is maybe the third or fourth best reliever on the team.
What if you had brought in Codero and he had gotten the Brewers out and the Reds didn't score in the top of the 11th. Then what? What if they didn't score in the top of the 12th? Or what if they did score, who would you pitch to get the save in the bottom of the 11th? Are you going to start pitching Cordeo for two innings in April?
Weathers had annother inning left in him, he did't get the job done. Leaving him in was the right move. Moreover, if you wanted Cordeo so bad, why didn't you let us all know that before the damage was done. Complaining after the fact is called second guessing , or redboarding if you prefer. Anybody can do it.
"closers" in the 70's and 80's pitched when the game was tied. There are just not that many opportunities to win close games. Tomorrows game might be 8-1 and then there is no chance to pitch. A 2-2, game merits a closer whether or not todays managers do it. Baseball preceeded the last ten years, relievers like Face, Linzy, Fingers, Lyle, etc even Eastwick pitched two innings in tie games. Losing the game with an inferior reliever has nothing to do with inept offense
I think the key factor tonight was...it was a away game. If the Reds were going to win...there was going to be a save situation.
This subject is debatable, I of course realize. But, the fact that is was a road game was a huge if not the main reason Weathers went back out for the 10th.
Baseball is a different game than it was in the seventies and eighties...players are a whole lot bigger and more powerful. Ballparks are smaller and the true ballplayer that was prevalent in that time period are scarce. You have to play the game by the rules that are in motion today, not thirty years ago. You can't use Babe Ruth's tactics whole-heartedly today, because the game is different. Honor the great history of baseball, but don't use that as an excuse.
Sorry buddy but if over 8 games the best you can come up with is that EE shouldn't have tried to bunt or that Dusty should have walked Jason Kendall to get to Rickey Weeks, I would say that you have failed to show me "a slew of inexplicable decisions".
Indeed I may disagree with any or all of Dusty's decisions in your 4 examples, reasonable men can disagree. But to call these decisions "baffling and horrible" is a liitle bit over the top.
- Burns his best pinch hitter by sticking him in the 7th hole, just vacated by Votto. Hatteberg would have been a great option against Gagne.
- Uses Weathers for 2 innings, and stays with him when we need either a 1) strikeout or 2) double play. Weathers is almost incapable of getting a strikeout when he absolutely needs it. Weeks is fast, and would need to hit a hard grounder right at Kepp or BP for a double play. Thus, Cordero should have been summoned from the pen.
- The other day, when the Reds had a 6-1 lead, or 8-2, or something of that sort, he had Castro playing 2B with Kepp at SS. In that situation, you want your best fielding team on the field. Why is Castro on the team if he isn't a better fielding SS than Keppinger?
It's simple - Dusty makes stupid baseball decisions. I think he would be best suited as a Bench Coach. He doesn't have the IQ to be making decisions for this team.
So all those winning teams he had were just luck? Who do you want, Miley? Narron? Boone? MacKanin? There is a reason he has a .528 winning percentage as a manager (38th all time, which is pretty good).
To me, baseball managers aren't judged on their day to day decisions, which are all able to be questioned (see Eric Wedge), but on their ability to get players to play hard and perform over the long haul. No one can deny that Baker has done this. He almost got the Cubs to the WS....the CUBS! give him more than 8 games before you kill him. There is a reason that Dusty is a big league manager and we post on message boards...
Variatio delectat - Cicero
That's 4 horrible decisions in 8 games. Bear in mind I have not seen every game so I might be missing some. Still, I do not like the ratio - ridiculous critical decision every other game. Guess it all hinges on what constitutes a "slew" but I won't bother hammering that one out with you. I hate arguments about semantics. We'll just have to agree to disagree and I'll just have to hope Dusty's decision making improves.
“The crows seem to be calling my name,” thought Caw.
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