???Why pitch to Gonzales???

[Billy_Bearcat]

The guy hits the ball a ton and has hit Reds pitching quite well (finished the day 4 for 9). You've got an open base...2 outs...righty on lefty as opposed to righty on righty if you walk him....I just don't get it.

[TheBigLebowski]

No reason whatsoever. Complete idiocy. Dusty Baker. I have 3 friends that were with me during that inning who can attest to the fact that I was screaming at the TV that pitching to Gonzalez made NO sense. None. I hate Dusty Baker. I really do.

[Billy_Bearcat]

I guess I'm just not a baseball guy...so it must be beyond me. Even if they get the out there I have to question the sanity of the move.

[Blue]

I was about to defend the move based on Edinson's questionable control, but Edinson's walking average, so to speak, is about .149, whereas Gonzalez hits .275. Its not even close, you've got to walk him.

[757690]

No reason whatsoever. Complete idiocy. Dusty Baker. I have 3 friends that were with me during that inning who can attest to the fact that I was screaming at the TV that pitching to Gonzalez made NO sense. None. I hate Dusty Baker. I really do.

Funny, because he speaks highly of you. ;)

The reason why he had Volquez pitch to Gonzales is that with the bases loaded, you put pressure on the pitcher to throw strikes, and make the hitter a much better hitter. Considering Edinson is young pitcher who has control issues, and who had already walked a batter that inning and who was itching on two days rest, pitching to him makes perfect sense.

I have a feeling all the Dusty haters would have been all over him if he had Volquez walk the bases loaded.

Now the real question is why did he bring in Fogg in the 9th?

[George Foster]

There is not reason to pitch to Gonzales, other than the fact your not that smart of a guy, and most people think you are a major league manager.

Why take out Dunn? If his defense is good enough for 8 innings, why not the 9th? He's the hottest hitter on the team.

[757690]

I was about to defend the move based on Edinson's questionable control, but Edinson's walking average, so to speak, is about .149, whereas Gonzalez hits .275. Its not even close, you've got to walk him.

Walk average has nothing to do with it. Pitching with the bases loaded forces the pitcher to throw strikes, which makes the hitter a much better hitter. Most hitters hit around 100 points higher with the bases loaded.

[Billy_Bearcat]

Considering Edinson is young pitcher who has control issues, and who had already walked a batter that inning and who was itching on two days rest, pitching to him makes perfect sense.

I'm hardly a Dusty hater, but on that play you two must have been sharing the same medication. ;)

[757690]

I'm hardly a Dusty hater, but on that play you two must have been sharing the same medication. ;)

Okay, what I meant is that it makes as much sense to pitch to him as it does to walk him. There is justifiable logic behind both moves. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

Everyone else is making is seem like walking him was a no brainer, and it wasn't.

[Blue]

Walk average has nothing to do with it. Pitching with the bases loaded forces the pitcher to throw strikes, which makes the hitter a much better hitter. Most hitters hit around 100 points higher with the bases loaded.

I'll admit I effed that one up a bit. It matters not, though. He made enough other objectively bad mistakes this game to last the entire season.

This team is bad. It is worse because of his managing.

[James B.]

Okay, what I meant is that it makes as much sense to pitch to him as it does to walk him. There is justifiable logic behind both moves. Damned if he does, damned if he doesn't.

Everyone else is making is seem like walking him was a no brainer, and it wasn't.

I agree with you, if he walks Gonzales and hits or walks the next batter then people would be mad about that. I don't think that it was an easy move to make either way.

[Billy_Bearcat]

I can see that there would be "some" logic behind pitching to him, but I think the book of baseball would contradict that decision more times than not...i.e. righty on righty, force out at every base and pitching to a guy who hits well with RISP as opposed to a guy who hits "ehh" with RISP.

[NarrowStairs]

I don't mind pitching to Gonzalez there. All things considered - he is not a great hitter. He is above-average, and by far the best hitter on SD, but great hitter? No. He whiffs a lot, too. Volquez throws anything but a cock high fastball and we're still playing.

Another reason - Volquez is erratic and has a very high BB/9IP ratio. I don't trust him with the bases loaded.

[mroby85]

I had mixed feelings at the time, I see the logic on both ends, because you hate to walk the bases loaded with someone like volquez who sometimes has lapses in control. Obviously it didn't end up well pitching to Gonzalez, but hindsight is 20/20

[jhiller21]

I was thinking the same thing at the time, walking Gonzalez loads the bases and sets up a force play at home. Only one run matters at that point, the one at third.

Still, I was hoping for that game to end long before the 18th, the Reds had their chance to win... twice.