Why do managers leave their starters in the game after giving up 8 hits, one of which a grand salami?
7 ER! Get the goofy bastard out of the game
7 ER! Get the goofy bastard out of the game
Pull Lackey! He has had enough abuse
- Thread starter Ronnie
- Start date
Ronnie said:
You beat me to the punch. There are two main reasons I don't bet much baseball...
1) Bullpens are terrible. Hard to win a game when teams can't hold a lead.
2) Baseball managers are the worst of any sport, by far. They try to do everything by the book and that isn't always the best way.
I've seen Ibanez get walked to face Sexson five times. Sexson has hit FOUR home runs in those situations. Ibanez is a good hitter, but not nearly as dangerous as Sexson. Not even close. But hey, as long it's a righty-righty matchup that's all that matters right? God forbid a right handed pitcher should ever pitch to a lefty.
Lackey didn't have it tonight. I still say nine times out of 10 the Angels would win this game. Great day nonetheless, and great season thus far.
I shouldn't be bitching at all but its frustrating. Its games like this that make me want to quit for the year while I'm ahead. You are right Glenn. 9 out of 10 times, Angels win this game. Meche has been horrible so I guess he was due a decent game.
Good Info SSB! I will keep that in mind next time I cap this series. I don't bet any favorite over 160.
ssb said:
It makes you wonder doesn't it? I would have no clue about the infield/outfield positioning based on each individual hitter, but the rest seems to follow like this...
Early in the game...
With runners on, always walk an inferior hitter to face a better hitter as long as the next hitter up bats from the same side as the pitcher throws from. And if it gives you a potential double play situation, all the better.
No matter how bad a starting pitcher is getting lit up, leave him in the game. Don't ever take him out early when it's obvious he has nothing, leave him out on the mound to rot and to make sure your team has no chance to come back. Nevermind the fact that the pitcher will probably end up getting taken out 3 or 4 batters later because he can't get anyone out and the score is now 7-0 rather than 4-0, as long as his pitch count isn't up just leave him in.
Steals and hit-and-runs are pointless. Why bother trying to get a man in scoring position? Let your hitters hack away and hope something falls in. Oh, and nevermind the fact that even the best catchers in MLB typically throw out far fewer than 50% of the baserunners, this is an instance where you don't want to play the percentages.
Late in the game...
Only fast, contact hitters should know how to bunt. Don't bother teaching ALL of your hitters how to bunt, that's pointless. I'm sure there will never be a situation where a Kevin Millar or a Carl Everett needs to move a runner over late in a game. Let them swing for the fences and hope they get a base hit rather than move a runner from second to third with nobody out.
When pitching, always bring in lefty pitchers to face lefty batters. Also bring in righties to face righties, but this isn't quite as important as the lefty matchup. Never, ever, EVER let a left handed batter face a lefty pitcher. It's better to have a 9-year old righty face a lefty than have a major league left handed batter. Seriously, Tanner from the Bad News Bears has a better chance of getting a hit against a lefty than a left-handed hitter.
By all means, leave your closer on the mound far longer than you need to if he doesn't have his stuff. If he comes in with a three run lead and gives up tons of walks and hits, just look the other way. After all, he's your closer. He's your best pitcher so there couldn't possibly ever be a time when he doesn't have it and another reliever should be brought in to close out an inning or get you out of a jam. Your mentality should be he either wins the game or loses the game, there can't possibly be any in between.
Ok, that's all I can think of right now. That was even a bit too much sarcasm for me. :mj07:
Ronnie said:
I don't even know if it was so much that Meche had great stuff as much as it was that Lackey didn't give his team a chance to win. I really think the 2-run double by Lopez to give the M's the 3-2 lead was the killer. It really deflated the Angels. But your'e right, Meche is usually a lot worse than 2 runs in 5 innings.
I hear you about cutting your losses. I've really struggled with baseball this year because my philosophy has always been to try to find the most favorable spots and hit them hard. Well, this year those aren't coming through for me because of bullpens blowing leads and games like this, where the opposite of what you think will happen, happens. Luckily I haven't been playing too much, but it's still frustrating.
Glenn Quagmire said:
:mj07: :mj07:
Well Glenn, sounds like you've covered all bases of the game. If you ever need an assistant, shoot me an email and maybe we can coach a team to the series.
Ronnie said:
You got it man. You better to start brushing up on your cliches though. Because we have to take it one game at a time you know? Who knows, if we give 110%... good Lord willing we might be able to just get there!
