Pedroia only needs a single to hit for the cycle in the top of the 5th inning. Thems pretty decent odds.
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Pedroia only needs a single to hit for the cycle in the top of the 5th inning. Thems pretty decent odds.
Kazmir keeps pitching like this and he might get it this inning.
Oh well, no go. Pedroia will probably never get a chance like this. He should've stopped at first on the second double.
Oh Man, Gotta love ESPN. They're going over the game, and talking about the "Managerial Decision of the Season"????? When they tried the hit and run in the ninth. GIVE ME A BREAK. If it would've worked, it would've been brilliant. And at the time, (AND I'm NO RED SOX FAN WHATSOEVER), I thought it was a good decision. Varitek is an AWFUL slump, and putting the hit and run on is often helpful to such a player as they then concentrate on just making contact. So it didn't work in this instance. I can see the media BLOWING this one all out of proportion. The media is the biggest problem with the game today. It's why pitchers' are babied, why closers only pitch the ninth, etc. etc. etc. etc.
I disagree. Maybe if the team wasn't down by three runs at the time, but, even though we couldn't convert it into anything, we needed that man in scoring position.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Did you really just accuse the media of low pitch counts and the loss of the Fireman role in closers?Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
Back to the game. No, it was a ridiculous decision. Casey should have been PHing for Tek, and IF yer gonna hit and run at least put Cora on first. You don't hit and run with a guy who's striking out like Tek has been...who by the way, missed a hit and run on Monday as well.
Pavelb1. Hmmm. Wild guess here. Uhh, RED SOX FAN. ! ! ! !
Am I right?
LOL. If that had WORKED, and I had posted WHAT A BONEHEAD MOVE, you would've been on here praising Francona for the surprise factor and motivating a guy whos been in a horrible slump. LOL
EDIT: And oh, BTW, YES, I do blame the media for the PROLIFERATION and WIDESPREAD ACCEPTANCE (without ANY credible data to back it up) of the pitch count. And the loss of the fireman's role as well. Managers have ALWAYS been on a short leash. Nowadays, they're scared to make "out of the box" decisions because if they backfire, they are CRUCIFIED by the media. Thus, you get 30 managers all basically managing the same way.....NOT TO LOSE. At least most of the time.
I've never praised a manager for Hit and run. Though there's a time and place for everything, that ain't it. And you didn't address the lack of use of Casey or Cora. Casey is better at contact and Cora is faster than Lowell. A bonehead move is bonehead whether it works or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
LOL...'motivating'?? First time I've heard that's a motivater.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pavelb1I've never praised a manager for Hit and run. Though there's a time and place for everything, that ain't it. And you didn't address the lack of use of Casey or Cora. Casey is better at contact and Cora is faster than Lowell. A bonehead move is bonehead whether it works or not.Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
LOL...'motivating'?? First time I've heard that's a motivater.
OK, true enough. Motivating was a bad choice of words. Confidence inspiring would've been a better choice. And no, in this case it wasn't, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T WORK. LOL
Your point about a pinch runner is a much better one than about pinch hitting. While I'm no Red Sox fan, and not a member of Red Sox nation (I live near D.C.), from what I've seen over the last, say 5 years or so, Varitek is THE MR. RED SOX. In fact, he's the only one to wear a "C" on his jersey in awhile, IIRC. Thus, Francona was thinking of the FUTURE, something a good manager should do. His captain, his MR RED SOX, is struggling. Big time. Just imagine what a base hit in the ninth inning of a close game against the first place team to a guy who is 12 for his last 100 would've meant?? I mean, even the longest in the tooth veterans question themselves in this most so humbling game of baseball when they're going through something like what Varitek is going through.
I admit, it looks really bad now. But I also say it was a calculated gamble that could've payed off in much bigger ways than just this game. I mean, they might've, in fact probably would've, lost THIS game even if they had pinch ran AND pinch hit.
It was a bold, couragous, and I thought GOOD move. It didn't work. So now he can take the heat. He's a big boy. So am I. If I were him, I'd look straight in the cameras and say "I'd do the EXACT SAME thing again if I had it to do over again."
It wasn't a terrible managerial decision, but it wasn't a great one. The bad idea was going to it twice in a row and banking on Varitek making contact twice in a row the way hes been going. Casey DEFINITELY should have been pinch hitting in that situation, with the way 'Tek has been hitting lately, hes a way better contact hitter than 'Tek is even when he is going good. Even if Varitek is "Mr. Red Sox", as you call him, the object is to win today, not hope it does something good for him tomorrow.
I'm a huge Red Sox fan and Varitek is one of my favorite players, but I do not think he should've been hitting right there.
Wow, really? I have never noticed...:pQuote:
Originally Posted by YEAH DAAAAWG