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Uhh he aint batting five righties in a row so far this year at all. Soriano is not comfortable anywhere else other than the leadoff spot. Plus, with him last year they were thirty games over .500. Without, they were a .500 team. You take the good with the bad with Soriano.
That's more due to the fact that Soriano is much better than any of his replacements, and nothing to do with him leading off.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBest21
I think actually, you would get more value out of Marmol if you used him for 2-3 innings versus the closer even with the higher leverage situation. I could be wrong though.Quote:
Originally Posted by actionjackson
no team wins when you have a player that is being given treatment like that. It's the managers decision, not the players, he needs to learn to adjust to work with his team.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
The question should be; what can I do for my team? not, what can my team do for me?
I know. I just felt adding something in there. It shows how important he was to the team though.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
he did that a lot last year, and fuko wasn't hitting, so it was all righties, management helped, but lou didn't seem to try and fix that, it lead to hitters being lead together and just sitting down on the same pitchesQuote:
Originally Posted by TheBest21
Bingo.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
They'd get more value out of him if they used him in the highest leverage situations, regardless of inning, and the same goes for any other "relief ace".Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
Well, the Cubs have been. :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Jeffy25
I'd use him in the middle of the order, as well, though.
Personally, the reason I don't like him, as i have expressed before. just like why I don't like players like manny, zambrano etc. they are up and down, all over the place, and if they ain't happy, your team ain't winning...it seems to be more about the individual then the team...i HATE that (personally) everytime the cards have had those types of players, I am soo friggin happy when they are gone. J.D. Drew was one for example.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBest21
You could get more value out of all of the "best relievers on the team" if you used them longer in situations where outs are desperately required, rather than holding them back for 3 outs in the ninth. Gregg shouldn't be there. If you don't want to use Marmol there, surely there's another pitcher between Marmol and Gregg down in that bullpen. If there isn't that bullpen is in trouble.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
Yep, excellent point HGM. It's in his "DNA" so to speak. Or at least it's what he's stated is his goal.Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
But wouldn't you agree that a truly "good" manager would have some way of convincing him otherwise??? This is part of the "human" element that is missing in the analysis of baseball sometimes.
Maybe Lou Piniella isn't the guy to do it, but wouldn't you agree that this is where manager's can have an even bigger affect than the daily "X's and O's" so to speak?
These are the types of decisions that intrigue me. For an example, why is Manny Acta batting Millegde leadoff???
Sure, he's got great speed (I could think of at least THREE Nats that do though), but WTF??? He's NEVER (so far as I can remember) shown the discipline a leadoff should show. In fact, he's NEVER lived up to what his physical capabilities should produce, but that's another question. But his getting on-base ability isn't what you want with a lead-off hitter (and I admittedly am saying that without checking the stats, it's just with personal observation, so I might be wrong), so why does this type of stuff occur?
If I were the manager of the Cubs, I would have Marmol as the closer, and it wouldn't be close (that's why I chose Marmol in the draft btw), yet this decision isn't the only one that makes me go WTF?
I really hate to think I'm so arrogant as to think I know more than the professionals, but isn't it possible that the professionals are wrong sometimes too???????:confused:
spot on, again OFG, I have been agreeing with you a lot lately (weird!)Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
I think it's simply a lack of a great manager (Lou) not being a great manager in that situation. You never let an employee get special treatment because that is what they like, or that is how they "think" they will best perform. You put them in the situation to help your team win the best, and you find a way to make them help your team by using them where their abilities best help everyone win. Not what that individual thinks they should be doing. You are the boss for a reason, you get paid the big bucks (not in professional baseball of course) to make these kinds of difficult decisions.
Lou has to have some true reason for it, I can't imagine what it is though, numbers say plenty of why he shouldn't be a leadoff hitter, and with his uppercut, he is a middle lineup hitter with speed, like a carlos beltran.
I would be putting Soriano later in that lineup, until I was shown a better reason not to put him there, and if soriano doesnt' like it, so what? he is getting paid like 17 mil a year to help a team win a championship....he needs to just do it. unless there is (like I said) some other reason for it
Wasn't there a study done somewhere about the effects of lineups being pretty minimal? As long as you have your best guys getting more AB's you should be okay.
I'm a believer in small ball. moving runners around, having the best guy up in the best situation because you managed it to be that way. you create opportunities to give you the upper hand...the billy martin style of managing a team.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
If true, if that was accurate, then sure why not. just throw albert leadoff, k greene second, molina could bat third etc...just throw them everywhere. I disagree, but a study would be cool to see.
There's been many studies done. The difference between the worst possible lineup and the best possible lineup is large. But, the differences between reasonable lineups are minimal, a couple of runs per year.
Well, lineups do have an effect, and obviously no you don't want to bat someone like DeWayne Wise leadoff. Just saying that the difference between Soriano batting leadoff and 2/3/4/5 is probably not going to make much of a difference over the course of a season. You're obviously better off with an 'optimal' lineup, but if you've got your best hitters around the top you'll be fine.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffy25
you are probably right. I just believe that you should be putting your best possible lineup out there everytime...i don't know why you wouldn't. Give guys days off etc of course...but i just see Soriano as an alarming mistake to have leadoff. of course, I don't mind it when the cards play them, since I see it as a mistake.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
Take for example when LaRussa bats the pitcher 8th. it's so albert can be used as more of a cleanup hitter and possibly drive more runs in....overall the benefits aren't major for this, but there are possible benefits in doing so...I like that LaRussa does that.
I like that coming into the season, we had a very specific number of left handed, and right handed hitters and relievers, that everyone has a role, and when everyone accomplishes their jobs the team as a whole will be very successful. That's how I think teams should be ran....maybe i'm just a jerk for beating this one into the ground....i'll tuck away into my covers now and be good
You just can't take your big boss man hat off can you? ;) :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Jeffy25
haha, sorry. ur rightQuote:
Originally Posted by actionjackson
Way to ruin such a good outing by Cahill Oakland (im hoping its our annual slow start), im sure Tang is pretty happy about that sweep.
Don't apologize for it Jeffy. It shows consistency of character. You expect a lot of yourself and you expect teams to be run the way you would run your business. There's just one difference. I don't think you'd ever pay anyone $17 million a year, while you made 5ish and this is where the problems come in. Sports managers/coaches hands are tied by the large contracts their players rightly receive. Even if you had an employee making the same percentage of your revenue as Soriano makes of the Cubs' revenue it still wouldn't be the same. The $17 million is what allows Soriano to throw his weight around. Not every highly paid star feels the need to do this though (why do I feel like we're coming back around to Pujols again? ;) ) so I guess you've gotta make sure you choose wisely when you're spending large on players.
Sooooooooooooo Justin Upton...What's going on with him? He turned in one of the best seasons for his age last season and the best thing to do, according to the D'Backs, is to bench him every other day and let Byrnes play. Also, when he does play they bat him 8th. Wow, way to help your youngest and brightest player develop. He's not going to see many FB's down there, he's not gonna get in to any rhythm having to play every other day, and he's probably expanding his strike zone because he thinks his AB's could result in a demotion. Way to stunt his growth!
While we're on the subject. How about Motte, Marmol, Dukes, Clement and anyone else I'm missing.
/sigh
sometimes I just don't get managers.
I like everything about the Braves this year, except the pen (aside from Soriano and Gonzalez, who is looking kinda shaky).
We should be 6-0. How the ***** do you blow a 10-3 lead with 2 innings left??
(and yes, I still am mad about that!!!!) ;)
didn't know that about Upton, wrong thing to do! he is likely their top prospect! Brynes is more stable, but use him, after Upton proves he doesnt' deserve to playQuote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
Motte, should not be a closer, he should be a set up guy...def should not be closing for any team. set up at best
Marmol, we discussed,
Dukes and Clement I don't know what is going on with them
I hear that Clement's catching skills are perfect for a DH...
I thought you were talking about Matt Clement haha, I was like, did he even sign with anyone? Cards dropped him from double a last year
Yeah he's not a good catcher at all, but I was getting at the fact that they put him in AAA. He's a good hitter and he's not going to get better in AAA and at this point his catcher skills are as good as they're gonna get. Either use him in the DH role at the ML level in some kind of platoon or trade him; don't send him to AAA where he could have a bad year at the plate and completely destroy any trade value.Quote:
Originally Posted by free2131
I see that, I am hoping Duncan has a knock out year, and we can trade him for somethign to an AL team that would want him as a DH or to a team that can use him at first.....he is terrible defensively, but he is going to be a slugger, I swear on itQuote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
We need to trade Clement. Should have done it a year or two ago when he had some value. Could have traded him to Boston for a guy like Lowrie, Bucholtz, or something.
eh, not really a fan of either of those guys. I think we should trade him though or give him DH duty since Griffey should, hopefully, only be here till the year is done.Quote:
Originally Posted by asianinvasion
Yeah. Seriously. Just let the kid player. He was one of your best hitters last year for crying out loud.Quote:
Originally Posted by 200tang
aren't you a D'backs fan?Quote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
They're the team I want most to win.Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeffy25
STOP! GRAMMER POLICE, COME OUT WITH YOUR KEYBOARD IN THE AIR LIKE YOU JUST DONT CARE! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by HoustonGM
The Justin Upton situation as well as the Marmol-Gregg business are the biggest mysteries to start the season, but I'll be happy to add one that's on the umpires rather than the managers: how in God's good Earth do you let Beckett stay in that game? The ump crew was the only group of people in that stadium and outside of it who didn't think that Beckett was throwing at Abreu for calling time. To cap it, Beckett then approaches the plate to jaw at Abreu while he stands there; if Abreu had walked out as many steps, he'd have been pitched before he laid a glove on him.
Ordinarily, the Yanks would be the beneficiaries of such largesse; I guess the umps now lump the Sox in there as worthy of official protection.
Though it was interesting how Torii Hunter described it: someone said the wrong thing, and it wasn't the Red Sox. I think Scioscia might have something here: someone needs to review this, and take some appropriate action.
Rockies head to Chicago today.
Maybe both bullpens will blow it but the Rockies not as bad.
Bottom of the 6th at Dodger Stadium, and Orlando Hudson has just completed the cycle with a triple. :cool:
For the first cycle EVER at Dodger Stadium. :cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by Joe12Pack
Seriously?Quote:
Originally Posted by OldFatGuy
I have to admit, I never knew that. That's really cool!
And CBills has 11 Ks with 0 BBs after 7 IP. Not bad at all.
The Dodgers are making the Giants look like little leaguers.