Unconventional, gutsy, correct?

[filihok]

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?...=.jsp&c_id=mlb

Not what most managers would do in the situation.

[TheNamelessPoet]

I like it

I wouldn't have done it but I like it

[OregonDuck1989]

It only looks good cause it worked. It looks good and I like the idea.

But I'm not that gutsy.

[HoustonGM]

Yeah, it only looks good because it worked...but it put them in a much worse off situation.

As someone said in the BaseballThinkFactory thread on this, it gives way too much credit to Hamilton, and way little credit to the really good Rays bullpen.

[TheNamelessPoet]

it would have been REALLY funny if the guy behind him hit a grand slam

[m4rk6]

Why not pitch around?
I don't like it, you're giving points away. Like everyone else said, it only looks good because it worked, the rationale behind it sucked.

[KowboyKoop]

Terrible move. Should've just went to the mound and tell the pitcher to be really careful and that if he did walk Hamilton that it was okay, in other words, don't give in and only throw borderline pitches or pitches off the plate...but an intentional walk is just stupid.

[filihok]

Well...I guess he figured that the chances of a Hamilton home run were greater than the chances of an extra base hit by Byrd.

[HoustonGM]

Well...I guess he figured that the chances of a Hamilton home run were greater than the chances of an extra base hit by Byrd.

Then he's clearly not consulting the statistics.

[filihok]

Not saying he's right...just saying

A) a home run by Hamilton ties the game
B) a walk to Hamilton and a double or triple by Byrd ties the game

He picked B

[RedsoxRockies]

I would never purposely walk in a run. As said by many here, it only looks good because it worked

[spventi]

. . . if he did walk Hamilton that it was okay . . .but an intentional walk is just stupid.

Um, sorry, but to me this assertion is totally irrational. How can it be OK to pitch around him but not OK to walk him intentionally?

There is always the chance, when you pitch around someone, that you screw up, throw the ball over the plate, and the hitter crushes it. And the whole point of an intentional walk is that you think you have a better chance with the next guy. So, if that is what you think, then walking the guy intentionally--even with the bases loaded--is the right move. Gusty call, whether it works or not.

[Red Sox Fan 734]

awful call just awful. If it didn't work Maddon should have been fired on the spot. Why would you intentionally walk a run in and put the go-ahead run on base? It makes sense but in the end it worked....

[metsguy234]

Good move by Maddon. This guy obviously knows his baseball.

[justanewguy]

The odds of giving up that lead were low either way. The percentage of failure in both walking Hamilton OR pitching to him aren't that far apart. Maybe if Maddon is seeing this situation 50 times in a season and doing it 50 times each season, it's a bad movie. As an isolated incident, I don't think it can be called an "awful" decision. Maybe he didn't like the individual matchup against Hamilton. Maybe he just wanted to take the bat out of Hamilton's hands and get to the weaker part of the lineup. I could see how you'd rather surrender a run to face Byrd or whoever bats after Byrd than face Hamilton and possibly Byrd and hold onto your run.