brewhawk:

ike1024:

brewhawk:

Every time Ned fails, it's not second guessing, just because he failed.

Really?  So you've never questioned something that Yost did which really wasn't that strange but happened to fail?

Did I say that?  It seems regardless of how bad a move Ned makes, when it fails, people always defend it by labeling it "second guessing".

You're right, I see what you meant.  Sorry.

I read it to mean that everytime Yost fails, he fails, and that it's never just second-guessing.

 Too funny. Walking Izturus to get the tying man at the plate. Talk about begging for a choke job. The futility is comical.

MateoInMex:

Come On!!! Not this sh** Again!!!

No such thing as an easy one with these guys, that's for damnned sure

Thanks, Robert.

I'd even bat Prince second behind Braun:

Braun

Fielder

Hart

Weeks

Cameron

Hardy

Hall

Pitcher

Kendall

but, I do like your idea, too. I'd do it this way:

Braun

Weeks

Fielder

Hart

Cameron

Hardy

Hall

Pitcher

Kendall

Come on Committee!

Nothing's easy - is it?  Two out with a three-run lead and more drama.

brewhawk:

wisblue:

brewhawk:

wisblue:

brewhawk:

Potential for Yosty today, including the inexplicable failure to use Suppan to bunt with a man on second and nobody out.  Isn't that the exact situation you want your pitcher to be in at the plate for that very reason?

I don't think this one is that clear cut. With the infielders coming in on top of the hitter (as they were) and a slow runner on second (Hardy), a successful bunt is going to be tough to pull off. Suppan is not the worst with the bat, so you almost have as much of a chance of moving the runner by having him try to ground one to the right side and if you're really lucky he slips it through the moving infield. As it is, Suppan got his bat on the ball but looped out to right.

Bullcrap.  The sacrifice bunt is BY FAR the more successful means of moving a runner over with a pitcher who bats .000 at the plate (which by definition makes him the worst, since you can't possibly bat any lower), but who bunts well enough to be called upon in a pinch-hit situation to do it.

I would bet you $1000 that if you were able to interview the other 15 NL managers, that at least 12 (80%) would bunt in that situation.

I do love how you cling to your Yost defenses even though the actual result is also so obviously not in your favor.  That's real dedication to your cause.

It is a lot easier to discuss what SHOULD HAVE been done after one of the other options is unsuccessful. That is the definition of second guessing.

I AM NOT DEFENDING YOST (shouting intended)! I am just trying to be fair and to point out that not all of these things are as obvious as you make them out to be. If Suppan bunts right to one of the charging infielders and Hardy is thrown out at third (a real possibility), you have significantly lowered your chances of scoring.

 

So does a popup, groundout, or strikeout, which doesn't move the runner over.  So, you tell me which one is the better play?

If you honestly believe that swinging away with a zero hitter is the better play, you don't know very much about baseball.

By calling Suppan a "zero hitter" you are showing that you aren't willing to even be rational when you are trying to make a point. Yes, he has not had a hit this year in 13 AB's coming into this game, but I think his .175 career average in 325 AB's over 14 seasons is an indication that he can get his bat on the ball. His career strikeout/AB ratio isn't a whole lot worse than several of the "hitters" in the Brewers everyday lineup.

If I don't know anything about baseball don't bother responding to me anymore. I think some people here would agree that I do know some things about baseball, and that I am a lot more objective than you are.

robertj44:

Gotta side with Brewhawk on this one. Just plain stupid not to attempt a bunt on that AB with Suppan.

I expected a bunt there, too.  But the reason I didn't think it was "stupid" not to was because of the way the defense was playing and because Suppan is pitcher who at least knows which end of the bat to hold--it wasn't beyond possibility that he could have punched one through an infield expecting a bunt.

So I can't say it was "stupid"; the move wasn't outrageously without foundation.  It was a legitimate alternative, and the fact I wouldn't have gone that way doesn't make it wrong. 

 Hit, and run. 5-3... The death clock is ticking.

Ok enough of that lineup talk...

Lets get one more out for crying out loud!

Some of you wanted Shouse to close.... Pujols up next....

you need to get this turd shouse!

Are they trying to get to Pujols

Great win today!

 They squeak it out. They still can't put anyone away consistently, just terrible.

Well, that was tense.  But all's well that ends well...