Bad baseball

So I just “watched” on MLB Gameday the conclusion of a Baltimore-CWS game begun on 4/28/08 and suspended after 11 innings at 3-3. Somehow, without the distraction of actual video, you focus more on managing and strategy. It’s like Micro League Baseball.

And there was some bad managing here. I could nitpick, but the biggie was this: The O’s, the away team, took the lead by a run in the top of the 13th, and were defending it poorly in the bottom half, carried on the gaunt shoulders of some pitcher named Rocky Cherry. I’ll just hold my tongue on the humor there. (A lot of pitchers were already used in the game in April. I think this guy’s a rookie.)

In any case, we get guys on 1st and 2nd with two out, and the White Sox pinch hit with Griffey. Now as a side note, this is kind of a cheap move: dude was not even on the team in April, and is now suddenly eligible to come in off the bench in the 13th. Of course, same’s true for Cherry I think, and at this point in Griffey’s career, that’s a wash. Anyway, wild pitch makes it first and third and a 2-0 count. So get this: the Sox walk KG Jr. intentionally to face a guy who’s clearly going to be pinch hitter Jermaine Dye. Now that’s just a bad move full stop. Look at those two names again. But look what’s also happened. You moved the winning run into scoring position. That’s like a Bonds IBB. Has the manager not been paying attention to Griffey’s last decade?

For some reason the gods are kind to the O’s, and Dye pops up to center. Game over, justice not served.

Not our turd

I hope one of you stayed up to watch Joe Morgan watch the Phillies come back last night. He stinks, and firejoemorgan.com takes care of this usually. I emailed them too to ensure proper tubes indignation.

 
Victorino on second as winning run in 11th, no outs, Phils have no more PH and pitcher due up 3rd. Coste up, Werth on deck. Joe says bunt. Jon Miller points out the pitcher slot will come up. Joe says, still bunt. He’s willing to give up 2 outs to move the fastest guy in the league who will score on any single, and the phillies have a pair of adequate singles/gap power hitters at the plate.
 
Coste walks.
Miller (dubiously): bunt now?
Joe: I wouldn’t bunt now. Blah blah filler blah. I just wouldn’t do it.
 
Game situation hasn’t changed at all, only run that matters is still on second and there’s still the inevitably pitcher AB (although now Hamels is swinging, and he’s hitting .275 or something). I suppose there’s some new metrics for force-out chances, walk-everyone chances, and the Phils got out of an earlier bases-load-no-out with a 5-2 force/tag DP, which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before (around the horn triple play had a chance, but I understand Feliz not risking it)

I’ll gamble Joe was not running those scenarios in his brain. 
 
In the end, all moot as Feliz 3-run shot did the trick. Nothing beats murderball. [Ed note: Ideal OPS ball beats murderball, and the Phils scoring struggles are obvious due to trading more HR for fewer walks compared to last year.]

The header was supposed to reader “Not our Turf” but I accidentally typed this and realized it was equally, if not more, appropriate.

vnueva

Stopping to care for a moment

Hey,

Has anyone noticed that suddenly there’s an emerging US Admin-Iraqi government consensus on a full pullout by 2011? Antiwar people should be happy, but I haven’t seen it said that this could be a big, big problem for Obama. So much of his base is the mad-about-the-war crowd. What if it doesn’t make a difference over there in the sandbox if he’s in office? Even if he starts pulling out on inauguration day, 2011 is probably about his own timetable, even if he says it’s something faster.

Off topic: the closing ceremony was some collection of weird-ass stunts by men in alien suits. And Jackie Chan singing pop (seriously).

E.H.