Baseball 101

[Jagwar]

There were several poor decisions last night. From Patton being in the game, to not moving the runner over, to using JJ. Just bad baseball decisions.

So let me ask you this... If the top of the 9th wasn't the right time to use Jim Johnson last night, when would have been the right time?

[srh523]

In an average situation with a runner on 2nd and no outs you'll score 1.17 runs that inning. With a runner on third and one out you'll score 0.98. By bunting the man over you've decreased your expected runs in the innings. Thems the numbers.

Was this an avg situation????

It wasnt the 3rd inning the 5th inning the 6th inning etc....

[FanSince88]

Maybe the OP poster needs to take some remedial Baseball 101. B/c almost every team I've ever watched in the last 20+ years has used a closer in the 9th or beyond in a tie game, especially a playoff tie game. I believe we've actually done that already a few times this year to get the game to extra innings, and it worked out fine. With a bullpen as deep as ours it's the best move to make. You want to keep the game tied in the ninth so your offense has a chance to win in the bottom of the 9th.

[mark_beckens]

Again if a prof hitter making millions of dollars needs to take 15 minutes a day to practices sac bunting then SMH that he cant lay down a bunt and maybe he should spend 15 more minutes at the ball park!

You don't have to bunt to get him over. Hitting the ball to the right side would have accomplished it. Fundamentals of the game have been lost over the years, IMO, thanks to Sports Center. They never show guys who hit behind a runner to move them over or sacrifice bunts. It's the walk off hits and homeruns they show over and over again.

[Fla_O'sfan]

Apparently in Baseball 101, you never use your closer when tied after 8 innings because he is NEVER going to come in and get a save. He just sits and waits for the next game because he can only pitch when the team is ahead??? Baseball 101 doesn't make a hell of a lot of sense......

[Satyr3206]

Answer this for me. How many holds does JJ have? And how many saves? Pretty simple questions and pretty obvious stats.

[BobbyWoontz]

Actually baseball 101 is when you get a lead off runner on second, advance him over.

You get an A+ in baseball 101.

[Orioles West]

Answer this for me. How many holds does JJ have? And how many saves? Pretty simple questions and pretty obvious stats.

What do either of those stats have to do with the situation? Baseball playoff, tie game, top of the ninth, the percentages all point to utilizing your best late game pitcher to keep the game tied.

-Don

[DrungoHazewood]

Was this an avg situation????

It wasnt the 3rd inning the 5th inning the 6th inning etc....

No, it certainly wasn't, since you have a guy with extra base power up who has little experience bunting. So you'd have to assume that the 1.17 would be higher, and the 0.98 would be lower. That estimate was very probably an under-estimate of the cost of trying to bunt in that specific situation.

[DrungoHazewood]

Answer this for me. How many holds does JJ have? And how many saves? Pretty simple questions and pretty obvious stats.

Simple question, obvious stats, almost almost no relationship to the question at hand. Of course your closer has few holds, because modern, regular season orthodoxy reserves the closer for 1-3 run leads in the 9th making a hold near-impossible. Of course good teams often throw out "managing to the save" in the postseason in favor of "managing for the win".

[mark_beckens]

Simple question, obvious stats, almost almost no relationship to the question at hand. Of course your closer has few holds, because modern, regular season orthodoxy reserves the closer for 1-3 run leads in the 9th making a hold near-impossible. Of course good teams often throw out "managing to the save" in the postseason in favor of "managing for the win".

So according to his logic, only JJ should ever be used in a save situation?

[DrungoHazewood]

So according to his logic, only JJ should ever be used in a save situation?

I guess. My only way of trying to explain what he's saying is to believe that he's defending some hyper-orthodox version of push-button managing to the save situation. I suppose that simplifies things for the manager, but is certainly a sub-optimal way of running the team that leaves wins on the table for no reason at all.

[mark_beckens]

I guess. My only way of trying to explain what he's saying is to believe that he's defending some hyper-orthodox version of push-button managing to the save situation. I suppose that simplifies things for the manager, but is certainly a sub-optimal way of running the team that leaves wins on the table for no reason at all.

So you never use your best reliever in a home game that you don't have the lead after 8 innings. Makes sense to me, where's Kevin Gregg when we need him?

[DrungoHazewood]

So you never use your best reliever in a home game that you don't have the lead after 8 innings. Makes sense to me, where's Kevin Gregg when we need him?

Yea, I don't get the argument that you leave your best rounds in the chamber in an extremely important, winnable game. Well... unless you're upset and have thrown logic to the wind after your closer blows a tie game the night before. And who hasn't done something like that?

[mlrhode]

You cant use what happened after Jones struck out and the runner was still at 2nd and apply it to the same situation if Jones would have moved him to 3rd.... it doesnt work that way....

Either does the theory that Jones would have successfully sac bunted