Buck's decisions tonight

[weams]

It doesn't matter. Everyone is saying the same thing. If you demand cheerleading, just read the MASN articles. Some people prefer to discuss the decisions made in a baseball game and what they would've done.

Very good perspective.

[Ohfan67]

Right, because you have never seen a "closer" complain about being used in a non-save situation or be dismissive of poor results when used in a non-save situation?

As for discussion my following orders rather then giving them...it seemed more appropriate to the situation. Since I was talking about folks working outside of their accustomed roles. But if it makes you feel better, yes I have also asked folks who work under me to leave their comfort zones for the good of the team as a whole.

Have you heard Tommy Hunter complain? Buck didn't even tell him or announce that he was the closer. Do you think that Buck has NOT asked a player to do something they were "uncomfortable" doing, that was outside their "comfort zone"? Do you think Buck goes around asking players what role they want to perform on the team and then only uses them according to their wishes? Do you think all the bench players want to be bench players? Do you think all the relief pitchers want to be relief pitchers? Do you think that Buck is a "slave to the save rule" because it's what Tommy Hunter wants or is best for Tommy Hunter? You are certainly implying that the answer is "yes" to all of these questions or at least many of these questions. I believe that Buck and other ML managers, including incredibly smart managers like Tony La Russa, like to give defined roles to most players because that is what wins the most ball games over the long term, not because they feel the need to coddle players and not because it is what players want, but because it is the most effective approach to win games in the modern baseball era.

[Can_of_corn]

Have you heard Tommy Hunter complain? Buck didn't even tell him or announce that he was the closer. Do you think that Buck has NOT asked a player to do something they were "uncomfortable" doing, that was outside their "comfort zone"? Do you think Buck goes around asking players what role they want to perform on the team and then only uses them according to their wishes? Do you think all the bench players want to be bench players? Do you think all the relief pitchers want to be relief pitchers? Do you think that Buck is a "slave to the save rule" because it's what Tommy Hunter wants or is best for Tommy Hunter? You are certainly implying that the answer is "yes" to all of these questions or at least many of these questions. I believe that Buck and other ML managers, including incredibly smart managers like Tony La Russa, like to give defined roles to most players because that is what wins the most ball games over the long term, not because they feel the need to coddle players and not because it is what players want, but because it is the most effective approach to win games in the modern baseball era.

Did I mention Hunter specifically? Nope.

I think Buck has been a slave to the save rule well before Hunter inherited the title.

As for La Russa this is the same "genius" that cops found passed out behind of the wheel of his car at a stop light right? Sorry I don't consider anyone engaging in behavior like that amongst the intellectual elite in this country.

I think that there are many ways to get from A to B and that there are a lot of lanes in MLB without any traffic on them. (Which is good if La Russa is still driving)

[El Gordo]

I don't know if Tony La Russa is a genius or not (I sure liked THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST) but I know that someone who thinks that getting a DUI has any thing to do with baseball acumen isn't one. Here are some pretty smart guys who had their substance abuse issues, including Freud, Churchill, Poe, and Robert Downy Jr. http://drugabuse.com/20-genius-minds-and-the-drugs-they-were-addicted-to/

[Can_of_corn]

I don't know if Tony La Russa is a genius or not (I sure liked THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST) but I know that someone who thinks that getting a DUI has any thing to do with baseball acumen isn't one. Here are some pretty smart guys who had their substance abuse issues, including Freud, Churchill, Poe, and Robert Downy Jr. http://drugabuse.com/20-genius-minds-and-the-drugs-they-were-addicted-to/

That link might have some relevance if there was any proof he was in fact addicted to anything.

But of course his profound bad judgment in regards to his personal conduct does not mean he could not have shown intelligence elsewhere. I just enjoy pointing out the hypocrisy of baseball's dealings with alcohol as opposed to other drugs.

[Frobby]

This sums up what I was trying to say. There are nights where Tillman is sailing along in the 8th inning and if he throws 122 pitches on a night like that, God bless him. 122 pitches in 5 innings is a different can of worms. I'll be very interested to see how Tillman throws next time after an outing like this.

Case closed.

[Frobby]

April 24 11-4 win over Toronto

Interesting choice to replace Britton with Stinson with 2 outs and a runner on 3B in the 8th. It seems like Britton won't be available tomorrow in any event, having gone 1.2 innings tonight, so I was a bit surprised Buck didn't give Britton the chance to get out of the inning. On the other hand, he put Stinson into a situation where he could get some work without risking putting the game in jeopardy.

[Johnny Cobba]

April 24 11-4 win over Toronto

Interesting choice to replace Britton with Stinson with 2 outs and a runner on 3B in the 8th. It seems like Britton won't be available tomorrow in any event, having gone 1.2 innings tonight, so I was a bit surprised Buck didn't give Britton the chance to get out of the inning. On the other hand, he put Stinson into a situation where he could get some work without risking putting the game in jeopardy.

Definitely think it was a confidence thing with Stinson. Don't over extend Britton and get Stinson feeling good again.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CA-ORIOLE]

Should have appealed the groundball out on Flaharty in the 6th. Good opportunity to build Stinson's confidence there. Hard to criticize much in today's game.

[Frobby]

Another interesting decision was sending Lough and Markakis on the double steal with nobody out, Cruz up, and Cecil pitching, losing 3-2. The steal worked, but had the predictable result that Cecil then intentionally walked the red hot RHB Cruz to pitch to the not-that-hot LHB Davis. Cecil is very, very tough on LHB, so I was somewhat surprised to see the O's adopt a strategy that (1) could have led to an out on the basepaths, and (2) either way, was likely to take the bat out of Cruz's hands. On the other hand, having the tying run at 3B with nobody out was better than having it at 2B, and pitching with the bases loaded is never easy. In any event, Cecil quickly got Davis to 0-2 but Davis hit a pitch that was wide of the strike zone into a hole and cashed in the tying and go-ahead run, so Buck's strategy worked. I'm pretty sure that if Davis had struck out there or hit into a DP, there would have been a long thread second guessing Buck's decision to order the double steal.

[Bahama O's Fan]

Another interesting decision was sending Lough and Markakis on the double steal with nobody out, Cruz up, and Cecil pitching, losing 3-2. The steal worked, but had the predictable result that Cecil then intentionally walked the red hot RHB Cruz to pitch to the not-that-hot LHB Davis. Cecil is very, very tough on LHB, so I was somewhat surprised to see the O's adopt a strategy that (1) could have led to an out on the basepaths, and (2) either way, was likely to take the bat out of Cruz's hands. On the other hand, having the tying run at 3B with nobody out was better than having it at 2B, and pitching with the bases loaded is never easy. In any event, Cecil quickly got Davis to 0-2 but Davis hit a pitch that was wide of the strike zone into a hole and cashed in the tying and go-ahead run, so Buck's strategy worked. I'm pretty sure that if Davis had struck out there or hit into a DP, there would have been a long thread second guessing Buck's decision to order the double steal.

I was thinking the exact same thing when they stole.