Cruz: one of the dumbest plays I've seen

[oriolesacox]

Very frustrating game all around... I even disliked bunting manny.. Our late inning management seems to be a bit iffy

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[zxlkho]

Anyone calling this a stupid play by Cruz needs to take another look at Chris Davis. The entire left side of the infield was open and he still refused to bunt for like 5 straight pitches.

[bpilktree]

Very frustrating game all around... I even disliked bunting manny.. Our late inning management seems to be a bit iffy

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I have no problem bunting Manny. Jones got the hit we needed and Markakis was out by a tenth of a second on a throw right on line. The throw is a bit high or off any bit we win.

[Orioles2012]

He could've faked going home, and gotten 3/4ths of the way there, I think he would've made it before the 3rd baseman got to the bag. It would've forced ball 3 there.

[MrOrange82]

Galactically stupid.

You were listening.

Unrelated note, I'm not going to post a new thread, not going to go on a rant. But I'm saying this anyway: being competitive for a couple years has been nice, but I really, truly think the O's should be sellers...like ASAP. This team might, might be able to scratch out a wildcard berth, but it will not...it cannot...go deep into the playoffs against legitimately great teams. This game serves as a perfect example. The O's have too many holes, too many AAAA-types who've been pressed into service out of necessity, and too few players who represent reasonable hope(s) for the future in the minors. Hell, arguably the O's best pitching prospect hasn't even fully recovered from TJ surgery yet. It's all a bad joke, and holding onto expiring contracts right now is a poor strategy if you're considering the future success of the team.

[25 Nuggets]

Put me on the side of loving that call. The shift at 3B was so wide that Cruz could have had an even bigger lead down the 3B line and the pitcher could have done nothing about it.

[Frobby]

I have no problem bunting Manny. Jones got the hit we needed and Markakis was out by a tenth of a second on a throw right on line. The throw is a bit high or off any bit we win.

Agreed. Lord Nick is slow for a guy with a fairly lean build.

[24fps]

I think there are at least fair odds that the pitcher isn't paying attention, or he panics and rushes the throw, or the catcher isn't paying attention or gets out of position. Unfortunately for Cruz, none of that happened. If it worked, I'm sure everyone is calling him brilliant.

Not everyone. Some people would still (correctly) be calling it galactically stupid.

[33rdst]

Agreed. Lord Nick is slow for a guy with a fairly lean build.

Should Buck have run Lough for him?

[TonySoprano]

Galactically stupid.

I don't agree with taking the bat out of Davis' hands.

[Tbone83]

Should Buck have run Lough for him?

Well, in hindsight, the game would obviously been a W if he had. Nick is swinging a hot bat though, and has a great arm in the outfield. You'd be losing that. Then again, with Meek coming in, might as well gone for broke.

[Morgan423]

Bad calls that entire inning cost us this game. I don't really think it's debatable:

1) Sac bunting Manny. With Cruz, Jones and Davis hitting behind him. NO NO NO NO NO. A million times NO.

2) Sending the runner and getting him thrown out at home, when holding him lets Davis hit with the bases loaded with one out. What was Dickerson thinking?

3) Why is Cruz stealing home? At first I thought he mistook the count to be full, but his run toward home was much too aggressive for that.

1+2+3 = giving away this game. SO frustrating.

[Guest]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Buck says steal WAS Cruz's decision. "He saw it, felt it".</p>— Mark Viviano (@MarkWJZ) <a href="

">June 7, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

[eddie83]

Cruz was doing that on his own.

[eddie83]

Should Buck have run Lough for him?

I love Buck but he is very conservative when it comes to using his roster. He always worried about using players late. He still had Flash left.