Markakis on 2nd, 1 out, Jones at the plate....

[FlaO'sFan]

There is no guarantee that Lough would have scored on the hit by Cruz. As was stated above, the at bat by Jones previous to Cruz was the much more significant play. Seriously, it was an absolutely atrocious at bat for the situation. Jones should have his *** chewed for his approach in that situation. That at-bat and the skipped throw to first last night are the two most significant plays in this series.

[Guest]

Nick is real close to being a First baseman or DH only player. He's just to slow.

[Why Not?]

....How do you not pinch run Lough for Markakis? I'm not usually one to critique managerial decisions, but I had expected that and was completely surprised that it wasn't the case. Hindsight is 20/20 and Lough almost definitely would have scored on the Cruz single, but I just don't get the decision to leave Markakis in even before the Cruz single.

Markakis is one of my favorite players, but is it really that big of a sacrifice to replace him with Lough, especially when it's possible he may not even get another AB? The trade-off of speed on 2nd with no outs when another run could very likely be the game winner seemed well worth it at the time to me...

I'm still in the mind-set that we will come back and win this (and Markakis is at bat now so maybe he will shut me up) but that really frustrated me, even before Cruz got a base hit.

Because if Lough is at bat in a key position after subbing for Markakis WAY too early, your head would explode. There is a reason that Buck Showalter is a baseball manager and we are message board posters.

[atomic]

I will take Lough D over slow Nick everyday.

Ok you are clueless then.

[atomic]

The terrible AB's by Jones in big spots are magnified because it seems like Cruz comes up right after his atrocious AB and gets a hit. Jones gets a big two run homer but it's hard to ignore how bad his AB's have been in many key situations.

Big two run homer and a great defensive play in centerfield, yeah I am sure Jones was the reason we lost the game.

[Can_of_corn]

Because if Lough is at bat in a key position after subbing for Markakis WAY too early, your head would explode. There is a reason that Buck Showalter is a baseball manager and we are message board posters.

Right because Nick's 729 OPS this season is such an upgrade over Lough's 694. Want to guess who has been better since the all star break? (230 points better)

[Can_of_corn]

Big two run homer and a great defensive play in centerfield, yeah I am sure Jones was the reason we lost the game.

Jones reminds me a lot of Murray. Has for quite some time now.

[Can_of_corn]

In what way?

In the way that he receives a disproportionate amount of blame. Hopefully the media won't turn on Jones.

[Can_of_corn]

Murray took a lot of heat because he wasn't cooperative with the media. That's not Jones. I think Jones takes virtually no heat from the local media. Yes, the fans on OH probably focus on him more than he deserves. I think that's because they want him to be a star offensive player and he's not. It's frustrating to see a #3 hitter, historically considered the best hitter on your team, have such terrible AB's on a consistent basis. He is what he is and he's not going to change but it's still frustrating to watch.

Yep, it sure would be nice if he had the same great approach and mediocre results that Markakis gets.

[Guest]

Ok you are clueless then.

Lough is better then Nick in the field if you can't see this i don't know what to say.

[weams]

Yep, it sure would be nice if he had the same great approach and mediocre results that Markakis gets.

I agree.

[tntoriole]

In the way that he receives a disproportionate amount of blame. Hopefully the media won't turn on Jones.

Jones is a very good player. And he is a great teammate, leader and is very good with fans and the media. But just from performance standpoint, it is his strike zone awareness reflected in his strikeouts and walks that differentiate him from an Eddie Murray or Frank Robinson, who he could have very well emulated if he could have earlier on improved his strike zone awareness. But unfortunately he will not achieve at their level (very very few players do) so we must enjoy him for what he does bring.

[Can_of_corn]

Jones is a very good player. And he is a great teammate, leader and is very good with fans and the media. But just from performance standpoint, it is his strike zone awareness reflected in his strikeouts and walks that differentiate him from an Eddie Murray or Frank Robinson, who he could have very well emulated if he could have earlier on improved his strike zone awareness. But unfortunately he will not achieve at their level (very very few players do) so we must enjoy him for what he does bring.

For some reason folks seem to think that strike zone awareness is something that is an easy fix.

It isn't.

Markakis would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of power.

Hardy would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of foot speed.

Manny would be a much better player if he could just improve that knee durability.

[weams]

For some reason folks seem to think that strike zone awareness is something that is an easy fix.

It isn't.

Markakis would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of power.

Hardy would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of foot speed.

Manny would be a much better player if he could just improve that knee durability.

But Ichiro could hit a home run anytime he chose to. He just felt it was not as beautiful.

[tntoriole]

For some reason folks seem to think that strike zone awareness is something that is an easy fix.

It isn't.

Markakis would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of power.

Hardy would be a much better player if he could just improve on that lack of foot speed.

Manny would be a much better player if he could just improve that knee durability.

Oh, I agree. It is definitely not an easy problem to fix. But it is different than foot speed and knee durability. Not that Adam (or Jim Presley) see it as a problem though. They view it as being "aggressive" which they view as a positive.

It seems though that the modern player has much less concern about knowing the strike zone than in past eras.

You never, ever saw players even make it to the majors if they struck out at the rates they do now, but it is not only common place now, it seems to be

both encouraged and taught that being overly "aggressive" is preferable as a hitting strategy to selectively knowing the strike zone.