a one run lead against Sale, a shaky starter, a fantastic bullpen that hasn't been overused doesn't take a genius or hindsight to know what Hinch should have done
Still wholeheartedly disagree with that. Surprised you think it was such a clear mistake. If the ball was straight to SS, sure...but Correa had to go deep in the hole to get it. Which also means Valbuena had to have reacted into the hole as well--at least slightly.
Agreed. The flip side is that he stuck by his guy who has earned that right. That probably goes a long way in the clubhouse for the guy who has been your best pitcher all year. Yes, the outcome sucked. But I see why he did it.
Worth and Jake just batted... hopefully by the next time they're up, were either 1) leading or 2) are in easy position to pinch hit or bunt
If the ball's straight to SS it doesn't matter, play's at 2nd or 1st. He was not so far off the line that he could get there, reacted a step or 2 immediately, saw the ball was hit slowly and he had no chance, knew Correa's only play would be at 3rd, knew there was a slow runner on 2B, then kinda watched for a couple of bounces instead of sprinting back to the bag.