Again, that's not Espada's fault. He just chose what guy to put up there. Hummel went down swinging at hittable fastballs, at least he saw 6 pitches. Matthews in his previous ABs had a swinging strikeout on a ball well outside the zone (2 men on) and took a strikeout looking on an 0-2 pitch. I thought Matthews was not ready for the call up because his strike zone judgment is poor, and his two games haven't made me change my opinion yet. I absolutely hope he gives me reason soon to change it.
As someone else pointed out Hummel had struck out 7/9 ABs leading up to that. Im not saying there were a ton of great options but I would have rather seen the kid get a damn chance. I was unhappy with a lot of decisions espada made in that game (pulling altuve, pulling caratini to pinch run short), I’m happy it all worked out though. We (I personally) needed that win.
And before that he’d struck out in something like 3 of his prior 32 ABs. Not sure why you think that tiny sample size means anything. Like you said, we won. Let’s celebrate that and save the whining for a game we lost.
No whining, but Espada got lucky. Pulling guys and still getting the win with a AAA lineup = pure luck.
No I’m going to go ahead and evaluate things as I see it and as I please. You can fan the way you want. Weird that you’re digging in on cooper hummel, although I suspect this is more of a defend espada at all costs approach than anything. it’s okay to be critical but also appreciate the clear amount of positive espada has brought to the team. Whatever.
Pulling Matthew’s for Hummel was like the 4th most questionable decision he made. Burning the DH, pulling altuve for defense in a one run game, pinch running short just to let him stand there and watch grounders.. and then altuve’s buddy works a walk when he’s clearly bunting and short walks it off. Just like he drew it up lol.
You could go back to previous posts and see I definitely don’t defend Espada at all costs. You’re right, I don’t think Hummel is anything special. But I definitely thought Matthews was a worse choice in that moment. As I said, wasn’t impressed with what I’d seen so far at the plate. I could care less if the big hit is delivered by a rookie in his second game or a 10 year vet. I just wanted the win. I’m glad it worked out. This year, for the most part, things have worked out with this team of leftover scraps. That’s fun, too.
