'Stros lose 5-3 Co-ards lose 9-4 Cubbies losing 3-0 in 9th, 2 on, nobody out... [edit] god bless Aramis Ramirez...K...1 down [edit again] f*ing a...yahoo lied...Ramirez walked...sacks juices no outs Karros single: 3-1 Speauxs, bases loaded, no outs Rocky Biddle sucks. SWEET!!! double play, Aramis out at 3rd, some other guy out at 1st...3-2 'Spos, man on 2nd 2 outs...Sausage Beater at the plate. Expos Win! Bring on the F*ing Co-ards.
This game was frustrating to me because of Jimi Williams. Granted the Cardinals series will be a big one, I saw no reason to rest Biggio, Kent, with a bunch of TripleA players. The team was on a roll, and the Cards are a tough team. Even resting his players is no guarantee that they'll perform better or worse against the Cards. I'd of been much more content with the regular lineup that's been generating a nice win streak oppose to fecking it over with every Triple A player/pitcher called up since the deadline, and I'd of felt much more comfortable with a 2 game lead over the Cubs then just staying 1 game up going into one of our toughest 9 game stretch against the Cards twice, and a Rockie team with one of the best records in the game at home. Jimi should of gone with the percentages and tried to squeak away with as many easy wins as possible oppose to taking a dive and telling the Brewers, here's a freebie win for your troubles. I also questioned his pinch hit at bat, choosing Biggio over Kent in 9th, given the fact that Kent has been one of our clutch hitters oppose to Biggio who has a hitch in his swing when it comes to sliders low and away.
Although I question Williams decision to rest two starters at the same time, it is not that unusual. I am amazed, however, that Kent never got an at bat in the 9th once he represented the tying run. His weird pitching changes in the 7th turned out extremely questionable.
Not just that, but he rested Everett, and Ensberg. There was one play that Blum almost made, that I felt Everett would of probably had a higher chance of pulling off. And then he takes out Ensberg, who was 10-21 in his last at bats. He rested almost the whole infield, barring Ausmus, and Bagwell, and 1/3 of of the outfield.
Wow... one loss and suddenly everybody is questioning Jimy again... He made all the right moves in the last three games, he was bound to get a few wrong today... but the ONLY move I have an issue with is pitching to Podsednick when he got the hit to make it 4-2. Bringing in Micelli is fine, but Podsednick is the second best hitter on that team, after Sexon... make someone else beat you. Other than that, all the rest of the moves were justifiable. Biggio was gonna get a day off no matter what, and frankly Lane's bat needs to get sharp again if he's gonna be a threat off the bench. Kent got a rest, partly due to his wrist, partly due to the fact that he sort of tailed off at the end of this long long road trip (even though a Kent at 85% still gets singles and doubles), and also partly because if you want more big hits from Vizcaino like we saw on Tuesday, he needs to get more AB's. Right now, Blum, Ensberg, and Viz seem to be fresh despite Jimy's constant shuffling. They play just enough to stay focused at the plate, and not enough to get into a prolonged slump. Of course, the flipside to that is that none of them may have the opportunity (barring injury) to get on a real hot streak... which, if you look at the percentages, doesn't happen as often as one thinks. After these 2 years, everybody should know Jimy's managerial philosophy... he plays the percentages: 1.) starting pitcher's opponents batting averages go way up after the 6th inning, thus his reluctancy to keep them in. 2.) Sure... time off messes with a hitter's timing, but a day off every now and then can do wonder for a players energy (especially older players). Bidge has looked much fresher these past few weeks due to the time off (and that's with playing a much more grueling position). 3.) If a pinch-hitter has not gotten regular AB's for a while, he's not likely to do much when you actually need him to come thru for you in a clutch situation (which happens much more often than most people think). Sure it takes some getting used to, but with all the injuries and pitching troubles this team has gone thru, not many managers could get these results.
All games are BIG now. Every win is crucial. I am not sure about the moves by Jimmy tonight, and if that was the cause of us not winning the game. But we did have a good road trip which could have been better. BUT, either way, we lose 1 game after winning 3 in a row and so I should stop complaining.
You don't find it questionable that Biggio pinch hit (as the tying runner) in the 9th rather than Kent? Kent has much more power and has been hitting better than most everyone all year. In addition he was hitting over .340 on the road trip. You don't find it questionable that there were 2 pinch hitting situations in the 9th where Kent would have represented the tying run and didn't get an at bat?
Everett was pinch hit for in the 7th, he was not rested. Blum has been hot of late and continued to hit well today even though he only had one hit. He smoked a rope in the 8th that was caught by Sexson. The play Blum didn't quite make did not hurt anyone (Saarloos got out of the 8th with no runs scoring) and he made an outstanding play at 3rd earlier in the game. Prior to today, Ensberg was 7 for his last 25. Blum was 9 for his last 17.
Not just that, but he rested Everett, and Ensberg. There was one play that Blum almost made, that I felt Everett would of probably had a higher chance of pulling off. And then he takes out Ensberg, who was 10-21 in his last at bats. He rested almost the whole infield, barring Ausmus, and Bagwell, and 1/3 of of the outfield. From the boxscore, Everett started at SS and got pinch-hit for somewhere. Ensberg is not 10 for his last 21 - Blum is 10 for his last 19 though. (Ensberg was 7 for his last 18) Both are extremely hot, so that's going to be determined by matchups. edit: Damn you, Bobrek!
I can't predict what never happend, but my bet is that Jimy was only going to bring in Kent if he had the oppurtunity to win the game with one swing (ie - get two guys on base ahead of him). He brought in Bidg because if he had reached base, he would have pinch-hit Kent for Lane, and thus Bidg would still be available to play CF.
