I'm not really second guessing any of his decisions... cause we are in the freakin NLCS for the second year in a row and well.. game 5 2005 NLDS... nuff said. But I am more in wonderment of why he hasn't thrown Bags in there a little more to PH. I'm sure he has reasons. Plus he could have put him in there with the same result. In the end, a sub-par pitching performance from Pettite and a few missed opporunitites cost the game. But the team still has to feel pretty confident going into Game 2.
This from Yahoo sports: "The wild-card Astros got off to a poor start before the series even began. While running the bases in batting practice, starting pitcher Andy Pettitte was struck in the leg with a ball."
Garner's thinking was... Bags is not going to give you a HR... and if he gives you a basehit, you're still down one run at that point. I also think he was going to definitely pinch-hit bags for Taveras' spot... cause that would have ensured that he had a chance to drive in either the tying or the winning runs. In the end, it didn't cost us the game... the lack of offensive punch early and Andy's ineffectiveness ='d ballgame. Frankly, the 'Stros were fortunate to get ANY runs at all tonight.
Totally disagree. We had a damn good chance to chip Berkman in in the first inning, and an even better chance to get Everett to do a squeeze in the second. Not to mention having the bases loaded in the third with Berkman at bat after Tavaras has made Carpenter walk him after 10+ pitches, which, of course, Berkman had to swing at the first pitch of a nervous Carpenter, with the friggin bases loaded and 1 friggin out! Fact is, we should have won this game at least 6-5, IMO. We did not take advantage of our chances at all.
Oh yeah - I wasn't disagreeing with you. Those are interesting stats and I would never have guessed Viz would have that kind of average. I was just giving other possibilities of Garner's logic. And I totally agree about Garner. He's made too many things work to second-guess every decision that doesn't.
Tough loss, I HATE the co-ardinals now more than any team in the past. I grew up in h-town andI used to despise the Utah Jazz more than any team in professional sports. I can easily say now that I hate the Cards, oops I mean the Co-ards more. Man, I am telling you, I lived there for five years. 1998-2003. Their fans are the worst. They are so arrogant. I hate them with a passion. We need Roy to pull one out for the Astros tommorrow. I BELIEVE!!!!!!!
The most important stat IMO is the OBP in this situation and not the batting average. Down by 2 with a man on 2nd, you need somebody just to get on base. IMO Viz has been hacking lately and not making the pitcher work...Bagwell has a .520 OBP against Izzy lifetime with more plate appearances than Viz. Viz's .500 OBP is fantastic but he's been getting on my nerves lately. In that situation, he needs to frickn take the first pitch...get onbase any way possible
WRONG. Viz was a bad choice, period. A double ties the game. Please tell me one person who saw Viz come and said "oh yeah... that's who we want now." We'll still win this series, but only if we play like we have all year. I don't like Garner's recent decisions, and I feel that it might be an inferiority complex. Remember the pitch out, followed by the squeeze??? When everyone knows, including Garner, that Pettitte is the best fake-pitch-to-first-base in the game??? That run should have never been scored.
Who exactly did you think was going to come in and get a double? Bagwell? He can barely hit singles right now. Besides, a double does not tie the game. You're down by 2, with 1 man on. A double (or a single, for that matter) still leaves you down by 1. You just need a guy to get on base at that point, and then get to Biggio. Both Viz and Bagwell historically have gotten on against this guy, but if you need a pinch hitter for Willy, then you want to still have Bagwell available because that's when you need to drive in a run rather than just get on base.
^Well, saves me the 2-3 minutes of typing out that post. You hit the nail on the head As much as you guys want Bagwell to be the 1994-2000 Bagwell, he's not. I love the guy, I love the pinch hits he's had recently, but I still take Viz's .417 career avg over Bagwell's .333 + rehabbing shoulder. We needed someone to drive Viz and Biggio home if they were to get on base.
Major, Miguel, I hope you're correct, because this game left a bad taste in my mouth. I know their are a lot of hoop-nannies that appreciate everything that happens during a game. One of my buds, who posts here, and is a notorious Astros disector, had no problem with this loss, blaming it on the euphoria excess off of the last win. I give no such accolades. We should have won this game. Pettitte wasn't at his best tonight, but we should still be able to play small ball and get a run in when it is on second or third with one out..... Period.
I technically forgot that we had a pop-up to bring in an, otherwise, idiotic chase for home plate on a meaningless run. You're right. We only had one man on base. Viz would've had to have homered to win it. I'm sorry no one has faith in Bags, anymore, but I do, especially in this kind of situation.
That double play by Lance was HUGE iun tha tgame!!!!! Seriously...1 out...bases loaded...and a double play. OUCH!!! we got close, but we wated good opportunities.
Is Bagwell going to actually run the bases and be sliding on close plays? You hope for a Vizcaino single, then maybe a Biggio single/double, then pinch hit Bagwell for Taveras to be able to drive in the tying/winning runs. We are all Bagwell fans, but expecting Bagwell to pull a Gibson is I believe out of the question at the time. Bagwell can definately make contact, but if it comes down to whether you bat a .417 Vizcaino + have Bagwell 2 batters later vs (a .333 Bagwell + bad shoulder + pinch runner if he gets on + having to rely on Vizcaino to drive in some runs) I know Major and I are probably in the minority, but whatever, the game is over and tomorrow is a new day.
bagwells shoulder is jello, he can't even throw to third so how can he hit a homer? I know i'm drunk but i still know what i'm talking about.
I would have pinch hit with Palmero, he has some pop in his bat, at least there is a threat of a home run, with Viz, you hope for a slap single. DD
When I saw Viz come up, the first thing that came to mind was his last bat of last year, a weak grounder to second. Why not Bags or Orlando?
All of this bickering over Garner's decision to use Viz instead of Bagwell is pointless. Had that happened, today everyone would be griping about how Bagwell failed to deliver in the clutch yet again. Consider last night's game a cold dose of reality. The Astros trot out an offensively challenged team and against the Cardinals, that will get you sent home early. What worked against Atlanta won't work against St. Louis and once they (Astros) get down 2 or 3 runs, they are done. Now there is still 6 possible games to play but the Cardinals are not chopped liver and are clearly superior to the Astros and their record proves this out so it should come as NO surprise to anyone if the win the NLCS in 5 or 6 games.
