So true...but I really want to win this one to get to .500 all time record !!! And to stay in first place... DD
Yup. Much better to show confidence in him by saying "hey, we're up by 9 with 3 innings to go, and we still don't trust you enough to put you in the game."
Most teams at least wait till the 7th is done... or they wait till the other teams make the move first. Also, even though we've roughed up the Brewers here... they're not some no-name team. They have power all throughout the lineup, and their guys are so young, they don't know any better than to not still try to mash when they're down 9 runs. Also, I didn't come on here spouting this stuff only after the moves were made... I posted AS SOON as the moves occured that it would spell trouble for the Astros, and Lidge would likely be needed... its just a feeling you get when you've seen this type of game before (and I have... many times).
You know that brings up an interesting point. A good catcher who calls a good game can make an average pitcher much better. Conversely an average catcher who catches pitchers with great stuff, doesn't make that much of a difference because the pitchers stuff is so good. Does that make sense? DD
Makes total sense... which is the reason why Roy still won 20 with Chamo (but his ERA was 3.4, whereas with Ausmus, it was sub 3... in 2001, 2002 and 2005). Munson is not a fundamentally sound catcher... which makes you worry about his ability to catch Lidge's slider. Other than that, he's serviceable.
By "this" I mean overmanaging. I understand resting your veterans, or players coming off of an injury late in the year, but this is a questionable move at this point in the season. The main problem I have with this is taking out Taveras and Ausmus. You can't argue with Garner's success, but his moves tonight have been open to criticism.
Everett is having a heck of a game and heck of year thus far. I'm very happy we didn't just get rid of him for less than his value during the off season.
I disagree - I've seen plenty of games where the winning team yanks its players in the 6th or 7th (just depends when they got the big lead). Generally, the losing team keeps their players in longer, I believe. It doesn't matter how good their lineup is, they're one of the lowest scoring teams in baseball. And its *9* runs in 3 innings. If we can't expect our bullpen to handle that, we have severe problems on this team. Beyond that, as far as Munson is concerned - a backup catcher has one job: to be good defensively. He can hit 0.000 for all I care. He'll never be used as a pinch hitter because you have to keep them on the bench "just in case", so his only role is to catch. If Munson can't do that (and I really have no idea - this is the first time I've seen him), we need to go find someone else. Defensive catchers who can't hit worth anything are a dime a dozen - there's no reason we shouldn't have one. As a side question - I wonder how many times any team lost a 9 run lead in the late innings the last 10 years? I'd imagine it has happened no more than a handful of times (I know it happened to the Astros a few years back). It's not exactly a huge risk.
