I can't imagine Porter not knowing the rule. It's one thing if it was a random incident in the game that no one know would happen. Then Porter not knowing a rule would be understandable. But this was something he actively did. If he didn't know the rule, then it would imply the Astros staff don't even research into their strategies. But if he did know the rule, then that seems like a stupid decision.
If I hear those 2 old farts talk about "master ho" or "grand master ho" one more time I'm gonna lose it.
Amen. It is still weird hearing him on WGN for... that team. And to reiterate, JD is one of the best in the game. Ashby gets messes up stats during the broadcast and is more interested in non interesting side conversation (Howard Chen, Julia's shoes, food, things discussed 3 innings ago) more often than not. Just two days ago, right after the error that started to load the bases and lead to runs, he was skipping baseball commentary to talk about a hot dog of some sort. Really? You have runners in scoring position for Singleton and you're going to talk about hot dogs through the at bat and not say anything when the ball is thrown? I would rather Blum be brought in to be the color commentator and leave Ashby behind.
You mean like last year when he brought in Wesley Wright and then when the Angels announced a pinch hitter, he went to take him out, not realizing he had to pitch to at least one hitter? In that case he claimed to "misunderstand" the rule.
Ashby is a pain to listen to. If he did, he wasn't very smart. Why would you sacrifice a DH when down 1 run?
Hey now, Farnsworth and his .213 career OPS strike fear into the hearts and souls of many o' pitchers. Sure, his last hit came in 2000, but that just shows he is overdue!
I don't think anybody should be giving Bo Porter the benefit of the doubt... He has proven time and again that he's not a "strategist" type manager, but more of a motivator. While the latter is a good thing to have for a young team, the former is also a good thing to have for a young "good" team. I just think he's guilty of over managing at times, and if you combine that with some lack of knowledge of the rules, you have a potentially hazardous situation when it comes to close games or extra inning games (games which I feel a managers importance gets escalated).
At some point it has to wear on the players. I can't imagine them not thinking "what's he up to now". Last year, Wesley Wright even said something like "I knew I had to pitch to a hitter".
And, as an aside, I really do not like headlines like this: "Astros’ bullpen falters late as Rays rally for series win" Downs, 1.1 innings, no problems. Sipp, 1 inning, no problems. Zeid, 1 batter, 1 K. Farnsworth, 1 batter, 1 K. Williams, 2 IP, 5 hits, 2 runs. Williams has now given up runs in 6 of the last 7 games he has pitched. In the only game he has not given up a run, he faced one batter and walked him. Although, I would consider his 3 inning, 1 run stint against the Twins the other night a good one since it saved additional BP innings in a blowout loss.
I think Ashby is much more comfortable being the play-by-play man, I think he's getting used to having to fill in (and share) the color role with Blum during home games, leading to hot dog remarks, shoes, etc.
Which is understandable. Let it also be known that I enjoy knowing how delicious ball park dogs are, I would just prefer it not during a RISP moment with Singleton/Springer at the dish. It just didn't flow well.
