After Wednesday's emotional victory, I thought we had a chance to start to string something together. Oswalt had 4 days rest and we could have skipped Woody and had a chance to sweep. Woody has a horrible record at Coors Field and is horrible period this year. Maybe Garner just wanted to make sure we had a pitcher that could retaliate. It's just another example of Garner's inability to bench or get rid of veterans who are done. Woody is done. I know we owe him a wagon full of money, so if you have to keep him in the rotation, fine, but anytime you have an opportunity to skip him you should.
Oswalt. He had 4 days rest. Then Sampson would have been pitching today with a chance for a sweep. Soon as I saw Woody penciled in I knew our 1 game winning streak was coming to an end.
6 innings, 4ER's, team had a 5-4 lead. Woody isn't a great pitcher... by any means... but he should have never been in the position to LOSE that game. If you want to fire Garner for that, so be it. I said it before, and I'll say it again... this city was spoiled by Pettite/Clemens. Quality starts don't grown on trees in this sport, and while you guys were constantly complaining about the lineup (and still complaining about the lineup), you didn't realize how effective it was to win games 3-1 (rather than 9-5). It was also more impressive to lose 1-0 than it is 8-5.
You shouldn't fire Garner for starting Woody. You should fire Gar for leaving him in to long. I mean, he was throwing a lot of pitches, and had the perfect time to come out when he led off an inning. Even if Gar was trying to save his pinch hitters, he shouldn't have let Woody come back in after that. It was way too long, and he sucked it up. Garner always leaves pitchers in too long. Is that his fault or the pitching coaches?
you guys need a sticky so you can post your new reason every day. and when you really don't have a good one, you can just reach down deep...kinda like with this one!!! reason du jour: he didn't skip his 3rd starter's start on June 6th against the Rockies. ok, i didn't see that one coming...but hey. that's swell.
Garner was routinely skipping Albers when he was the fifth starter. Woody is our fifth starter not our 3rd. It his hindsight to say he was pitching adequately when he was pulled. My point is that we really need to get something going and starting Oswalt in place of our worst starter was a good opportunity to try and sweep a series. There are a million reasons that Garner isn't cutting it. Is he the reason we are losing, is Biggio the reason? No, neither is "the reason", but both are one of the reasons.
There are dozens of reasons we aren't winning. Most of them are not Garner's fault or Purp's fault. Most of our players are underperforming (see Biggio, Berkman, Scott, etc). Even Oswalt has had his struggles this year. I'm not sure what the answer is, but when half of your roster is underperforming with no apparent reason, there's nothing that the manager can do about it.
Was talking to RM95 about this last night: I have no idea how Gar stays sane managing this schitzo bunch for the past 3 years.
I don't deny that and firing Garner mid-season might not help, but his decision making is mind boggling to me and this was a prime example in my opinion. I haven't given up on this season yet and the opportunity to pitch Oswalt instead of Williams is a no-brainer to me.
Albers may have been skipped a few times, but to call it routine is a bit of a stretch. Besides, the fault wasn't really with Garner starting him...it was either with Purp signing him in the first place or with Garner putting him back on the mound for the 7th instead of going to the bullpen. Besides doesn't history show that starting guys on short rest is generally not a good scenario. Add Coors Field to the equation and you could have a wasted start by your Ace.
Why is your mind so easily boggled? It's not that hard to figure out why he does what he does if you pay attention.
Neither argument is accurate. Oswalt would have been pitching on regular rest, because we had a day off. Your point about him wasting a start by your ACE at Coors field is moot, because he is pitching at Coors today. When a team is struggling and needs every victory they can scratch out, skipping your fifth starter is just common sense.
Shouldn't they have just skipped Wandy then? I know he's having a good season and all, but on any given night, wouldn't you rather have Woody pitching over Wandy? I mean just last year Woody's ERA was 3.65, while Wandy's was a gazillion! Woody had just come off a 9 strikeout game... ride the hot hand Phil! you idiot! How can Garner be so re-tahded, and Pooopura be so fat!
If the reason he does what he does is because he's stupid, then you are right it is not mind boggling. Yesterday on Charlie's show, he indicated it is his decision to continue to start Biggio against right handers on the road and to lead him off. That is stupid. Starting Woody at Coors field when you have an opportunity to skip him in favor of Oswalt on regular rest is stupid. Not wrapping up Berkman or have a staff member wrap up Berkman before he went berserk was stupid (Berkman was stupid, also). Platooning Lane for so long this year was stupid. Pitching to Pujols in the 8th and 11th and having him knock homers to win is stupid. The list could go on forever. Garner is a lousy manager.
I heard him on Charlie's show. He acknowledged Biggio's problems, but shrugged it off by saying there were no better options leading off! (I can think about 5 better options). lol.
Some reason I'm thinkin 4 days rest is short rest...I'm gettin mixed up today. In any case, Woody is no Albers. He's a solid veteran who's going through a rough stretch...perhaps he's lost it for good, but considering the success he's had over the years, you gotta be believe he'd turn it around eventually. And again, starting Woody wasn't the mistake Garner made; cause he put the team in a position to win...Garner just kept him in too long. And my point about wasting an Oswalt start was on the assumption that he would be going on short rest...course he would be either way, but again, Woody very well could have left the game with the lead, so your point about skipping him in the rotation is rather moot.
