Comments on: IGD: Padres vs Mets (18 Jul 07)

By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:39:07 +0000

#143: To be clear, I agree with LM (#141) that this is a good idea. As for why managers allow the save stat to dictate decisions, that’s a tricky one. Part of it has to do with using guys in roles they’re comfortable with (a whole other debate), and another has to do — I believe — with player salaries. Closers are paid more to save games than setup men are to “hold” them. That doesn’t make it right, but it’s the way bullpens have evolved over the past 30 or so years. Eventually clubs may figure out that this isn’t always the most efficient approach, but given baseball’s typical slowness to adopt change, I wouldn’t expect it to happen anytime soon.

Also, apologies to LM for my flip response in #142. I gave a weak effort there.

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By: SDSUBASEBALL

SDSUBASEBALL — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 16:12:40 +0000

141: Good idea... but it will NEVER happen, just like you are almost gaurenteed to see Linebrink in the 8th even if he has blown over 4 leads since June

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By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:55:47 +0000

I know this is a dead horse, but I'll never understand why otherwise-intelligent managers allow one statistic (and a silly one, at that) to shape their in-game decisions.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:32:26 +0000

#141: Well, that certainly isn't going to happen.

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By: LynchMob

LynchMob — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 15:21:57 +0000

140 ... Chris isn't asking Trevor to pitch the 8th and 9th ... just the 8th, in a game like this, when the tough hitters are due up in the 8th ... makes sense to me!

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:12:41 +0000

#137: I'm pretty sure Trevor isn't physically capable of going more than an inning at this point. Last time he did was September 2004...

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By: St. Oops

St. Oops — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 11:13:55 +0000

136: Agreed. Linebrink is now officially as dead to me as he was last year. His good stuff in April/May was apparently just an unsustainable attempt to have a good FA year. Reminds me of Aki before we traded him. Great rep, but always seem to blow the game when I tuned in. Hopefully we'll be smart and get as much for Liney as we did for Aki. Draft picks would be great since I don't the the FO is going to break up the bullpen this year.

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By: Richard

Richard — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:12:16 +0000

136: 3.12 ERA, 1.15 WHIP but it sure doesn't feel that way.

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By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:12:58 +0000

I was at the game tonight. I know it's sacrilege to even say this, but can't Trevor Hoffman come into a game in the 8th inning? I know the crowd loves the bells and crap (they were doing a vigorous wave as Linebrink was melting down), but how 'bout once in a while, we ask the HOFer to get the most important outs, and not just the 25th-27th? He hadn't pitched in 11 days (excluding the All-Star Game), and this was an important one.

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By: Geoff Young

Geoff Young — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 06:03:37 +0000

Whew, just got back from the game. A few comments:

#83: I’m done defending Linebrink. Tonight was disgusting.

#135: Thanks for stopping by, JP. Antonelli is such a treat to watch. His speed is deceptive. He always seems to be ahead of where you expect him to be. Glad to hear Morton is doing well, too. He will hit some tape measure shots — very strong kid.

Also, on a more general note, Maddux looked fantastic. Pulling him after five was the right move even though Linebrink almost single-handedly caused it to backfire. Bottom line, we won the series. It doesn’t always have to be pretty, it just has to work…

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