Two Points of Rage, Please
Wed, Jul 4, 2007
by Geoff Young
I’m more than a little furious about Tuesday night’s loss (recap | box score), but I’ve got a monthly roundtable to finish, so I’ll distill my rage into two points:
- It is public knowledge that Greg Maddux tends to implode after five innings (opponents are batting .333/.351/.632 against him from the sixth on) or 75 pitches (.366/.404/.683 after that point).
- The Padres have carried seven relievers all year.
With such a deep bullpen, the strategy always, always is to get Maddux (and David Wells, who has similar splits) out of the game as soon as humanly possible. I’d hoped I might feel better about this one after sleeping on it, but no such luck. Being outplayed by the opposition is acceptable on a certain level, but poor decision making just eats at me…
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July 4, 2007 at 7:51 am
GY, come back off the ledge. It’s one game. It’s a marathon, you know.
July 4, 2007 at 8:14 am
True, but there is a difference between stumbling on debris in the road and forgetting to hydrate oneself.
July 4, 2007 at 9:13 am
I’m with you, GY. 12 pitchers = getting your starters out when you should. Of course we only have 12 pitchers in theory, we really have 10 for 95% of games and another 2 who are kept in a locked cabinet.
July 4, 2007 at 11:44 am
I wonder if they get to ride the same bus/plane as the rest of the team. Then again, I wonder if they even go on road trips.
These questions of course are minor in relation to the larger question of “do KCam and Hampson actually exist?”
July 5, 2007 at 11:15 am
I blame Pepe for the loss completely.
My friend had to talk me down from screaming so much at the TV.
Throwing Maddux back into the 7th with a lead was acceptable only if he got no hit stuff. Not getting the bullpen ready that Cla Meredith was called in to throw 4 wide ones was asinine.
That’s one game given to the Marlins on a platter.
I’m still fuming about it.