For the second time in nine games, Lou Piniella has exhausted his supply of position players by the eighth inning. He has managed in the National League before, right???Against Philadelphia he was saved by Carlos Zambrano’s grounder….no he was saved by Chase Utley’s error in the tenth.
Yesterday, with Theriot having a tight back, he was down to twelve position players. He chose to use one of them to sacrifice bunt for the pitcher? Can anyone tell me what he was thinking? If Lilly can’t get the bunt down, then why not use another pitcher who can. Instead he wastes Fontenot. Then he has to use two players in the seventh when a pitching change is made after Daryle Ward has been announced.
Neither of these came back to bite the Cubs, but can anyone explain the thought process in either of these games? In both games he ended up with a pitcher having to bat in our last half inning. Lou has been around longer than this and you would think he could maneuver a little better when it comes to position player strategy.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Maybe Lou Needs 14 position players on the roster!
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2 comments:
Well, the Fontenot move was reactionary. He wanted Mike to hit, but once the Mets brought in a lefty his only other option was to burn Fontenot for another pinch-hitter. And didn't Fontenot swing away? Maybe I have the games mixed up, but I thought he grounded out to first.
The only thing I really have a problem with is burning both catchers before extras. Other than that, we have the luxury of being able to use Marquis and Big Z like lesser hitting positional backups (seriously, we've had much worse hitting dudes on the bench in the past that were paid to hit).
He really doesn't hesitate to get into the bench, though, does he?
Oh yeah, I also have a problem with pinch-hitting Murton with the bases jacked and one out. He's an automatic ground-out. We're lucky he hit the ball too weakly to be doubled up, otherwise Reed doesn't get those two RBIs.
I didn't see the game, so it is possible he grounded out, but the box score showed a sacrifice.
I am a Murton fan, so I hope he turns it on before long.
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