Temples..... throbbing...... make it..... stop!!!
ok, i know i've backed up Francona more often than most, and probably more often than he's deserved. but tonight, he straight fucked up. his knack for sticking with the guys that helped make it happen last year is making my head want to explode. i'm not even going to get into the whole sticking with Millar and leaving Olerud on the bench. we'd beat the man to death before we could get him to admit his mistake there...
first, the simple question. Who the hell puts their closer in to pitch the eighth inning, with NO outs?!?! that's why you have more than one guy in the bullpen. and usually one designated as a SETUP guy, who shines in the eighth inning. no, not the red sox. they take their closer (who is not good with inherited runners) with two on and no one out and drop him in the eighth. first batter, a triple. and it just snowballs from there.
so now the slightly more complicated question. you're in a position in the eighth inning where your starter is falling apart and he's letting guys on base so you need to make a call to the bullpen. now, you have two guys in the pen who were with you last year, one being your closer, another being a lefty specialist who's been throwing meatballs around. a couple of long relievers, and two power arms from kids you just called up this month. you've seen them both pitch, but not all that much, but the scouting reports are stellar, so is what you've seen. my question is who would you put in the pen to start warming up?? my answer would be one of the young power arms for a strikeout that you may seriously need, and another arm that has been rested in case it gets hairy. i could really use an explanation on Francona just skipped over the entire bullpen and went straight to Timlin, and expected six outs, when he knows he has a bad history with guys already on base?!
i think i'm done venting for now. but i'm gonna go lay down, my blood pressure is a tad high....
first, the simple question. Who the hell puts their closer in to pitch the eighth inning, with NO outs?!?! that's why you have more than one guy in the bullpen. and usually one designated as a SETUP guy, who shines in the eighth inning. no, not the red sox. they take their closer (who is not good with inherited runners) with two on and no one out and drop him in the eighth. first batter, a triple. and it just snowballs from there.
so now the slightly more complicated question. you're in a position in the eighth inning where your starter is falling apart and he's letting guys on base so you need to make a call to the bullpen. now, you have two guys in the pen who were with you last year, one being your closer, another being a lefty specialist who's been throwing meatballs around. a couple of long relievers, and two power arms from kids you just called up this month. you've seen them both pitch, but not all that much, but the scouting reports are stellar, so is what you've seen. my question is who would you put in the pen to start warming up?? my answer would be one of the young power arms for a strikeout that you may seriously need, and another arm that has been rested in case it gets hairy. i could really use an explanation on Francona just skipped over the entire bullpen and went straight to Timlin, and expected six outs, when he knows he has a bad history with guys already on base?!
i think i'm done venting for now. but i'm gonna go lay down, my blood pressure is a tad high....