Comments on: Tick Tock Tick Tock

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:20:24 +0000

[75] Believe it or not, they were improvements; Casilla and Joe Crede were starters @ the beginning of the season.

By: ms october

ms october — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:56:09 +0000

[76] i agree william. even though he just started yesterday, it is obvious chad will do very well. sam and the other guy (josh i think) get a lot of info and still see this as something fresh.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:53:49 +0000

[72] I don’t have a strong comment about the pictures, but LoHud after Pete has been just as good, if not better.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:52:59 +0000

[73] [74] And, just to finish up, starters or no, they have no one who could hit just a little better than those guys?

I guess not, or you’d think they’d have been starting back in, oh, May. Incredible.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:52:00 +0000

[73] But they all suck. Every one of those 5 guys you mention is terrible, horrible, black holes of suckitude with the bat. To say they swing ass-bats (h/t Bat-Girl!) is to insult ass-bat swingers everywhere.

OK, I’m being a bit dramatic. Cabrera isn’t a black hole of suckitude – he’s OK, but that’s only because his SLG is .430; his OBP is a craptastic .313, and he’s their permanent #2 hitter!

All of this is another way of saying, I do not fear the Twins.

By: Raf

Raf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:45:42 +0000

Twins’ bench, even expanded, was horrible. How else to explain letting Tolbert bat 5 times?

Their usual replacements (Harris & Casilla) were deployed. Tolbert, Punto and Cabrera are the starters anyway, so I doubt that they’d get lifted for PH’ers

By: ms october

ms october — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:18:37 +0000

i didn’t see this posted yet, so sorry it it was and i missed it-
guzman not on the alds roster, frankie c, gaudin ,and marte last men in

this was per lohud – does anyone else find those pictures, especially the sam borden one odd, maybe even scary?

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:14:25 +0000

[70] Oh, Swisher is definitely the floater.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:07:38 +0000

[67]I agree about letting Swisher be the floater. He is comfortable in any spot in the line up.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:05:07 +0000

[63] Thanks. Not bad. Could be worse.
[66] I asked.

Anyway, these decision are made combing over stats, so small sample size or not, it’s all about match-ups and historical data. Such is baseball.

Rob Neyer seems to think it’s no big thing, the Posada/Molina differential. I say they need to do whatever they can to let AJ be the good AJ. If he stinks, get him out, put Aceves in, with Posada in tow.

That said, my favorite game of AJ’s was against Boston with Posada pirching. I suppose it was theexception to the rule. And, I agree with what someone wrote, that Girardi should have been working to improve the AJ/Posada relationship to see if they could get on the same page.

By: weeping for brunnhilde

weeping for brunnhilde — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:03:38 +0000

[61] [62] Yeah, also, especially having seen that foolhardy shoestring attempt in the previous inning, it really seemed to me a case of pressure getting to players who in turn tried to “do too much,” as Waldman is so fond of saying. Both seemed on a par with swinging from the heels in a Big Spot against a strikeout pitcher with the tying RISP. Everyone wants to be the Hero.

By: RIYank

RIYank — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:57:55 +0000

[64] Yeah, it’s also possible that Swisher moves into Jorgie’s spot (switch hitter, keeps Rob comfortable in his usual spot). I don’t know if this really affects Robinson’s chances of facing RISP, since Swisher is so good at getting on base, but it does seem wise to keep Cano in the seven slot, just psychologically.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:57:17 +0000

[63] See also, “Why Small Samples Are Meaningless”

[62] Its amazing to me that Leyland didn’t use his expanded bench more. Larish not hitting was a terrible call. Letting Rodney keep going was a terrible call – but I’m not sure we can hold it against him. The only other pitchers on the staff he could possibly rely on to not give up oodles of runs, even to the Twins, were Jackson and Verlander. To have lost with Washburn, Robertson, or Galarraga, for example, on the mound, would have been a catastrophe.

And there was the Tigers’ problem in a nutshell – not enough pitching.

I could say the same for Gardenhire’s use of his bench, but I’m pretty sure the Twins’ bench, even expanded, was horrible. How else to explain letting Tolbert bat 5 times?

By: Bama Yankee

Bama Yankee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:53:50 +0000

[55] Thanks. Yeah, it seems like the right call to me. Even if it is just a mental thing for AJ, then it would be wise to go that route in such a crucial situation (even with the offensive drop-off). Heck, I wouldn’t care if Molina got several ab’s during his time behind the plate…maybe even two in one inning, if you know what I mean…

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:52:10 +0000

One other point…taking Jorge out of the lineup doesn’t mean the only factor is his production versus Molina’s. It also means Cano, for example, will be batting higher in the order and more likely to face a situation with RISP*.

*With the strength of the Yankee lineup, I am not actually sure that’s true.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:49:06 +0000

[61] In 11 PAs, Molina has a post season line of .375/.500/.375.

By: williamnyy23

williamnyy23 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:47:11 +0000

[59] I think he made the throw because he thought he had a play on him (which, I also happen to think he did). Now, if he was following the game closely and allowed the batting order to factor into his decision, well, then all the better. What would worry me as a Twins fan is Gardenhire seemed upset by the throw, which suggests to me he wasn’t going to walk Rayburn. A look at his numbers versus Inge and Laird shows how foolish that would have been.

I also think Leyland dropped the ball in this inning as well. Jeff Larish should have hit for Inge.

By: Yankee Mama

Yankee Mama — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:46:43 +0000

[59] Gardenhire was clearly miffed after the throw to 3rd. I thinking throwing his arms up in disbelief was the telltale sign. It was at that point, that I said to nobody in particular that I could never be a mlb manager.

If the Yankees put up some early runs on the board on AJ day, then perhaps the point will be moot.

Does Molina have post season experience with the Angels? If so, how did he do.

By: Shaun P.

Shaun P. — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:44:21 +0000

Slowest.

Day.

Of.

The.

Year

. . .

so far.

I’m so exciting I barely skimmed the 59 comments in the thread. I’m too antsy to digest it all now. I just want it to be 6 PM already. Is it 6 PM yet?

By: weeping for brunnhilde

weeping for brunnhilde — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:38:04 +0000

[31] Wow, that’s an interesting perspective, and perhaps valid, but still, do you think Young made that throw advisedly or out of rashness? I’d guess the latter, but perhaps you’re right.