So the Yankees are back in the World Series, and with their combo of Sabathia and Pettitte against a lineup that turns into Little Leaguers against lefties, they look pretty good to get their first championship of this century. Before we leave the ALCS behind, though, I'd like to take a look at the managerial performances in this one.
Starting with the Angels; I've never exactly been impressed by Mike Scioscia, I've always seen him as a manager who lucked into a 2002 team with a freakishly high BABIP and won a championship against a Giants team consisting of steroidy Barry Bonds (1.381 OPS!!!) and eight scrubs. Since then, he's managed a lot of teams who bunt too much, swing at everything, and scrape by in a lousy division on luck and a solid bullpen. But I've never had too much argument with his in-game management. Tonight, though... hoo boy.
Starting Saunders when clearly Kazmir, Weaver, and Santana were available... eh, what the hell, I'll be generous there. But the final out of the game, he pinch-hit Gary Matthews, Jr. for Mike Napoli. For the second time this series. A quick look at their lines this season:
Napoli: .272/.350/.492
Matthews: .250/.336/.361
One of those is better. By a lot. Like, a lot. And in addition, one of these two men can continue to play catcher into the late (or, perhaps, extra) innings. Furthermore, Napoli never got to hit in the game, because although earlier Scioscia had pulled starting catcher Jeff Mathis for a pinch hitter, it wasn't for Napoli. No, it was for Maicer Izturis, the backup second baseman. Who grounded out, and had to of course leave the game since he doesn't have a fitted catcher's mask and chestplate. Thus, the best-hitting catcher never holds a bat, and the best defensive infielder on the team never gets to hold a glove.
...Which became important in the bottom of the 8th, when the Yanks, their lead down to one run, came up. Santana walked Robby Cano on four pitches, then gave way to Kazmir. Here's where Joe Girardi comes in for the smacking about. Say you're managing the Yankees, who this year hit 244 HR, OPSed .839 as a team, and play in a park which regularly turned pop-ups to right into upper-deck dingers. On the mound, Scott Kazmir, fly-ball pitcher extraordinaire. Swisher up, followed by Cabrera, then the top of the order. Do you trust your hitters to do what they've done all year? Not if you're Joe Girardi. No, you ask Nick Swisher to bunt. Which he does, and due to Howie Kendrick dropping the ball, he even gets the gift base.
Does Girardi appreciate this gift? No! He tells Cabrera to bunt, too. Because Joe Girardi's father once told him, "Joe, real men give their opponents a chance. Only cheaters try to score with nobody out. Make sure you always spot the other guys a couple outs before trying to hit." So Cabrera bunts, and Kazmir decides to throw the ball to a guy three rows behind Kendrick covering first. A run scores, and the Yanks get the insurance, despite Girardi's best efforts to cost them outs for no reason. And he'll of course get praised for playing "gritty smallball" or some shit.
I'm sorry, but unless he had some sort of scouting that told him that the Angels, and Kazmir specifically, truly sucked at fielding bunts, then all Girardi was doing was giving away outs. Which is fucking stupid, no matter what your little league coach tells you. It's one thing to hit a sac fly, it's another to intentionally give away one of your three opportunities per inning to advance a guy who's already on base. That the highly-paid coach of the best offensive attack in baseball doesn't get this (or worse, thinks that bunts are magically more effective once the calendar flips to October) is maddening. So maddening that I must go to bed, and go back to writing politics in the morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment