OT- Tigers / Game 2
Don't get me Papa Grande
Mistakes up in the zone are killer. If a P is going to miss it, it has to be low.
Dozier punches a soft line single to right-center, then a long fly by Escobar falls between Dirks and Jackson and game over, Tigers lose.
you managed the bullpen assbackwards. he had benoit face lefties like mauer and morneau (luckily no damage) in the eighth. Then he has coke face two righties in the ninth and loses. coke should have pitched the eighth and benoit or dotel the ninth. this one is on leyland.
righties hit almost .400 off coke last year and well over .300 the year before. he's had decent success against lefties the past two years .260ish and .210ish.
meanwhile lefties hit marginally better of benoit than righties the past two years combined. and righties have his under .200 off dotel the past two years.
bullpen by committee means making the right decisions concerning matchups.
uh, coke came in to face morneau and doumit to end the game monday after benoit pitched to willingham (a righty). yes, coke had a very good 10 IP in the post season last year. but i place much more emphasis on the 200+ IP he's had in relief over his career.
leyland actually played the matchups correctly on monday. he failed today.
RABBLE RABBLE RABBLE UNDEFEATED SEASON RUINED
I can't really watch the Tigers on a daily basis to follow the day-to-day managerial decisions having to do with the batting line-up and bullpen matchups with Leyland. He pisses me off so often that, with baseball, there are too many games for me to get emotionally worked up over his decisions. I will follow all season but not by watching every game closely. I just can't manage the daily ups-and-downs anymore.
Well thats a tough one to swallow. Just keep telling myself we are playing in the final four this weekend!
I know it's only the second game, and I assume they have a plan, but good grief!!!
Closers are never worth the money went bought in free agency.
I guess I have to question why Coke would EVER be the choice to close. He seems like the worst relief pitcher the TIgers have. Last year righties hit almost .400 against him. Batters overall hit .324 with an OBP of .375. How is that closer material? That's closer to AAA than closer IMO.
If you won't pony up to go get a closer, why are you running out a guy who has proven than he can't get anyone out? I get that he had a minimal amount of success in an emergency role during the postseason last year. But the guy has NEVER been anything close to lights out.
If we're just going to throw out guys who have never closed, why not Alburquerque? He's been dominant in the short amount of time that he's been healthy for the Tigers. That's more dominance than Coke has had in his entire career. I know he's a bit wild and that is a problem, but no more of a problem than the fact that Coke throws batting practice.