And It Burns, Burns, Burns...
Gee, that bunt worked out well, didn't it?
Frank managed to wrap his aged and arthritic fingers around the team's throats. Once again, he stifles them, preventing any possibility of the big breakout inning they so desparately need.
Wilkerson leads off the game with a double. Carroll sacrifices him to second. Guillen strikes out. End of threat.
Bunting him from second to third is a senseless play. It only gives you one chance to make the play -- that next batter has to hit the Sac Fly or a grounder. Striking out or popping up means there was no resulting advantage to bunting.
Throw in the fact that this is a team facing what is in essence the Reds' 14th starter. Add in the knowledge that this is a that desparately needs a big inning. And remember that Claudio Vargas (Spanish for torch?) is on the mound, and one run isn't going to cut it. All together, it's ugly strategy.
Vargas stunk. Again. As St. Barry said in his chat, he thinks there was a barge that went by on the River... hopefully connecting to the Mississippi, bringing him right to New Orleans. Claudio, you stink. And, for the third straight start, you're the Lame Duck.
We should be the ones celebrating today--having won a series from the Reds. Instead, our tail is jammed so far between our legs, it's going to be difficult to egest.
We move on to St. Louis, and get to see what the best team in the League looks like. Notice how when their hitters put the ball in play, they're sometimes able to go past first base. Notice how when there are runners on second and third, how they get hits to drive the runners in. And notice how sometimes their batters stand at the plate, waiting for pitches to miss before walking down to first base. Those are all things lacking on this team today.
We're about to get exposed.
One win in St. Louis will be a moral victory. Just one.
But, that's going to require some good pitching. And some timely hitting.
It's been ages since we've seen that.
Frank managed to wrap his aged and arthritic fingers around the team's throats. Once again, he stifles them, preventing any possibility of the big breakout inning they so desparately need.
Wilkerson leads off the game with a double. Carroll sacrifices him to second. Guillen strikes out. End of threat.
Bunting him from second to third is a senseless play. It only gives you one chance to make the play -- that next batter has to hit the Sac Fly or a grounder. Striking out or popping up means there was no resulting advantage to bunting.
Throw in the fact that this is a team facing what is in essence the Reds' 14th starter. Add in the knowledge that this is a that desparately needs a big inning. And remember that Claudio Vargas (Spanish for torch?) is on the mound, and one run isn't going to cut it. All together, it's ugly strategy.
Vargas stunk. Again. As St. Barry said in his chat, he thinks there was a barge that went by on the River... hopefully connecting to the Mississippi, bringing him right to New Orleans. Claudio, you stink. And, for the third straight start, you're the Lame Duck.
We should be the ones celebrating today--having won a series from the Reds. Instead, our tail is jammed so far between our legs, it's going to be difficult to egest.
We move on to St. Louis, and get to see what the best team in the League looks like. Notice how when their hitters put the ball in play, they're sometimes able to go past first base. Notice how when there are runners on second and third, how they get hits to drive the runners in. And notice how sometimes their batters stand at the plate, waiting for pitches to miss before walking down to first base. Those are all things lacking on this team today.
We're about to get exposed.
One win in St. Louis will be a moral victory. Just one.
But, that's going to require some good pitching. And some timely hitting.
It's been ages since we've seen that.
posted by Chris Needham at
4:09 PM
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