Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Hammer The Nail, Nats

If John Patterson pitches the way he should've been pitching all along, you've gotta think that Charlie Manuel won't be managing over the weekend, especially after the Manuel Boner in this game. Early in the game, he called for a righty reliever to face Michael Restovich before Restovich was entered into the game by the umpire. So Manny Acta got to send Robert Fick up as a PHer without having to waste Restovich's bat.

And as the way things tend to go when you're a team that decides that having your ace starter be a reliever is a good strategy, Restovich's 13th-inning double set up Felipe Lopez' game-winning sac fly.

Bang! Zoom! We're not even the second worst team in baseball anymore!

posted by Chris Needham at 11:50 PM

19 Comments:

  • Man Manuel made quite the bonehead move and it cost his team dearly. Did you see Zimmerman turn that double play. Impressive stuff. That's also two good starts in a row for Bergmann. Now if Chad Cordero could just close the game.

    By Blogger John, at 4/19/2007 12:00 AM  

  • I can't say anything else with the phrase "Manuel Boner" that wouldn't be perceived as a double entendre. Manuel's move was pure idiocy.

    Don't get used to Myers in the bullpen. It'll be old news next week when he's back in the starting rotation after Manuel is canned.

    Great win for the Nats. They showed a lot heart and determination (lame phrase I know). John's right about the dp turn by Zimm.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 7:36 AM  

  • I guess you're not supposed to worry about your closer when there are not going to be a whole lot of save situations this year anyway, but still . . .

    Cordero looks terrible. Closers are a mystery to me, and obviously I'm not alone. Remember "full pack" Stanhouse in Baltimore?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 8:27 AM  

  • Great Game! Around the top of the thirteenth I began wondering if I'd make the Metro as I texted google for cab #'s between pitches. Does anyone know if they keep metro open a little longer (including connecting trains) when there is a late game?

    The blue line train that left the stadium at 11:35 had a 25 min stop at Farragut west because someone hurled on one of the cars(why this stops a train I'll never know). Seeing as I always yell at fans of the the visiting team who think they can start chants at RFK, this extra long train ride home for the phillies fans in my train car, just added insult to injury.

    By Blogger Dave O'Leary, at 4/19/2007 9:10 AM  

  • Dead correct on the late Charlie Manuel. I wouldn't be surprised if they can him before today's game.

    How many times can you so directly trace a defeat in baseball to a manager's mental mistake?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 9:43 AM  

  • How many times?

    Were you around here the last two years? ;)

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 4/19/2007 9:44 AM  

  • LOL chris, how many times indeed!

    By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 4/19/2007 9:58 AM  

  • Cordero will come around. He'll get his saves, but just like the last two years, he is going to make them interesting.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 10:15 AM  

  • As a baseball newbie since the Nats came to town, can someone 'splain please what Restovich "not entered into the game" means? Like he wasn't yet on the active roster because of the Casto switch? How could he have been able to play at all then? Me no get.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 10:25 AM  

  • Manny sent Michael Restovich (a righty) up to PH against a lefty reliever.

    Before the umpire actually acknowledged the substitution, Charlie Manuel called for a pitching change to bring in a righty, so the Nats never actually used Restovich in that situation, and he was available later in the game.

    If Manuel had done it right, he would've waited until Restovich was subbed into the game, and THEN brought in the reliever. Manny Acta would've sent up Robert Fick instead, but Restovich would be out of the game.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 4/19/2007 10:28 AM  

  • hey anon - restovich was on the active roster or he wouldn't have been an option at all. what folks are referring to is that he had not yet been "announced" as the PH for the pitcher before the phillies (soon to be former) manager made the move for a relief pitcher. since it was a different pitcher, acta was able to
    bring back restovich and replace him with fick b/c restovich had not technically been placed into the game. does that make any sense?

    By Blogger DCPowerGator, at 4/19/2007 10:30 AM  

  • Thanks Bill, yeah, so the pitcher's spot was on deck, Restovich was warming up to hit in it--but before he was officially inserted into the game, the Phils changed pitchers so Manny was able to call Mike back without him being officially "used." Allowing him to hit that double in the 27th inning. Makes sense, yeah.

    So when is someone officially in a game then? When they step into the batter's box? Does someone have to pass a note to the ump or something?

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 10:41 AM  

  • The umpire will point to the player, then point up to the press box to acknowledge a change and mark it down on his lineup card.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 4/19/2007 10:44 AM  

  • I know we all make mistakes, and I've seen managers not make sure that a player has been announced before, but there really isn't any excuse for making a pitching change before an opposing player is announced. All the manager has to do is ask the home plate umpire if a substitute player has been announced before heading to the mound.

    By Blogger jim king, at 4/19/2007 11:36 AM  

  • To be fair to our old friend, I remember that Frank got lucky with incompetent managers at least twice. It's such a simple task for managers; it amazes me that they screw it up.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 4/19/2007 11:38 AM  

  • Usually a manager will wait until the announcement is made from the stadium announcer about who is at-bat as official confirmation before coming in to make the pitching change.

    I had no idea that Manuel was this awful a manager. The Phillies simply have too much talent on the team to be playing this badly. I know much of it is a lack of clutch hitting (a malady that frequently plagues the Nats as well).

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 12:08 PM  

  • Bill James once contended teams should have prospective managers pass a managing simulator before being given the job (just like a pilot). This would seem a remember of that advice!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 12:38 PM  

  • I don't think the simulator time would have helped. Manuel's already managed over 700 major league games. I don't think it's a matter of him not knowing the rules, as much as the snowball effect of when everything else is going wrong you tend to go into vapor lock and make elementary screw-ups.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4/19/2007 1:43 PM  

  • He may be dumb, but he'll kick your butt.

    He's also very slow, that walk to the mound when he took out Moyer today took about 10 minutes.

    By Blogger tadcranky, at 4/19/2007 9:13 PM  

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