Saturday, June 19, 2010

Apology Not Accepted

So Stephen Strasburg apologized for not getting the bunt down with two strikes, on the play where Ian Desmond got caught on a road trip off first base.  Apology not accepted.

If anyone should apologize it's Jim Riggleman.  The old bastard has his pitchers bunt early and often.  Let Strasburg hit away.  The guy smacked the crap out of minor league pitching.  And there was one out!

Is bunting a runner over, giving us ONE chance to get a hit -- and with Nyjer "ECHL Mentality" Morgan really a smart play there?

Riggleman bunts with 1 out way too often.  Drives me batty just about every time.

And then why not double switch someone into the game when Clippard came in?  Looked especially stupid after Clippard chewed through the ChiSox as if he were Strasburg?

And what's up with the moron fans doing the wave?  It started as a way to distract the pitcher and lose his focus.  So not only is it something they'd do at Shea, or whatever the hell dump has replace it, but you're doing it at the wrong time!

Man, nobody did anything right last night.

One more: The Pied Piper?  Seriously?  Give it up.  Unless you're calling yourself a rat.

posted by Chris Needham at 12:17 PM

15 Comments:

  • I was far more irked at the lollygag over to cover first on the first at-bat than the failed bunt. That should have been an easy out, and if he makes it, he probably gives up no runs and gets the win.

    I don't care if he's the greatest pitching talent in history, there are certain times when a pitcher still has to hustle, dammit.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/19/2010 12:23 PM  

  • The wave is done by people who don't know squat about baseball nor do they care about the game. They were there to brag to their friends that they watched Steven Strasburg in person and they were there to stuff their faces with ball park food. I have noticed that the wave is usually started by the ditzes who work for the Nats and are dressed in white skorts and Nationals shirts.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/19/2010 12:48 PM  

  • My favorite was the yutz in the front row in the Nats jersey behind the Sox dugout.

    A few times he'd stand up, turn around, and wave his hands in the annoying 'get loud' arm wave.

    Then what'd he do? Right before the action, he'd sit in his seat and clap.

    That's dedication.

    By Blogger Chris Needham, at 6/19/2010 12:50 PM  

  • The failed bunt, sad to say, is almost expected. Strasburg didn't hit in college. He spent almost no time in AAA and had very few opportunities to sac bunt. Not going to get down on that one at all, and I share your concern about Riggles sacrifice bunting (although not really in that situation given how ugly Strasburg looked in his first at bat).

    The covering of the mound was also a problem, but he may have been worried about finishing his pitch. Yes, it was a mistake, but that should have been a small part of the learning process for a big league pitcher that doesn't see but so much contact. You learn the lesson once and you move on.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/19/2010 1:11 PM  

  • Agreeing with the anonymouse at 12:23- there's no excuse for doing a poor job of fielding, unless you're a huge gawky dude like Randy Johnson. Strasburg doesn't have that excuse. I suggest THOUSAND FUNGO DRILL!

    also also linked at Beltway Baseball.

    By Blogger Wombat-socho, at 6/19/2010 2:44 PM  

  • I was at the game last night and when Strasburg went to bunt, I actually thought of you; and when he struck out and Desmond got picked off, I thought, I'll bet Capitol Punishment's head just exploded. Seriously.

    As for the wave, I've always hated the wave. And you know what else is annoying? The people in front of us who came to see Strasburg pitch and then were wandering in and out of their seats while Strasburg was on the mound!

    By Blogger Mythical Monkey, at 6/19/2010 4:14 PM  

  • Face, the Nats have an overabundance of douchbag fans. When Strasburg isn't pitching the arrive in the 4th inning, leave after the 7th and go back and forth from their seats the rest of the time. It is too bad baseball has to be markets to these idiots.

    I'd rather go back to the days when I was a kid. Games were reglarly attended by 15,000 real baseball fans and there wasn't a simpleminded distraction blaring on the scoreboard between each half inning to entertain the dimwits. Yuck.

    By Anonymous bdrube, at 6/19/2010 8:07 PM  

  • Sad truth is that most of the Nats "fan" base are there to eat. They are fat foodies. Once their bellies are filled, they leave.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 6/19/2010 9:18 PM  

  • My Ferrari's got chintzy leather seats.
    My trophy wife has a zit on her backside.
    My 18-room mansion has peeling paint on one window frame.
    My kid's scholarship to Harvard has some red tape involved.
    My summer vacation in Cannes is only for six weeks this year.
    And Stephen Strasburg didn't get a bunt down.

    My summer is ruined.

    Hey, fellas, let's look at the bigger picture here.

    We ain't paying $15 large for his bat.

    Nuff said.

    By Anonymous Sunshine_Bobby_Carpenter_Is_Too_Pessimistic_for_Me, at 6/19/2010 9:49 PM  

  • @Sunshine Bobby Carpenter:

    THANK YOU. Couldn't have said it better myself.

    The kid has basically said he knows he needs to work on being a better bunter, as well as getting to the bag more quickly when a play needs to be made at first.

    The problem is he's so good, people are going to be looking for any miniscule opportunity to criticize. Those people need to give it a rest.

    By Anonymous Natzzzzzz, at 6/20/2010 1:43 AM  

  • Sunshine/Natzz -- Your responses seem pretty disconnected from Chris' point here. He's criticizing Riggleman's decision, not Strasburg's (ugly as sin) bunt effort.

    I mean, agreee or disagree with that, or if you don't care about it, fine. But to complain about him not appreciating Strasburg enough in comments to a post about the manager's decisionmaking seems a bit off kilter.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 6/20/2010 8:52 AM  

  • @Sam, I may be wrong, but I got the impression Sunshine was referring to the comments, not the post.

    By Anonymous Sec$39.99, at 6/21/2010 2:27 PM  

  • Aaaahh . . . a little reading comprehension deficit on my part. Sorry 'bout that.

    By Blogger Unknown, at 6/21/2010 2:38 PM  

  • Yeah that's what i was referring to also. Chris points are, as usual, spot on. Particularly the SBF dig. I believe the club lets him in the same zip code as Strasburg.

    By Anonymous Natzzzzzz, at 6/21/2010 7:15 PM  

  • I just want to chime in on the observations about the wave, which might be my most hated crowd behavior thing ever. I love it when it's appropriate--up by a ton, our guys at bat, late innings, long game. But some morons think it's for every game. I live in Boston now and go to a fair amount of games at Fenway, where there's a lot of history, a quality team, and supposedly knowledgable fans. EVERY SINGLE GAME people start the wave. And since I sit in the OF bleachers usually, I get to see the 12 failed attempts before it actually works. They did it the other day in a tie game in the 9th. Imbeciles.

    Do we all just have sepia-colored glasses of yesteryear, when gentlemen in hats watched the game and kept score? Or is it really the "gameday experience" crap that Stan K loves so much that caters to non-baseball people? Or, I hope not, is it that Boston's Pink Hat Nation and DC's fairweather interns are terrible fanbases, and I have to move to St. Louis? (I've never seen a game there, is it really different?)

    By Anonymous NatinBeantown, at 6/22/2010 12:06 PM  

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