How did I miss that there was game last night??? I thought they had it off.
But more importantly…. Why the hell was Hernandez throwing in a tie game????
But more importantly…. Why the hell was Hernandez throwing in a tie game????
Why is he even on the team or the 40? Guy is a walking disaster.How did I miss that there was game last night??? I thought they had it off.
But more importantly…. Why the hell was Hernandez throwing in a tie game????
MLB: 32.6% career K%, 17.2% BB%He's a Robles clone from the left side; a hard thrower who can't hit the broadside of a barn that gets used by Cora in situations he's not fit for. If he remains on the roster moments such as last night will continue to repeat. The guy had 31 walks in 40 innings last year! He has a career 1.6 WHIP. You can't keep a guy like this on the MLB roster even with a 14k/9ip career mark. 18 walks in 25 IP at AAA this year... wtf.
I didn't see the game, as mentioned, but if Cora is only going to utilize the strength of the pen with a lead it's going to be bad. I understand needing to hold back a "closer"- at times- but Whitlock, to me, would have been ideal in that situation.Why is he even on the team or the 40? Guy is a walking disaster.
I missed the game last night but before Wednesday's game, Cora was saying he was hoping to get a bunch of innings out of Hill and Bello to give the pen some rest. That obviously didn't happen with Hill getting hit around and Bello getting hurt. It's entirely possible that he was trying to accomplish the same last night by going first to his freshest arms once Pivetta was done.I didn't see the game, as mentioned, but if Cora is only going to utilize the strength of the pen with a lead it's going to be bad. I understand needing to hold back a "closer"- at times- but Whitlock, to me, would have been ideal in that situation.
I guess... one positive.... Barnes looked good (at least in the box score), albeit against a depleted Royals team.
What are they doing even losing against the Royals right now?!??!!?
I didn't follow last night. What happened to Bello?I missed the game last night but before Wednesday's game, Cora was saying he was hoping to get a bunch of innings out of Hill and Bello to give the pen some rest. That obviously didn't happen with Hill getting hit around and Bello getting hurt. It's entirely possible that he was trying to accomplish the same last night by going first to his freshest arms once Pivetta was done.
Groin strain. Left the game, went on the IL.I didn't follow last night. What happened to Bello?
GGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR.....Groin strain. Left the game, went on the IL.
But wasn't this the perfect situation for Whitlock? He hasn't pitched since Sunday, the Sox just clawed their way back to tie the game, seems like an ideal time to use him for 2 innings and try to grab the game. To me, this is exactly the situation that you are resting him for.I do think the restrictions on Whitlock makes the team really hesitant to use him in situations like this because then he’s out of commission for a day or two. That leads to being careful with Schreiber too, since he’s the guy you can use most days, and then Houck is usually just sitting around waiting for a save chance.
A couple weeks ago, Bloom said the team was looking to add two RH relievers, and they ended up with none.
I agree. But I think they are probably overly cautious, which then leads to trying to steal a game without using him. Then suddenly you are losing and have to weigh using him, or just waiting until the next day and hope you have a better spot. Then eventually you have to use him to get him some work, no matter what, without knowing what’s gonna happen the next day. Ultimately I think the restrictions on him make it really difficult to use him optimally- made harder since the rest of the pen isn’t great.But wasn't this the perfect situation for Whitlock? He hasn't pitched since Sunday, the Sox just clawed their way back to tie the game, seems like an ideal time to use him for 2 innings and try to grab the game. To me, this is exactly the situation that you are resting him for.
Yeah... and it still would likely preserve Schreiber and Houck for the today's game if Cora REALLY needed to hold them until there was a lead.But wasn't this the perfect situation for Whitlock? He hasn't pitched since Sunday, the Sox just clawed their way back to tie the game, seems like an ideal time to use him for 2 innings and try to grab the game. To me, this is exactly the situation that you are resting him for.
Exactly my thoughts as well... and again it goes back to the urgency thing. Win the winnable games. Tomorrow's game might not need Whitlock or Schreiber to pitch because it's a blowout.But wasn't this the perfect situation for Whitlock? He hasn't pitched since Sunday, the Sox just clawed their way back to tie the game, seems like an ideal time to use him for 2 innings and try to grab the game. To me, this is exactly the situation that you are resting him for.
I agree with this. I didn't even turn the game on until it was tied. And when I saw Whitlock warming, I figured it was his game. And even if Hernandez starting the inning for the LHHs was defensible (barely, IMO), facing Perez was considerably less so. Oddly, Whitlock is about the only guy in the bullpen who *isn't* a little crispy right now.But wasn't this the perfect situation for Whitlock? He hasn't pitched since Sunday, the Sox just clawed their way back to tie the game, seems like an ideal time to use him for 2 innings and try to grab the game. To me, this is exactly the situation that you are resting him for.
He reminds me of Franklin Morales. Hard throwing lefty with very questionable control.He's a Robles clone from the left side; a hard thrower who can't hit the broadside of a barn that gets used by Cora in situations he's not fit for. If he remains on the roster moments such as last night will continue to repeat. The guy had 31 walks in 40 innings last year! He has a career 1.6 WHIP. You can't keep a guy like this on the MLB roster even with a 14k/9ip career mark. 18 walks in 25 IP at AAA this year... wtf.
Just wanted to add this here. It's amazing that Cora went to a worse version of the dear departed diekman. To reiterate, I thought he was done with the team at the end of last season.Darwinzon is a tragic misstep in middle relief evolution. His soul was snatched as soon a Stanton left earth on him for the grand slam late last year. Frankly, I was a little surprised they didn't cut ties with him altogether in the off-season. I mean, he walks the house, home run prone and I seem to remember him with much more velo than this. I mean, Jason Castro crushed him in the ALCS for god's sake...
Dude will never put it together. He's never been able to throw enough strikes, and when he does, dudes smoke him.
I mean yes he knows more than us, but did he really need to see any more from Darwinzon? He has struggled since last year. He walked 31 batters in 40 innings last year and has been nothing short of awful this year. Did we really need to leave him in to face Perez after he gave up multiple hits and walked the leadoff hitter to see he didn't have what it takes... I don't think so. YMMV...Alex Cora is not Ozzie Guillén, so any notions that he's trying to send a message to the front office are probably extremely farfetched. It's more likely that he sees that they have an outside shot at the playoffs and wants to see who he can lean on in tight spots if the usual guys aren't available, as may happen down the stretch or in any postseason games they may happen to play. And if they don't make it, which I'm sure he's realistic about the possibility of that being the result, he's taking stock of what he might have next year. Using Hernández was probably a calculated risk that didn't pay off. It'll be useful information if they have to judge his worth on the roster with the crunch coming up. If he continues to fail, he'll be gone at some point and someone more deserving will get his spot, and that's a good thing, even if it is due to a shitty result in the game.
Very few managers actually bench players these days. These are the days of players' managers, not Billy Martin and Earl Weaver. I say this as someone who has never been much of a Cora fan, but I can't really put too much of this on him specifically.And I in my opinion that's his biggest flaw as a manager. He uses guys who have no business being in the situation they are in because they are an option available to him. Additionally I think he refuses to bench guys for bad/lazy plays. There is very little accountability aside from the usual, these guys are professionals stuff. If you do something incredibly lazy/stupid you should be benched. Like Duran should have been...
This, and in order to bench a guy, you actually need to have positional depth.Very few managers actually bench players these days. These are the days of players' managers, not Billy Martin and Earl Weaver. I say this as someone who has never been much of a Cora fan, but I can't really put too much of this on him specifically.
I think that's part of it, but I don't think it's exclusive to him or his utility role as a player. It's the way the game works these days. No team runs the same lineup 150+ times a year anymore. Every player on the roster has a role to play.Part of me wonders if he acts that way because he was only ever a utility player in his career and knows that even the 26th man on the team can be a major contributor if given a chance, but maybe not every time out.
But that's kind of the point. With a 6 run lead, you have a lot more flexibility regarding who to pitch. That is a decent spot to try Hernandez, not in a tie game in the 7th. Big Fudge has generally been pretty good, so he can be used is all sorts of situations, although with a relatively short leash if he's wild, like last night....and then last night it was Davis' turn to suck, although I think most of us would have preferred seeing Davis in the same spot on Thursday. Good thing it was a large lead.