We do need more hitters, not necessarily long ball, but a little more balance. And being able and willing to play small ball while simultaneously having hitters spread through the order are not mutually exclusive concepts.
No, I meant the change from small to big. Baseball has had this "small ball" mentality since its inception. The last 10-15 years have changed that thinking with advanced analytics like sabermetrics. Very few teams still use small ball and are electing to swing away more. Just because the announcer last night mentioned bunting doesn't mean it was the best course of action, especially with a guaranteed intentional walk for our best power hitter. The announcer must be stuck in the old days, which is pretty common for baseball people.
Well, we did lose the freaking game, so maybe the announcer wasn't as dumb as you paint him.
Did the sac bunt work?
Where they didn't score because they wasted an out. So no, it didn't work.
Taking the bat out of the hands of two of your three best hitters via a bunt and intentional walk was not the correct call. If we had the bottom of the order coming up, I would have understood.
It did work. The runners were moved into scoring position. Who's to say that Reed wouldn't have hit into a double play if he had been given the green light to swing away?
I'm not familiar with the stats this year, but how often has Reed grounded into a double play? He's fast as crap and a lefty, I imagine it doesn't happen often.It did work. The runners were moved into scoring position. Who's to say that Reed wouldn't have hit into a double play if he had been given the green light to swing away?
As far as the people wanting O'Sullivan fired? We have had some outstanding baseball coaches over the years that rarely sniffed Omaha so as disappointing as the season wound up I'll keep backing O'Sullivan. He does need to refine some of his strategy and philosophy, though. I believe he will. Damn, I can't believe I've turned into a pumper.
He may be fast as crap but he's still only about a .250 hitter and I believe he hit into a double play against Coastal in a similar situation. Actually, he was hitting less than .250 when they packed their bags and came home.
