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Speaking of wrong moves how does Bowman still have a spot in the bullpen? He has been terrible. I can think of 4 or 5 guys in Memphis I would rather see on the mound than him.
There is a bunch that goes into roster moves and guys getting called up. Options the player may have left, contractual stuff like having a split contract, starting someone’s arbitration clock, on and on. 99% of the time it isn’t as easy as someone isn’t doing well send him down and call up someone else.
I get that it is the Cubs. But a divisional game is a divisional game. And that 1 win is great, but at what cost? It isn’t a game 7, not a must win, not an all hands on deck. Would you agree if he had pulled the starter against the Cubs if he gave up 2 runs in the first inning of the game because it’s the Cubs? Time and place.
A lot of good points by everyone. It is the mindset and use of the bullpen. 4 innings in 5 days even as a reliever is a “have to” situation. Had tui who was off dl and fresh and Gregson. Might just be obvious to me but there was options and it wasn’t a “have to” situation. And yes the starter getting into the 6, 7, 8th innings would make Mathenys job easier but the #1 thing any NL manager has to prioritize is managing the bullpen, and he is not doing that very well. Long season, and have to use everyone that is available, sometimes that means using someone in a game who you wouldn’t normally think would get the job done in order to win. Potential Consequences just completely outweigh 1 win in May even if it was the cubbies. Because guess what got them the next day and the next day and 25 or so more times this year.
I’m not sold on all these “new” ways of going about things. Or new strategies about managing. Not sure yet how bad statistics are to baseball. There are fundamentals, maybe different tweaks, like hitters. Craig Counsil, Tony Bautista had outrageous ways of starting their swings but when you stop their swings frame by frame same fundamentals as everyone. Home runs up, strikeouts up, productive outs gone, averages dropping. If I was in the minor leagues I would see that I only have a chance right now to be a big leaguer if I put the ball over the wall 25 times a year. I get that aspect. But is this new way of things producing championships? I’m not sure. The Astros hit more homeruns than any other team last year but they also had highest batting avg as a team. Solid pitching. Solid defense. And avoided injuries. I guess time will tell. Thoughts??
See there is where I differ in opinion. Spare part? 3 million dollar spare part who happens to be the closer at the moment. Spare part who is a big part of why they are in first place at the moment. I guarantee both Matheny and Norris would say the complete opposite actually. I think Matheny knows he shouldn’t have put him in that situation. Cause he is the CLOSER. You don’t put your closer, in a non closing situation at home. Sure on the road, bring him in a tied game, of course that is if he hasn’t pitched the previous 3 days and half of the games so far this year, and especially at 33. Matheny put him in that game because it was a game he wanted to win. BUT May against anyone is May. And because he put him in, because he wanted to win the game, that says more about how Matheny doesn’t consider Norris a spare part. Handling a player like that, wanting to win that game, he’d do that to Hicks, Holland if he ever comes around. It’s the mind set. What keeps teams that should be contenders from being contenders or winning it all….injuries. Some are unavoidable. Some aren’t. Time will tell how this particular situation impacts the rest of th season. But for me, I know if things end in dissapointment this would be a move I’d go back and look at as a turning point possibly. Possibly losing what you call a “spare part” was about the only sure thing in the back end of the bullpen right now. Maybe not 2 months from now, if a whole bunch of ifs and could bes pan out, but I’d rather have the person getting it done right now than the person who everyone hopes will be getting it done.
Yes yes and yes. Exactly the point. Playoff position, or no playoffs at all. Those happen now that is why you do not put players in jeopardy by doing things out of the ordinary. Post season sure send your closer out there in a tied game for a 4th day in a row cause your there. Now all it can do is keep you from getting there. What happens if today or tomorrow there are a couple blown saves cause the guy who is supposed to close those games, the guy who is 7 for 7 in saves isn’t available? Or worse is out a month? The cons in this case completely outweigh the pros. No one is bashing anyone. He was wrong. Flat out. Bad managing of a situation. Period.
