Balta1701

1. While a substantial portion of the blame is on the players, that does not mean that none is on the manager when he makes calls that are just mistakes. "The players should have done better" does not just excuse the manager when he puts a player in position to fail and the player fails, which is exactly what happened. 2. This thread is about the manager. If you don't want to talk about the manager and want to talk about a struggling player - great, create a discussion thread on it. That does not deflect from the topic of this thread. If Hendricks comes in and blows last night's game, u think there'd be a thread on what's wrong with Hendricks and whether that signing already looks like a problem? I bet there would be. Hell I might create it! 3. It should be far easier to change the behavior of a manager than to change the behavior of a player. Nick Madrigal cannot suddenly become good at defense. Tony LaRussa can suddenly start giving his best pitchers the chance to pitch against the heart of a team's lineup. Tony LaRussa can also be replaced more easily and more cheaply than most players. 4. Tony LaRussa should absolutely get extra scrutiny. He is a first year manager, so we are also evaluating the decision making that brought him in literally a few months ago so his failures reflect directly on the people who hired him. Furthermore, we have to sit there repeatedly in games, and even in this thread already, hearing how Tony LaRussa will make better decisions in-game than Renteria and how he was the "most revolutionary manager in the game's history" (Aroid, last night). If that is the standard we have to hear about, then that is the standard we should use to evaluate him.

Well, first of all, Iglesias seems like a really bad matchup for Vaughn. Iglesias worked over Abreu with offspeed stuff yesterday in the 8th with offspeed stuff at the bottom of the zone, and Vaughn was absolutely flailing at those same pitches on Saturday. I guess you could use Collins to PH for Hamilton and then put Vaughn out in LF, but that does leave only Lamb on the bench afterwards - no one else, so Collins better have done some damage. You really didn't want to PH for Leury unless you had to because moving Moncada or Madrigal to SS and putting Lamb in - you really can't hide a guy out of position at shortstop very easily.

I do worry that some of the hard hit balls in the 2nd-4th innings that went to the warning track will go off or over the walls in other ballparks or at other times of the year. The 3Ks and 3BBs in 4.2 innings are both not particularly good. But, his best 2 at bats of the day were Trout and Rendon in the 5th, as you say.

So whenever there is an update on Anderson, good or bad, stick it in here. Hopefully this thread is shorter than our last injury thread and contains fewer funeral images.

If you would like to make a thread about the pitch calling, that is...totally appropriate! That could be on the pitching coach prepping those guys for the game also. That Tony LaRussa is getting called out for his moves doesn’t mean no one else made mistakes. It also...doesn’t excuse them.

The problem is you’re right it’s not irrational- it’s just the managing style from the 2000s. Save your best reliever for innings that turn out to not come was how things were handled then. Put your best players out there in situations that are high leverage and if they can’t hold like Thursday, that’s Madrigal’s fault. Joe Maddon’s moves yesterday were confusing. He left Ohtani in when he was clearly gassed, and that turned into walks that turned into runs. But he got Iglesias into the game, and even though he gave up a run and Maddon asked a lot of him, he won the game. Managing in the 2020s just beat managing in the 2000s. Twice.

Aaron Bummer on Saturday - DNP/CD. Liam Hendricks on Sunday - DNP/CD.

If he’s only day to day they won’t IL him. But i wouldn’t want to play him a couple days even if he’s feeling ok just to make sure he doesn’t aggravate it.

Is that what they were doing when LaRussa left them in the pen?

Might have to do so with Leury at SS.

0 for 18 was men on base. 0 for 10 with RISP I think. Maybe 0/11?

$50 million reliever warms up in the 8th. Don’t get the lead. Ruiz comes out for the 9th. Hendricks sits down. Ruiz gives up a hit. LaRussa tells Foster to warm up as quick as he can, wastes time with 2 mound meetings to give him a few pitches. Foster does retire Trout! But then gets wild, walks Rendon, falls behind Walsh. Walsh destroys a ball. Bullpen has lost 3 games this series in the 8-9th inning. Best reliever on the team? I hope he got a good view of the home run from his chair. At least he’s rested for a save situation!

I hope you warmed up well Liam!!!!!

Except now Foster is getting wild.

Lol and LaRussa now has to buy time for Foster because he wasn’t smart enough to have his backup plan ready when Ruiz went back out there!

Nope, just Madrigal.

Broadcast said Hendricks was in and I’m like “ok I like this since Trout is up”. Then it turned out even the announcers were surprised that Ruiz stayed in. Gotta have someone to close in case Trout doesn’t win this.

1 exeption.

Abreu has been in between all day. Behind on fastballs and out ahead on anything offspeed.

Took a page out of our book there.

It’s unpopular for a reason, ARod.

Well Madrigals OBP is finally higher than his BA.

Well here’s a Ruiz sighting.

Baffling. I got nothing.