The #2 and #5 spots in the lineup...

[bmags]

and you'd have lost the game.

[iamshack]

Kotsay PH for Konerko? Seriously? Kotsay was grounding out to infielders on things that should have been double plays like he'd been practicing it all spring.

I actually would have liked to pinch hit for Konerko there too...Konerko is now 2-11 against Lewis, although he did hit that change-up pretty hard right at Sizemore.

 

The way I see it is if we are going to pay guys like Kotsay 1.2 million or whatever to be solid bench players, we need to utilize them as such, regardless of whether it is a move that takes a guy like Pauly out of the game or not. I'd much rather see Kotsay in that situation than starting 2-3 times a week.

[iamshack]

Any time you have a left-handed pitcher out there, it gets tricky. Like Ranger said, Perez has a balkish-type move that doesn't get called. You really want to risk getting picked off?

 

I was fine with Beckham bunting both times, given the circumstances.

For the most part, unless the move is really bad, you're just guessing on first move against a lefty.

 

IMHO, and as someone else pointed out, I'd have taken the risk. If he successfully steals, you can put the bunt down then and have the go-ahead runner on third with 1 out for Q. If he gets picked off or thrown out, than hey, you let Beckham swing away. The guy is a doubles machine. You may end up with the same situation as you were trying to get to in the first place.

[Balta1701]

I actually would have liked to pinch hit for Konerko there too...Konerko is now 2-11 against Lewis, although he did hit that change-up pretty hard right at Sizemore.

 

The way I see it is if we are going to pay guys like Kotsay 1.2 million or whatever to be solid bench players, we need to utilize them as such, regardless of whether it is a move that takes a guy like Pauly out of the game or not. I'd much rather see Kotsay in that situation than starting 2-3 times a week.

To me, using Kotsay as an effective bench player means that Konerko plays at DH at least 2 times per week.

[hammerhead johnson]

and you'd have lost the game.

 

A runner on 2B with two outs to work with, and all you need is a single. It's a chance worth taking. Maybe they walk Quentin, but Konerko is unbelievably hot at the moment.

 

They've been doing this since the 1860s. It's tried and true, yo.

[hammerhead johnson]

IMHO, and as someone else pointed out, I'd have taken the risk. If he successfully steals, you can put the bunt down then and have the go-ahead runner on third with 1 out for Q. If he gets picked off or thrown out, than hey, you let Beckham swing away. The guy is a doubles machine. You may end up with the same situation as you were trying to get to in the first place.

 

I guess I'm just really conservative, because all I can think about is the worst case scenario where the baserunner gets thrown out. I'd much rather just bunt him over.

[bmags]

I guess I'm just really conservative, because all I can think about is the worst case scenario where the baserunner gets thrown out. I'd much rather just bunt him over.

 

in which case you have 1 out with 3 of your best hitters coming up, instead of 1 out, man on second and first, with one of your best hitters who is also a DP machine, and then a not so good hitter. Yeah.

[hammerhead johnson]

in which case you have 1 out with 3 of your best hitters coming up, instead of 1 out, man on second and first, with one of your best hitters who is also a DP machine, and then a not so good hitter. Yeah.

 

But when you need one run, the highest percentage move is still to sacrifice and get the runner into scoring position with less than two outs. This will never change.

[Rowand44]

A runner on 2B with two outs to work with, and all you need is a single. It's a chance worth taking. Maybe they walk Quentin, but Konerko is unbelievably hot at the moment.

Define unbelievably hot because he had 2 good games before being 0 for 3 at that point yesterday in the 9th inning.

 

But when you need one run, the highest percentage move is still to sacrifice and get the runner into scoring position with less than two outs. This will never change.

Not when you're taking the bats out of your two best hitters hands.

[bmags]

This is so stupid, i can't believe we are arguing sacrificing beckham twice in the late innings as a good move.

[Balta1701]

Not when you're taking the bats out of your two best hitters hands.

Or if the guy at 1b can steal 2b at a high success rate.

[BigSqwert]

This is so stupid, i can't believe we are arguing sacrificing beckham twice in the late innings as a good move.

No kidding. Only a buffoon with no knowledge of who was on first, who was at the plate, and who was up next would make the safe call and go with the bunt. Why is Ozzie even there? They could just use an iPad in the dugout and punch in the game situation into some generic baseball app to tell them to bunt.

[iamshack]

No kidding. Only a buffoon with no knowledge of who was on first, who was at the plate, and who was up next would make the safe call and go with the bunt. Why is Ozzie even there? They could just use an iPad in the dugout and punch in the game situation into some generic baseball app to tell them to bunt.

Oh how you make me laugh...

[hammerhead johnson]

This is so stupid, i can't believe we are arguing sacrificing beckham twice in the late innings as a good move.

 

I already stated that I'd have Beckham hitting third, but since he was in the #2 slot when the leadoff hitter had reached first, it was the right move based on the circumstances.

 

If they walk Quentin, that gives Konerko or Jones an opportunity to get a single, and much stranger things have occurred, correct?

[BigSqwert]

Oh how you make me laugh...

That wasn't an iPad dig btw.

[South Side Fireworks Man]

The real problem is that the Sox have a weak lineup. Having your number two hitter bunt isn't necessarily a bad idea, but what really sucks is when your number two hitter happens to also be one of your best hitters in the lineup and the rest of your lineup is short on legit RBI men. It sucks to take the bat out of one of your best hitters in a game situation like that.

 

And it also sucks that the guy who is batting leadoff not because of a high OBP history nor because he is an above average hitter but solely because he's supposed to be a base-stealer, can't be relied upon to steal a base in two consecutive crucial situations like that.

 

But hey, this is the lineup/roster Ozzie wanted. So let him deal with it and take the blame when his decisions don't work out.

[hammerhead johnson]

Why is Ozzie even there?

 

Trust me when I say that he is at least a thousand times the baseball man that you could ever be. The fool is the one who is delusional enough to think that he'd have done a better job, given the circumstances.

 

[hammerhead johnson]

Having your number two hitter bunt isn't necessarily a bad idea, but what really sucks is when your number two hitter happens to also be one of your best hitters in the lineup and the rest of your lineup is short on legit RBI men. It sucks to take the bat out of one of your best hitters in a game situation like that.

 

Agreed, but hey, that's just how it happened to unfold.

[BigSqwert]

Trust me when I say that he is at least a thousand times the baseball man that you could ever be.

 

I wasn't trying to make the case that I'm a better baseball guy than he is. He is a lousy manager in the grand scheme of things IMO.

[hammerhead johnson]

Or if the guy at 1b can steal 2b at a high success rate.

 

We already covered this, though. Left-handed pitcher with a balkish move to first that doesn't get called. I'd have been hesitant to steal as well.

 

[bmags]

ahh, the defer to management because they have jobs in management and we don't so they must always be right school of thought. Brilliant.

 

Terry Bevington, brilliant baseball mind. He was a manager, you know!

[bmags]

We already covered this, though. Left-handed pitcher with a balkish move to first that doesn't get called. I'd have been hesitant to steal as well.

 

but not hesitant to have your best hitter bunt because you've seen some people do it before in the same situation so it's fine.

[Balta1701]

We already covered this, though. Left-handed pitcher with a balkish move to first that doesn't get called. I'd have been hesitant to steal as well.

I understand hesitation, but I just want to put it this way: if Juan Pierre can't steal 2nd base in at least 1 of those 2 spots, then I want Ely back.

[bmags]

He can either sprint to second, or jog back to the bus.

[hammerhead johnson]

but not hesitant to have your best hitter bunt because you've seen some people do it before in the same situation so it's fine.

 

Gordon Beckham is a .270-to-.280 hitter until further notice. People already have him in the hall of fame, for some odd reason.

 

It is also not beyond the realm of possibility for Konerko or Andruw Jones to get a base bit.