JIM THOME!!!!!!!!

[BigSqwert]

The Nerdy Baseball Blog I am Apart of.

'Apart' should be two words. And the link is broken.

[BigSqwert]

I'm not one to pick at the little things - heck I was even defending Ozzie for not pinch-hitting for Kotsay in the game you are referring to.

 

I am talking about basic stuff. I am talking about not batting a barely major league player (at this stage in his career) like Mark Kotsay fifth in the damn lineup. I am talking about realizing that if you attempt steals so often your guys are running a 65% success rate, you are probably running them too often. I am talking about not taking the bat out of the hands of hot hitter by bunting every damn time you get someone on base. I am talking about understanding that not every single hitter in baseball hits oppo side pitchers better. I am talking about not pitching a guy like Putz three games in a row when you have fresher arms available in the pen.

 

This is stuff other managers seem to understand just fine, but not Ozzie.

Well stated. And it's things that he continues to do year after year because he's so stubborn and refuses to learn from his mistakes.

[chw42]

'Apart' should be two words. And the link is broken.

 

Fixed it. Link is now working too.

 

I wrote something about Ozzie on there today, if you are interested in reading.

[Buehrlesque]

Gotta agree that swapping out Ditka Ozzie for some retread manager probably won't be any improvement. It'll just make most Sox fans miss Ozzie. The one exception, to me, would be Fredi Gonzalez. I find him intriguing.

[BigSqwert]

Fixed it. Link is now working too.

 

I wrote something about Ozzie on there today, if you are interested in reading.

Heh. Good read.

[Steve9347]

I've enjoyed Ozzie. It's unfortunate that he's always trying to justify his existence by doing dumbass things like hitting Kotsay 5th, leading off Dewayne Wise, calling Jay Marriotti a 'f*****', etc etc.

 

I do think, perhaps, he has run his course. I get what he's doing in that interview about Jim Thome prior to yesterday's game, I do. But come on, when the grand scheme is to do a rotating DH, you need more talent on the roster.

 

Part of this is Kenny's fault. In the end, he's in charge of the roster, and he knew full-well that Mark freaking Kotsay was going to be a key part of this team. We can't even blame the season on Kotsay. Juan Pierre has proved worthless in most situations, Andruw Jones had no business being on a Major League roster this year, etc. etc.

 

In the end, yes, it'd be nice if we could have a manager who cares a bit more about winning and a little less about being in the spotlight. I'm going to go ahead and change my stance here.

 

IF you fire Ozzie, you better be bringing in a tactician and also give Kenny the full control of his roster.

[Balta1701]

We can't even blame the season on Kotsay. Juan Pierre has proved worthless in most situations, Andruw Jones had no business being on a Major League roster this year, etc. etc.

Juan Pierre has a .345 OBP on the season and has stolen bases at better than a 75% clip. That's pretty much what you hope for from an effective leadoff hitter, and that's his game. He's taken more walks/been more patient than expected.

 

Andruw Jones has an OPS+ of 105. Andruw Jones has been an above MLB average run producer at the plate this season. Read that sentence again. Andruw Jones has done everything that could have been asked of him this year. Does his average suck? Yes, but he has made every time he puts the bat on the ball count. Furthermore, he's put up an .869 OPS against left handed pitching. That's as ideal of a platoon partner as you can get. And on top of that, he's at worst been adequate defensively, and at best been well above average.

 

Andruw Jones belongs on this roster and in fact Andruw Jones was an ideal platoon partner if we actually wanted to use the rotating DH effectively by moving guys like Quentin to the DH spot to get them extra rest. The problem has been the lack of production from the LH counterpart, not the lack of production by Jones.

[chw42]

Pierre's recent run has made him a decent contributor to this team. Add on his pretty good defense and he's been serviceable.

[Steve9347]

Juan Pierre has a .345 OBP on the season and has stolen bases at better than a 75% clip. That's pretty much what you hope for from an effective leadoff hitter, and that's his game. He's taken more walks/been more patient than expected.

 

Andruw Jones has an OPS+ of 105. Andruw Jones has been an above MLB average run producer at the plate this season. Read that sentence again. Andruw Jones has done everything that could have been asked of him this year. Does his average suck? Yes, but he has made every time he puts the bat on the ball count. Furthermore, he's put up an .869 OPS against left handed pitching. That's as ideal of a platoon partner as you can get. And on top of that, he's at worst been adequate defensively, and at best been well above average.

 

Andruw Jones belongs on this roster and in fact Andruw Jones was an ideal platoon partner if we actually wanted to use the rotating DH effectively by moving guys like Quentin to the DH spot to get them extra rest. The problem has been the lack of production from the LH counterpart, not the lack of production by Jones.

I wasn't saying Juan Pierre hasn't done what we expected. I'm saying expecting more (ie, an American League, ideal leadoff hitter) like Ozzie has always claimed Pierre could be, was dumb.

 

As for Andruw, consider my ass served.

[2nd_city_saint787]

THAT BALL WAS KILT WAY TO GO SLUGGER JIM, Hes makin waves in the ALC

[Milkman delivers]

At any given time there are 30 managers in baseball. I am pretty confident there are more than 30 people in the baseball world who would be good managers, possessing those skill sets. But of course you won't really know whether or not the guy you hired is one of them, until they actually manage some games. That's the risk you are getting at of course.

 

I just think at this point, its become clear what Ozzie is, and is not, good at. He'd be a fantastic Bench Coach, doing what he does best - keeping all the guys on the same page, marching together, and having the right mindset for the sport. He can also add in some help on defense, which he excelled at and knows quite well. Let him work under a manager who is more of the tactician type.

 

That's exactly what I thought when reading that post.

[greg775]

Just because it's something no manager would ever do doesn't mean it's not the right thing to do to win a game.

 

Managers in all sports tend to be conservative and not go outside of the classic game box...because if they go outside the box and it fails, they get blamed...but if they do what has been done for 75 years and it fails, they won't get blamed because that's what everyone else does.

 

So ... what manager do you want to go outside of the classic game box? LaRussa and his batting the pitcher eighth is really innovative and has really helped them win pennants. I mean because Kotsay is up in the fifth inning and we all hate Kotsay, Oz should do what no manager in baseball would consider ... pinch hitting for a starter halfway through a game. This Kotsay stuff is so old. He goes 3-for-5 the other day with two ribbies and two runs scored and the venom was worse than ever on him even that night.

 

[Leonard Zelig]

This team doesn't look at stats, trends, or anything for that matter. It's all about Ozzie's gut.

Yeah there's only video footage on The Club of Coop in a room with the pitchers going over batter tendencies. That must have been CGI.

[Balta1701]

 

Skanberg FTW.

[witesoxfan]

That horse is priceless

[BigSqwert]

Yeah there's only video footage on The Club of Coop in a room with the pitchers going over batter tendencies. That must have been CGI.

So you’re saying they look at things like Kotsay’s 0 hits against LHP and terrible numbers with RISP and decide to just let him bat anyway with the bases loaded against a lefty….in a critical game? Weird.

 

[Balta1701]

So you’re saying they look at things like Kotsay’s 0 hits against LHP and terrible numbers with RISP and decide to just let him bat anyway with the bases loaded against a lefty….in a critical game? Weird.

That was just CGI.

[BigSqwert]

That was just CGI.

That's some dang good CGI. Even fooled the Twins announcers who were scratching their heads.

[MattZakrowski]

Fixed it. Link is now working too.

 

I wrote something about Ozzie on there today, if you are interested in reading.

 

 

Nice read, and belated congrats on getting the Kotsay article on Fangraphs, BTW.

[Leonard Zelig]

So you’re saying they look at things like Kotsay’s 0 hits against LHP and terrible numbers with RISP and decide to just let him bat anyway with the bases loaded against a lefty….in a critical game? Weird.

I didn't say any of that, your quote was in reference to the pitching staff.

[greg775]

If Kotsay is deemed good enough a player to start the game, you don't bat for him in the fifth inning.

The issue you all have is that he shouldn't be on the team to begin with.

He is on the team and you don't pinch hit for guys that early in the game. If you do, he shouldn't be playing at all.

Some people want to reinvent the game. What if it was the third or fourth inning of a "critical game" and same situation. Pinch hit for Kotsay then??

Just don't play the guy at all. If he's in the lineup, he bats.

Edited August 21, 2010 by greg775

[Balta1701]

If Kotsay is deemed good enough a player to start the game, you don't bat for him in the fifth inning.

The issue you all have is that he shouldn't be on the team to begin with.

He is on the team and you don't pinch hit for guys that early in the game. If you do, he shouldn't be playing at all.

Some people want to reinvent the game. What if it was the third or fourth inning of a "critical game" and same situation. Pinch hit for Kotsay then??

Just don't play the guy at all. If he's in the lineup, he bats.

So, the first mistake is playing the guy. But if you play him, you don't dare do anything about that mistake mid-game? That's just as crazy as playing him in the first place.

[greg775]

So, the first mistake is playing the guy. But if you play him, you don't dare do anything about that mistake mid-game? That's just as crazy as playing him in the first place.

 

No, you don't. Mid game is too early to remove a starter.

You are right. The mistake is playing him in the first place.

[BigSqwert]

No, you don't. Mid game is too early to remove a starter.

You are right. The mistake is playing him in the first place.

Really? Even if said starter is tied for last place in MLB in hitting against LHP? This isn't an all star that was going to be replaced. Kotsay wouldn't make the roster for at least 28 other teams.

[fathom]

No, you don't. Mid game is too early to remove a starter.

You are right. The mistake is playing him in the first place.

 

No, mid game really is not too early to remove a starter. It's the f***ing American League, you don't need a bench full of players for moves later in the game.