Sunday April 19, 2009
The Padres lost today 5-4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in pretty much the same way they have been winning on this road trip. The other team fought back from an early deficit to win late.
The Phillies got down 4-0 early and just kept chipping away. Utley hit a 2 run shot in the 6th after a Luis Rodriguez error to make it 4-2 Padres. The Phillies got another run back on a lead off home run by Jimmy Rollins in the 8th and in the 9th Ryan Howard hit a bloop single to center and Raul Ibanez followed with a blast to RF off the Padres Edwin Moreno.
Moreno was pitching in the save opportunity for the Padres because Heath Bell had pitched and saved the previous 3 games.
That is why you can never take a lead for granted regardless of the size, big or small.
It is also why Bud Black did exactly the right thing bringing in Heath Bell with a 3 run lead last night even though he had pitched the 2 previous games.
One of the oldest tenets in sports is to take care of today's game and get the win now. Let tomorrow take care of itself.
The Padres are still 2-1 on the road against the defending World Series Champion Phillies and 4-2 on this east coast swing to the 2 highest rated teams in the NL to start the season.
The Padres at 9-4 are only a game behind the Dodgers who have been red hot at home.
Showing posts with label Edwin Moreno. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Edwin Moreno. Show all posts
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
For a Former Pitcher, Black Knows Very Little About Pitching
Thursday April 16, 2009
For a manager that was a starting pitcher in the major leagues for so long, Bud Black is sure not acting like he knows anything about pitching.
In just the 3 games in New York there have already been 3 major blunders in the handling of the pitching staff.
1st he left Walter Silva in long after it was obvious to everyone else watching the game that his velocity and control had both abandoned him in the 5th on Monday. Now we find out he is injured. Shouldn't a good manager have noticed at least some of the signs?
On the radio broadcast they were saying he was trying to get Silva to the end of the inning. Well shouldn't Black be trying manage his team and his pitching staff to win the game instead? After all the Padres are not exactly short on relievers right now. Pull the ineffective Silva and put in a reliever. Yes the Padres came back and won that game, but it was despite Black's handling of the pitching, not because he did anything right.
The very next game he leaves a rookie reliever in for a second inning. WHY? The Padres have EIGHT relievers on the team. Relievers ARE generally more effective going just one inning. That is why on every team in the major leagues today there are situational pitchers and guys that only pitch the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. Doesn't he know that? If not, why not? The Padres lost that game because of his inept handling of the staff.
And tonight. After Edwin Moreno gave up a single and a home run and then walked a guy, does Black pull him? Nope. Black allows him to finish the inning out. Again Black got lucky and the next batter hit into a double play, but how long is his luck going to hold out?
A few more like this and I will start calling for his head regardless of the team won-loss record.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the Padres are 7-3 right now. I am still chanting First Place Padres at every chance I get.
I just think maybe the manager needs to contribute to that process, not make it harder. Especially when it comes to handling the pitching staff
I have had my say. Now what do you think?
For a manager that was a starting pitcher in the major leagues for so long, Bud Black is sure not acting like he knows anything about pitching.
In just the 3 games in New York there have already been 3 major blunders in the handling of the pitching staff.
1st he left Walter Silva in long after it was obvious to everyone else watching the game that his velocity and control had both abandoned him in the 5th on Monday. Now we find out he is injured. Shouldn't a good manager have noticed at least some of the signs?
On the radio broadcast they were saying he was trying to get Silva to the end of the inning. Well shouldn't Black be trying manage his team and his pitching staff to win the game instead? After all the Padres are not exactly short on relievers right now. Pull the ineffective Silva and put in a reliever. Yes the Padres came back and won that game, but it was despite Black's handling of the pitching, not because he did anything right.
The very next game he leaves a rookie reliever in for a second inning. WHY? The Padres have EIGHT relievers on the team. Relievers ARE generally more effective going just one inning. That is why on every team in the major leagues today there are situational pitchers and guys that only pitch the 7th, 8th and 9th innings. Doesn't he know that? If not, why not? The Padres lost that game because of his inept handling of the staff.
And tonight. After Edwin Moreno gave up a single and a home run and then walked a guy, does Black pull him? Nope. Black allows him to finish the inning out. Again Black got lucky and the next batter hit into a double play, but how long is his luck going to hold out?
A few more like this and I will start calling for his head regardless of the team won-loss record.
Don't get me wrong, I love the fact that the Padres are 7-3 right now. I am still chanting First Place Padres at every chance I get.
I just think maybe the manager needs to contribute to that process, not make it harder. Especially when it comes to handling the pitching staff
I have had my say. Now what do you think?
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