Comments on: Banny Log (Delayed)

By: Sal

Sal — Tue, 27 May 2008 16:10:01 +0000

I will admit that I can’t get past Pena’s offensive issues to view his defense objectively. However, regardless of whether he gets to the ground balls in Fenway, you never hear anybody talk about the plays he does NOT make.

In Toronto, he could have kept us in the game by taking a catcher’s throw and tagging out a runner. I’ll bet Callaspo would have made that play and it would have kept us from being down 4-0.

He had the sliding grab and throw out from his knees to “save” a game at the K against Toronto. However, he dropped a double play ball earlier in the game that allowed a run to score. So, at best his +/- on the day was zero.

He has peeled off on numerous pop ups this year in which he did not get charged an error. He is the shortstop and is supposed to take charge on those.

His defense is overrated.

By: Zach

Zach — Mon, 26 May 2008 19:17:51 +0000

I’m told that the math problem in Good Will Hunting is actually pretty elementary. Of course, since being told this I’ve never had the opportunity to see what’s written on the blackboard.*

*It seems to me that the first fifteen minutes of movies in the basic cable rotation have to be the most under-viewed relative to their parent movie. I mean, you would never actually *rent* Good Will Hunting — two or three stations might start playing it in the time it takes to drive to the store. But that in turn means that when you do see the movie, you’re likely to catch it halfway through. Thus, it may take a long time before I actually see that blackboard scene.

By: Ian

Ian — Sun, 25 May 2008 20:06:25 +0000

Where’s Tom Seaver on the poll?

By: Thomas

Thomas — Sun, 25 May 2008 16:46:21 +0000

I’m with Paul White. Did you experience the North End, Joe?

By: Old Man Duggan

Old Man Duggan — Sun, 25 May 2008 03:48:44 +0000

Ron,

I think it’s a little premature to jump on the “the next Tony Muser” train.

By: john Liotta

john Liotta — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:47:02 +0000

A couple of responses:
1- I felt like your capital letters did not do justice to your message, Joe. Please lean on your friend Pat Jordan and include some swear words and your rant will ring a little truer.
2- The Sox are on some kind of roll, huh? World Series titles, no-nos, etc. The margin of error playing there is getting much smaller, especially for a team like the Royals.
3- We are just about a third of the way through the season and a number of questions have been answered about the Royals new manager. Will let the young pitchers do their thing, even if they fail? Yup. Does he know his players? Nope. Can the Royals lineup function as the manager has designed thus far? eh?!?
4- There are a few players on the team now that could stand a little patience at the plate, a few that could stand to be more aggressive and at least two that could use a ride to the minors.

By: Ron

Ron — Sun, 25 May 2008 01:24:47 +0000

Its simple. Trey Hillman is a terrible manager and needs to go. He doesn’t have what it takes to manage in the big leagues. He should have never been hired, and he’s in danger of going down in history as the “next Tony Muser”.

And that’s not a compliment.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 24 May 2008 19:03:51 +0000

Justin makes a good point, and I’d like to suggest another way that Manny isn’t being Manny lately:

He’s running out grounders!

I’m serious. I’ve got MLB.tv now and have watched more Sox games than ever before, and every time that Manny has bounced out, he comes into the screen hustling down the line (OK, not Pedroia hustling but not Manny loafing either).

By: Justin

Justin — Sat, 24 May 2008 18:18:32 +0000

Another thing that was weird about the IBB to Manny is that he’s not being Manny right now. He’s been hitting like complete crap ever since they put that “497″ sign up on top of the wall. He’s got 2 home runs since April 19th, and none at Fenway Park. Even without the righty/lefty matchup stuff, you have to figure that Manny, right then, at that moment, was an easier out than Lowell.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:22:01 +0000

I, too, have been wondering about Hillman’s strategic mind. I try to temper my opinions with the facts that I’m not in the dugout, don’t talk with the GM or McClure very often and haven’t had lots of conversations with Trey, either. …But, Trey was billed as a manager with a sabermetric mind who loved fundamentals and gritty play and so far I don’t think that’s come thru.

I decided to stopped listening to the games after the no-hitter, just taking a little break, so maybe there’s a few details I’m missing, but…

Why in the wouldn’t you leave Grud in the game if you saw a no-no developing? I know he made an error, but he’s not going to be (as?) shaken by a no-no and he does have the best chance of anyone on the team (and AL) of breaking up a no hitter.

Wouldn’t you see Banny’s tired and not let him pitch the sixth. I know he put up a couple of zeros in the fourth and fifth, but if he’s already over 100 pitches (I’m not a huge pitch count fan, FYI) and our brilliant leader can tell from the stands he’s pooped, why would the manager send him back out?

Why, why don’t they tell Tony not to swing at the first pitch? I know that he doesn’t always, but there are several that stick out in my mind where he hacks at the first one. There was an interview a while back where he said he doesn’t really look at stats. IMHO, management should tell him that they are, so he needs to try walking more or at least look at more than two pitches before getting himself out.

I also wonder if Teahen’s not hitting well because he’s being pressured out of his game. Let the man get on base and hit doubles. He’s never been a masher, so just let him do what he’s good at.

Again, I have absolutely no personal contact with anyone on the Royals, so maybe some of this is unjustified, but on the other hand, if I can see it over the radio, should management notice it as well?