So how badly did Maddon screw the pooch tonight?

Actually, I only say that half-earnestly... let's face it, when your moves
pan out, you look like a genius... when your bullpen yaks up a 7-0
seventh-inning lead, it's almost impossible to not look like an idiot.
That's the nature of the game.

That said...

Why, exactly, did he take Kazmir -- who was absolutely cruising -- out after
6 IP tonight? From what I've seen from Maddon, he's not a conventional
thinker WRT bullpen use. He seems especially likely to ride a hot hand and
despite a 7-0 lead I'd think he'd been around baseball enough to know that
the 7th inning is far too early to go playing Dial-A-Gopherballer with your
bullpen.

Bullpen moves always carry the inherent risk of backfiring because in any
given pen on any given night, there's usually at least one guy who has no
business being on the mound that night. I'd say Balfour was that guy for
Tampa. And that risk is why moves should always be dictated by need in a
game like this -- with a late lead, you step on their necks, slit their
throats, and do everything in your power to squeeze the life from your
opponent. I can't quite see the upside to taking Kazmir out before he'd
shown the move needed to be made.

But that was obviously fluky for Balfour and unfortunate for the Rays. The
problem was what it did to the rest of the pen since the next guy in line
was Wheeler, who, while good this year, was far from great and
Twins fans know just how capable he is of absolutely coughing up a hairball
in a high leverage situation.

That one's gotta sting badly for Tampa. OTOH, now they have 2 chances, with
favorable pitching matchups, to close it out in front of the home crowd. Do
so and everyone will forget about the nightmare Game 5.

brink
- speaking of people feeling like idiots, how do all those Red Sox "fans"
who left in the top of the 7th inning feel right about now?

"brink" wrote in message

> Actually, I only say that half-earnestly... let's face it, when your
> moves
> pan out, you look like a genius... when your bullpen yaks up a 7-0
> seventh-inning lead, it's almost impossible to not look like an idiot.
> That's the nature of the game.
>
> That said...
>
> Why, exactly, did he take Kazmir -- who was absolutely cruising -- out
> after
> 6 IP tonight? From what I've seen from Maddon, he's not a
> conventional
> thinker WRT bullpen use. He seems especially likely to ride a hot
> hand and
> despite a 7-0 lead I'd think he'd been around baseball enough to know
> that
> the 7th inning is far too early to go playing Dial-A-Gopherballer with
> your
> bullpen.
>
> Bullpen moves always carry the inherent risk of backfiring because in
> any
> given pen on any given night, there's usually at least one guy who has
> no
> business being on the mound that night. I'd say Balfour was that guy
> for
> Tampa. And that risk is why moves should always be dictated by need
> in a
> game like this -- with a late lead, you step on their necks, slit
> their
> throats, and do everything in your power to squeeze the life from your
> opponent. I can't quite see the upside to taking Kazmir out before
> he'd
> shown the move needed to be made.
>
> But that was obviously fluky for Balfour and unfortunate for the Rays.
> The
> problem was what it did to the rest of the pen since the next guy in
> line
> was Wheeler, who, while good this year, was far from great and
> Twins fans know just how capable he is of absolutely coughing up a
> hairball
> in a high leverage situation.
>
> That one's gotta sting badly for Tampa. OTOH, now they have 2
> chances, with
> favorable pitching matchups, to close it out in front of the home
> crowd. Do
> so and everyone will forget about the nightmare Game 5.
>
> brink
> - speaking of people feeling like idiots, how do all those Red Sox
> "fans" who left in the top of the 7th inning feel right about now?
Oh come on....it's MUCH MORE fun to win at home!

hang in there AnnE