After 55 years of wź¦atching, studying and learning the practical applications and approaches to baseball, Iāve no idea what it is that Iām now watching.
Iām better suited to explain trigonometry, on which my final grade āin high school was, āSee Me.ā
Einsteinās explanation of insanity now rules big league mš¹anagersā pitching decisions.
Itās Saturday night and on FOX Yankee rļ·ŗeliever Chad Green is doiź¦ng just fine. In 1 Ā²/ā innings he allowed one hit and no walks ā on just 19 pitches. And the Yanks led, 6-3.
But itās the eighth inning. Hey, kids, thatās Dellin Betancesā inning! Thatās right, jšust plug him in š¼then hit the āOnā button, batteries occasionally included.
So out went Green, no doubt exhausted after 19 pitches and, at 26, nearing retirement. And Betances, as per Joe Girardiās incessant, fiction-filled ābookā of pre-fab mystical mandates, was beaten like an old range ball; Yš“anks lose, 7-6. Insane.
Over and over, again and again. Itās insane.
Saturday on SNY, as Mets reliever Erik Goeddel was throwinš g 32 pitches and the Mets were about to lose a 3-2 lead to the 26-53 Phillies, Gary Cohen said, āI donāt know how far they can go with Goeddel; he went an inning and two-thirds šin his last outing.ā
OK, bāut why did Goeddel replace starter Zack Wheeler, with two out in the fourth, to pitch to Phils starter Jeremy Hellickson, a .107 batter?
Wheeler hadnāt been fabulous, but allowed only two hits on 82 piš tches. Was he so gassed or his physical condition so perilous that Terry Collins couldnāt have had him pitch to a .107-batting pitcher with two out in the fourth?
Hellicksź¦æon grounded out on three pitcš”hes, then Goeddell, in the fifth, threw a whole lot more, allowing two hits, a walk and an earned run.
Friday night on YES, another jolt to the wilting better senses, although š«by now wź¦ e shouldnāt be surprised. The Astros were up on the Yanks, 3-1, when Houston starter, Lance McCullers, just 23, was pulled with one out in the sixth.
While McCullers wasnāt pitching a masterpš¦iece, heād nonetheless struck out six and appearedź¦« fresh.
So in comes Michael Feliz, who was pulled after retiring one batterš ā and allowing four šhits, a walk and two earned runs.
That signaled the starš²t of a parade of Astros relieveršs, culminating with a capitulation:
In the ninth, Yanks up, 10-4, Houston manager A.Jź©². Hinch āsavedā the rest of his bullpen and delivered the punch line to his self-inflicted bad joke by summoning outfielder Norichika Aoki, who allowed three earned runs, walked two and nearly decapitated one in a 13-4 loss.
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And thatās how āby-the-bookā 21st Century managers turn a two-run lead into a nine-run loss ā and tšurn games that begin at a šgood, steady pace into all-night, late-night, Iām-going-to-bed slogs.
And our new-age managers willš³ do it over and over, and still not learn to cease mucking šÆwinning hands.
This season McCullers had allowed two hits on 88 pitches and no earned runs thršough seven in a 1-1 game at Anaheim. But that wasnāt good enough, so Hinch went to his bullpen, finally bringing in Chris Devenski in the ninth, when the Angels won on a walk and two of their five total hits.
McCullers may be 7-1 with a 2.69 ERA, but in 15 starts, this season, he has only been alloā±wed to pitch as many as seven iānnings three times.
I might be wrong.š One day, perhaps soon, a Hall of Fame inductee will pose beside a plaque that reads, āØāAmong the best designated seventh-inning pitchers of all time.ā
Of course, onź¦ce a week these by-the-book managers lament their spent bullpens, thus it sure coāuld use some rest from someone who āpitches deep.ā
Alexa, turn out my lights.
Without Tiger, golf analysts shining
I’m convinced that Tiger Woodsā absence makes TVās golf analysts better.
Paul Azinger, throughout FOXās coverage of the U.S. Open and the holiday weekendās U.S. Senior Open, was a pleasure; quick, concise and candidā. A bad shot was a bad shot; no blaming someone or something ā a spike mark? ā else.
Azinger always was trending good, except for when he worked for ESPN/ABC and Woods was playing, which meant Woods was on camera from the time he pulled into the parking lot. Thatās when Azinger went into his no-greater-human hear/see/sš°špeak-no-evil mode. Woodsā presence diminished Azingerās dignity as well as ours.
The same with CBSā Nick Falādo and ex-CBS, now-NBC analyst David Feherty. Both were loose, breezy, honest, engaging and even funny ā until Woods was on camera, when they spoke as cult worshippers, as if one non-pandering word would cause Team Tiger to deny them access to Woods ā as with the āNš ŗo Soup for you!ā banishment of CBSā Peter Kostis ā although Woods never said much in post-round interviews, anyway.
While others played ātoo slowly,ā Woodsā molasses pace was admired for hišs ādeliberate approachā and attention to detail. Unlike other players, Woodsā cuss-filled temper tantrums were ignored, explained and even praised as evidence of his dedication to perfection.
With Woods out of the pictures, much of the uptight analyst sounds ā especially the silence after something ugly is seen and/or heard ā have been replaced by see-it/say-it and hear-it/say-ą·“it.
SNY, YES pregames provide intrigue
Good pregame stuff, Friday.
On SNY, former Mets GM Jim Duquette: āWhen I was with the Mets, Jay Bruce was going to be our draft pick [first rošund, ninth pick in 2005], but we chose Mike Pelfrey.ā
YESā seršies about life, baseball and team traditions ā a quick game of Euchre before every game ā at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, āHomegrown: The Path to Pinstripes,ā continues to prove that TV doesnāt need to be special to be good.
Fridayās edition included the impressive clubhouse guitar work of 27-year-old Californian catcher Kyle Higashioka, and an off-day food shoppāing trip by roommates and up-and-comersš Chance Adams and Dustin Fowler ā they purchased peaches, ābland but healthyā cereal and reminded each other to send Fatherās Day cards. How normal!
And we came to know Fowler, a bit, before he was cršuelly lost for the season, Thursday, with a knee injury in the first inning of his first MLB game.
Knicks/MSG Network is growing closer to selecting Mike Crispinoās replacement as radio play-by-player. Several local hopefuls last week recą± eived politely worded rejection notiš§øces.
One prerequisite should be for a knowledgeable basketball speaker who will mix well with š§analyst Brendan Brown, who says what he sees, knows and tšhinks, and whose descriptions and applied logic help us see what we canāt. Think: Nets radioās Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw.