SPEED KILLS
Roberts Was Out By a Mile with No Outs
Sveum old song and dance my friends. Lou Piñata and Send 'Em in Sveum show us again why you can't get wild about the Sox chances in the post season. Sending Dave Roberts with no outs in the ninth is unforgivable.
Tito amazingly has absolutely no idea whatsoever how to use a pitching staff. It's shocking really as he goes with Arroyo when Bronson was done and the bases jacked in the critical seventh inning while Bronson shakes off Tek and serves up game-winning softball.
Another Worst Loss of the Year, 5-4
Fans are asking about Grady Little. Seriously. That's all you need to know.
"Baldelli hasn't made a whole lot of good throws," said Sveum, who might not have known Baldelli led the league in outfield assists last year (14) and has six this season. "Obviously he pulled one off tonight. They made a great play. To be honest with you, if we did it the same tomorrow night I'd do the same thing. It's obviously a situation where you got that kind of speed on the bases and you got a closer [in the game]."...
..."He made a mistake at a tough time to make a mistake," Francona said. "He pitched so well. Obviously I thought he pitched well for him to be in that situation."
-- Heuschkel, Hartford Courant
8.5.04: Hench Mini Rant -- "I don't have the time, will or emotional constitution to write yet another column on the idiot manning the third base coaching box for the Red Sox. I trust that the Big Dog will link you to my last offering on this subject (Sveum Old Song and Dance).
"I truly can't believe that this guy may cost us a playoff spot. Before a team hires a third base coach, do they break down film on him? Does anyone check to see if he understands the fundamentals of the job?
"I have a simple rule: If you're trailing and there is nobody out, that runner has got to be able to score standing up. Now, we all know Dave Roberts was obliterated by 20 feet and that Maurice Green would have been out too, so what gives? There is only one answer: Dale Sveum does not know what he's doing. There is an 80-90 percent chance that you score that runner from third with nobody out and with Baldelli in center there was a considerably higher possibility that Roberts would be thrown out at the plate. Sveum has proven over the course of this season that he is incapable of making this calculation. It also would seem that he does not prepare himself prior to a pitch for the decision that may be suddenly upon him. How many outs? Who's on deck? Which outfielder has the weakest arm? The best? What's the score? It's just unbelievable that on a team whose whole philosophy is built on not making outs on the bases that this incompetent is coaching third."
8.27.02: Hench's Hardball -- "If your projection of the unfolding play indicates that a slide might be necessary, hold the runner at third and hope that one of the next three hitters can drive him in. If you send a runner in the belief that he will score standing up or without even drawing a throw and he is thrown out by 20 feet, then you, sir, are decidedly unqualified to coach third base. At any level."
Dirt Dog Hits Pay Dirt
Mientkiewicz Maneuvers Around Tag
