NFBC Message Boards

I know that I'm pissing against the wind. I know that sabrs have almost taken over the beasball stat world. I know that for everything that happens on a baseball field, that there is supposedly an offensive reason for the action.
I know that.
But, I cannot agree.

Here is a pitch by pitch account of Clayton Kershaw's seventh inning last night....

Lucas Duda: Ball, Ball, Ball, Strike looking, Duda walked.
Michael Cuddyer: Strike looking, Ball, Cuddyer grounded out to third, Duda to second.
Ruben Tejada: Strike looking, Foul, Foul, Ball, Ball, Ball, Foul, Tejada walked.
Jacob deGrom: Ball, deGrom sacrificed to third, Duda to third, Tejada to second.
Curtis Granderson: Foul, Ball, Strike swinging, Ball, Ball, Foul, Granderson walked.
PEDRO BAEZ RELIEVED CLAYTON KERSHAW.

First, there is not one hitter that would 'scare' Kershaw, right?
Duda and Granderson are capable, but left handed, we know that Kershaw has a significant advantage.
Ruben Tejada is a prototypical eighth hitter who swings and misses more than the 'Elephant Man' hitting on a pretty girl.
And yet, this is the blurb we see about this inning....

"The Mets struggled to get anything going offensively against Clayton Kershaw, but were able to force the left-hander from the game in ht seventh after loading the bases on three walks."

Friggin... UGH!
Batters drawing walks and being 'credited' for those walks have reached a new high.
Kershaw missed and he continued to miss. He threw more balls than strikes in the inning. Against batters that he usually eats for lunch.
In my day, we would say that Kershaw was wild during that inning. Pitchers are not afforded that now. Now, these walks are 'forced'.
The thought of Ruben Tejada 'forcing' a walk from Clayton Kershaw...
Friggin....friggin...DOUBLE UGH!!!

At the end of the year, when studying for which pitcher to take in upcoming drafts, it is only then that pitchers take responsibility for their wildness. We never think of a pitchers walk ratio as ever possibly being 'forced' by a hitter.
Then, a walk is a walk. Whether, it was a 12 pitch walk in an epic battle with Mike Trout or even if it was a walk that writers say was forced by the likes of mighty Ruben Tejada.
A walk is a walk.

And still, a walk is not always a compliment for a hitter. Writers, annonuncers, fans, and I have ridden Joey Votto (you didn't think I'd write a piece like this without mentioning Votto, did you?) for walking too much.
Votto growls that he is what he is.
Still, while Jose Bautista is called 'Joey Bats', I have a hard time believing tha't Votto would enjoy the nickname, 'Joey Walks'.

As we coach our son's little league team, we pray for the other team's pitcher to walk our eighth or ninth hitter.
Even if it is our son.
We know that a walk saves what would happen if forced to swing and a probable poor outcome.
These poor hitters have better days ahead.
If reaching the Big Leagues and hitting eighth or ninth in the lineup, that walk turns from a prayer answered to 'forced'.

Ruben Tejada forcing a walk off Clayton Kershaw.
It just sounds bad, right?
It's like San Francisco forcing an earthquake.
It's like my good looks forcing a kiss from a young Ann-Margaret.
Wow, if only I had a sabr in my back pocket!
It all doesn't make sense..
Ruben Tejada forcing a walk from Clayton Kershaw.....
It happened.
Just ask a friggin' sabr.

Funny how folks watch games and focus on different things. I was watching the game last night and during that inning, my big takeaway was: how could Mattingly pull Kershaw in a 1-0 game in the seventh inning? Yes, Kershaw did not have his best control that inning, but it was not like he was really wild. I thought with runners on second and third, he purposefully pitched carefully to Granderson because he had an open base and had no problems with Wright earlier in the game. Moreover, no one was hitting him hard all night except for the one Murphy homer. Also, it was not like Mattingly was bringing Jansen in to close it out in the ninth inning. He was taking Clayton Kershaw out of a 1-0 game in the seventh inning for Pedro Baez. I thought it was a clear case of over-managing, almost like Mattingly felt compelled to go against the grain just so he could put his own stamp on the game (something I feel Girardi does all the time). I was annoyed, immediately started rooting for the Mets, and was not surprised in the least when Wright belted a two-run single off Baez. Perhaps I'm being overly critical or simplimistic, but if I'm managing the Dodgers, there's no way I'm taking Kershaw out of a 1-0 game in the seventh inning when the other team is barely hitting him. Contrast Mattingly with Joe Maddon, who will yank Hammel and Haren around the fifth inning at the first sign of trouble, but often rides Arrieta and, more recently, Lester, as far as he can.

Mike

ummm, have you not watched don williams manage the past few year? he and matt mattingly are the worst! and this is coming from someone who has had the "privilege" of watching fred gonzalez muck things up on a near daily basis.

any analysis of the dodgers postseason chances has to be qualified with a "as long as mattingly doesn't mattingly it up."

Yeah, Matt Williams and Don Mattingly are not winning managerial awards, at least if I had a say (Matt actually won the award last year - my how time flies). I have a tough time with Mattingly because, as a Yankees fan, I loved Mattingly the player. Along with Jeter and Munson, Mattingly was one of my all-time favorite Yankees to root for. That being said, I just do not like him as a manager.

Mike

Over Managing reigns supreme in the playoffs. It's almost like Managers are in a hurry in trying to show how smart they are in getting a lefty/lefty matchup, so they do it earlier and earlier in the game.
Instead of saying to himself, "Wright is right handed, better get Clayton out", the better question for Mattingly should have been, "Who produces a better outcome for me, Kershaw or Baez?"
RIDE YOUR HORSE!
I saw not one iota of a reason for Kershaw coming out last night.
Not one.
A tiring Kershaw or a fresh Baez? Hmmm. Duh.
If he walks Wright, he walks Wright.
Mattingly replaced his 'best in show' pedigree with a mutt. He got his right hander vs. their right handed hitter matchup.
And nobody, nobody is calling him smart.