http://tinyurl.com/a47rcet
Four sacrifice bunt attempts in one game.
I’d be pretty disgusted if it were the Marlins trying such a thing to beat
the Mets in mid-August. But, no, that’s what Team USA did on Sunday on its
way to topping Canada 9-4.
Technically, it will go into the books at three sacrifice bunt attempts,
since Shane Victorino merely fouled back his one attempt before later
striking out in the seventh. The first two were successful, the second
especially so. The first, coming in the second, was put down by Adam Jones
with two on and none out. No runs followed, though. Ben Zobrist‘s bunt in
the fourth resulted in a Taylor Green error, scoring a run and opening the
door for a two-run inning.
The last bunt was a huge flop, with Zobrist popping one up for the first out
in the eighth. Fortunately, Jones bailed the team out afterwards, delivering
a two-run double to put Team USA on top for good.
So, yes, everything worked out in the end. Even though Joe Torre’s team
tried to give away four outs. Even though Giancarlo Stanton, the country’s
(and maybe the world’s) best power hitter, sat out in favor of Shane
Victorino. Even though Torre was more worried about making sure everyone got
into the game than trying to win it.
And that last part may be the biggest problem of all. Joe Torre works for
Major League Baseball. He made commitments to teams in return for acquiring
the services of players. While the managers of Japan and the Dominican
Republic are doing the best they can, within the WBC’s pitcher usage rules,
to win their games, Torre is going above and beyond; making sure everyone
gets a turn, not using a reliever after he’s already warmed up once and not
letting any of his true relievers pitch more than an inning.
Of course, Torre isn’t exactly a tactical genius even when he doesn’t have
to deal with such limitations. Witness today’s eighth-inning gem to
intentionally walk light-hitting left-hander Pete Orr in a 5-4 game to load
the bases for a left-handed-hitting pinch-hitter. Given that it meant a walk
could force in a run, I doubt it improved the U.S.’s chances of staying
ahead in the eighth. What it definitely did do is guarantee that Joey Votto
would bat in the ninth, with Justin Morneau due up fourth, something that
might have made a big difference had the U.S. offense not finally found
itself and, absent any sac bunt attempts, piled on four runs in the top of
the inning.
At age 73, this is probably Torre’s last time in a dugout. He was pretty
close to a Hall of Famer as a player and he’s certainly going in as a
manager after all of his success with the Yankees. And deservedly so. It’d
be a nice victory lap for him if Team USA could somehow win the World
Baseball Classic in its third try. Torre, though, needs to back off a bit,
because he’s really hurting the cause right now.
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 140.112.25.133
推
03/11 17:19, , 1F
03/11 17:19, 1F
→
03/11 17:20, , 2F
03/11 17:20, 2F
推
03/11 17:31, , 3F
03/11 17:31, 3F
推
03/11 17:38, , 4F
03/11 17:38, 4F
→
03/11 17:40, , 5F
03/11 17:40, 5F
推
03/11 17:43, , 6F
03/11 17:43, 6F
→
03/11 17:44, , 7F
03/11 17:44, 7F
推
03/11 17:57, , 8F
03/11 17:57, 8F
推
03/11 17:58, , 9F
03/11 17:58, 9F
推
03/11 18:28, , 10F
03/11 18:28, 10F
→
03/11 18:35, , 11F
03/11 18:35, 11F
推
03/11 18:44, , 12F
03/11 18:44, 12F
推
03/11 19:43, , 13F
03/11 19:43, 13F
推
03/11 19:45, , 14F
03/11 19:45, 14F
→
03/11 20:00, , 15F
03/11 20:00, 15F
→
03/11 20:01, , 16F
03/11 20:01, 16F
→
03/11 20:13, , 17F
03/11 20:13, 17F
→
03/11 20:16, , 18F
03/11 20:16, 18F
→
03/11 20:21, , 19F
03/11 20:21, 19F
推
03/11 20:54, , 20F
03/11 20:54, 20F
推
03/11 21:25, , 21F
03/11 21:25, 21F
推
03/11 21:25, , 22F
03/11 21:25, 22F
→
03/11 21:25, , 23F
03/11 21:25, 23F
→
03/11 21:26, , 24F
03/11 21:26, 24F
→
03/11 22:08, , 25F
03/11 22:08, 25F
→
03/11 22:52, , 26F
03/11 22:52, 26F
→
03/11 23:01, , 27F
03/11 23:01, 27F
→
03/11 23:18, , 28F
03/11 23:18, 28F
推
03/11 23:43, , 29F
03/11 23:43, 29F
→
03/11 23:44, , 30F
03/11 23:44, 30F
推
03/12 01:17, , 31F
03/12 01:17, 31F
推
03/12 02:58, , 32F
03/12 02:58, 32F
→
03/12 02:59, , 33F
03/12 02:59, 33F
→
03/12 03:01, , 34F
03/12 03:01, 34F
推
03/12 07:57, , 35F
03/12 07:57, 35F
→
03/12 07:58, , 36F
03/12 07:58, 36F
→
03/12 07:59, , 37F
03/12 07:59, 37F
→
03/12 07:59, , 38F
03/12 07:59, 38F
推
03/12 08:49, , 39F
03/12 08:49, 39F
→
03/12 08:50, , 40F
03/12 08:50, 40F
→
03/12 08:50, , 41F
03/12 08:50, 41F
→
03/12 08:51, , 42F
03/12 08:51, 42F
→
03/12 08:52, , 43F
03/12 08:52, 43F
→
03/12 08:53, , 44F
03/12 08:53, 44F
→
03/12 08:53, , 45F
03/12 08:53, 45F
→
03/12 08:55, , 46F
03/12 08:55, 46F
推
03/12 10:09, , 47F
03/12 10:09, 47F
→
03/12 10:09, , 48F
03/12 10:09, 48F
→
03/12 10:10, , 49F
03/12 10:10, 49F
→
03/12 10:10, , 50F
03/12 10:10, 50F
→
03/12 10:39, , 51F
03/12 10:39, 51F
→
03/12 10:41, , 52F
03/12 10:41, 52F
推
03/12 10:42, , 53F
03/12 10:42, 53F
→
03/12 10:43, , 54F
03/12 10:43, 54F
推
03/12 13:04, , 55F
03/12 13:04, 55F
→
12/26 18:01,
5年前
, 56F
12/26 18:01, 56F