In keeping with the theme of the week, let’s talk about another manager. First it was Joe Girardi then Joe Maddon then David Ross; I said I’d rather have Girardi and Maddon more than Ross as the Cubs manager. You know who I WOULD pick Ross over? The manager on the other side of town. I do love experience in that position, but I do not love my manager in the same ballpark as death warmed over. Yeah, I can’t believe the Sox named him as manager; must be a lot of work to roll him out of his casket every day to manage a very talented baseball team.
Tony’s back in the news, this time national news with his latest managerial decision. In case you didn’t hear about it, Tony made a decision to intentionally walk a guy; what’s the big deal with that? The big deal is, the count on the batter was 1-2!!! Why on God’s green earth would you walk a guy when you’re one strike away from getting him out??? There is ZERO excuse for this. And then, of course, the next batter promptly hit a 3 run HR. That stupid decision turned into an epically stupid decision in a hurry. Some may think Tony was day drinking again after that gem, but honestly, I don’t think he knew the count. Of course, he’ll never admit that, but there is no other excuse. He should have just owned it, and said he messed up, but… to try to justify it? There is no justification; think about it…
If you wanted to intentionally walk a guy, you do it as soon as he gets to the plate. Everybody doesn’t do this. There are some situations when you instruct your pitcher to “pitch around somebody”. Try to get him to chase outside the zone; try to get him to hit your pitch. We’ve seen situations where the count went to 1-0, 2-0, and 3-0, before the intentional walk was issued; that’s understandable to a point. Yet, to do so after you’re UP in the count? What changed Tony’s mind between the start of the AB to the point where the count was 1-2 to issue that instruction? Your guy WAS ahead; he was winning the AB, and THEN you decide to issue a free pass??? Again, there is no rationale that works there, sorry. Plain and simple, Tony thought the guy was just stepping into the box, OR had no idea what the count was. Scary stuff.
It’s sad really, for Sox fans. To have a team loaded with talent, coached by this dead fish. Can you blame Tony for the Sox sluggish start to what’s supposed to be their World Series year? You can’t put it all on the manager, that’s for sure, but he DOES share the responsibility. I’m typically NOT a huge fan of firing a manager mid-season, especially when the guy you’re replacing him with isn’t as good, like the Girardi and Maddon examples earlier this year. I guess you can make that same argument about replacing LaRussa… who will the same accolades as him? This is true, but… when something is past the expiration date… Look, you’re a Hall of Fame manager, but… it’s time to watch the games from the couch, and not from the dugout where this old guy still has decision making ability. Nothing against old guys by the way… But to manage a major league baseball team… I guess what I’m saying is that there are plenty of other better options than Tony out there, especially after this past week. I know most Sox fans would welcome Ozzie back before the next first pitch; I’m sure they would welcome AJ to be their coach. At this point, I’m sure they would take David Ross… too far?
You had a great career Tony; there is no disputing that. You are a Hall of Fame manager; there is no disputing that. You should have never came back to manage again; your services are no longer needed. Here’s your golden parachute; let somebody who can keep track of the count to a batter before issuing an intentional walk take over. As a Cubs fan, I just can’t understand it; I thought we had it bad with our manager. But wow… I guess I’ll just sit here and eat my popcorn, watching this play out… waiting for the next screw up by Tony, wondering what it will take for the Sox to can this guy before it’s too late; it’s not too late, right???
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