Managerial Discussion

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Mod edit: This was split off from the thread in polls, as we typically have a thread like this each year.

 

Dolis cruised through the 7th on 8 pitches. Russell still hasn't gotten any work, nor have a couple of other guys. So why is Wood, whose arm was babied all spring, pitching for the second game in a row?

 

Because he's the Designated Eighth Inning Guy.

 

How did he get that role?

 

Because he's a Veteran Presence.

 

 

It's the kind of thing that wouldn't matter if we had good players, but man is it annoying.

[Guest]

Dolis cruised through the 7th on 8 pitches. Russell still hasn't gotten any work, nor have a couple of other guys. So why is Wood, whose arm was babied all spring, pitching for the second game in a row?

 

Because he's the Designated Eighth Inning Guy.

 

How did he get that role?

 

Because he's a Veteran Presence.

 

Also because last year he had his best year as a reliever since he was an All-Star in 2008, and the alternatives are James Russell(.310/.360/.535 v. RHP), Shawn Camp(36 year old who was bad last year), Dolis(1.1 MLB IP, mediocre AA numbers last year), or Castillo(never pitched above A ball). It wouldn't have been the worst thing in the world to let Dolis try the 8th, but I have zero problem with letting him build confidence and going to our relievers with track records to try to finish the game. There's two guys in the pen who get K's and have had sustained success(at any level). Using those guys on consecutive games(with an off day in between) when they're trying to protect a small lead is exactly how we should be using them.

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Would just like it noted that I tacked my thoughts onto the manager poll and a mod made this its own thread.

 

So, basically, TT is agreeing that he got the role based on his service time and because everyone else is Unproven. I remain unimpressed with Wood as a reliever. Yeah, he finally got the walks down below 4BB/9 last year, but I'm not convinced he can keep it there.

[Guest]

I don't understand why you're framing it as a service time thing or a pet veteran thing. Wood is a good reliever, he's going to K more than a guy per inning, and like most relievers who strike guys out, he'll go up and down with the walks(last year being a good year). So yes, he's going to be the preferred choice for the 8th when the others are bad veterans(Lopez, Camp), guys who haven't proven anything above high A(Dolis, Castillo), and a LH specialist(Russell). How is that an unfair or bad decision on Sveum's part?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

It's more of a complaint about the existence of the role itself.

[Little Slide Rooter]

There's no reason to pull Wood from that role at this point, but if he can't find the strike zone sooner than latet nobody willl disagree that the plug will have to be pulled. The last thing we need is the back end of our pen walking every other batter.

[Sammy Sofa]

There's no reason to pull Wood from that role at this point, but if he can't find the strike zone sooner than latet nobody willl disagree that the plug will have to be pulled. The last thing we need is the back end of our pen walking every other batter.

 

You have no idea what happened yesterday, do you?

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Okay, they won, so good things:

 

1) I love the way our defense is aligned, especially in the infield, to be extremely aggressive and maximize outs.

 

2) I guess I can get on board with this baserunning thing. If nothing else, it's going to be cool when Castro posts a gaudy stolen base total to go along with all his other awesome stats. Pretty sure he already leads the league.

[Guest]

He does.

[Little Slide Rooter]

There's no reason to pull Wood from that role at this point, but if he can't find the strike zone sooner than latet nobody willl disagree that the plug will have to be pulled. The last thing we need is the back end of our pen walking every other batter.

 

You have no idea what happened yesterday, do you?

 

Very bad things.

[bcl412]

Okay, they won, so good things:

 

1) I love the way our defense is aligned, especially in the infield, to be extremely aggressive and maximize outs.

 

2) I guess I can get on board with this baserunning thing. If nothing else, it's going to be cool when Castro posts a gaudy stolen base total to go along with all his other awesome stats. Pretty sure he already leads the league.

 

I haven't watched since the first game and haven't paid attention to the alignment of the infield but if that is something that Sveum is known for or good at I really think our team is putting a lot of emphasis on defense and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

[Guest]

Okay, they won, so good things:

 

1) I love the way our defense is aligned, especially in the infield, to be extremely aggressive and maximize outs.

 

2) I guess I can get on board with this baserunning thing. If nothing else, it's going to be cool when Castro posts a gaudy stolen base total to go along with all his other awesome stats. Pretty sure he already leads the league.

 

I haven't watched since the first game and haven't paid attention to the alignment of the infield but if that is something that Sveum is known for or good at I really think our team is putting a lot of emphasis on defense and I'm interested to see how it plays out.

 

It is.

 

And more and more smart teams are and have been putting emphasis on defense. Runs are runs.

 

Maddon is known for the infield alignment stuff too.

[Guest]

Yeah, Len and Bob brought up the alignment stuff on more than one occasion. Specifically how the middle infielders don't really bother with moving to "double play depth", and the 3rd basemen(maybe 1st basemen too) play further off the line than most.

[CubColtPacer]

Okay, they won, so good things:

 

1) I love the way our defense is aligned, especially in the infield, to be extremely aggressive and maximize outs.

 

2) I guess I can get on board with this baserunning thing. If nothing else, it's going to be cool when Castro posts a gaudy stolen base total to go along with all his other awesome stats. Pretty sure he already leads the league.

 

The baserunning IMO is the right way to manage this particular ballclub. The risk/reward ratio of stolen bases becomes so much better when you're sending up worse hitters than normal. I just hope our runners don't learn any bad habits and remain too aggressive when the club gets better.

[biittner77]

I didn't get to see the game. How does everyone feel about Shark throwing 110 pitches in his first start?

[Irishoshea21]

I didn't get to see the game. How does everyone feel about Shark throwing 110 pitches in his first start?

 

Eh, I had no issue with giving him a chance to complete the game. It wouldn't have been an issue really if Castro could make a routine throw or LaHair had a little Pena in him (it was a very tough hop for LaHair - no real blame there).

[SouthSideRyan]

I didn't get to see the game. How does everyone feel about Shark throwing 110 pitches in his first start?

 

No breakdown in mechanics, was pitching as smoothly in the 9th as he was all game, no concerns.

[Sammy Sofa]

Plus in the post-game interview Dale specifically addressed the PC issue and said it wasn't ideal and not something he'd usually want to do with a pitcher like this.

[PriortoTheoIhadWood]

 

It is.

 

And more and more smart teams are and have been putting emphasis on defense. Runs are runs.

Maddon is known for the infield alignment stuff too.

 

Tell me about it...It's all the Yankees guys talk about when they play the Rays...ESPN does it too when the Rays are on TV. I like it, of course, but the way they talk about it you'd swear this is something new to the sport. Personally, I've always felt it was a way to connect baseball and football and let casual fans know that baseball teams do have to move around defensively depending on the hitter and the situation (it's not just pitcher throws to batter and some guy might end up where the ball is hit).

[Fro]

 

It is.

 

And more and more smart teams are and have been putting emphasis on defense. Runs are runs.

Maddon is known for the infield alignment stuff too.

 

Tell me about it...It's all the Yankees guys talk about when they play the Rays...ESPN does it too when the Rays are on TV. I like it, of course, but the way they talk about it you'd swear this is something new to the sport. Personally, I've always felt it was a way to connect baseball and football and let casual fans know that baseball teams do have to move around defensively depending on the hitter and the situation (it's not just pitcher throws to batter and some guy might end up where the ball is hit).

 

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/6908844/information-age-changing-way-game-played

 

Actually, it is pretty new to do it as aggressively as the Rays have done it.

[Guest]

I didn't get to see the game. How does everyone feel about Shark throwing 110 pitches in his first start?

 

No breakdown in mechanics, was pitching as smoothly in the 9th as he was all game, no concerns.

 

Agreed.

 

I do assume he'll be monitored far more closely than the other 4 starters given the limited IP he's racked up in past seasons.

[bukie]

I didn't get to see the game. How does everyone feel about Shark throwing 110 pitches in his first start?

 

No breakdown in mechanics, was pitching as smoothly in the 9th as he was all game, no concerns.

 

Agreed.

 

I do assume he'll be monitored far more closely than the other 4 starters given the limited IP he's racked up in past seasons.

I'd assume they'll have him at an innings limit this year, possibly around 150. They do have arms ready in the minors, so they'd be better off with a "better safe than sorry" approach this year.

[treebird]

i haven't been that critical of sveum thus far, but i thought tonight's game was just inexcusable. there's just no reason at all to let garza take castro's at bats all game.

[Backtobanks]

I don't understand letting Stewart bat against a lefty in the 8th inning with 2 men in scoring position. Isn't that the reason (hitting lefties) that Baker and Reed Johnson are on this team?

[Guest]

The Cubs have been running themselves into a lot of outs. Aggressive base running is nice, reckless base running not so much. Yesterday's game in Miami was putrid.