After 55 years of watching, studying and learning the practical applications and approaches to baseball, I’ve no idea what it is that I’m now watching.
I’m better suited to explain trigonometry, on which my final grade in high school was, “See Me.”
Einstein’s explanation of insanity now rules big league managers’ pitching decisions.
It’s Saturday night and on FOX Yankee reliever Chad Green is doing just fine. In 1 ²/₃ innings he allowed one hit and no walks — on just 19 pitches. And the Yanks led, 6-3.
But it’s the eighth inning. Hey, kids, that’s Dellin Betances’ inning! That’s right, just plug him in then hit the “On” button, batteries occasionally included.
So out went Green, no doubt exhausted after 19 pitches and, at 26, nearing retirement. And Betances, as per Joe Girardi’s incessant, fiction-filled “book” of pre-fab mystical mandates, was beaten like an old range ball; Yanks lose, 7-6. Insane.
Over and over, again and again. It’s insane.
Saturday on SNY, as Mets reliever Erik Goeddel was throwing 32 pitches and the Mets were about to lose a 3-2 lead to the 26-53 Phillies, Gary Cohen said, “I don’t know how far they can go with Goeddel; he went an inning and two-thirds in his last outing.”
OK, but why did Goeddel replace starter Zack Wheeler, with two out in the fourth, to pitch to Phils starter Jeremy Hellickson, a .107 batter?
Wheeler hadn’t been fabulous, but allowed only two hits on 82 pitches. Was he so gassed or his physical condition so perilous that Terry Collins couldn’t have had him pitch to a .107-batting pitcher with two out in the fourth?
Hellickson grounded out on three pitches, then Goeddell, in the fifth, threw a whole lot more, allowing two hits, a walk and an earned run.
Friday night on YES, another jolt to the wilting better senses, although by now we shouldn’t be surprised. The Astros were up on the Yanks, 3-1, when Houston starter, Lance McCullers, just 23, was pulled with one out in the sixth.
While McCullers wasn’t pitching a masterpiece, he’d nonetheless struck out six and appeared fresh.
So in comes Michael Feliz, who was pulled after retiring one batter — and allowing four hits, a walk and two earned runs.
That signaled the start of a parade of Astros relievers, culminating with a capitulation:
In the ninth, Yanks up, 10-4, Houston manager A.J. Hinch “saved” the rest of his bullpen and delivered the punch line to his self-inflicted bad joke by summoning outfielder Norichika Aoki, who allowed three earned runs, walked two and nearly decapitated one in a 13-4 loss.
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And that’s how “by-the-book” 21st Century managers turn a two-run lead into a nine-run loss — and turn games that begin at a good, steady pace into all-night, late-night, I’m-going-to-bed slogs.
And our new-age managers will do it over and over, and still not learn to cease mucking winning hands.
This season McCullers had allowed two hits on 88 pitches and no earned runs through seven in a 1-1 game at Anaheim. But that wasn’t good enough, so Hinch went to his bullpen, finally bringing in Chris Devenski in the ninth, when the Angels won on a walk and two of their five total hits.
McCullers may be 7-1 with a 2.69 ERA, but in 15 starts, this season, he has only been allowed to pitch as many as seven innings three times.
I might be wrong. One day, perhaps soon, a Hall of Fame inductee will pose beside a plaque that reads, “Among the best designated seventh-inning pitchers of all time.”
Of course, once a week these by-the-book managers lament their spent bullpens, thus it sure could use some rest from someone who “pitches deep.”
Alexa, turn out my lights.
Without Tiger, golf analysts shining
I’m convinced that Tiger Woods’ absence makes TV’s golf analysts better.
Paul Azinger, throughout FOX’s coverage of the U.S. Open and the holiday weekend’s U.S. Senior Open, was a pleasure; quick, concise and candid. A bad shot was a bad shot; no blaming someone or something — a spike mark? — else.
Azinger always was trending good, except for when he worked for ESPN/ABC and Woods was playing, which meant Woods was on camera from the time he pulled into the parking lot. That’s when Azinger went into his no-greater-human hear/see/speak-no-evil mode. Woods’ presence diminished Azinger’s dignity as well as ours.
The same with CBS’ Nick Faldo and ex-CBS, now-NBC analyst David Feherty. Both were loose, breezy, honest, engaging and even funny — until Woods was on camera, when they spoke as cult worshippers, as if one non-pandering word would cause Team Tiger to deny them access to Woods — as with the “No Soup for you!” banishment of CBS’ Peter Kostis — although Woods never said much in post-round interviews, anyway.
While others played “too slowly,” Woods’ molasses pace was admired for his “deliberate approach” and attention to detail. Unlike other players, Woods’ cuss-filled temper tantrums were ignored, explained and even praised as evidence of his dedication to perfection.
With Woods out of the pictures, much of the uptight analyst sounds — especially the silence after something ugly is seen and/or heard — have been replaced by see-it/say-it and hear-it/say-it.
SNY, YES pregames provide intrigue
Good pregame stuff, Friday.
On SNY, former Mets GM Jim Duquette: “When I was with the Mets, Jay Bruce was going to be our draft pick [first round, ninth pick in 2005], but we chose Mike Pelfrey.”
YES’ series about life, baseball and team traditions — a quick game of Euchre before every game — at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, “Homegrown: The Path to Pinstripes,” continues to prove that TV doesn’t need to be special to be good.
Friday’s edition included the impressive clubhouse guitar work of 27-year-old Californian catcher Kyle Higashioka, and an off-day food shopping trip by roommates and up-and-comers Chance Adams and Dustin Fowler — they purchased peaches, “bland but healthy” cereal and reminded each other to send Father’s Day cards. How normal!
And we came to know Fowler, a bit, before he was cruelly lost for the season, Thursday, with a knee injury in the first inning of his first MLB game.
Knicks/MSG Network is growing closer to selecting Mike Crispino’s replacement as radio play-by-player. Several local hopefuls last week received politely worded rejection notices.
One prerequisite should be for a knowledgeable basketball speaker who will mix well with analyst Brendan Brown, who says what he sees, knows and thinks, and whose descriptions and applied logic help us see what we can’t. Think: Nets radio’s Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw.