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Amazin69 · 05-13-2015, 09:57 PM

Not to get chucksabr yelling again, but Ned Yost is far from the only manager ever to botch a double-switch. One of the reasons Mets fans never took much to Willie "Yankee Pride!" Randoph's reign (besides the obvious fact that the idea this dipsh*t was going bring "Yankee Pride" to Queens made us vomit, and all that winning he did as "assistant manager" in the Bronx was due to Steinbrenner's checkbook, anyhow…we saw Joe Torre "manage" for 4+ seasons, and he was no strategic genius, let me tell you) was that Willie couldn't even understand the double-switch. Because he spent almost his whole career in the A.L. (Or because he's kinda dim, one or the other.)

But even someone who spent their entire career in the NL (or pre-DH AL) can screw it up. Remember the great rally by the Mets to win Game 6 of the 1986 World Series? Two outs and then Gary Carter singles, Kevin Mitchell pinch-singles, Ray Knight singles, wild pitch, grounder to, er, through Bill Buckner? But wait, why was Mitchell pinch-hitting, anyway? Where was Darryl Strawberry?

Well, he was out of the game because Davey Johnson had made the wrong double-switch, that's where. In the top of the 8th, with the Red Sox ahead 3-2 and threatening to blow the game open (bases loaded, two out, Bill Buckner coming to bat), Davey decides he's seen enough of Roger McDowell and brings in Jesse Orosco. Buckner flies to center, threat averted, good call.

Except…Davey forgot to make a double-switch. So he has to pinch-hit Lee Mazzilli to start the eighth, and when the Mets tie the game, he has to preserve his new pitcher, Rick Aguilera, for as long as possible, since his two bullpen aces are already gone. (Orosco having pitched to only one batter with the World Series on the line!) So he keeps Mazzilli in to play right field and takes Darryl (who made the final out of the 8th) out. And two innings later, Mets down by two, tying run at the plate, two out…a situation where you would normally be hoping you had somebody who could tie the game with one swat coming up, and where is Darryl Strawberry, who will hit the most HRs in the National League over the following two seasons? Gone, because Davey chose not to double-switch in the top of the 8th (not putting Orosco in the 8th spot, replacing Kevin Elster, and bringing Howard Johnson to bat 9th and play SS) and then did double-switch in the 9th, keeping Mazzilli in the 9th spot and yanking Darryl for Aguilera.

Now, Mitchell did get the hit and the Mets did win the game. (And the Series, two days later.) But can you imagine the second-guessing if they hadn't? The game lost because the inexperienced Aguilera had to keep pitching into the 10th, with Orosco wasted in a cameo? The final out coming from a rookie waving hopelessly at strike three, while the most dangerous hitter in the NL watches futilely from the bench, yanked prematurely? (We, with benefit of hindsight, know that both Aguilera and Mitchell went on to excellent careers, but the NY media in 1986 would have no way of knowing that, and would have torn Johnson to shreds for losing the game and Series on account of them.)

Now, Davey could articulate his reasoning…if he double-switched when he brought in Orosco, he would have had to play Johnson at SS, somewhat out of position, and it was a critical moment in the game for defense. But Johnson played a lot of shortstop that season, and it's not as though Kevin Elster was a Gold Glover, either. (Although he would later set a record for consecutive errorless games, he didn't have much range or DP skill and was mostly in the lineup for his bat.) Elster was only in the game to begin with because Johnson had pinch-hit for starter Rafael Santana back in the 5th. (The pinch-hitter, Danny Heep, hit into a 4-6-3 DP, although the runner on 3B did score to tie the game.) And Johnson did have Hojo hit for Elster in the 9th, and so he finished the game at SS, anyway. If you're willing to put Hojo in at SS for the 10th, why not for the 9th, especially if it means saving your best reliever?

Hell, you can second-guess every decision Davey made about his shortstops in the game. Why pinch-hit for Santana in the 5th? You're down 2-1, first and third, nobody out, and the Sox are conceding the tying run by playing for the DP…did you really think Heep was going to take Roger Clemens deep and blow the game open? Santana was a perfectly good candidate to just make contact and get the runner in, I'm thinking. If Santana whiffs, you can have Heep hit for Bobby Ojeda instead. (You've got Sid Fernandez available for long relief and Ojeda only goes one more inning, anyway.) Still plenty of shot for the SF or a hit or a slow grounder to tie up.

And in the 9th, when Davey decides he doesn't care about Howard Johnson's weak glove, he's got 1st and 2nd and he wants to win this now, and so he sends Hojo up to hit for Elster, after all? (Johnson whiffs, Mazzilli flies out, Lenny Dykstra flies out, Mets get nothing and look dead when the Sox score in the top of the 10th.) Why not just have Elster bunt and, if he succeeds, Mazzilli can win the game with a sac fly (the fly he hit would have been deep enough)? That was the decision that everybody was prepared to roast Davey's nuts over…just listen to the second-guessing on the NBC broadcast.

So Davey blew a chance to keep Santana in the game (5th inning), refuses the obvious double-switch because he wants to keep Elster in the game (8th inning), then pulls the trigger to use Hojo anyway (9th inning) and nearly loses the game in the 10th with the wrong pitcher on the mound, the non-defensive SS in the field, and Darryl Strawberry gone when he would seem to need him most. Ugh.

And, by the way, if you really want to keep Elster in the field instead of Santana, why not double-switch out the #7 batter instead of the #8? Bring in Mazzilli and hit him 9th, as he would anyhow, but now tuck Orosco safely in the #7 slot, so he can pitch to more than one batter, and all you have to do sit down…Mookie Wilson. You get a stronger defensive OF with Mazz in left and Strawberry in RF, you get to keep Orosco on the mound until the 9th at least (and when Mookie hit in the 9th, he was bunting…the Sox tried to get the lead runner at 2B and failed, which is why there were two guys on for Elster/Hojo in the first place. But, heck, Orosco can bunt; Aguilera might never have gotten in the game at all) and, when you need Darryl in the 10th, he's right there, ready to take Calvin Schiraldi downtown. (Or not.)

Finally, just because Strawberry made the final out in the 8th, was it really wise to pull him from the game? Maybe Davey should have kept Darryl in and just put Aguilera in the #9 spot. Yes, he would have to come to bat in the 9th, as it happened, but he wasn't helpless at the plate (he had played 3B at Brigham Young) and if you pinch-hit for him, would that have been so bad? It's not as though he pitched a great top of the 10th, after all. (And Sid Fernandez was in the pen, and so was Doug Sisk [*shudder*] and Randy Niemann and some rookie named Randy Myers…)

So Davey had four strategic decisions to make about working around the pitcher's spot in this game (pinch-hitting for Santana instead of [perhaps] Ojeda in the 5th; double-switching Orosco and Howard Johnson for McDowell/Elster in the top of the 8th; double-switching Orosco and Mazzilli for McDowell/Mookie instead of that; not double-switching Strawberry out to start the 9th and hitting Aguilera in the 9th spot, instead), and it's arguable that they all went wrong. He only got a GIDP out of Heep and one more inning out of Ojeda; he pulled Orosco after only one hitter to save a not-great-fielding SS that he hit for in the next inning anyway; he made a raw Rick Aguilera go one more inning than he had in him, and of Strawberry/Wilson/Mazzilli, he made it so that the one who was missing at the end of the game was the All-Star, not the roleplayers. And he might have blown them all, despite the fact that Davey had never played in a DH league in his entire career (he left Baltimore before the AL added the DH; the Tokyo Giants play in Japan's non-DH Central League, not the DH Pacific)

Now it all worked out fine, because Johnson got what he needed when he needed it. Heep's GIDP at least tied the score; maybe Santana can't even manage that. Mazzilli singled to start the bottom of the 8th and eventually scored the tying run; maybe Howard Johnson would have struck out as he did in the 9th if Davey has him in there, and the Mets don't even get it tied. Mitchell got the key pinch-hit in the 10th because he and Schiraldi had been roomies at AAA the previous year (before Schiraldi went to Boston in the Ojeda deal) and one time Mitchell had asked Schiraldi how he would pitch to him and that's just what Schiraldi did in the 10th (jam him once, go outside) and maybe Strawberry, lacking Mitchell's inside knowledge, overswings and ends the game. And Mookie ended up with a heroic at-bat that included lots of foul balls, jacknifing away from the wild pitch so he doesn't take the less-useful HPB instead, and hitting that "little roller" up the 1B line and putting pressure on Buckner with his speed…that's pretty good for what really should have been a U-3, after all.

But still…four key decisions Johnson had to make (not to mention how, if Orosco had been double-switched in, how this would have impacted the decisions Davey had to make during the 9th) versus absolutely zero such decisions he had to make in games 3-5 at Boston. Just put Heep or Mitchell as the DH, bat him 7th, and knock Mookie/Santana down to 8th/9th. Yawn city. But no, anybody can make a double-switch, it doesn't take any brainpower at all!

In the immortal words of Jim Gosger, "Yeah, surrrrrrre."

05-13-2015, 09:57 PM	#91
Amazin69 Banned Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Palmetto Pride! Posts: 4,218 Infractions: 0/4 (4)	Not to get chucksabr yelling again, but Ned Yost is far from the only manager ever to botch a double-switch. One of the reasons Mets fans never took much to Willie "Yankee Pride!" Randoph's reign (besides the obvious fact that the idea this dipsht was going bring "Yankee Pride" to Queens made us vomit, and all that winning he did as "assistant manager" in the Bronx was due to Steinbrenner's checkbook, anyhow…we saw Joe Torre "manage" for 4+ seasons, and he was no strategic genius, let me tell you) was that Willie couldn't even understand the double-switch. Because he spent almost his whole career in the A.L. (Or because he's kinda dim, one or the other.) But even someone who spent their entire career in the NL (or pre-DH AL) can screw it up. Remember the great rally by the Mets to win Game 6 of the 1986 World Series? Two outs and then Gary Carter singles, Kevin Mitchell pinch-singles, Ray Knight singles, wild pitch, grounder to, er, through Bill Buckner? But wait, why was Mitchell pinch-hitting, anyway? Where was Darryl Strawberry? Well, he was out of the game because Davey Johnson had made the wrong double-switch, that's where. In the top of the 8th, with the Red Sox ahead 3-2 and threatening to blow the game open (bases loaded, two out, Bill Buckner coming to bat), Davey decides he's seen enough of Roger McDowell and brings in Jesse Orosco. Buckner flies to center, threat averted, good call. Except…Davey forgot to make a double-switch. So he has to pinch-hit Lee Mazzilli to start the eighth, and when the Mets tie the game, he has to preserve his new pitcher, Rick Aguilera, for as long as possible, since his two bullpen aces are already gone. (Orosco having pitched to only one batter with the World Series on the line!) So he keeps Mazzilli in to play right field and takes Darryl (who made the final out of the 8th) out. And two innings later, Mets down by two, tying run at the plate, two out…a situation where you would normally be hoping you had somebody who could tie the game with one swat coming up, and where is Darryl Strawberry, who will hit the most HRs in the National League over the following two seasons? Gone, because Davey chose not* to double-switch in the top of the 8th (not putting Orosco in the 8th spot, replacing Kevin Elster, and bringing Howard Johnson to bat 9th and play SS) and then did double-switch in the 9th, keeping Mazzilli in the 9th spot and yanking Darryl for Aguilera. Now, Mitchell did get the hit and the Mets did win the game. (And the Series, two days later.) But can you imagine the second-guessing if they hadn't? The game lost because the inexperienced Aguilera had to keep pitching into the 10th, with Orosco wasted in a cameo? The final out coming from a rookie waving hopelessly at strike three, while the most dangerous hitter in the NL watches futilely from the bench, yanked prematurely? (We, with benefit of hindsight, know that both Aguilera and Mitchell went on to excellent careers, but the NY media in 1986 would have no way of knowing that, and would have torn Johnson to shreds for losing the game and Series on account of them.) Now, Davey could articulate his reasoning…if he double-switched when he brought in Orosco, he would have had to play Johnson at SS, somewhat out of position, and it was a critical moment in the game for defense. But Johnson played a lot of shortstop that season, and it's not as though Kevin Elster was a Gold Glover, either. (Although he would later set a record for consecutive errorless games, he didn't have much range or DP skill and was mostly in the lineup for his bat.) Elster was only in the game to begin with because Johnson had pinch-hit for starter Rafael Santana back in the 5th. (The pinch-hitter, Danny Heep, hit into a 4-6-3 DP, although the runner on 3B did score to tie the game.) And Johnson did have Hojo hit for Elster in the 9th, and so he finished the game at SS, anyway. If you're willing to put Hojo in at SS for the 10th, why not for the 9th, especially if it means saving your best reliever? Hell, you can second-guess every decision Davey made about his shortstops in the game. Why pinch-hit for Santana in the 5th? You're down 2-1, first and third, nobody out, and the Sox are conceding the tying run by playing for the DP…did you really think Heep was going to take Roger Clemens deep and blow the game open? Santana was a perfectly good candidate to just make contact and get the runner in, I'm thinking. If Santana whiffs, you can have Heep hit for Bobby Ojeda instead. (You've got Sid Fernandez available for long relief and Ojeda only goes one more inning, anyway.) Still plenty of shot for the SF or a hit or a slow grounder to tie up. And in the 9th, when Davey decides he doesn't care about Howard Johnson's weak glove, he's got 1st and 2nd and he wants to win this now, and so he sends Hojo up to hit for Elster, after all? (Johnson whiffs, Mazzilli flies out, Lenny Dykstra flies out, Mets get nothing and look dead when the Sox score in the top of the 10th.) Why not just have Elster bunt and, if he succeeds, Mazzilli can win the game with a sac fly (the fly he hit would have been deep enough)? That was the decision that everybody was prepared to roast Davey's nuts over…just listen to the second-guessing on the NBC broadcast. So Davey blew a chance to keep Santana in the game (5th inning), refuses the obvious double-switch because he wants to keep Elster in the game (8th inning), then pulls the trigger to use Hojo anyway (9th inning) and nearly loses the game in the 10th with the wrong pitcher on the mound, the non-defensive SS in the field, and Darryl Strawberry gone when he would seem to need him most. Ugh. And, by the way, if you really want to keep Elster in the field instead of Santana, why not double-switch out the #7 batter instead of the #8? Bring in Mazzilli and hit him 9th, as he would anyhow, but now tuck Orosco safely in the #7 slot, so he can pitch to more than one batter, and all you have to do sit down…Mookie Wilson. You get a stronger defensive OF with Mazz in left and Strawberry in RF, you get to keep Orosco on the mound until the 9th at least (and when Mookie hit in the 9th, he was bunting…the Sox tried to get the lead runner at 2B and failed, which is why there were two guys on for Elster/Hojo in the first place. But, heck, Orosco can bunt; Aguilera might never have gotten in the game at all) and, when you need Darryl in the 10th, he's right there, ready to take Calvin Schiraldi downtown. (Or not.) Finally, just because Strawberry made the final out in the 8th, was it really wise to pull him from the game? Maybe Davey should have kept Darryl in and just put Aguilera in the #9 spot. Yes, he would have to come to bat in the 9th, as it happened, but he wasn't helpless at the plate (he had played 3B at Brigham Young) and if you pinch-hit for him, would that have been so bad? It's not as though he pitched a great top of the 10th, after all. (And Sid Fernandez was in the pen, and so was Doug Sisk [shudder] and Randy Niemann and some rookie named Randy Myers…) So Davey had four strategic decisions to make about working around the pitcher's spot in this game (pinch-hitting for Santana instead of [perhaps] Ojeda in the 5th; double-switching Orosco and Howard Johnson for McDowell/Elster in the top of the 8th; double-switching Orosco and Mazzilli for McDowell/Mookie instead of that; not double-switching Strawberry out to start the 9th and hitting Aguilera in the 9th spot, instead), and it's arguable that they all went wrong. He only got a GIDP out of Heep and one more inning out of Ojeda; he pulled Orosco after only one hitter to save a not-great-fielding SS that he hit for in the next inning anyway; he made a raw Rick Aguilera go one more inning than he had in him, and of Strawberry/Wilson/Mazzilli, he made it so that the one who was missing at the end of the game was the All-Star, not the roleplayers. And he might have blown them all, despite the fact that Davey had never played in a DH league in his entire career (he left Baltimore before the AL added the DH; the Tokyo Giants play in Japan's non-DH Central League, not the DH Pacific) Now it all worked out fine, because Johnson got what he needed when he needed it. Heep's GIDP at least tied the score; maybe Santana can't even manage that. Mazzilli singled to start the bottom of the 8th and eventually scored the tying run; maybe Howard Johnson would have struck out as he did in the 9th if Davey has him in there, and the Mets don't even get it tied. Mitchell got the key pinch-hit in the 10th because he and Schiraldi had been roomies at AAA the previous year (before Schiraldi went to Boston in the Ojeda deal) and one time Mitchell had asked Schiraldi how he would pitch to him and that's just what Schiraldi did in the 10th (jam him once, go outside) and maybe Strawberry, lacking Mitchell's inside knowledge, overswings and ends the game. And Mookie ended up with a heroic at-bat that included lots of foul balls, jacknifing away from the wild pitch so he doesn't take the less-useful HPB instead, and hitting that "little roller" up the 1B line and putting pressure on Buckner with his speed…that's pretty good for what really should have been a U-3, after all. But still…four key decisions Johnson had to make (not to mention how, if Orosco had been double-switched in, how this would have impacted the decisions Davey had to make during the 9th) versus absolutely zero such decisions he had to make in games 3-5 at Boston. Just put Heep or Mitchell as the DH, bat him 7th, and knock Mookie/Santana down to 8th/9th. Yawn city. But no, anybody can make a double-switch, it doesn't take any brainpower at all! In the immortal words of Jim Gosger, "Yeah, surrrrrrre."