April 19, 2007
Where’s Krivsky?
By
Amanda
Posted at 9:52 pm
OK, it's time to do something about the bullpen. And I don't mean sending down Jon Coutlangus and bringing up Gary Majewski; I mean something that will work.
This kind of continues the discussion that was starting in the game thread. Good! I felt bad that I had to leave just as we were all starting to warm to the topic.
RANT ALERT!
Narron severely overmanaged the eighth inning of tonight’s game.
First he yanked Saarloos after two batters to bring Stanton in. Yes, Saarloos had runners at first and third and one out. Open comment to Jerry Narron: He also had one out and a four-run lead, and the two guys who got on base were a walk and a single, in between which he struck a guy out swinging. It’s not like Kirk plunked two guys and gave up a homer or anything. If his manager simply shows a little confidence in him at that point in the game, Saarloos can still get a DP grounder and strut off the mound having just completed a scoreless inning.
Instead, in comes Stanton to pitch to Berkman. Mark gives up an RBI single. Narron then shows the same confidence in Stanton that he showed in Saarloos (zero).
How many times have we heard Narron gush about the fact that Stanton can pitch to both lefties and righties?
What’s the difference if you’re going to burn through the whole back end of your bullpen in the eighth inning?
So, in comes Weathers to pitch to Lee. Stormy induces a double play grounder, but Gonzo boots it to load the bases, and then Scott clears them with a double – tie ball game – and Phillips throws the ball away on the play, allowing Scott to take third.
So much for our improved defense. But even if if the Reds had turned the inning-ending DP instead, who’s Narron sending out to pitch the ninth? He’s just emptied his gun to get through the eighth!
Fittingly, a few pitches later Scott scores on Ensberg’s sac fly…and this one no longer belongs to the Reds!
I could understand it if Narron made all those moves with a one-run lead in the ninth, but not with a four-run lead in the eighth. I’m beginning to think the only thing Narron knows about major league pitching is that he couldn’t hit it. Maybe when the Reds are in the field they should gag and hogtie Captain Hook and let Dick Pole call the shots on the pitchers.
HMZ
HMZ (That’s me!) wrote: “First he yanked Saarloos after two batters to bring Stanton in…the two guys who got on base were a walk and a single, in between which he struck a guy out swinging.”
Let the record sho that my post serves as a sterling example of both Narron’s inability to manage a bullpen, and also, my legendary mathematical acumen.
Obviously, Saarloos pitched to three batters, not two.
:rolleyes:
The bullpen is being overused. As of today:
Saarloos 10 appearances
Coffey 10 appearances
Stanton 9 appearances
Santos 8 appearances
Weathers 8 appearances
Cormier 6 appearances
Coutlangus 6 appearances
This after only 16 games. Multiply by ten to see what they’re on pace for. It’s not sustainable. Even “Everyday” Scott Proctor only pitched in 83 games last year (and that was way too much).
However, it may be that the starters are still building stamina. Apparently, both Harang and Arroyo asked to be pulled when they were. They may be able to go deeper as the season goes on.
It may be that the action Krivsky needs to take is to tell Narron to slow down with the hook. Still, Narron’s not the one giving up the runs.