Thursday, July 16, 2009

Is BUNT a four-letter word?


Apparently for Macha it is. All season long the willingness of the Crew to lay down a damn bunt has been nowhere to be seen. Case and point is Thursday's game with the Reds.

In the first inning, lead off hitter Jason Kendall (yes he is STILL leading off sometimes) is hit by a pitch. So when Counsel comes to the plate guess what happens? A Bunt? No, try a double play.

Third inning, same story. Looper and Kendall on first and second with NOBODY out. Counsel lays down the bunt? HA! Try a tap to the pitcher. Which, of course, lead to Looper being thrown out at third.

So why am I pissed you ask?

The Brewers are in a tight race for the division. And with half the lineup hitting below their averages, we NEED to manufacture runs anyway we can. Just think about it, would anyone have expected a first inning bunt by the two hole hitter? Not only that, but in both cases there would have been runners in scoring position with ONE OUT for Braun and Fielder.

If we brought Macha in to be different than Yost, then he needs to be different than Yost. Show some flair, some grit, some urgency for gods sake. Managers who don't take a damn risk from time to time DON'T WIN. Ask Tony LaRussa.

So if Macha is going to continue to play predictable baseball and hope for the big homerun every damn game, i expect he will be hearing plenty of four-letter words in his future.

2 comments:

Lange said...

Two problems with this, 1. If you are a major league team bunting in
the first inning with your No. 2 hitter you are in serious trouble.
That is a play you see with a metal bat, this isn't high school it's pro ball. No. 2 hitters in the pros do not bunt in the first inning, that is borderline absurd.
2. It's unfair to make comparisons between Yost and Macha because
there is nothing similar about them. Macha has a clearly defined
style and he's stuck to it, for better or worse. Yost just did whatever, whenever. Personally I like the new style as opposed to the old.

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