2010-05-27 Astros (Myers) at Brewers (Bush), 12:10 PM CDT [Brewers win, 4-3, 10 innings]

[trwi7]

Was that some Telly gold?

Drew Olson.

 

 

[AJAY]

I guess the Macha era continues . . . . for now at least.

[topper09er]

To be fair to Macha, an injured catcher might be rare, but so is a Brewers home victory. He was probably assuming more innings coming there, so Lucroy needed to be kept in reserve.

 

http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

McGehee C, Braun 3B, pitcher in LF given the very rare situation that a catcher has to leave the game due to injury

 

 

[brewmann04]

This was totally stupid the way the Manger played this game and Melvin get his share for not putting Guys on the DL and leaving important wins out there. I sure Hope Mark was watching this from his office maybe he was watching a baseball version of dumb and dummer..

[brewers4eric]

I'll take any win we can get right now, by any means necessary. My own thought is that Macha mistook Wolf for Geoff Jenkins when he sent him in to hit. I imagine that he said to Wolf, "allright Favre, get in there and win one for the Pilots".

[rluzinski]

Seriously, you are looking at the probability of your catcher getting hurt realistically in between 1 and 3 innings. So you tell me, what are the odds of a catcher getting hurt in 1.5 innings..... 1/6th of a game? If we just throw something out there and say there's a 50% chance every month that a catcher get's hurt bad enough to have to come out of a game, we can come up with a ballpark figure for 1.5 innings:

 

1 month = ~ 25 games = 225 innings ---> odds of getting hurt = 50% x 1.5 innings / 225 innings = .3%

 

There is probably better than a 99.7% chance that the Brewers would not have needed Lucroy. Macha HAS to know it's silly to worry about something like that but probably 28-29 managers do the same thing. They are more concerned about shielding themselves from the faintest of possiblity of a talking head ripping him a new one on Sports Center. Winning the game is of secondary importance.

[topper09er]

rluzinski[/b]]Seriously, you are looking at the probability of your catcher getting hurt realistically in between 1 and 3 innings. So you tell me, what are the odds of a catcher getting hurt in 1.5 innings..... 1/6th of a game? If we just throw something out there and say there's a 50% chance every month that a catcher get's hurt bad enough to have to come out of a game, we can come up with a ballpark figure for 1.5 innings:

 

1 month = ~ 25 games = 225 innings ---> odds of getting hurt = 50% x 1.5 innings / 225 innings = .3%

 

There is probably better than a 99.7% chance that the Brewers would not have needed Lucroy. Macha HAS to know it's silly to worry about something like that but probably 28-29 managers do the same thing. They are more concerned about shielding themselves from the faintest of possiblity of a talking head ripping him a new one on Sports Center. Winning the game is of secondary importance.

Nice number crunching, too bad it has never occured to Macha to think about something this beforehand so he would know the correct decision in the game. Similar to how football coaches have charts that tell them in what score scenarios they should go for 2 so they dont have to think about it in the heat of the game. Plus as I said McGehee has some catching experience.

 

 

[TooLiveBrew]

Love ya, Rickie! All you had to do to help the team win was get on base five times today http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[bigredrobbo]

Was anyone else screaming at the TV when we had the score tied, runners on 1st and 3rd, with one out, for a double steal attempt? Surely you take your chances that the man on 3rd can get home before the throw to 2nd, then home, comes in. Why does Macha never attempt squeezes, double steals or other so-called "trick plays"? What did we have to lose at that point, since the score was tied? I'm fairly sure that if Rickie swings at ball 4 and we go to Soup time, we were losing today, and I'll wager that I'm not alone with that thought. Surely something non-textbook should have been tried, or is Macha that brain-dead?

[rluzinski]

If trick plays worked well, they wouldn't be called trick plays.

[davemakovec]

Love ya, Rickie! All you had to do to help the team win was get on base five times today http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

He had half the team's walks and almost a third of their total appearances on base. Hopefully this is the beginning of him getting back in the swing of things, to pardon the pun.

[sheethead]

Its much safer for the manager to sit back and wait for something to happen. Answering why there are never exiting plays executed is easier than explaining why they didn't work. This team can barely execute a sac bunt, much less a double steal or suicide squeeze.

[Baldkin]

Are you talking about when Braun, the Brewers best hitter, was at the plate in the 9th?

When all he had to do was MAKE CONTACT and not get doubled up at first?

[sheethead]

If they start jogging or just watch and look you know it is gone.

 

That's only good for the no-doubters.

Which is what Corey made it sound like on the radio

Yeah, he went into his "back, track, wall" call and instead of "gone" after wall he peeled off and said caught. It happens to them all. I blame it on the humidity.

[dadofandrew]

I'm not sure why you'd try a double steal with only one out, as there's a couple dozen ways to score that runner from 3B. And why no suggestion of a double steal with Gomez up...because he got a hit, right?

 

A trick play with Braun hitting? I think I know why.

 

Results based second guessing doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny.

[bigredrobbo]

I'm not sure why you'd try a double steal with only one out, as there's a couple dozen ways to score that runner from 3B. And why no suggestion of a double steal with Gomez up...because he got a hit, right?

 

A trick play with Braun hitting? I think I know why.

 

Results based second guessing doesn't really stand up to much scrutiny.

I meant the inning after - Carlos tied it up, and later we had first and 3rd with one out. Especially (a) the way we've been lately in the clutch (b) you have a relatively inexperienced catcher throwing © the runner into 2nd can disrupt the return throw. I mean, it needs two throws pretty much right on the money to get the runner at home. If it doesn't work, we are still tied. I guess I just don't see why we wouldn't even attempt it.

[thablingster]

I love how Macha mentioned the St. Louis 20 inning game as to why he didn't use Lucroy. Yet, St. Louis lost that game in part because LaRussa not once but twice refused to use his backup catcher with runners on and a chance to win the game. Flawed logic is flawed.

[Baldkin]

They had first and third with one out when Braun was up. Gomez singled in Escobar, and Weeks went to third on the play.

They never had first and 3rd in the 10th inning.

[jeffy]

Maybe they coulda tried a triple steal...that'd be real "out of the box".

[WisconsinSportsRule]

I was hoping for the squeeze there. Braun has shown the ability to bunt and the infield was back to try and set up the double play.

[dlk9s]

I love how Macha mentioned the St. Louis 20 inning game as to why he didn't use Lucroy. Yet, St. Louis lost that game in part because LaRussa not once but twice refused to use his backup catcher with runners on and a chance to win the game. Flawed logic is flawed.

I was thinking the same thing. Batting Lucroy gives you a better chance to NOT have to go 20 innings.

[RobDeer 45]

You would have called for his head if he tried that and failed. This is not little league, that stuff rarely works. This is a little commical

[RobDeer 45]

And on a side note the middle infielder will charge the throw and not be near the base when catching it so no the runner will not get in the way of the throw.

[NievesNoNO]

Wow, I think some of you are being a bit harsh. I agree with Sheethead, it's just much easier for the manager to say, well, we had our best hitter up. I don't like the suicide squeeze there, however both when Gomez was up and when Braun was up I don't see the harm in the runner at first trying to take second considering the speed that was on the bases. I'm not sure the catcher would've even made the throw down in either case. If that infielder does cut the throw, it's usually pretty apparent from third base what's going on. However, alert base running hasn't exactly been the Brewers strong point this season.

[Dragonbait]

I was hopin' they'd squeeze with Braun... to me worst case senario woulda been 1st and 2nd two out.... almost the same situation, but sac-fly taken out.