Impressions of Roenicke so far (part 1)

[danzig6767]

It's a step, I'll take it.

 

I will too, but I'm worried that he's going to matchups because he doesn't have anyone he wants to call his 8th inning guy & not because it's good strategy. And once someone (probably Loe), makes Roenicke fully confident in him, he's the new 8th inning guy™ I hope I'm wrong & Ron is making the call for the right reasons.

 

EDIT: there's certainly hope: Braddock will match up against the left-handers. I still have a

ton of confidence in Kameron. We brought him in yesterday and talked to

him. But we're not going to probably put him out there when there's so

many left-handers that he's got to go through."

That's nice to read about Loe and lefthanders. It would be huge going forward if Saito stepped up and pitched like he has since entering MLB or at least near that level. Obviously starting pitchers will always be more important than setup guys and closers who throw so fewer innings, but come this point of the year for teams in playoffs chases, these late inning setup guys and closers can be huge in deciding which teams make the playofs and those who come up just short. Those 3-4 late inning guys generally are always the ones who come in very close games from the 7th through 9th innings. When some teams in that playoff chase blow a disproportionate number of those games compared to the ones also in the playoff race, it's really really hard to overcome that.

 

As for Roenicke, given all the bashing i've done of him, he deserves props for taking out Prince and pinch running Gomez. Not every manager would risk doing that in case the game ended up tied after the 9th inning.

 

Speaking of Gomez, the guy obviously has numerous flaws as a player, but wow is he incredibly fast. Watching the replay of him scoring on the Kotsay hit, the speed he showed in getting to home plate there just might be second to none in all of baseball. Once Carlos gets a head of steam going, he covers ground at an amazing level. What a shame that he's not a smarter player.

[logan82]

Some of these guys, we always look at who's hot and who's cold coming into a series, and sometimes they can change in a hurry.

No kidding Ron. That is why you shouldn't pay much attention to who is hot and who isn't.

[DuWayne Steurer]

2 nights in a row where I'm mildly impressed with a decision Roenicke made.

 

The pitchout against Stubbs in the opener was a great call. Heck, it was a good call even if Stubbs had been safe, but as it turned out, good call. When they put the camera on Roenicke in the dugout after the caught stealing, he still looked utterly stoic, but I think you could see the look on his face that said "Yeah, that's right, I made a decision that NOBODY can second guess!".

 

Then last night, bases loaded, 2 outs, I say to my wife as we're watching "Why is Gomez not being brought out for Prince here, when he's the winning run"?, and just like that, Gomez pops out of the dugout towards second.

 

Now, the Gomez PR'ing for Prince is kind of a no-brainer, but there have been more than a handful of 'no brainers' this year that Roenicke has blatantly avoided to make.

 

Either he's getting better, or someone on the bench is telling him what to do, or lastly, we can file these under the 'even a blind squirrel finds the occasional nut' theory.

[The Truth]

RoCoBrewfan wrote:

Either he's getting better, or someone on the bench is telling him what to do, or lastly, we can file these under the 'even a blind squirrel finds the occasional nut' theory.

Or even a broken clock is right twice a day!

 

Actually I prefer to think of it as Roenicke is gaining experience and getting smarter/better

[logan82]

The Truth wrote:

Actually I prefer to think of it as Roenicke is gaining experience and getting smarter/better

I think we all would.

[DougJones43]

I agree that Roenicke's comments and actions the past couple have days have been a step in the right direction. Hopefully it continues, because our post-season chances are going to increase significantly if he maximizes the potential of this team.

[JohnBriggs12]

Yesterday showed how a really dumb move can sometimes work. How on earth do you send a guy in an 0 for 28 slump up there to hit for another position player with the game on the line and Ryan Braun supposedly available to hit?

 

Sac fly or no sac fly, Counsell hasn't had a hit in a month. Four of the five starting pitchers have better OPS. Counsell should not be used to pinch hit. It's as simple as that and yesterday doesn't change that.

[Thurston Fluff]

After seeing so many bench players who were having lousy seasons so far help this past series I think it illustrates why you have to play them enough to be able to help when needed. Given Braun's health issues it also shows why using them helps the regular player as well. It's a long season. You will invariably need bench players playing their best. Even if that best isn't very good it's better than what they would be if they had rotted on the bench until pressed into service. Then, when a couple regulars are dragging or hurt, you have nothing. Playing bench players more often early has long term positive effects even if they are not apparent at the time. In fact it may never be apparent if done correctly because the regular players won't have a drop off and the lingering, wear and tear type of injuries happen at a lower frequency.

 

 

How on earth do you send a guy in an 0 for 28 slump up there to hit for another position player with the game on the line and Ryan Braun supposedly available to hit?

 

I think the major reason is if Braun still isn't right after the break he can be DLed for less time. Add in Counsell didn't need a base hit and he doesn't strike out much it was a pretty safe task. That bit of success may be helpful in getting him going as well.

[bjkrautk]

How on earth do you send a guy in an 0 for 28 slump up there to hit for another position player with the game on the line and Ryan Braun supposedly available to hit?

 

I think the major reason is if Braun still isn't right after the break he can be DLed for less time. Add in Counsell didn't need a base hit and he doesn't strike out much it was a pretty safe task. That bit of success may be helpful in getting him going as well.

I think it was Cirillo who pointed out during the broadcasts this weekend (wasn't Sunday -- maybe Sat.) that if Braun were a realistic option to pinch hit late in a game, without having had an AB in nearly a week, he'd be in the batting cage getting warmed up and not sitting on the bench. I don't think Braun was ever a legitimate option to PH. The potential for a short-term, retroactive stint on the DL didn't strenthen the case, either.

 

As for Counsell, he's a slap hitter with remarkable numbers over his career with the bases loaded. Plus, as BUC pointed out, the most important role he had was to make contact and not ground into a double-play; base hit would have been a bonus.

 

[Warning Track Power]

Yesterday showed how a really dumb move can sometimes work. How on earth do you send a guy in an 0 for 28 slump up there to hit for another position player with the game on the line and Ryan Braun supposedly available to hit?

 

Sac fly or no sac fly, Counsell hasn't had a hit in a month. Four of the five starting pitchers have better OPS. Counsell should not be used to pinch hit. It's as simple as that and yesterday doesn't change that.

I couldn't disagree more. Even though Counsell hasn't hit in a month, Braun hasn't faced live pitching in a week and has a bad wheel. Worse case scenario in that situation is Braun hitting is a slow groundball where he inevitably pushes himself to beat it out to avoid the DP and re-injures himself. Keep in mind the game was tied at that point. I'd gladly have taken my chances in extra innings then run an injury risk with Braun. RR was 100% right.

 

As for PH for Gomez...I think we all agree that Counsell was less of a threat to strike out in that situation and putting the ball in play period was key.

[The Truth]

Small sample Counsell is brutally bad, but large sample over his career with the bases loaded Counsell has been very good.

 

 

It can be argued that Counsell is pretty much done, but in that situation he was used properly in my opinion

 

 

Counsell & Kotsay have value on this team if used properly. That is a big "if" though. They should primarily be pinch hitters and Counsell should be used twice a week for defensive purposes until we trade for a real MLB SS

 

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Continued here:

 

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