The Alex Cora Managerial Decision Thread

[Bellhorn04]

It did not make sense to let a gassed Price face the A’s 2 best RH hitters with the go ahead runs on base. It was a mistake

 

But if he was gassed how did he strike out Lowrie?

 

Managers will be making 'mistakes' like this as long as there is baseball. Sometimes it's just rolling the dice.

[moonslav59]

With respect to Pedro, so was I. I'm not going to ever criticize a guy like Cora but I think that it is ok to question moves or lack of moves - I hope it is anyway. I like doing it because it keeps me involved mentally. These types of things interest me - they are real baseball moves. Hey, I still haven't gotten over Austin's slide yet. Since that play, I have focused in on every side made in a Red Sox game and got to say I haven't seen one that even comes close to his. Real baseball stuff for me!

 

I have no issues with people questioning a managers in game moves. I often have differing opinions during a game, but I usually don't voice them, because, personally, I think there is just too much we don't know day-to-day.

 

I like talking general strategy and philosophy more as well as transactions and roster construction, but that's just me.

[Slasher9]

If Price was "gassed," how do you explain that he had struck out Lowrie, who had been killing us, right before giving up the dinger? You are absolutely, positively entitled to your opinion, but you haven't convinced me you're right, especially when I believe we have already seen several examples of Cora masterfully managing his bullpen. I cite especially Pomeranz's first start when he gave up 2 in the 1st, was in trouble in the 2d, causing Cora himself to go out to the mound, before he got the 3d out with 0 runs scored, was terrific in the 3d, and was pulled in the 4th when he got into trouble again. In came Velazquez, he went 3 (0 runs and the W), then Johnson, then Barnes, and finally Kelly. Plus Pom threw 87 pitches (and gave up 3 runs) in a game the Sox won.

 

I assume the other instance was game 1 when Kelly and Smith both failed in the 8th. I was mad at Cora during the game, but afterward, thought the real fault lay with those two. Plus I did not think it made sense to bring in Kimbrel in the 8th in the first game of the year.

 

no. my other one had nothing to do with game 1. i thought he managed that game just fine.

hitting a baseball is a Fail endeavor. only succeed 3 out of 10 times (30%) and you are a muli millionaire all star caliber player. percentages say even a gassed price more often than not will get any given hitter out. percentages also say that a fresh arm in the 8th inning will have a better chance than a pitcher at the end of his rope with the batters seeing him for the 4th time. percentages are also slightly better for a righty-righty matchup.

to compare this situation to Pom's 1st and 2nd inning stumbles is ridiculous. I am referencing an 8th inning / 2 base runners on situation of a tie ballgame. not a game that is 5 outs old.......

[Slasher9]

But if he was gassed how did he strike out Lowrie?

 

you are wise enough to know the answer to this.....

[moonslav59]

Had Smith come in and let up an HR, we'd have seen an equal amount of posters wondering why he took Price out, or why he didn't bring in Kimbrel. (Maybe even some of the same people...

[Slasher9]

Had Smith come in and let up an HR, we'd have seen an equal amount of posters wondering why he took Price out, or why he didn't bring in Kimbrel. (Maybe even some of the same people...

i am going to assume you are not referring to me with this post.

but i dont disagree with your first sentence.

[moonslav59]

i am going to assume you are not referring to me with this post.

but i dont disagree with your first sentence.

 

I didn't have anybody specific in mind, but it seems like some just like to be critical about any move that "does not work".

[SoxnCycles]

This rest thing is with good intention but with terrible planning and consequence.Mookie ,JBJ ,JD ,Benny ,Hanley have no reason to take another rest day for the next couple weeks .

 

So, it's ok to lose a game in a couple of weeks, but not yesterday?

[Bellhorn04]

you are wise enough to know the answer to this.....

 

I know that he still had enough in the tank to strike out Lowrie, a right-handed hitter with the best numbers on the team this year.

[Slasher9]

I know that he still had enough in the tank to strike out Lowrie, a right-handed hitter with the best numbers on the team this year.

 

apparently he used up what was left in the proverbial tank to get that K because Captain Khrush got to jog 360 feet.....

[moonslav59]

apparently he used up what was left in the proverbial tank to get that K because Captain Khrush got to jog 360 feet.....

 

You know how when your gas tank is empty, you still have like 20-30 miles to drive without running out of gas, but you can't see into the tank to know exactly how much is left?

 

Well, that was Cora, yesterday.

 

It's not like Smith has been lights out this year, even with a full tank.

[Bellhorn04]

You know how when your gas tank is empty, you still have like 20-30 miles to drive without running out of gas, but you can't see into the tank to know exactly how much is left?

 

Well, that was Cora, yesterday.

 

It's not like Smith has been lights out this year, even with a full tank.

 

I like the analogy.

[Maxbialystock]

no. my other one had nothing to do with game 1. i thought he managed that game just fine.

hitting a baseball is a Fail endeavor. only succeed 3 out of 10 times (30%) and you are a muli millionaire all star caliber player. percentages say even a gassed price more often than not will get any given hitter out. percentages also say that a fresh arm in the 8th inning will have a better chance than a pitcher at the end of his rope with the batters seeing him for the 4th time. percentages are also slightly better for a righty-righty matchup.

to compare this situation to Pom's 1st and 2nd inning stumbles is ridiculous. I am referencing an 8th inning / 2 base runners on situation of a tie ballgame. not a game that is 5 outs old.......

 

The comparison was in saying in the Pom first start, when he gave up 3 in 3.2 innings, Cora has his stuff together. And you better believe you can make managerial mistakes early in a game as easily as late in a game.

 

A fresh arm is also likely to be an arm that struggles finding the strike zone, which is exactly what happened to Carson Smith in the 8th inning of game 1. He inherited guys on 1st and 2d, walked a guy, got an out, and then gave up a triple. So please don't try to convince me what an ace he is in the 8th inning with his fresh out of the dryer arm. Job one for any pitcher is to hit your spots.

 

As for Price, he just struck out Lowrie, whom he faced for the 4th time. And Lowrie was a righty facing a lefty, which is a compelling argument that Price still had great stuff.

 

And don't forget you didn't want Price to strike out Lowrie, No siree. You wanted Smith to face Lowrie with 1 man out and Davis in the on deck circle.

[Slasher9]

The comparison was in saying in the Pom first start, when he gave up 3 in 3.2 innings, Cora has his stuff together. And you better believe you can make managerial mistakes early in a game as easily as late in a game.

 

A fresh arm is also likely to be an arm that struggles finding the strike zone, which is exactly what happened to Carson Smith in the 8th inning of game 1. He inherited guys on 1st and 2d, walked a guy, got an out, and then gave up a triple. So please don't try to convince me what an ace he is in the 8th inning with his fresh out of the dryer arm. Job one for any pitcher is to hit your spots.

 

As for Price, he just struck out Lowrie, whom he faced for the 4th time. And Lowrie was a righty facing a lefty, which is a compelling argument that Price still had great stuff.

 

And don't forget you didn't want Price to strike out Lowrie, No siree. You wanted Smith to face Lowrie with 1 man out and Davis in the on deck circle.

 

sorry, i fail to see the comparison to the POM start.

as for the 8th inning 22-April: Price had just given up back to back base hits. i dont care what he did against Lowrie...he should have been pulled from the game at that point IMO. it's actually worse that he K'd lowrie because that just allowed Cora to sit on his hands and let him face KHRush. maybe if lowrie had hit an atem ball cora would have gone righty-righty.

as for bringing up Carson in Game 1 of the season....that was 20 games ago. are we never going to pitch carson in a high leverage/8th inning spot again the rest of the season because of how he fared game 1???

should we have not pitched Kelly in all of these high leverage spots because he also pooped the sheets game 1?

sorry Max.

[Oscars]

Why were 3 of the best hitters on the team sitting when there was an off day the next day ?

[Hitch]

Managers don't matter. It has been proven statistically.

 

Absolute nonsense.

[mvp 78]

Absolute nonsense.

 

I believe that post was joking.

[Emp9]

Why were 3 of the best hitters on the team sitting when there was an off day the next day ?

 

I know, but it could be a good thing. The more I look at the schedule, the more I don’t mind. We do have two division series this week, the more important one starting tomorrow @ Toronto. They’re 13-8 & only 4 games back and we have to face TOR 19 times this season (compared to only 6 games total vs Oak).

[Kimmi]

They’re playing extremely well for him and I guess that’s all that really matters. I’d personally rather a bird in the hand than two in the bush. But maybe giving most of our bench a full game and getting them involved more will pay dividends too in the long run? Who knows? It’s only one game and we’ve built a serious lead in the standings to do this type of ... experimenting.

 

Cora is following the advice from Francona that sometimes the long term benefits take precedence over a possible win today. This 'managing a marathon' philosophy is one that I've always agreed with.

 

I don't quite understand having to rest several starters on the same day, but it worked for the Astros last season, so we'll see.

[Kimmi]

I'm not criticizing the guy here Max. Don't fall into the trap that leads to the sarcastic nastiness that we see here from time to time. If I can't question these moves or lack thereof, then what is a forum board for? yup - I am still puzzled by the explanation to not use Kimbrel but not as much as the one to not bring in Carson Smith.

 

!!!

[cp176]

!!!

 

Not sure what this means.

[Jasonbay44]

Not sure what this means.

 

She is agreeing with your comment.

[Station 13]

I know, but it could be a good thing. The more I look at the schedule, the more I don’t mind. We do have two division series this week, the more important one starting tomorrow @ Toronto. They’re 13-8 & only 4 games back and we have to face TOR 19 times this season (compared to only 6 games total vs Oak).

 

The Jays will not be in any race.

[Natick to NC]

It did not make sense to let a gassed Price face the A’s 2 best RH hitters with the go ahead runs on base. It was a mistake

 

QFT ...this was a gamble after Lowrie and he pushed all in and busted ..I hope he learns not to push the envelope now .The play was put smith in after Lowrie but hey Why micro manage a few days later ..have to get a series win and keep the hammer down .Boston Sports teams have had a pretty rough 4 day stretch lets flip that around .

Edited April 24, 2018 by Natick to NC

[a700hitter]

Absolute nonsense.

Your sarcasm detector needs a tune up.

[Hitch]

Your sarcasm detector needs a tune up.

 

My apologies. You've mentioned several times in the past you don't consider these men to hold much intelligence, I figured it was an extension of this view.

[Maxbialystock]

Not sure what this means.

 

I do and agree with her. I do not intend sarcastic nastiness and do not object to other points of view on managerial decisions. I just enjoy defending them.

[S5Dewey]

Not sure what this means.

 

Of course you are!!!

[Emp9]

The Jays will not be in any race.

 

Regardless of what some think, they’re still in our division and that makes them more important.

[mvp 78]

Regardless of what some think, they’re still in our division and that makes them more important.

 

They're in 2nd place now. They have a pretty decent lineup and lots of big bats coming through their system (Hernandez, Gurriel, Bichette, Guerrero). Their pitching is pretty nondescript, but their hitting is decent enough. 4th in runs.