10/16 SOX @ Astros ALCS Game 2 4:20PM

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

N.Eovaldi (RH) 0-0 vs L.Garcia (RH) 0-0

 

Hopefully, I can get on a nice run like MVP78 and THUNDER.

 

We definitely need NASTY NATE today. Hoping Cora doesn't pull him early if Nate's doing well.

 

Go SOX!

[Old Red]

N.Eovaldi (RH) 0-0 vs L.Garcia (RH) 0-0

 

Hopefully, I can get on a nice run like MVP78 and THUNDER.

 

We definitely need NASTY NATE today. Hoping Cora doesn't pull him early if Nate's doing well.

 

Go SOX!

 

I just hope Cora does a better job managing today. I said before yesterday that EO should have pitched yesterday, and I feel the same way today. Nothing against Sale, and he gave it all he had, which just isn’t that good in this point of the season. You don’t hold your #1 starter back.

 

When Sale got taken out Cora should have gone to a long man at that point, and not a short man

 

The Sox were only down 1 run in the 8th, and he brought in the Sour Man, who hadn’t pitched in over a week, and he gave up what turned out to be the winning run. I think there were better options to bring in at that point.

 

Pinch hitting Santana? I wouldn’t pinch hit Santana for anybody.

[Bellhorn04]

I just hope Cora does a better job managing today. I said before yesterday that EO should have pitched yesterday, and I feel the same way today. Nothing against Sale, and he gave it all he had, which just isn’t that good in this point of the season. You don’t hold your #1 starter back.

 

When Sale got taken out Cora should have gone to a long man at that point, and not a short man

 

The Sox were only down 1 run in the 8th, and he brought in the Sour Man, who hadn’t pitched in over a week, and he gave up what turned out to be the winning run. I think there were better options to bring in at that point.

 

Pinch hitting Santana? I wouldn’t pinch hit Santana for anybody.

 

Houck was the key guy in last night's game. He took the mound in the 6th with a 3-1 lead.

 

He's been great for us, but he didn't have it last night. If he was up to his usual standard I expect he would have pitched multiple innings.

[Maxbialystock]

Houck was the key guy in last night's game. He took the mound in the 6th with a 3-1 lead.

 

He's been great for us, but he didn't have it last night. If he was up to his usual standard I expect he would have pitched multiple innings.

 

Old Red is really Crazy Red. He reminds me of the old days on BDM when Francona seemed to be almost universally regarded as stupid, his two WS wins and later success at Cleveland notwithstanding.

 

Now Crazy Red wants to convince us the Sox made it to the ALCS in spite of Cora. If the Sox make it to the WS this year, Crazy Red will morph into Very Bitter Red.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Maxbialystock

[Old Red]

Old Red is really Crazy Red. He reminds me of the old days on BDM when Francona seemed to be almost universally regarded as stupid, his two WS wins and later success at Cleveland notwithstanding.

 

Now Crazy Red wants to convince us the Sox made it to the ALCS in spite of Cora. If the Sox make it to the WS this year, Crazy Red will morph into Very Bitter Red.

 

Cora gets praised for all the moves he makes all the time. He’s been called a genius, and even that he has made less mistakes than any other manager in baseball this year. If he can get praised for all the moves he makes when they work then he can get criticized for all the moves he makes when it doesn’t work, and last night he made plenty of moves that didn’t work. It’s alright to criticize Cora it doesn’t mean you don’t like him, or anything. What Cora did, before in his decision making had NOTHING to do with the decisions he made for last nights game. Tell me what decisions he made last night that worked out from starting Sale to pinch hitting Santana.

[Maxbialystock]

Cora gets praised for all the moves he makes all the time. He’s been called a genius, and even that he has made less mistakes than any other manager in baseball this year. If he can get praised for all the moves he makes when they work then he can get criticized for all the moves he makes when it doesn’t work, and last night he made plenty of moves that didn’t work. It’s alright to criticize Cora it doesn’t mean you don’t like him, or anything. What Cora did, before in his decision making had NOTHING to do with the decisions he made for last nights game. Tell me what decisions he made last night that worked out from starting Sale to pinch hitting Santana.

 

You got me there, partner, because clearly Cora even bungled the starting lineup. They produced a lousy 3 earned runs against a patched together succession of Astros pitchers. We know the Astros pitching had to be awful last night because you told us you can't win when you use 7 pitchers, and the Astros used 8, which means the Sox--if he had only put a good lineup in there--should have scored lots of runs.

 

Given the lousy lineup, the horrible mistake of using Sale instead of Eovaldi, who now may never get to pitch in the ALCS, it flows logically that he was going to send the wrong relievers in when Sale was pulled after 2.2 innings and giving up 1 run. Same goes for sending in Santana, Shaw, and Plawecki.

 

Given the above, it naturally follows that, whenever the Sox lose, it has to be Cora's fault because he makes all the decisions. Your analysis is so good you've even found ways to criticize Cora when the Sox win.

[Old Red]

You got me there, partner, because clearly Cora even bungled the starting lineup. They produced a lousy 3 earned runs against a patched together succession of Astros pitchers. We know the Astros pitching had to be awful last night because you told us you can't win when you use 7 pitchers, and the Astros used 8, which means the Sox--if he had only put a good lineup in there--should have scored lots of runs.

 

Given the lousy lineup, the horrible mistake of using Sale instead of Eovaldi, who now may never get to pitch in the ALCS, it flows logically that he was going to send the wrong relievers in when Sale was pulled after 2.2 innings and giving up 1 run. Same goes for sending in Santana, Shaw, and Plawecki.

 

Given the above, it naturally follows that, whenever the Sox lose, it has to be Cora's fault because he makes all the decisions. Your analysis is so good you've even found ways to criticize Cora when the Sox win.

 

I didn’t say you couldn’t win using 7 pitchers. I said it can’t be sustained, and I was talking about the Sox pitching staff, and not Houston’s. Look I’ve got a news flash for you that Cora is no genius, and he does make mistakes like everyone else’s, and it pains some of you to say anything bad about him. He isn’t made of stone, and he won’t break. If Sale would have come back like E Rod did, and pitched a good game last night it would have been nothing, but praise for Cora, and what a genius move it was, but it didn’t happen that way, and he can get criticized. This is Boston, and it happens all the time, so if it’s all Because of Cora’s decisions when they win then it can be his fault, because of his decisions when they lose, and I didn’t see many good decisions last night.

[moonslav59]

Cora gets praised for all the moves he makes all the time. He’s been called a genius, and even that he has made less mistakes than any other manager in baseball this year. If he can get praised for all the moves he makes when they work then he can get criticized for all the moves he makes when it doesn’t work, and last night he made plenty of moves that didn’t work. It’s alright to criticize Cora it doesn’t mean you don’t like him, or anything. What Cora did, before in his decision making had NOTHING to do with the decisions he made for last nights game. Tell me what decisions he made last night that worked out from starting Sale to pinch hitting Santana.

 

Can I say you don't like Cora as much as many of us without getting nailed to the cross?

 

Cora certainly has made moves that did not work, but not knowing how an alternative move would have worked makes it hard to judge individual moves by any manager. Hindsight judgments on single choices is about as far away from an exact science as can be.

 

That doesn't mean it's not worth talking about moves and discussing options. I've given my opinion that opposed Cora's many times, but I guess I see this differently than some. When I disagree, I don't think Cora is wrong for disagreeing with me. Even if Cora's choice did not work out, I don't think, "See, I was right and he was wrong." I just don't see it that way.

 

I fully think a manager can make the exact right move, and it does not work out. The opposite is true, too, of course.

 

To answer your question about last night.

 

Starting Sale: I disagreed with the choice, but having Eovaldi going against a slightly weaker starter, today may have increased our odds for a split in HOU. Sale pitched poorly, but he kept us in the game, so personally, I would not call it a bad. We were in the game when Sale left, but that is hindsight judging, which I do not think is the best way to judge a manager, unless it's over a long run.

 

One fine example is Cora's next move: in hindsight, brining in Ottavino worked very well, but at the time, I was thinking why not Pivetta or Houck- a long man. Was it a good move, just because it worked? I won't say yes, but it's hard to say after the fact it was a bad move, right?

 

The next two moves: Brasier and Taylor looked good to me and worked out. Again, can I say in hindsight, the moves were good or bad? I know others have an easy time saying their answer. I don't, but I'd say they were both good moves.

 

Bringing in Houck was the next move. I liked it at the time and thought he'd leave him in for 2-3 innings- starting with the bottom 3 guys, then going through the top of the order the following inning. Had Arroyo made that tough play at 2B, Altuve does not his the 2 run job. It's hard for me to call that a bad choice by Cora, if I agreed with it and Houck has been awesome for us.

 

Bringing in Robles surprised me, for the reasons I mentioned about what I felt Houck was brought in for. He let up the solo jack to Correa, so I'm sure all the hindsight judges probably screamed "Bad move by Cora," but even though I disagreed with the move, Robles has been a big key to our success down the stretch. I refuse to say it was a bad move, even with all those factors mentioned.

 

I'm not a big Sawamura fan, if there is any move I would really get worked up over, it would be this one (and maybe Perez, afterwards.) I did not think that was the time and place to ease them back into a trust building situation. I won't argue with anyone who called those two choices "bad calls," but again, I don't know what Cora knew.

 

In general, I think Cora knows a hell of a lot more than any of us, and not just in terms of data and match-ups information, but also philosophically. He's done a great job with a ragtag pen. He's used over 40 pitchers in relief in the past 220 games (60 in 2020 and 162 in 2021.) Our starting pitching was held together by threads, with Perez pitching like our ace for the first third of the season, then imploding, Richards being bad pretty much all the time as a starter, ERod sucking for the first half, and Houck getting hurt.

 

Yes, I think Cora is the best. It's my opinion. Do I agree with everything he does? No, far from it, but I do really think he is a genius.

 

[vegasbob]

To win Game #2 try improving on these stats , or just imitate Kike: 10 hits, 4 walks, 1 for 9 RISP , 9 LOBs. A lineup of 8 pitchers giving up 5 runs to the Astros at home was not the biggest problem last night. Regrettably Kike's 2 HR's were solo shots . The 4 runs allowed by Houck, Robles and Sawjob in the 6-7-8th ultimately cost the game , but so did the DP's in innings 1-2 when the Sox could have ripped this open. Edited October 16, 2021 by vegasbob

[moonslav59]

I didn’t say you couldn’t win using 7 pitchers. I said it can’t be sustained, and I was talking about the Sox pitching staff, and not Houston’s. Look I’ve got a news flash for you that Cora is no genius, and he does make mistakes like everyone else’s, and it pains some of you to say anything bad about him. He isn’t made of stone, and he won’t break. If Sale would have come back like E Rod did, and pitched a good game last night it would have been nothing, but praise for Cora, and what a genius move it was, but it didn’t happen that way, and he can get criticized. This is Boston, and it happens all the time, so if it’s all Because of Cora’s decisions when they win then it can be his fault, because of his decisions when they lose, and I didn’t see many good decisions last night.

 

It makes more sense using 7 pitchers game 1- after a long rest and then some long guys, today. We have tomorrow off, and the pen will be all reset for Monday.

 

Nobody is saying Cora is faultless. Even geniuses make mistakes.

 

I do not blame last night's loss on Cora, but I'm fine with people thinking he had a hand in it.

 

We lost 5-4 on a tough play at 2B followed by an Altuve HR and a Correa blast. We lost because our bats went to sleep for a few innings, and the persistent lack of big hits.

 

We got to Valdez with 6 hits and 3 BBs in 2.2 innings, but scored just 3 runs, including a solo blast.

 

I know our society always needs to blame someone for anything bad that happens, so cast blame where you want.

 

To me, the Sox lost a tough game, where we played hard all game. We could have won, but we didn't. The team lost. Not Cora. Not Arroyo. Not Sale. Not Houck. The team lost, and the team has one hell of a manager. (IMO,of course.)

[Fan_since_Boggs]

I didn't like Cora's moves last night either. In the last two games, the bullpen has given up leads, including a 5-1 lead and that is partly on the manager (I suppose) but to be fair to Cora the Red Sox just don't have the pitching depth to win a championship this year. I don't like how Houck is being used, I think he should be in the starting rotation. The Sale decision, a risk that didn't work out. Braiser only got one out, he should have remained in the game, his stuff looked good to me. The jerkoff Sawamura decision. The decision to pinch hit Santana for Renfroe and wouldn't Verdugo have caught that ball in LF? It seemed like an out to me off the bat, but Santana didn't seem to get a good jump on it, maybe because he hasn't played very much. I would need to see that play again to be sure.

 

Also, I'm not sure why you pinch hit Santana for Renfroe rather than let Renfroe hit and pinch hit Santana for Arroyo. Arroyo has been pretty terrible, he is starting to be exposed as a player. He is more of a utility guy than a starting 2b. I would rather let Renfroe hit, knowing he could put a charge into one, and let Santana bat for Arroyo who isn't producing.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Fan_since_Boggs

[vegasbob]

It seems that the Dodger FO ( Friedman?) dictated the starting pitcher and subsequent reliever rotation to Dave Roberts in their Game 5 do or die with the Giants. That included two relievers for the first and second innings , followed by their 20 game winner Urias subsequently. Robert's quote was that he had one vote among multiple voters on that set up.

 

Wonder what Alex's reaction would be if Chaim and team told him how to order the lineup and his pitching plans. In fact, directly or indirectly , via anlaytics input, that exactly is where baseball strategy has gone. The bench coach isn't working out the precise positioning seen in the various shifts and modifications based on the count.

[Old Red]

Can I say you don't like Cora as much as many of us without getting nailed to the cross?

 

Cora certainly has made moves that did not work, but not knowing how an alternative move would have worked makes it hard to judge individual moves by any manager. Hindsight judgments on single choices is about as far away from an exact science as can be.

 

That doesn't mean it's not worth talking about moves and discussing options. I've given my opinion that opposed Cora's many times, but I guess I see this differently than some. When I disagree, I don't think Cora is wrong for disagreeing with me. Even if Cora's choice did not work out, I don't think, "See, I was right and he was wrong." I just don't see it that way.

 

I fully think a manager can make the exact right move, and it does not work out. The opposite is true, too, of course.

 

To answer your question about last night.

 

Starting Sale: I disagreed with the choice, but having Eovaldi going against a slightly weaker starter, today may have increased our odds for a split in HOU. Sale pitched poorly, but he kept us in the game, so personally, I would not call it a bad. We were in the game when Sale left, but that is hindsight judging, which I do not think is the best way to judge a manager, unless it's over a long run.

 

One fine example is Cora's next move: in hindsight, brining in Ottavino worked very well, but at the time, I was thinking why not Pivetta or Houck- a long man. Was it a good move, just because it worked? I won't say yes, but it's hard to say after the fact it was a bad move, right?

 

The next two moves: Brasier and Taylor looked good to me and worked out. Again, can I say in hindsight, the moves were good or bad? I know others have an easy time saying their answer. I don't, but I'd say they were both good moves.

 

Bringing in Houck was the next move. I liked it at the time and thought he'd leave him in for 2-3 innings- starting with the bottom 3 guys, then going through the top of the order the following inning. Had Arroyo made that tough play at 2B, Altuve does not his the 2 run job. It's hard for me to call that a bad choice by Cora, if I agreed with it and Houck has been awesome for us.

 

Bringing in Robles surprised me, for the reasons I mentioned about what I felt Houck was brought in for. He let up the solo jack to Correa, so I'm sure all the hindsight judges probably screamed "Bad move by Cora," but even though I disagreed with the move, Robles has been a big key to our success down the stretch. I refuse to say it was a bad move, even with all those factors mentioned.

 

I'm not a big Sawamura fan, if there is any move I would really get worked up over, it would be this one (and maybe Perez, afterwards.) I did not think that was the time and place to ease them back into a trust building situation. I won't argue with anyone who called those two choices "bad calls," but again, I don't know what Cora knew.

 

In general, I think Cora knows a hell of a lot more than any of us, and not just in terms of data and match-ups information, but also philosophically. He's done a great job with a ragtag pen. He's used over 40 pitchers in relief in the past 220 games (60 in 2020 and 162 in 2021.) Our starting pitching was held together by threads, with Perez pitching like our ace for the first third of the season, then imploding, Richards being bad pretty much all the time as a starter, ERod sucking for the first half, and Houck getting hurt.

 

Yes, I think Cora is the best. It's my opinion. Do I agree with everything he does? No, far from it, but I do really think he is a genius.

 

 

I don’t care who the manager would have been, and made the same moves as Cora did last night I would have said the same thing, so this has nothing to do with if I like Cora, or not. The most important game last night was last nights game, and not starting your best pitcher to me was not a good move, and the game was there to be taken.

 

Cora walks on water on here, and all I was saying is that if he gets praise for the decisions he makes when they win then he can be criticized for the moves he makes when they lose. I think it’s over the top to say Cora is a genius, but he does get criticized by the news media, and talk shows, so it’s not just me. If Cora knows more than any of us I would like to know what he knew about Sale that he would let him start that game last night, because that has set the tone for the whole series, and hopefully that tone can be changed.

[Old Red]

It makes more sense using 7 pitchers game 1- after a long rest and then some long guys, today. We have tomorrow off, and the pen will be all reset for Monday.

 

Nobody is saying Cora is faultless. Even geniuses make mistakes.

 

I do not blame last night's loss on Cora, but I'm fine with people thinking he had a hand in it.

 

We lost 5-4 on a tough play at 2B followed by an Altuve HR and a Correa blast. We lost because our bats went to sleep for a few innings, and the persistent lack of big hits.

 

We got to Valdez with 6 hits and 3 BBs in 2.2 innings, but scored just 3 runs, including a solo blast.

 

I know our society always needs to blame someone for anything bad that happens, so cast blame where you want.

 

To me, the Sox lost a tough game, where we played hard all game. We could have won, but we didn't. The team lost. Not Cora. Not Arroyo. Not Sale. Not Houck. The team lost, and the team has one hell of a manager. (IMO,of course.)

 

If you are going to talk about the tough play at 2B then you also have to mention the tough play at 2B by Altuve that would have been the 3rd inning in a row hitting into a DP, and the Sox wouldn’t have scored that inning.

[Fan_since_Boggs]

Maybe it makes sense to give up on Sale, move him to the bullpen, and to hope that E-Rod and Houck could come up big in the rotation and join Eovaldi as a guy who can give you 6 innings of dominant ball.

 

Still, the idea that Eovaldi, E-Rod, and Houck can keep up with Scherzer, Urias, Buehler seems laughable to me. Friedman is so smart, he traded away a couple of stud prospects, but he saw an opening and took it, and the Dodgers greatly increased their odds of winning a championship.

 

To compete with the Dodgers, the Red Sox need Chris Sale at the top of his game but it looks like Sale isn't going to perform at an ace level anytime soon. Maybe next year. And maybe next year the Red Sox will be in a better position to make a trade for an ace starter like Scherzer at the deadline.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Fan_since_Boggs

[jad]

Were the RS not ahead when Sale left the game? And is his small-sample size ERA not exactly what it was during the regular season?

 

Devers didn't hit a home run last night. What an idiot Cora was for starting him.

[Old Red]

Were the RS not ahead when Sale left the game? And is his small-sample size ERA not exactly what it was during the regular season?

 

Devers didn't hit a home run last night. What an idiot Cora was for starting him.

 

Sale hasn’t pitched a complete game in his last 3 games combined.

[notin]

Sale hasn’t pitched a complete game in his last 3 games combined.

 

Chris Sale has also only pitched 46 innings in the past 26 months. Did people just expect him to be as sharp as before immediately?

[Old Red]

Chris Sale has also only pitched 46 innings in the past 26 months. Did people just expect him to be as sharp as before immediately?

 

I don’t blame Sale at all, but this isn’t the time to work on things.

[moonslav59]

If you are going to talk about the tough play at 2B then you also have to mention the tough play at 2B by Altuve that would have been the 3rd inning in a row hitting into a DP, and the Sox wouldn’t have scored that inning.

 

I don't "have to," and stop overanalyzing everything I say!

 

(LOL)

[moonslav59]

I don’t care who the manager would have been, and made the same moves as Cora did last night I would have said the same thing, so this has nothing to do with if I like Cora, or not. The most important game last night was last nights game, and not starting your best pitcher to me was not a good move, and the game was there to be taken.

 

Cora walks on water on here, and all I was saying is that if he gets praise for the decisions he makes when they win then he can be criticized for the moves he makes when they lose. I think it’s over the top to say Cora is a genius, but he does get criticized by the news media, and talk shows, so it’s not just me. If Cora knows more than any of us I would like to know what he knew about Sale that he would let him start that game last night, because that has set the tone for the whole series, and hopefully that tone can be changed.

 

He doesn't walk on water. Plenty of posters bash him everyday.

 

Nobody says he's perfect.

 

Nobody says he makes no mistakes.

 

Nobody.

 

Sure, more like him than don't but winning has a way of doing that to people's opinions.

[notin]

I didn't like Cora's moves last night either. In the last two games, the bullpen has given up leads, including a 5-1 lead and that is partly on the manager (I suppose) but to be fair to Cora the Red Sox just don't have the pitching depth to win a championship this year. I don't like how Houck is being used, I think he should be in the starting rotation. The Sale decision, a risk that didn't work out. Braiser only got one out, he should have remained in the game, his stuff looked good to me. The jerkoff Sawamura decision. The decision to pinch hit Santana for Renfroe and wouldn't Verdugo have caught that ball in LF? It seemed like an out to me off the bat, but Santana didn't seem to get a good jump on it, maybe because he hasn't played very much. I would need to see that play again to be sure.

 

Also, I'm not sure why you pinch hit Santana for Renfroe rather than let Renfroe hit and pinch hit Santana for Arroyo. Arroyo has been pretty terrible, he is starting to be exposed as a player. He is more of a utility guy than a starting 2b. I would rather let Renfroe hit, knowing he could put a charge into one, and let Santana bat for Arroyo who isn't producing.

 

 

Yes. Very big puzzler to me, too. While Renfroe is not as effective vs RHP as he is vs LHP, his .777 OPS against them still dwarfs Santana and his corresponding .594 OPS.

 

I considered that move so dumb, I assumed Renfroe had to be hurt at the time. There is no other possible situation where it makes sense. But I haven't heard anything...

[Old Red]

I don't "have to," and stop overanalyzing everything I say!

 

(LOL)

 

Then why did you pass over that play, which was just as important? Both teams scored, because of them.

[notin]

I don’t blame Sale at all, but this isn’t the time to work on things.

 

No, but maybe it's also not the time to make Nick Pivetta the game one starter, either...

[moonslav59]

Chris Sale has also only pitched 46 innings in the past 26 months. Did people just expect him to be as sharp as before immediately?

 

When Sale finishes 4th in the Cy Young, next year, we won't hear anything.

[moonslav59]

Then why did you pass over that play, which was just as important? Both teams scored, because of them.

 

Why do I have to mention every single play?

 

I mentioned some of the reasons we lost. I don't have to be an equal opportunity blame assigner.

 

Sure, there were many reasons why the Astros didn't win by more than they did.

[Old Red]

No, but maybe it's also not the time to make Nick Pivetta the game one starter, either...

 

Your right. EO should have started game 1, and ERod game 2. Sale shouldn’t have started any game.

[Old Red]

When Sale finishes 4th in the Cy Young, next year, we won't hear anything.

 

Hope you are right.

[Bellhorn04]

Yes. Very big puzzler to me, too. While Renfroe is not as effective vs RHP as he is vs LHP, his .777 OPS against them still dwarfs Santana and his corresponding .594 OPS.

 

I considered that move so dumb, I assumed Renfroe had to be hurt at the time. There is no other possible situation where it makes sense. But I haven't heard anything...

 

Renfroe was not hurt, but Cora did explain the decision.

 

https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2021/10/why-did-boston-red-sox-pinch-hit-danny-santana-for-hunter-renfroe-alex-cora-explains.html

[SPLENDIDSPLINTER]

Can I say you don't like Cora as much as many of us without getting nailed to the cross?

 

Cora certainly has made moves that did not work, but not knowing how an alternative move would have worked makes it hard to judge individual moves by any manager. Hindsight judgments on single choices is about as far away from an exact science as can be.

 

That doesn't mean it's not worth talking about moves and discussing options. I've given my opinion that opposed Cora's many times, but I guess I see this differently than some. When I disagree, I don't think Cora is wrong for disagreeing with me. Even if Cora's choice did not work out, I don't think, "See, I was right and he was wrong." I just don't see it that way.

 

I fully think a manager can make the exact right move, and it does not work out. The opposite is true, too, of course.

 

To answer your question about last night.

 

Starting Sale: I disagreed with the choice, but having Eovaldi going against a slightly weaker starter, today may have increased our odds for a split in HOU. Sale pitched poorly, but he kept us in the game, so personally, I would not call it a bad. We were in the game when Sale left, but that is hindsight judging, which I do not think is the best way to judge a manager, unless it's over a long run.

 

One fine example is Cora's next move: in hindsight, brining in Ottavino worked very well, but at the time, I was thinking why not Pivetta or Houck- a long man. Was it a good move, just because it worked? I won't say yes, but it's hard to say after the fact it was a bad move, right?

 

The next two moves: Brasier and Taylor looked good to me and worked out. Again, can I say in hindsight, the moves were good or bad? I know others have an easy time saying their answer. I don't, but I'd say they were both good moves.

 

Bringing in Houck was the next move. I liked it at the time and thought he'd leave him in for 2-3 innings- starting with the bottom 3 guys, then going through the top of the order the following inning. Had Arroyo made that tough play at 2B, Altuve does not his the 2 run job. It's hard for me to call that a bad choice by Cora, if I agreed with it and Houck has been awesome for us.

 

Bringing in Robles surprised me, for the reasons I mentioned about what I felt Houck was brought in for. He let up the solo jack to Correa, so I'm sure all the hindsight judges probably screamed "Bad move by Cora," but even though I disagreed with the move, Robles has been a big key to our success down the stretch. I refuse to say it was a bad move, even with all those factors mentioned.

 

I'm not a big Sawamura fan, if there is any move I would really get worked up over, it would be this one (and maybe Perez, afterwards.) I did not think that was the time and place to ease them back into a trust building situation. I won't argue with anyone who called those two choices "bad calls," but again, I don't know what Cora knew.

 

In general, I think Cora knows a hell of a lot more than any of us, and not just in terms of data and match-ups information, but also philosophically. He's done a great job with a ragtag pen. He's used over 40 pitchers in relief in the past 220 games (60 in 2020 and 162 in 2021.) Our starting pitching was held together by threads, with Perez pitching like our ace for the first third of the season, then imploding, Richards being bad pretty much all the time as a starter, ERod sucking for the first half, and Houck getting hurt.

 

Yes, I think Cora is the best. It's my opinion. Do I agree with everything he does? No, far from it, but I do really think he is a genius.

 

 

Genius? I think that word along with 'great' are overused and misused too often. Cora, imho, is an excellent manager, better than most, but genius?

There is a contemporary of mine who I feel comfortable calling a 'genius.' That would be Brian Wilson, singer/songwriter formerly of The Beach Boys.

Edited October 16, 2021 by SPLENDIDSPLINTER