Grady succombs to the Curse

[andyfox]

http://sports.excite.com/news/10272003/v1972.html

Don Zimmer is probably reavailable.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

It was the only move the Sox could make that was fair to Grady.

[J.R.]

...or to his own ineptness.

The pedro decision looks great if:
1) pedro doesn't grove the 0-2 fastball to matsui or
2) the great pitch pedro made to jam posada doesn't bloop into center.

Grady's firing may have been inevitable after the press made him the scapegoat for the game 7 loss, but the reality is the red sox overcame him for much of the season and post-season to make it to game 7 of the ALCS.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I live in Red Sox Nation. The press was fairly split on his decision. 2 of the more knowledgeable writers defended it. The fans are more lined up against him, and that's the key. If they kept him on he'd be in a completely untenable situation. First of all, the ballpark would collapse from the vibrations generated by the booing he'd get on opening day. Second, he'd be second-guessed worse than any manager from the beginning of the season. Management did the only thing it could do.

Personally, I thought he was out of gas in the 7th. Yeah he was hitting 94, but the ball was straight as a string and he had zero location control.

[andyfox]

I know we've been over this ground before, but the only justification for keeping him in would be if he had no confidence in his relievers. But they had been handling the Yankees well.

0-2 on Jeter. Jeter doubles over Nixon's head. 1-2 on Williams. Williams lines a single to center. 0-2 on Matsui. Matsui lines a double down the line. At this point, seven of the previous nine hitters have gotten on base.

I don't see any controversy at all. There's no way the pitcher, no matter who it is, should stay in the game.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I don't see any controversy at all. There's no way the pitcher, no matter who it is, should stay in the game.

I agree with you. Some writers only remember that he struck out Soriano to end the 7th, not that the other 2 outs were hit just as hard as the hits.

[J.R.]

Ignoring the game 7 pedro decision, did you think the sox were well managed during the postseason? I thought the sox's grit overcame Grady's ineptness, but then again, I am a Bill Simmons (the "sports guy" on ESPN.com who hates Grady) disciple, so maybe I am biased.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

No, I don't think they were managed optimally in the post-season. There was never a reason for Todd Walker to sit in favor of Derek Lowe's personal 2nd baseman, and Nomar had no business staying in the 3 spot.

[Dynasty]

When the 2004 regular season is over, I think it's very likely quite a few stories will be written about how the Red Sox missed Grady Little's presence throughout the season. The Sox were not as good a team as their statistics and final record say they were. Little got the most, often career years, out of players who other teams didn't want. There are very good reasons why many Red Sox players publicly said they wanted Little back.

If there were no big public outcry to not pick up his option, the Red Sox would be far better off with Little as manager in 2004 than just about anybody I can think of.

[Dynasty]

[ QUOTE ]
There was never a reason for Todd Walker to sit in favor of Derek Lowe's personal 2nd baseman

[/ QUOTE ]

The Sox were doing that all year for very good reasons. Walker is a weak defensive second baseman and Lowe is a heavy groundout/flyout pitcher. Putting Jackson (or Mueller earlier in the year) at 2B was good. Walker wasn't going to be missed in the lineup.

When the Red Sox hitters slumped during the post-season, I thought Little made the right choice in keeping the hot Walker in the lineup full-time, even against left-handers who Walker hit very poorly in the regular season.

[ QUOTE ]
and Nomar had no business staying in the 3 spot.

[/ QUOTE ]

Shifting the lineup around is just panicked thinking.

[andyfox]

"Shifting the lineup around is just panicked thinking"

-I agree with this. Pete Palmer ran a study several years ago that showed that the difference between the best possible batting order and the worst is less than 25 runs per season. That is, if a manager attempted to make out the worst possible batting order, he would only cost his team about 25 runs over 162 games vs. the best possible batting order.

[Rick Nebiolo]

KurnsonofMogh

I just noticed you are from Cranston. After college I used to visit my friend John Cole in Cranston but we would usually head out to Providence if we wanted to have fun. That being said, our first taste of public poker was playing the Friday "Las Vegas Nights" in the Knights of Columbus Hall off Pontiac Avenue. That was around 1982. I still remember my first $300 win /images/graemlins/smile.gif.

Other than family, friends and the seasons, the things I miss most about Rhode Island are Lupos Heartbreak Hotel, the Met Cafe, the Last Call Saloon, New York System Hot Weiners (especially the one in Olneyville) and Haven's Brothers Diner. The diners were especially great late at night.

BTW, do the women from Cranston still have that accent and wear too much jewelry?

Just wondering /images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Rick

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Rick,

I've only lived in Cranston since January, but there is that weird NY/NE mix of an accent. Personally, I'm a native of NJ who lived in and around Boston for 33 years.

As for big hair and jewelry, that sounds more like Johnston. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

Part of managing is knowing waht's right for the moment.

The Sox were doing that all year for very good reasons. Walker is a weak defensive second baseman and Lowe is a heavy groundout/flyout pitcher.

I disagree. Walker is a decent 2nd baseman with almost zero range to his left. Jackson is a mediocre fielder (pretty poor lifetime FP) with above average range. If you wanted to make a change for purely defensive and strategy purposes, you start Merloni at 2nd. He's head and shoulders the best fielder of the 3, and a better hitter than Jackson. Jackson's speed is negated with Pettitte starting. That leaves you with Walker's bat and Jackson's speed coming off the bench. Jackson made 2 huge defensive gaffes in the Oakland series, not the least of which was almost killing Johnny Damon.

Shifting the lineup around is just panicked thinking.

Really. It seemed to work for the Yankees. I'd concede that maybe Nomar's reliance on routine may be too fragile to accept it, but I'd still think it was a weak excuse. Usually, it motivates the guy who was moved down, like it did with Giambi. Besides, Nomar had be killing rallues since the end of August. When the slump is 6 weeks long, that's not panic.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

So the logic is leave the guy who hasn't seen the Mendoza Line for over 6 weeks hitting 3rd? Noamr's lack of production wasn't just post-season. He'd been king of the infield popup since late August.

[andyfox]

If Nomar wasn't hitting, and I believe he hit below .200 for a long period of time, the thing to do is bench him, not move his to another spot in the line-up. It's simply not true that changing a lineup will effect a team's offensive production appreciably.

Now there may be some psychological effect (either positive or negative) by moving someone up or down in the lineup. I understand that Giambi was quite upset about being moved down to the 7-spot.

[Kurn, son of Mogh]

I understand that Giambi was quite upset about being moved down to the 7-spot.

I'd say he channeled that anger pretty well, wouldn't you?

The sad thing about game 7 was, Pedro outpitched Roger, but Torre outmanaged Grady. Torre didn't worry about offending Giambi. When he went to the mound with no outs in the 4th, he didn't worry about it being perhaps the last game of Clemens' career. He didn't ask him how he felt. He said "give me the ball."

It's simply not true that changing a lineup will effect a team's offensive production appreciably.

In mid-season, Grady moved Damon down to 8th to take some pressure off when he wasn't hitting. The change let him get his head screwed back on and he had a monster 2nd half.

[Joe Tall]

[ QUOTE ]
The Sox were not as good a team as their statistics and final record say they were

[/ QUOTE ]

No, they are better.

Sorry Dynasty, I disagree and by drafting David Ortiz and Kevin Millar (who I pulled a great trade mid-season for Torri Hunter) on my fantasy baseball team before the season started, I think I knew what Theo Epstein was trying to accomplish.

Peace,
JT