Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Thoughts on The Win at Fenway

Hey everybody! You're reading a blog about the hottest team in the American League! The Baltimore Frigging Orioles!

Well, this didn't turn out to be the pitcher's duel we all had anticipated, not in the traditional sense anyway. Neither pitcher had their best stuff but both battled mightily to keep their team in the game, both pitching out of jams on multiple occasions. Erik Bedard surrendered but 2 runs but ran his pitch count so high he lasted just 6 innings. Josh Beckett gave up 5 runs but kept the pitch count down low enough to get through 8.

Did you see that catch by Nick Markakis to retire Manny Ramirez in the 8th? He laid out three rows deep in the rightfield bleachers and snatched the ball away from a dozen reaching Red Sox fans. I can't remember a better play made in the outfield this season (yes, including Corey Patterson's catch in the 1st) and it's right up there with any of the defensive plays Baltimore has made this year.

I don't want to second guess a winning manager like Trembley but...why try to have Patterson steal third with two outs? Not sure what payoff you have for taking that risk. With two outs, Patterson is going on anything and will surely score on any base hit. And with men on first and second with no outs in the ninth, why not let Jay Payton (2-3 at that point) swing away and try for a big inning? Instead, you gave the Sox a free out and didn't even move up the runners. We won but those calls were questionable.

Taking the interim tag off of Dave Trembley is a good idea because:

1) He has won with the same club (and more injuries) that Perlozzo was tanking with
2) If the team goes in the toilet for the rest of the season, you can still fire him
3) There's really no one better available right now anyway

Congratulations to Dave Trembley, it's nice to have a manager who manages what he has, not what he hasn't.
Photo Courtesy of the AP

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