"And just to be clear, I haven't forgotten Pete Kozma's role in this debacle.  He fields Morse's grounder and we're never having this discussion."

The frustrating part is why he felt he needed to backhand the ball with Morse running. It was as routine a play as it gets. It's probably not fair to expect Kozma - who apparently has had most of his reps in the minors at second and not short - to come up with spectacular plays, but he ought to make the easy ones.
I'll admit this is complete and utter armchair quarterbacking, but if any offense you're going to get from either Kozma or Jackson is a bonus, then why not go with the guy who has plus defensive skills at the position rather than the guy who's barely played it?

artie_fufkin wrote:

These are all excellent points, but if Scrabble gets a third strike past some kid with 75 games of major league service, we're all glowing today about how Matheny put one over on that buffoon Davey Johnson.
Nigel Tufnel was right. There is a fine line between clever and stupid.

I would have saw it as him getting away with one.  In no way was Scrabble facing a right hander part of some master plan.

artie_fufkin wrote:

I'll admit this is complete and utter armchair quarterbacking, but if any offense you're going to get from either Kozma or Jackson is a bonus, then why not go with the guy who has plus defensive skills at the position rather than the guy who's barely played it?

Because that makes too much sense, which means you shouldn't expect the Cardinals to do it. Honest to goodness, of all the stupid bullshit that's transpired since this became Moz's team last October, playing the guy who your own damn Triple A manager thought was a second baseman at shortstop when the real shortstop could actually hit the ball is perhaps the corniest, smelliest bullshit of all. FFS, Luhnow is GONE. There's no need to justify that shitty pick by playing him now.

don.rob11 wrote:

Cardinals using same line-up again ....

I would have put Skip at second and Delscalso at SS.

• Allen Craig and Yadier Molina have felt some zings and arrows after their 7th-inning at-bats. (Do you need me to replay what happened? I don't think so.) Anyway ... they each swung at the first pitch and we know that it ended badly. Question: were Craig and Molina crazy for taking an aggressive mindset to the plate? They said they were expecting Ryan Mattheus to throw a first-pitch strike, because the bases were loaded and he didn't want to risk walking anyone. He also didn't want to fall behind in the count and transfer the advantage to the hitters. Was it a mistake to be so aggressive?

Here are a couple of numbers that jumped out at me. When Craig and Molina swing at first pitches this season, and there is a result on the play, this is what they've done:

Craig: 21 for 41, six doubles, two homers, 13 RBIs. A .512 batting average, .477 onbase percentage, .805 slugging percentage.

Molina: 7 homers, 20 RBIs, .380 BA, .382 OBP, .648 SLG.

I can see why they were aggressive. But they didn't get the pitch they wanted, and that was a problem.

Obviously Craig and Molina aren't very bright. If you're going to attack on the first pitch like that, then common sense dictates that you swing at a strike you can drive. Hopefully someone gently reminds both of them that they've been here before. Less than a year ago, actually.

artie_fufkin wrote:

".380 BA, .382 OBP"

How are a guy's first pitch on base percentage and batting average different?

Is HBP figured into on base percentage?