- APIAD
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
artie_fufkin wrote:
I didnt think thay ground rule double went into the stands.
They never really showed a conclusive replay, did they?
No they didnt. They have that cain-link fence look thing that angles out over they field. It is like the kind of thing you see to keep criminals out or in for that matter. It is missing the barbed wire or it could double as a prison fence. Anyway I dont know how the ball bounces over it and then comes back onto the field. I guess that fence is likely an effort to gaurd the players from beer dumpage.
- APIAD
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
it's such a risky move to put the pitcher back out there. maybe because larussa ain't around the coaches aren't willing to step too far outside the standard playbook.
I am sure TLR made that call from his hospitle bed.
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Thread Starter- artie_fufkin
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
"I guess that fence is likely an effort to gaurd the players from beer dumpage."
Not sure Shane Victorino would agree with that. The basket was probably put in to help the umpires judge what's a home run and what isn't. A yellow line on the top of the wall might be obscured once the stupid ivy grows in.
- APIAD
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
It looked to me like that the would have got caught on the backside of the fence. I thought the ball was in fair ground and never left the field.
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Thread Starter- artie_fufkin
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
From that angle, it looks like the primary purpose of the fence is to keep the drunks from falling out of the stands.
- tkihshbt
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
I like the approach the Cardinals are taking with Molina. Last night was Laird's ninth start. Molina didn't miss his ninth start until June 7 last year.
Molina should only be catching about 130 games from this point on.
- artie_fufkin
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
I like the approach the Cardinals are taking with Molina. Last night was Laird's ninth start. Molina didn't miss his ninth start until June 7 last year.
Molina should only be catching about 130 games from this point on.
I think they're a little more comfortable with Laird behind the plate than some of his predecessors at the backup catcher position behind Yadi. Laird is only 31 and two years removed from being a regular. Bennett never really was a full-time, 130 games-a-year catcher to begin with, LaRue was well past his prime offensively, and Einar Freakin' Diaz just flat-out sucked.
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
Molina is hitting .294 with 2 HRs and 16 RBIs. The rest is doing him good.
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Thread Starter- tkihshbt
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
I like the approach the Cardinals are taking with Molina. Last night was Laird's ninth start. Molina didn't miss his ninth start until June 7 last year.
Molina should only be catching about 130 games from this point on.I think they're a little more comfortable with Laird behind the plate than some of his predecessors at the backup catcher position behind Yadi. Laird is only 31 and two years removed from being a regular. Bennett never really was a full-time, 130 games-a-year catcher to begin with, LaRue was well past his prime offensively, and Einar Freakin' Diaz just flat-out sucked.
That is true. I think if Molina's knee hadn't caused him to miss the last 12 games of 2010, he would've caught over 140 games.
Right now he's OPSing .770. Like AP says, the rest is doing him a lot of good. Nobody with sore legs is going to be a useful hitter.
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
CHICAGO • Allen Craig didn't learn about Thursday afternoon's starting assignment at second base until he walked into Wrigley Field's claustrophobic visitors clubhouse. The room has barely enough space for him to turn around; it's not nearly large enough to conceal a murmur.
Three games into his term as acting manager, Joe Pettini wrote Craig's name into the lineup at a position where he had one inning of major-league experience: second base.
"It might look a little out of the ordinary," Pettini said in perhaps the understatement of a young season. Pettini later called the move 'sort of a push."
The idea sprouted from Pettini's daily conversations with manager Tony La Russa, who remains on medical leave in St. Louis to deal with shingles. Pettini suggested the idea to play Craig at second base was his, something many within the clubhouse found hard to believe. Craig didn't seem to care. "It's not a matter of being fair," Craig said. "I want to be in the lineup."
Batting second, Craig responded with a hit, a walk and a sacrifice fly in four plate appearances. Pettini lifted him in the seventh inning with the Cardinals leading by eight runs in a game they won 9-1.
"It worked out the way we were hoping" Pettini said. "Most of the ground balls went to third base. When you have a lefthanded pitcher facing a (righthanded-heavy) lineup like that most of the time that's where they're going to go."
Said Craig: "I had a good time out there. I wasn't overly nervous. I was thinking more about if I was going to make the plays, the cuts, the relays and all the little stuff that I hadn't done in a while."
Pettini could've played Tyler Greene, Daniel Descalso or Nick Punto at second. However, Pettini said he wanted to rest Punto, who was activated April 19 after hernia surgery in February. He also noted opposing hitters' tendencies as contributing to why he put Craig at second rather than at third, where he played for much of his minor-league career and had made two starts earlier this season. Opposing hitters had grounded 25 balls to third base against Garcia and only nine to second, so Pettini preferred to put a better defender at third.
Third-base coach Jose Oquendo engaged Pettini in an animated discussion at first during batting practice. The notion of Craig playing second had arisen before La Russa left the club but failed to receive much support among the staff.
"I was nervous for him," said Oquendo, who had worked with Craig to smooth some of his rough edges at third base. "But he did good."
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Thread Starter- APIAD
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
I like the approach the Cardinals are taking with Molina. Last night was Laird's ninth start. Molina didn't miss his ninth start until June 7 last year.
Molina should only be catching about 130 games from this point on.I think they're a little more comfortable with Laird behind the plate than some of his predecessors at the backup catcher position behind Yadi. Laird is only 31 and two years removed from being a regular. Bennett never really was a full-time, 130 games-a-year catcher to begin with, LaRue was well past his prime offensively, and Einar Freakin' Diaz just flat-out sucked.
That is true. I think if Molina's knee hadn't caused him to miss the last 12 games of 2010, he would've caught over 140 games.
Right now he's OPSing .770. Like AP says, the rest is doing him a lot of good. Nobody with sore legs is going to be a useful hitter.
The rest is doing the team good. If they limit Molina to 130 games or so and he can produce like this then Molina becomes a plus to have in the lineup. This kind of production may actually justify his higher then needed spot in the lineup. Of course this year, because of the addition of Berkman, he is batting low in the lineup more often. When Molina was batting 5th in the lineup he seemed to suck the life out of it. Now he is batting 6th or lower and delivering timely hits.
I am starting to get really excited by this team. This lineup looks awesome. There seems to be enough young guys on the bench that are will to fill whatever roles they are asked to fill. Skip is going to be on the DL for awhile still and seeing Greene, Descalso and Craig get more playing time will be interesting. They have really added alot to this team. Finding Craig playing time is important.
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Thread Starter- artie_fufkin
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
"Third-base coach Jose Oquendo engaged Pettini in an animated discussion at first during batting practice. The notion of Craig playing second had arisen before La Russa left the club but failed to receive much support among the staff."
Interesting. Maybe Jose doesn't want anyone to lay claim to his Secret Weapon designation?
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
"Third-base coach Jose Oquendo engaged Pettini in an animated discussion at first during batting practice. The notion of Craig playing second had arisen before La Russa left the club but failed to receive much support among the staff."
Interesting. Maybe Jose doesn't want anyone to lay claim to his Secret Weapon designation?
Maybe Oquendo doesnt want to deal with another experiment like Skip.
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Thread Starter- tkihshbt
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
The rest is doing the team good.
Agreed. Just think how much better this lineup would be if they had Molina's .770 OPS batting seventh and Freese batting sixth. And just think how MORE scary it would be if they could pull off a trade for Jose Reyes. A Cardinals-Phillies NLCS would be epic.
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
The lineup would be really good. So good that I might be able to set aside my hate for Reyes.
Do you guys think Craig at second is a one time thing or something we might see more of?
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Thread Starter- tkihshbt
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
I bet it's a one-time thing.
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
The rest is doing the team good.
Agreed. Just think how much better this lineup would be if they had Molina's .770 OPS batting seventh and Freese batting sixth. And just think how MORE scary it would be if they could pull off a trade for Jose Reyes. A Cardinals-Phillies NLCS would be epic.
The Phillies are almost as good as the Reds think they are.
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Re: 5/11 gamecrap
Do you guys think Craig at second is a one time thing or something we might see more of?
i think it's a gimmick, like using fridge perry to carry the ball into the end zone. it makes the manager look like a genius, but only if it works. so if it is used again, it will, be done so sparingly.