Avenger wrote:Except Tex is not struggling to the level of Hill and Lind, he just put up .850 OPS in the month of may. A 5 game slump is what is really is and its not reason enough to not walk him and try to get a double play and let Frasor fac a righty(something Jason is much more comfortable with). Not to mention, the Jays have one of the best defensive infields in baseball and they have managed to the right plays in the exact same situations numerous times before.
#1. Teix is struggling worse than any of the other offensive players on their team and had looked horrible all weekend. But it really doesn't matter, walking the winning run there wouldn't be justified even if he was hitting better than anybody else.
#2. The Jays don't have one of the best infield defenses in baseball. Bautista, Gonzalez, and Overbay have had negative UZR ratings. Anything less than a tailormade double play on a ground ball isn't getting them out of that inning, though, so I don't see why defense really enters into the equation.
#3. Jason Frasor has been a strikeout/flyball pitcher for the entirety of his career. It might have made more sense if it was Shawn Camp or Scott Downs, because you know they are far more likely to induce a grounder.
Randle McMurphy wrote:This isn't about letting the players make the decisions, you're better off in the long run going with a play you're players are more comfortable with, especially when the percentages are about the same. Yes Posada is a worse hitter and it might have been easier to face him than Cano but it also means putting an additional runner on base and a risk of him coming around to score, that evens out what ever statistical advantage you'll get by facing a worse hitter.
This wasn't something that Cito was very concerned with two batters earlier when he walked the winning run on base.
Anyway, Frasor is going to be positive about anybody he faces, so I'm not sure why Cito even bothered asking him. I mean...is he really going to tell Cito that he's scared of Cano and would rather face Posada? Of course not. A reliever who shows weakness isn't going to inspire confidence in anybody, especially a manager.
It's Cito's job to manage the team, manage the percentages and put his players in the best position possible to win. He didn't do that today.
