Dear Joe,
Just a quick note before I move on to today’s game stuff. I know, I really shouldn’t hold any residual angst toward you or the team, especially after more than 12 hours have passed since the 27th out of the game. That’s what you preach in the clubhouse, and that is definitely a good way of going about your daily business. But if I may, I’ve got some frustration left over from last night, and I’ve got to get it off of my chest. Okay, here goes.
See, you decided to leave two major cogs out of the lineup last night: Matt Joyce and Carlos Pena. Because those two were left out, two inferior defensive replacements were put in the lineup instead; Brandon Guyer in left field, and Jeff Keppinger at first. I understand the reasoning behind this move, and it makes sense to an extent. And it’s true, both Joyce and Pena have a harder time hitting lefties than righties, with Joyce hitting .267 vs lefties and .288 vs righties, and Pena hitting .217 vs lefties and .230 vs righties. Plus, Pena needed a day off to gather his whits about him, and come back into today’s game with a clear head.
However I contend, that though Joyce and Pena may have had a null effect at the plate, their gloves could have have taken away two to three runs that the Oriole’s scored on or directly because of errors. How so? In the second inning, Adam Jones reached first on an errant throw by Sean Rodriguez. Now, the error was credited to Sean-Rod, and it was indeed a poor throw. However, a visibly uncomfortable Jeff Keppinger at first wasn’t able to snag the throw as it sailed over his head. Then, Keppinger wasn’t able to catch the pick-off attempt by Matt Moore, advancing Jones to second. If Pena was in the game, at least one of those errors never happens, and Adam Jones doesn’t make it into scoring position with no outs. Simple as that. Then, had the sure handed Joyce been in left-field instead of Guyer, the error on the Steve Tolleson double never happens, and Matt Wieters never scores. A two run inning becomes a one run inning, at most. Surely, in this day and age of Baseball Info Solutions, WAR, etc, you had to have weighed the pro’s/con’s of throwing two inexperienced players (read: inexperienced at the positions they were playing) in the game which directly resulted in runs that would, inevitably, sink the ship. Alright, I’m done with the Joe Maddon/Schmitty heart-to-heart.
Note: We had a lot more written following what you see above, yet WordPress got all buggy, didn’t auto save, and inevitably erased it when I hit the “publish” tab. Fist shaking and some cursing ensued. This smaller piece, sans discussion of today’s game and the starting lineup, will have to suffice.
Of Note: Tampa Bay is, on average, leaving about four runners (3.91 to be exact) in scoring position on road in 2012. That number is down from last year, yet it’s no less disconcerting, especially after the last five games where the Rays have gone 1-4. Sean Rodriguez is getting an off day today. Rodriguez, who’s currently in the throes of a ten game hitting streak, has a sore left pec following multiple diving plays over the course of the last few games. We can expect him back in the lineup tomorrow. Speaking of injuries, Maddon is mulling over putting left fielder, Desmond Jennings, on the DL following last weekends knee strain.