Quote:
Originally Posted by chumdawg
I guess where I'm coming from is that I'm not going to sit here in my chair and question Ron Washington. The dude has enough currency with me. Did he see something with Esteban? Hell, if he can't hit him there, why is he on the roster? Maybe he was anticipating a long game, like if we had scored in the 9th, and he wanted to keep some powder dry. I don't know.
The bullpen moves worked out okay, as you recognized.
The hit-and-run in the first? Maybe Elvis needs to execute a little better there.
And finally, I'm not going anywhere near touching the psychobabble that says Nellie needed to stay safe in his nest at the seven hole. If we're that fragile, God bless us.
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Fair enough on giving Ron a pass due to him having enough currency with you. I agree that he has our team in a position to win the biggest prize, but his decision making and game management skills were questioned the entire ride. It isn't like I loved all of his decisions and only now find issue with it. This has been going on and the talent on his roster has overcome a lot of that. Tonight though, not so much.
As far as Esteban, he should be on the roster in case of injury and injury alone regarding swinging a piece of lumber and the only other time he should see game action is in the event that we need to pinch run in a close game. Aside from that, no, there is never a reason he should be in a playoff contest. PERIOD (in my opinion of course).
Regarding Elvis, tough to hit a ball that was very much low and away (basically the pitch I wanted Ogando to throw in that 0-2 count). He tried, and wasn't all that close to it. Bottom line is there is more risk in that situation and more reward, but to start a World Series game I would be very happy with a 1-0 lead to apply some pressure vs. trying to jump out to a 2+ run lead at the risk of walking away empty handed. Sure, the opportunity is there for two ground outs by Hamilton/Beltre, but the odds are much better given Elvis' great bunting ability.
And you have been a fan of this team long enough to know that Nellie responds differently based on where you hit him. Put him in the 4th spot and watch his numbers drag down. He is fragile mentally and that is all there is to it. Wish it wasn't the case, but sadly, it is.
With everything above said and all of my other posts considered, the following rings true...
GO RANGERS, WIN GAME 2 TODAY!!!