(Where will the binderiffic wonder end up this time? Click below to find out. Courtesy of US Presswire)
It's been a solid 6 weeks since I did the last edition of the always-changing AB4AR Shit List, and after last night's bullpen gongshow today is the perfect time to come back to it and post what will, in all likelihood, be the final version of the 2012 season. If you know me, know the site, and know what my hot buttons are, you should probably already have a good idea about what this edition is going to look like. If you don't, well then this will be a fun little surprise for you now, won't it?
Remember that this isn't meant to be analytical in any way. Just straight up, good old-fashioned fan griping and hostility. Latest Shit List rankings after the jump.
1) Joe's Bullpen Management- An obvious choice after last night's 7th inning, but it goes beyond just Joe trusting the binder again instead of reality. Joe has run Logan into the ground this season, almost to Joe Torre levels of over-usage. Even when he doesn't pitch, it seems like Logan is warming up in the bullpen. D-Rob and Soriano are starting to get overworked too. I'm a firm believer that it's the execution of the pitchers that makes Joe look good when it comes to his bullpen strategy rather than the strategy itself, and last night was a perfect example. There's still too much checking of the numbers in place of watching the game when it comes to Joe and his bullpen moves for my liking.
And as for last night, yeah, Phil labored through the inning, yeah his pitch count was up there, and yeah, Denard Span had a career 0-fer against Logan. But that was in just 4 ABs, hardly enough of a sample size to justify using a tired Logan there. Hughes had just gotten a strikeout, and at 99 pitches he should have had more than enough in the tank to get Span, a guy he had already retired on groundball outs 3 times previously. A hook for Freddy Garcia in that situation is one thing, but not for Hughes, not with the way he had pitched up to that point, and not for a binder-inspired lefty-on-lefty matchup with a shot LOOGY.
2) Randy Levine- It takes a lot to knock this curly-headed fuck from the top of the list, but there's still plenty of hate in my heart for this guy. I'm absolutely dreading the next 2 offseasons, anticipating way more mentioning of Levine's name in connection with roster construction and the budget plan.
3) Elbow Injuries- This one should be moving down the list with David Aardsma and Brett Gardner being activated yesterday, but it's still been the biggest injury thorn in the organization's side this season, and I'm still piss-my-pants scared that Gardner is going to hurt his elbow again the first time he head-first slides into second base.
4) Pedro Feliciano- Of course you went and got hurt right before you were about to be ready to pitch in the Majors again. Of course you did. Enjoy the $8 million, schmuck. I hope your last paycheck has anthrax on it.
5) Andruw Jones- Replaces Russell Martin in the top 5 after his completely useless second half. Anybody who signs this guy to anything more than a $500,000 non-guaranteed MiL contract next season is an idiot. Stop smiling, you jackass! You suck!
6) Tim McCarver- We're getting ever closer to the McCarver-Buck broadcast duo for the playoffs. And that's never a good thing. Why couldn't MLB examine that situation when they started changing the postseason format?
Posts
1 comment:
In no way am I defending Girardi because I like to believe I am leading the #FireGirardi train for his misuse of young guys like Chris Dickerson but there were 4 lefties in a row coming up. Granted I agree with you that Hughes could have and probably would have gotten Span and still had another 15-20 effective pitches in him. I'm just throwing it out there.
Post a Comment