Managers sometimes fill out the card wrong, but Footer spots the real problem
Once Cooper’s mistake was revealed, he did not move from his seat in the dugout, even as the umpires explained the situation to Cooper and to Bourn.
Geoff Blum, standing on the top step in the dugout and noticing that Bourn was becoming agitated, called his young teammate over and emphatically explained what had happened.
“Nobody explained it to Michael,” Blum said. “He started to get a little heated, he thought he did something wrong. I just wanted to make sure that he knew it wasn’t his fault. You try to explain the situation and just calm him down. He’s going to have to hit again. That was my main focus, to make sure he knew it had nothing to do with him.”
Curiously, it was Blum, and not anyone from the coaching staff, to make sure Bourn kept his cool. Link
Tinker, tailor… dumbass?
When asked just 4 days ago about Bourn hitting leadoff, Cooper said “I’m not going to do it,” . Furthermore,
“The only way I’d do it is if Matsui’s not playing. I think it helps (Bourn). It keeps the pressure off and a lot of stuff. I’m just going to leave it there. Why tinker with it?” Link
So what the hell is this from yesterday?
“It’s just a change,” Cooper said. “Just to get Matsui to relax a little bit. He has not really been the player that we saw last year. He really even struggled in Spring Training as well. I’m just trying to get him started, hopefully take some of the pressure off of him like we did with [Bourn], that’s all.
“When you’re in the No. 1 spot, you’re asked to get the team started, get them off and running offensively. If you’re hitting second, it takes a little pressure off you.” Link
The reason I do this NYCU is so we can have a record of what the Astros say about why they do what they do. This season, simply put, we are fucked. There is no consistency to what these guys say and what they do.