Phil Garner

[astro pete]

Brilliant decision by Gar to switch Berkman and Ensberg in the lineup.  If Cox is going to pitch around Berkman, we might as well have someone coming up behind him who can make the Braves pay.  Ensberg was the hero tonight, but Gar is the one who gave him the opportunity to be one.

Garner: 1
Cox: 0

[bubba]

Yeah, and hitting Bagwell for Tavares was THE move of the game.  Brilliant.  He caught the team on fire as every hit he has made here at the end of the season has.  Garner should easily be MOY.  Lidge Booby Cocks.

[Tralfaz]

Playing Palmeiro tonight was another one that worked out late, with the 2 run single in the "bat around" 8th.  I was sure Lamb was gonna get the start.

[Sambito]

dude almost had a grand salami to boot

[Kit]

Scraps is ON. He is getting close to over managing, but everything is working. I agree moving Berkman to #3 was very sharp. Lance was a bit hotter than Moberg at the end of the year and they don't have a LH starter(to turn him around) game 1 or 2. They STILL picthed around him and got burned by it. The Bagwell for Willy was a gamble that paid off, and its nice to have piglett uh Bruntlett aka supersub to fill in in CF. Lane is looking a little shaky right now,
(shoulda caught the foul ball, swinging from his heels at bad pitches, watching meatballs)but every time I start to criticize him he pops one out so I'm on his ass for the rest of the year.

This is so much fun.

But

Theres a whole lot of things that I've never done
I ain't never had tooo much fun!

[Andyzipp]

Quote:
...He is getting close to over managing...

Disagree. The offense is too fragile to just throw the same 8 guys out there every game. You're going to have to make moves to some of the periphery players.  Garner knows what he's doing.

Quote:
The Bagwell for Willy was a gamble that paid off, and its nice to have piglett uh Bruntlett aka supersub to fill in in CF.

Didn't see that as much of a gamble.  Taveras looked lost yesterday.  Psych weapon Bagwell was a much better choice to drive a run in at that point.  Hell, you would have been a much better chance to drive in a run at that point.  You can't get an infield hit with the bases loaded. Having said all that, I think Taveras should be leading off again with Biggio hitting 2nd.  Taveras only dropping sac bunts for the playoffs (and not on the base paths) seems like an advantage to the Braves.

Quote:
Lane is looking a little shaky right now,
(shoulda caught the foul ball, swinging from his heels at bad pitches, watching meatballs)but every time I start to criticize him he pops one out so I'm on his ass for the rest of the year.

Mrs. Lane will be disappointed to know about your relationship with her husband's ass.

[JimR]

Kit, i believe you're nuts or getting there. he is managing, not overmanaging. perhaps you were confused by Dierker's "managing.".

[Nate in IA]

Quote:

Didn't see that as much of a gamble.  Taveras looked lost yesterday.  Psych weapon Bagwell was a much better choice to drive a run in at that point.  Hell, you would have been a much better chance to drive in a run at that point.  You can't get an infield hit with the bases loaded. Having said all that, I think Taveras should be leading off again with Biggio hitting 2nd.  Taveras only dropping sac bunts for the playoffs (and not on the base paths) seems like an advantage to the Braves.

This is why I'm not the manager.  Was yesterday's game just a fluke that Taveras was so wasted in the lineup because the bases were juiced every time he came up?  Or should he go back to batting leadoff and letting Biggio drive him around? I lean toward putting him back in the leadoff slot but I suspect I don't know enough to make that decision.

[JimR]

#2 appears better to me.

[Kit]

Quote:
Kit, i believe you're nuts or getting there. he is managing, not overmanaging. perhaps you were confused by Dierker's "managing.".

Me nuts? Es verdad mi amigo!

But Wow! 2 zaps one from the Zipper and one from Jim, from a pro-Astro post I wasn't trying to rile anyone up. I didn't expect the "Spanish Inquisition"..

NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!

I said he was "C-L-O-S-E to overmanaging."

Zip and Jim: you got to take everything in context "Garner is ON" & "everything is working" just about says it all!!

The main gist of my post was I wanted to applaud Garner as I think he is doing a great job. I guess the hot button was using the word overmanaging (a LaGenius trait that Scraps doesn't possess). I guess I could have said "he is making a larger number of moves than normal which have worked out fantastically" Usually you see a tweek here and there from him, but Garn's pulling out all the stops and making alot of moves but they all have been right on.

As far as Dirk, I liked the "leave em in Larry" approach to the starters for the most part. The snub of Dotel for Mike Jackson however was a real kick in the nads.

[Andyzipp]

I don't think I was getting a dig in at you. But whatever, my bad if I didn't communicate it correctly.

Dierker's strategy was fine for the regular season with the teams he had.  In the post season, it generally doesn't work.  When he finally realized it in the 2001 playoffs, he was absolutely overmanaging.

And I know Jim will disagree, but I think it's because he was a starting pitcher.  Garner, seems to have a better grasp of playoff baseball than Dierker did.  Of course, Garner played in more playoff games than Dierker...who played in 0.

[Andyzipp]

Taveras hitting at #2?

Or Nate's second choice?

[JimR]

Taveras hitting second.

i'm not sure why Dierker did nothing, but i suspect it is because he did not know what to do. being a pitcher may be part of it, but it also may be that he was such a good player that he was not much of a student of the nuances of the game. i was a pitcher, too, but i did not suffer from all-world talent. he has good insights as a color guy, but that is much different than having to make decisions between pitches. i do not think he was much of a manager of the game.

part of it was that he had veteran teams, but in his book he says that he never told players what to do because he wanted them to be smart enough to know how to play the game. that is inane reasoning.

[Navin R Johnson]

I like Willy leading off too.   You kinda take away WT?s usefulness of stealing bases and using his speed by having him after Biggio and before berkman/ensberg.

If Biggio gets on with less than 2 outs, you are most likely bunting with Willie T.    If he gets on the base paths, I think you are less likely to use his speed to swipe bases for fear of taking the bat out of Berkmans/Ensbergs hands.

The biggest(only) advantage to having Biggio leadoff, is when one of the guys from the bottom of the order get on and the order turns over AND there are two outs.  In that situation, you would much rather have Biggio up than Willie T.   But that is really only the case if there are two outs.   If the lineup turns over with 0 or 1 out, and Willie T is up, it isnt really a big deal cause Biggio is still likely to get a chance to drive in a run.

[JimR]

no, no, no. Willy stealing does not take the bat out of anyone's hands.

they rarely will ask Biggio to bunt. he is more useful batting leadoff. Willy can bunt him over and get a hit on it sometimes.

[jaklewein]

Quote:
no, no, no. Willy stealing does not take the bat out of anyone's hands.

they rarely will ask Biggio to bunt. he is more useful batting leadoff. Willy can bunt him over and get a hit on it sometimes.

I agree, and while I haven't checked the numbers to verify, Willie really hadn't been stealing many bases anyways.  I don't know if that was due to a lack of confidence by Willie or a change in Garner's philosophy...or more likely, neither.

[Nate in IA]

When it comes right down to it, I wonder if batting Taveres second is really a next year sort of thing. This gives him more to do than just get on base any way possible and thereby allows him to expand his ability with the bat.  

That said, I do think the team as a whole has been doing better on offense with Willy in the second spot.  That just seems wrong to me considering Willy's speed at the top though.  Perhaps psychologically they are not focusing so much on Willy and are rather applying themselves more to whatever position they find themselves in.

This is why I love baseball.  There's so much you can do with 9 guys on a team and so many nuances to a very simple game.  Wherever Willy T hits in the lineup, may they absolutely crush the Braves.  Go Astros!

[HOB]

Quote:
no, no, no. Willy stealing does not take the bat out of anyone's hands.

they rarely will ask Biggio to bunt. he is more useful batting leadoff. Willy can bunt him over and get a hit on it sometimes.

I've been pondering this scenario as it seems like it's inevitable given Willy's aggressive tendencies at the plate as well as his ability to make contact and take advantage of his speed.  With Biggio's power, it also provides situations for more than sac-bunt situations.  Seems ideal for hit and runs, IMO.  

The other eventuality, next season at least, is moving Biggio further down the lineup and finding a proto-typical leadoff in FA.  Biggio is still a solid leadoff but not what he used to be.  At this stage, I think he'd be just as effective batting 6th/7th in this lineup.  It sure beats Burke or Everett behind Lane.

[JimR]

Willy hit the ball HARD in RR. he bunted for lots of hits, but he was a line drive gap hitter in AA. he'll improve.

[No? in Austin]

Quote:
Willy hit the ball HARD in RR. he bunted for lots of hits, but he was a line drive gap hitter in AA. he'll improve.

Biggio batting leadoff gives the team some good rbi opportunities if Everett and Ausmus get on base.  Both of them have been doing so lately, especially Ausmus, so it's as if you have a lineup turn over and there you are starring at a run producer instead of a speedster who has some trouble driving the ball right now.

Rbi opportunities are precious and few for this team and if Everett and Ausmus are getting on-base, may as well make the switch to Bidge as leadoff to take advantage of it.