Where Miami Baseball sits 3 weeks away from Selection Monday

[Canesfreak]

A *PRIME* example of his lack of Feel was on display at the game in Raleigh this past Saturday night.

Top 8, down 8-7. We load the bases with 2 out. Striding to the plate, Alex Sosa. Former NC State Wolfpuppy, coming into that AB with 3 K's and a walk. He's your DH, mind you. Didn't really look that great in any of the AB's. Crowd was rowdy every time he came to bat.

At some point - a guy is feeling the pressure. You've got to feel that for him as a manager (I know I did just sitting in the stands). 3 K's, he's pressing, wanting a big moment versus his former team.

As the leader and manager, sometimes you've got to look at a kid and say - hey, let's give someone else a shot, today's just not your day. You're important for us, but time to let someone else take some cuts and hopefully come through for us.

Dubovik is sitting *RIGHT THERE*. You need a big hit, he's probably the best stick you have on the bench. Right-handed DH, same for same. You lose *nothing* at all making that switch, and who knows...Dubovik might strike out, he might get out some other way. But if you read the ******* room...someone else not named Alex Sosa needs to take that AB. It was late, the game was tight, and that AB was super important. Yes - you're trusting it to a Freshman, but given the context, I trust him more at that point than Sosa.

JD did not feel that...or if he did, he didn't act on that, or let one of his assistants or Sosa talk him out of it. Any of that is damning in and of itself in my eyes. If I can feel it, and the whole stadium can feel it, and you can't act on it...woof.

Sosa promptly grounds out to 2nd on the first pitch he sees. Then NC State hits a Grand Slam in the bottom of the 8th and puts us out of our misery and make it all acadmic anyways...so it may not have mattered.

But these small moments add up, and are indicative of why JD just doesn't have it...that is, if you're paying attention and not busy shining his shoes up.

Too easy to play Monday morning QB with baseball. Dubs could have struck out and then everyone is asking, why would we pull a guy who has been to Omaha and banged a multi-run homer during game 1. My issue is at the macro-level, which is really concerning. This may be the worst defensive team I can remember. They are closing in on the 88 error record. And the fact that the only consistent guy in the bullpen is Glidewell, is equally a nightmare.

 

[Ajcane8]

I won't die on that hill, and I do see where all of you who disagree are coming from...but we aren't talking about what Sosa's OPS is on the season, we aren't talking about what he did Friday with the 3-run HR...not even questioning his spot in the squad overall...I'm just talking in that moment in that game.

The kid NC State had on the mound was approaching 100 pitches at that point. Did Avent think "oh ****...Sosa is up, maybe I need to bring in a bigger gun with this guy close to 100 pitches and us only up a run?" That's a big nope. The crowd got rowdy, and Sosa choked on the first pitch. If you're on the flip side of that situation in NC State's dugout, and you're Avent, don't you consider that if you're worried in the least? I think there was a short mound visit when the bases got loaded, a quick butt-pat to the pitcher and said "go get him"...and that was all. They were *more than happy* to pitch to Sosa in that moment. They knew.

At some point - an unconventional button push that goes to gut feel works...which is what was brought up with JD..."feel". If he makes that move and it doesn't work...I'd at least give JD credit for trying something else.

There are a ton of things to get on JD for, this ain't one of 'em.

October 2002 - Barry Bonds just got intentionally walked to load the bases with 2 outs in the 8th. Jeff Kent is due up, he's 0/3 with 3ks, so I guess we should put in Pedro Feliz to pinch hit because pushing an unconventional button just feels right. Dusty Baker would have been pilloried. Want a more recent, non-hypothetical example? Joe Mizzoula pushed the unconventional feel button and started three G-league players in game 7 of a playoff series - got in a 15-point hole and choked the series away.

They didn't know Sosa would choke. How could they? Avent doesn't have a crystal ball. What they knew was that even if he ropes a double to right center and they go down 10-8, our terrible pen has to get 6 more outs. Which brings us back to point 1.

 

[BWCD]

They didn't know Sosa would choke. How could they? Avent doesn't have a crystal ball. What they knew was that even if he ropes a double to right center and they go down 10-8, our terrible pen has to get 6 more outs. Which brings us back to point 1.

Respectfully...as someone who was in the stadium watching this unfold, not just on TV, it was freaking palpable...you could feel he wasn't going to come through in the moment. Would it have been nice if Sosa would have roped a double? Sure. But they had his number in that game other than the walk, and he hadn't looked even close to a threat in any of the ABs he struck out.

I'd have loved it if Sosa would have proven me and the rest of that crowd and the other dugout wrong, and reached to scratch across even just one run. It simply was not happening. I was in LF foul line bleachers, and you could basically see the proverbial **** running down his leg.

 

[BWCD]

Too easy to play Monday morning QB with baseball. Dubs could have struck out and then everyone is asking, why would we pull a guy who has been to Omaha and banged a multi-run homer during game 1. My issue is at the macro-level, which is really concerning. This may be the worst defensive team I can remember. They are closing in on the 88 error record. And the fact that the only consistent guy in the bullpen is Glidewell, is equally a nightmare.

Agree on all of this. I told my buddy when Ciscar finished the 6th, the only 2 pitchers that we needed to throw the rest of the game were Glidewell and Robert (and possibly Dorn). Instead, Ciscar came back out in the 7th, then the merry-go-round of bullpen arms began and doomed us. Of all the myriad arms JD decided to throw out there, Glidewell/Robert were nowhere to be found. Made zero sense.

 

[scane]

Agree on all of this. I told my buddy when Ciscar finished the 6th, the only 2 pitchers that we needed to throw the rest of the game were Glidewell and Robert (and possibly Dorn). Instead, Ciscar came back out in the 7th, then the merry-go-round of bullpen arms began and doomed us. Of all the myriad arms JD decided to throw out there, Glidewell/Robert were nowhere to be found. Made zero sense.

I’d be pretty shocked if Robert was available at all to pitch back to back days his first week back from Tommy John, and it wouldn’t be unusual at all for Glidewell to have only been available for an inning after going two the day before.

No idea why he pulled Dorn so quickly though. Of all the odd things he did in that two inning sequence, that was the oddest.

 

[Allabouttheu95]

I’d be pretty shocked if Robert was available at all to pitch back to back days his first week back from Tommy John, and it wouldn’t be unusual at all for Glidewell to have only been available for an inning after going two the day before.

No idea why he pulled Dorn so quickly though. Of all the odd things he did in that two inning sequence, that was the oddest.

Because “MATCHUPS BRO!!!!”

 

[Disgustipated]

I won't die on that hill, and I do see where all of you who disagree are coming from...but we aren't talking about what Sosa's OPS is on the season, we aren't talking about what he did Friday with the 3-run HR...not even questioning his spot in the squad overall...I'm just talking in that moment in that game.

The kid NC State had on the mound was approaching 100 pitches at that point. Did Avent think "oh ****...Sosa is up, maybe I need to bring in a bigger gun with this guy close to 100 pitches and us only up a run?" That's a big nope. The crowd got rowdy, and Sosa choked on the first pitch. If you're on the flip side of that situation in NC State's dugout, and you're Avent, don't you consider that if you're worried in the least? I think there was a short mound visit when the bases got loaded, a quick butt-pat to the pitcher and said "go get him"...and that was all. They were *more than happy* to pitch to Sosa in that moment. They knew.

At some point - an unconventional button push that goes to gut feel works...which is what was brought up with JD..."feel". If he makes that move and it doesn't work...I'd at least give JD credit for trying something else.

Listen, I get everything you are saying. you are making valid points to everything. Expecting JD to have a feel or really most managers now, its just not gonna happen. These guys make every decision now based off analytics because its the easiest way to keep their job. Very few Managers are making feel decisions. Its the same reason why Bain didn't get drafted till #15. GMs are afraid to go outside the realm of a guy with short arms. if Bain stinks the GM gets fired because all the data said don't draft him

 

[BWCD]

I’d be pretty shocked if Robert was available at all to pitch back to back days his first week back from Tommy John, and it wouldn’t be unusual at all for Glidewell to have only been available for an inning after going two the day before.

No idea why he pulled Dorn so quickly though. Of all the odd things he did in that two inning sequence, that was the oddest.

I can understand w/Glidewell some with the innings the night before. However, Robert, Tommy John or not...only threw I think 11-12 pitches? Looked great in his brief outing. I know you want to be careful with him, but still. I think capping him at 20 pitches would have been fine, get an inning or so out of him.

Any of that would have been more acceptable than the hijinks that ensued with the bullpen carousel we all witnessed and likely said "what the ****" in unison on several occasions.