Here’s an excellent piece from the Cincinnati Enquirer. It’s a simple little piece dispelling some of the little myths about the 2008 Reds. Last night I almost pulled my hair out. In the first inning of the second game of a double header, Ryan Freel doubled to lead off the first. Jerry Hariston Jr. then bunted him to third. The question is…why?
A bunt in that situation made little sense. With Griffey on deck, the odds of him making a productive out are low. He eventually drove in the run with a hit to left, but it’s probable that Freel scores from second ANYWAY on the base hit. The sac bunt accomplished nothing but waste an out and lowered the odds of a big inning. There are circumstances where getting a runner to third with one out is advisable (pitcher hitting, tie game in the 9th), but in the first inning of a game where the pitcher has an ERA over 5 (and your pitcher’s ERA is over 8!), and has a .360 BAA and the hitter is hitting .330, giving up an out with a sac bunt becomes losing baseball.
In other news, pole day was mostly a hit, so check out this interview between Whitlock and Danica. We chide Whitlock from time to time, but he’s a fan of the Blue and Gold and loves the race, so that makes him ok in our book (even if he’s on crack when it comes to football).
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
