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Too much left to chance in pitching to Blalock
July 2nd, 2009, 7:21 am · 53 Comments · posted by Earl Bloom, staff writer
Yes indeed, pitching to Hank Blalock with first base open and a rookie on deck 
Wednesday night was risky business.
But did Mike Scioscia and Mike Butcher have a right to expect Justin Speier, with catcher Mike Napoli set up outside, to throw a cookie right into Blalock’s wheelhouse?
Like the Pythons said, “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!” Except Blalock already had a homer and double in the game.
Blalock’s resultant, titanic shot to center for a two-run home run was only his second hit in nine career at-bats against Speier. Surely the prior, 1-for-8 history factored into the decision.
In my opinion, that is too small of a sample to trust someone who has a longer, recent history of trouble locating against left-handers to pitch carefully to Blalock, which is what “not giving in” means.
Speier didn’t mean to, but his failure to execute wiped out the temporary reprieve given by Juan Rivera’s tying, three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning. It turned the Angels’ latest visit to Arlington upside down, into another “Poseidon Adventure.” after such a promising start.
Blalock would seem to be a logical assignment for Angels left–handers Darren Oliver or Brian Fuentes, especially with rookie Julio Borbon, the hitter on deck, also a lefty swinger.
But Andruw Jones was lurking in the Rangers dugout, Fuentes usually pitches only in save situations and usually to start an inning, and Oliver … not sure why he didn’t factor in.
Blalock is 2 for 7 against Oliver, 0 for 1 against Fuentes — so no help there, since I don’t put much stock in such small sample sizes. High teens, I think you get an idea. Otherwise, you’re just matching the pitcher’s stuff against what type hitter he is facing.
Oliver and Fuentes hadn’t pitched since Monday’s 5-2 Angels victory in the series opener in Arlington. Oliver had the hold and Fuentes the save in that one, which is the only reason the Angels still have a half-game lead over Texas in the AL West.
The Angels made a legion of baserunning mistakes Wednesday, but as Joe Maddon likes to put it, they were hitterish enough to score seven runs in a game started by Texas ace Kevin Millwood. You are supposed to win when that happens.
But the Rangers also rightly felt they should win in a game when they scored seven off Jered Weaver, who like Millwood better be on the AL All-Star team.
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Scioscia had nothing to do with it, Speier missed his location!!!! You are a Professional Pitcher and you miss your target outside and leave it over the plate??? Speiers should apologize to Scioscia, the team and fans!!!
Scioscia had everything to do with it. It is called managing a game and he was wrong for what he did last night. Even the announcers were predicting Speier was going to intentionally walk Blalock when Butcher went out to talk to him. That is a no-brainer call right there.
Hmmmm….let’s see here. Do we pitch to Blalock who already has a homerun earlier in the game and is a former all-star or do we pitch to a rookie who is only in his third game in the bigs?
Very poor judgement on your part Scioscia. He should be the one to apologize to the fans and the team.
I think scioscia made a great decision.
P.S. ~ GO RANGERS!!!!!
It’s time for Mike Scoscia to be FIRED. Let’s face it, his “magic” is gone and he can’t even get his teams past the first round of the playoffs anymore. He’s too busy shooting embarrassingly bad Howard’s commercials and gaining weight. It’s time for Scoscia to quit or be fired!
Scoscia hs everything to do with it, Speier should never been told to pitch to him. I have no confidence in any of these guys from the bullpen this year and Scoscia shouldn’t either. Let’s see, pitch to a veteran lefthander vs. a rookie or possible A. jones, both RH’s, duh, I walk Blaylock!
Eric,
Speier should of never been put in that situation, Washington from Texas probably was thinking who he was going to replace the rookie with at bat then looks up and in shock sees were pitching to Blaylock! Dumb, Dumb, Dumb!
I love Mike Scioscia - don’t get me wrong. But there was no reason for Justin “I really can’t get lefties out anymore” Speier to be throwing anything other than intentional balls to Blalock last night. Period.
That being said - Juan Rivera is the MAN.
I have as high a regard for Mike Scioscia as a major-league manager as just about everyone I have ever seen. And I have seen a lot.
I remember I liked Walter Alston, too, but every time the Dodgers lost, he got blamed for it. When they won, it was as if he stayed out of the way. That wasn’t true.
As I tried to indicate in the article, I have a bigger problem with the execution of the strategy, including who was asked to do it, than the strategy involved.
In a lot of ways, it is like Aybar’s botched squeeze in the playoffs.
If Speier does what he’s supposed to do, “not give in” to Blalock, maybe the guy gets himself out. Or doesn’t swing at pitches off the black and walks.
You’re leaving yourself open to chance in that event. And chance bit the Angels hard.
And, remember, if Blalock walks, I believe you see Andruw Jones, not Borbon. And Andruw can hit, as long as he’s not wearing a Dodgers uniform.
In conclusion, my point is, there is no right strategy unless your players execute.
Earl,
I would much rather see Andruw Jones in that situation than Blalock. Speier against a righty has much better odds than the one with Blalock last night. The guy was on fire last night with the previous homerun and Jones would have been cold coming off the bench. Plus if you walk Blalock, then you have a force at any base instead of trying to make a long throw across the diamond. My problem is with the strategy. Can’t anyone else see this? It was a no-brainer call to make.
Michael,
It was a no-brainer but lately Scoscia has been having some brain-farts! Leaving Saunders in after giving up 3 HR’s then letting Lackey come out for 7th inning against Dodgers after throwing over a 100 pitches. Sad part is Oliver in that game was warming up from the 6th to the 8th and he was ready, man was he upset. I had left field pavilion seats! He’s not the same manager this year and maybe we just don’t know what else is going on with him, time 4 him to explain his strategies or whatever else he has going on! Love ya Mike but not so much your managing this year!
Michael,
I am pretty sure, based on how Ron Washington uses Andruw Jones, you only get Jones for Borbon if you bring in Oliver or Fuentes after walking Blalock.
Look, I think I walk Blalock too, if I’m pitching Speier. But I don’t have all the insider knowledge Scioscia had to factor in (Oliver’s status, Fuentes’ status, Speier’s mindset when Butcher visited, etc.). And I obviously don’t know the Angels’ gameplan for pitching to Blalock — which obviously wasn’t working, or being executed very well.
Real simple — you DON’T PITCH TO BLALOCK IN THAT SITUATION.
(Didn’t Scioscia make a similar mistake in the 2003 All-Star Game?)
Only mistake bigger than pitching to him was putting the decision in any way in Speier’s hands.
Bill - wasn’t it Scioscia who actually benefitted from that situation in the ‘03 ASG? Either way, he should have known better last night.
Bill, I certainly agree on the latter point, which in a subtle way was the purpose of my article.
As for your first point, that’s my gut reaction, too — but I am not there, you are, and you are better suited to make that call. As you well know, I know that from my own experience. I am just offering my two cents here.
But, after all, isn’t this the best part about baseball? Something legitimate to debate that doesn’t involve money or PED?
Thank you Bill. Finally someone completely agrees with me. Earl was trying to give me other excuses that weren’t making any sense at all. I didn’t even have to be at the game to know that you don’t pitch to him. I learned that back in little league.
Michael, I didn’t know you faced Hank Blalock in Little League. Please share some anecdotes.
They weren’t pitching TO HIM, they were pitching around him. Speier screwed it up.
I am not making excuses. I am trying to cover the full scope of the situation.
As I have said, I wouldn’t have pitched around him, not with Speier. I woud’ve walked him.
But I am tired of all the geniuses who think there’s only one right way to do things.
It’s easy to be smug and take your point of view without looking deeply at it.
And you didn’t lead off the bases in Little League, so what you learned there has about as much to do with Major League baseball as slow-pitch softball does.
Earl,
You write a article bacause like me you were pissed they pitch to Blaylock and he beat them with a open base. You have a right to be pissed and its basic knowledge that you don’t play around when you have no chance to make up for a error. It was the bottom of 9th and first base open, you walk him, no pitching around him. He had a double and a 400 ft. homer in game, enough said. Scoscia has been screwing up this year, turn back 24 hrs to Saunders! Lackey coming out in 7th against Dodgers and there are more! Obviuosly, Butcher and Scoscia are frustrated with BP but you have to play %. He blew it!
Speier should never face lefties unless the bases are loaded and the last man in the bullpen is jepsen or thompson.
The man is too slow to yank a pitcher, and the team has done absolutely nothing to address the bullpen problems. There are two guys in salt lake who have better numbers than jepsen and this rodriguez, I suggest they give those two a try. Jepsen is absolutely, positively, the worst reliever this team has ever had for this long. Every appearance is garbage. If he’s not giving up runs, he’s clearing the bases when he inherits a runner or two. He has the worst offspeed pitches in the entire league, and continues to throw it. I don’t remember the last time he got a swing and miss off of it, other than spring training against sean rodriguez or howie kendrick. I bash Quinlan, but it’s not like he is in there every day going 0/5 with 2 errors. That’s the equivalent of having Jepsen pitch, and he pitches quite frequently.
Yeah - I really have no idea why Jepsen not only continues to be on the big-league team, but actually continues to be used at all, let alone in important situations.
100% Scioscia’s Fault !!
He makes the calls
Second that!
Third that. It’s time for Mike Scoscia to quit or be fired. This guy has one of the highest team payrolls in all of baseball and he can’t do anything with it? GET LOST, SCOSCIA.
If you watch the Angels play regularly you realize, for whatever reason, Scioscia just doesn’t like to intentionally walk people. 90% of the time he gets away with it. Hank Blalock isn’t Albert Pujols, you can get this guy out consistently. The strategy was sound, as Earl said above it was no different than the suicide squeeze call in the playoffs. Both were sound calls, you expect major leaguers to be able to execute in both situations, unfortunately they didn’t. You can’t pick out the times they fail and then choose to blame the manager. Had the Sox pitched out, that’s on Scioscia. Had the Halos elected to challenge Blalock, that’s on Scioscia. Neither one occurred, two major leaguers failed to execute rather simple assigments. That’s why managing in the big leagues isn’t as easy as it looks. When the players fail to execute the manager takes the blame. Oh well, turn the page and move on.
Bill for a guy who covers the Halos on a daily basis, you seem to be anti-Scioscia? What’s the beef?
I’d say both were risky calls by Scioscia. Speier has been abused by lefties the last 2 and a half years. Aybar is a guy who likes to bunt the ball up in the air towards second base for hits, not a guy who can get down a fundamental bunt just for a sacrifice. Of the two scenarios, I’m actually more confident in Aybar and a squeeze than Speier against a lefty with the game on the line. You see, Aybar’s failed bunt didn’t lose the game, you can actually look to a different Scioscia strategy that lost that game. Using Scot Shields in Fenway, with his best reliever still in the pen, inserting reggie willits in right field, improper positioning of Howie Kendrick were all things controlled by Scioscia in the series ending bottom half. With all the tinkering he does with the lineup, he still will not pinch hit for a struggling veteran in a bad matchup, much like he won’t yank a reliever faced with a bad matchup. Power lefty v. Speier will always be a bad matchup, he throws too many mistakes and his ball runs into the sweet spot all too often.
Bill isn’t anti-scioscia, he just recognizes some of his habitual mistakes that no one else in the media will report on. Visit any Angels message board and you will see that people who are a little more than casual fans all collectively scratch their heads at classic Scioscia moves/mistakes. It’s all about interpretation. Some say aggressive baserunning, some say stupidity. Some say small ball, some say why are you bunting in the 2nd inning in Arlington. Some say tools, others say Aybar’s mistakes outweigh his empty offensive numbers. Some say Quinlan mashes lefties, others say 2006 was 3 years ago.
Quinlan’s Goofy Swing, I really like this post. You pay attention to the subtle parts of the game, the nuances. And you recognize the beauty of this whole game is being able to debate the merits of decisions.
That’s why, besides my nature and my baseball background, I like to go right down the middle on a topic like this, so those who hold contrasting opinions will chime in. Think we have accomplished that.
Yeah, and I agree with the some who say 2006 was a long time ago. I wish Morales would get the chance to learn to hit against lefties, but that’s another post and another argument I have already made this week.
Jake,
I don’t think Scoscia averages our 90% this year, he has made alot of mistakes this year. Maybe, Butcher doesn’t have the same respect as Black did because I’m betting that Black makes sure Blaylock is walked! I’ve seen Black go to mound without Scoscia saying anything, I haven’t seen it with Butcher! Just keeping it real!
I said it all last year and I’m saying it this year, Justin “Give up the home run” Speier is NOT a big league talent. This guy gets shelled every night. The question shouldn’t be,” why was Speier pitching to Blalock? The question should be, “Why is Speier on the roster”? This guy quite simply, STINKS. We have zero hope this year with him in the bullpen. I can’t believe nobody sees how crappy he is.
As of late , scioscia has been keeping starting pitchers in too long. Saunders didn’t have his stuff from the beggining of a previous game and Saunders got touched-up when he showed signs of fatigue earlier in the game. I understand you want to keep starting pitching in the game as long as possible, but when he was left in there ,the damage was done , Angels couldn’t come back. Some of the baserunning (Juan Rivera and Vladdy) is rediculous. We shoot ourselves in the foot every time and don’t score with a couple of runners on base and no outs . Pitchers are not holding runners very well and catchers are not throwing anyone out with their high throws.Sciocia needs to pull the plug sooner on his pitching and maybe rethink his roster ,by sending down some pitchers that are not producing good results. Make the adjustments Scioscia !! Go Angels !!
Is this a slow sports day? Because Earl Bloom and Bill Plunkett have far too much time on their hands. Don’t you guys work in the same building? Try meeting for lunch in the cafeteria and chatting it up. I already heard what Earl Bloom had to say, and if I want to read Bill Plunkett I will. Leave a little for the peanut gallery guys…..
Justin Speier threw a bad pitch. I don’t think it was his first and I’m sure it won’t be his last. Mistakes are as common in sports as in any other industry, probably more so.
But the least you can do is play the odds. It was clearly a bad managerial decision to pitch to Blalock. Not just in hind-sight, but in the moment as well. But, like Speier, this probably won’t be Scioscia’s last bad decision either.
When a game ends like this one did I have to ask the question: How did it get to a point wherein a single swing of the bat could end the game instantly? Play more offense and we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.
This is not the first time Scoscia has made this mistake, turn back 24 hrs and he leaves Saunders in after he had given up four runs already and he had his bullpen ready. Go back to Dodgers series and he sends Lackey out to pitch the 7th after Oliver had been warming up the inning before. Oliver look disgusted, I had seats in LF pavilion so i could see his disgust. Lackey gives up a 2 run bomb and were out of game. We lose by 2. There are alot more cases this year, this wouldn’t of happened last year. If he doesn’t like his bullpen then do something about it and go get someone, were tired of this crap! This team is far superior to any of the competition! By the way Scoscia, you think Figgins can use a day of rest, he like 0 for 25.
Dan, let me know your business so I can tell you how to work, interact with other employes, etc.
You really think Bill spends all night at the ballpark and then heads to the office in the morning. Or eats lunch there?
Second, for the last time, Speier wasn’t supposed to pitch to Blalock, he was supposed to pitch around him. To “not give in,” that means nothing in his red zone.
That’s what I mean about nuance.
And, if you want no response from me when u comment about something I post, well … just say so.
I am supposed to interact with what you call the peanut gallery. Lets exchange job descriptions some time.
Earl,
Do you have first-hand knowledge that Speier was suppose to pitch around Blalock, please, share with us! There was a open base, enough said! Right hander coming up whether it be a rookie or A. Jones, I pitch to them. Bottom of 9th, no room for error! Can I explain myself any better! He screwd up (Scoscia) and thats it!
Glenn, Speier said that’s what he was supposed to do. And he didn’t. I don’t normally brag about this stuff, but I was standing at work watching that at bat and called Blaylock’s homerun. Speier has been better this year but he still gets shelled by lefties. Fuentes or Oliver should have been in there. Why leave it to chance with the game on the line? Lame.
Sorry, Dan — I didn’t see Earl at Gate E-35 of the DFW Airport this morning so we didn’t get a chance to chat.
It is part of our job in the internet age to “drive the discussion” on these boards. That’s what Earl is trying to do (and based on the number of comments from non-Register employees he did a pretty good job of it this morning).
Couple other points:
– About Scioscia leaving starters in too long this year ….. would you be eager to go to the bullpen consider the way it has performed this season? He clearly prefers to take his chances with a sub-par Saunders/Lackey/whoever over what he’s getting from the revolving door of Thompsons, Jepsens and Rodrigi.
– I’m neither anti-Scioscia nor pro-Scioscia. I do think he’s a very good manager. But he made a large mistake in the 9th inning last night. The biggest in-game managing mistake I can recall him making in quite awhile.
Bill- the problem with Mikes managing is he is scripting the games, not managing according to the game situation. When your team comes back late in the game to tie the game, you dont bring in your 10th best pitcher, you bring in your best pitcher to keep the momentum. Mike was only going to bring in Fuentes if the Angels took the lead, but imo you bring in your closer in that situation. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you only bring in the closer in save situations and the team doesnt get a lead, the closer doesn’t pitch.
I dont care in Spier had 100 consecutive scoreless innings, he was not the best reliever to bring into the game.
and btw Mike makes all kinds of managing mistakes, from asking Aybar to suicide bunt to bringing in Washburn to face big Pappy in the playoffs when he had not pitched in the bullpen all season and definately not as a situational lefty.
Ultimately I would challenge fans to give me examples of good managing decisions that Mike has made that any other manager would not have made.
Pinch running for Jose Guillen in 2004. We didn’t need that bat in the playoffs :)
Pinch running for Bengie in the playoffs against the White Sox, making Josh Paul the catcher- we all know how that worked out.
And lets not forget this is the same manager who asked Kennedy to bunt in a playoff game when he has already hit 2 HRs in the game.
I agree with someone said in another post- when has Mike EVER take accountability for a loss? The answer is simple- NEVER.
My problems w/ yesterdays games were a more obvious - - How many RISP opportunities did the Angels run themselves out of? Rivera was stud in the 9th, but man oh man, that attempted run to second? Brutal!!
The Bottom of the ninth could have been handled better, and I personally thought they were going to walk Blalock, too.
Speier got lit up, but so did Weaver. His stuff wasn’t nearly as crisp as it has been, and again, folks, this was ARLINGTON.
Willits could probably put one out there if given the chance.
If the upcoming homestand vs. Texas goes the same way, then I say we’ve got serious problems in the ALWest.
Until then, let’s hope the mental-meltdowns are over for the time being . . Let’s watch some fireworks all weekend, let’s jones for the cool 4th of July hats the Angels wear, and let’s take three in a row at OUR home field when the Rangers come to town.
I think Scioscia is the best manager in the game today. If you are the owner and money is no object, who would you hire? Maybe I can see LaRussa, but I still prefer Scioscia’s low-key clubhouse over LaRussa’s. Besides those two, Bill, Earl or anyone else who would you take over Scioscia? Just curious about your picks.
Jake- other than the Angels record, what makes Mike a good manager in your opinion.
Personally I think Larussa is the best because he wins with a sub-par pitching staff and other than Pujlos no other star position player. Give Mike the birds pitching staff and that team would be under .500.
Yeah - just throw out wins and losses when assessing a manager, David. That’s rational.
Paul, very well played.
Wins, losses. That stuff is just luck, like every hit in a game now except a home run.
I dont judge a manager just by wins and losses, the Angels always have the most talent and best pitching in the Al worst so they are expected to win.
Like I said give Mike the Ms or Nats and lets see how good of a manager he is.
Wins and losses are much more circumstance and even the best manager can only affect 8 to 10 games per season.
So my criteria is more- does the manager get the most out of his players? Would another manager have the same record if he was the Angels manager? What is the managers post-season record because when push comes to shove, the post-season is when the managers decisions are most highlighted.
Other than 2002 Mike has a terrible post-season track record which is well documented and he has made some of the worst in-game decisions in the post-season in baseball history.
So once again I ask what makes Mike a good manager other than wins and losses? Or name me 2 players Mike has helped come out of big slumps
I can list 10 Angels who did not perform well here who went on to do well with other teams.
Although I don’t agree with EVERTHING he does (who does with any manager), I think I would want Joe Maddon as my No. 1 choice.
I can’t think of anyone who could do what he has done with the Rays the past two years. I have known him for a long time …
I like Ozzie Guillen, I respect Bobby Cox and Tony La Russa, and I think Jim Leyland is dynamite in the right situation.
I wish somebody would let Larry Bowa manage again and just get out of his way — I know his players would play the game right or else they wouldn’t play.
It is my experience that there are few truly bad MLB managers, just some who get stuck on really bad teams run by really bad owners.
Two out, ninth inning, winning run on second… you can’t let Justin Speier face a lefty. No Way. They bat over .300 against him with an era over 7. With a 4 run lead, sure, let him have at it. But Speier should face only righthanders (who he handles pretty well) in critical situations.
It doesn’t matter if he was pitching around him or not. The only pitches he should have thrown a lefty are four wide ones.
I have a question for Bill Plunkett and Earl Bloom.
When you interview Mike Scioscia, do you or any of your colleagues honestly and truly grill him on the mistakes he makes? Please don’t take offense to my question, but I’ve always felt the media gives him a free pass. I don’t recall any quotes from Mike Scioscia where he admits (or even HINTS) he screwed up. There’s no conviction or emotion in anything he says.
He strikes me as somebody whose ego has ballooned to the point that nobody dares question his moves. I get the feeling this exists within the organization as well.
Jeff I have been waiting for an answer to that question for 5 years.
I think all of you guys are forgetting one fact: Speier had already faced a lefty in David Murphy WITH Michael Young on first, and Murphy sacrificed Young to second.
He could have hit away though, so I bet you were all screaming for Speier to be pulled then.
If that means Speier can’t be used against a right-left-right-left lineup, then what’s the point of having him … I sort of address that question in my column Friday.
As you stated, “Speier had already faced a lefty in David Murphy WITH Michael Young on first,” the difference of course is that Young was on first… not second with a base open. It was the situation that’s caused the firestorm of second guessing more so than the batter.
Earl there is one big problem with hiring Larry Bowa. Managing a major league team today is 10% in-game strategy and 90% clubhouse culture. Larry Bowa’s teams always improve but his technique gets old very quickly. Larry Bowa is Mike Ditka which is fine in football but doesn’t last in baseball. The thing that makes Scioscia so good in my book is the culture that he establishes. He makes it easy for the players to succeed. Take last night for example. I’m sure Speier was supposed to pitch around Blalock hoping he would chase a bad ball and become over anxious. Instead we all saw what happened. Here’s is Scioscia’s genius, he doesn’t point the finger at Speier like he probably should have and like most of us would have. What do you think Bowa would have done in that situation? I believe he would have thrown Speier under the bus (which he probably deserves). The problem with doing that is eventually guys stop playing for you. Say what you want about Scioscia’s in-game decisions, guys like playing for him. Anaheim has become an attractive place to play. Guys do not like playing for Pinella, Guillen, Bowa. Should that matter? No. Does it matter? You bet it does.
Other than demoting Arredondo (for the worst reliever in baseball) and Kendrick , Scioscia has held nobody accountable for anything this year. How does one hold them accountable? Playing time. I have yet to see someone benched for being stupid, failing to execute, missing a sign, sucking at baseball, etc. Getting upset and questioning Scioscia is another story, but just once, I’d like to see consequences for being horrible in both the mental and physical aspects of the game.
of course guys like playing for Mike because he doesnt hold them accountable. Who wouldn’t want zero accountability?