Mike's bullpen managing last night....

[tdawg87]

Gotta give him props for not only pulling Blanton when he did, but also pulling Frieri. There was no need to push your luck with Blanton out there and two guys on base, and Frieri clearly didn't have it. Usually managers leave their "closer" out there to twist in the wind but Mike wasn't having Ernesto's BS.

Obviously these decisions could have backfired but I think everyone could agree that both pitchers should have been pulled when they did.

If we blame Mike for the losses we should at least give him some credit for the wins. Last night his "micro-managing" helped the team win.

[austin724]

Agreed, Scioscia made the right decisions last night.

[Chuck]

He managed last night's game like a playoff game.

Great bullpen management Sosh!!

[fan_since79]

Major props to Scioscia for bringing in the kid with the hot hand.

 

Frieri was going to blow the game, and Scioscia took decisive action. This was a game we could not afford to lose.

 

 

[Wallerrrr]

Gotta give him props for not only pulling Blanton when he did, but also pulling Frieri. There was no need to push your luck with Blanton out there and two guys on base, and Frieri clearly didn't have it. Usually managers leave their "closer" out there to twist in the wind but Mike wasn't having Ernesto's BS.

Obviously these decisions could have backfired but I think everyone could agree that both pitchers should have been pulled when they did.

If we blame Mike for the losses we should at least give him some credit for the wins. Last night his "micro-managing" helped the team win.

agreed...he handled the pen well last night

[Lifetime]

When your SP's are giving you 7+ innings the last few games it's much easier to manage your weak pen. That and getting some missing arms back will help a lot.

[Jimmag]

Great job captain.

[CanadianHalo]

Yep, the whole micro manager thing only looks good when winning. And right now they are so everything is great.

But yeah good thread, sosh deserves some credit.

[Torridd]

Yeah, Frieri looked terrible.

[nate]

I loved how he handled it. Had guys warming up and ready and kept with matchups. I notice a lot more urgency with him now.

[fan_since79]

The "guys warming up and ready" part was critical. He's often been very slow in that area.

 

 

[FabulousFabregas]

Put the heat on Sosh and he manages better.

[Angel Oracle]

It was textbook bullpen management last night, combining pulling your closer when struggling with playing the %'s well.

[Dreams]

Agreed great job!  Mad props to Sosh!  

 

Which begs the question: why doesn't he manage the bullpen like this every night?  That is, don't micromanage with matchups but leave pitchers in when they are doing well and take them out when they are clearly struggling.  Why? 

[Angel Oracle]

You can't do it every night, because the relievers would burn out by September (innings pitched plus warming up).

But you can do it 1-2 times a week potentially, without burning out your relievers. 

 

Scioscia rarely ever did this in the past, preferring to have a reliever pitch an entire inning, but may finally be embracing it.

[Docwaukee]

don't know if it's a usual phenomena for most pen's as i hadn't really noticed it in years past, but there seem to be several guys in the pen this year that either have it or they don't. 

 

Kohn, Frieri, Lowe, Richards sometimes DDLR and even Downs as of late.  Because they aren't consistent strike throwers you can kind of tell when they are going to be able to work thru an inning and when they won't.  Lowe, Richards and Kohn in particular.

 

I like the short leash but it does tend to burn guys out.  not as many pinch hit opportunities in this lineup.  occasional pinch run spots with pujols but it's rare that you would remove him from the game so I like one less bench guy and one extra pen guy.   

[Angel Oracle]

I do wonder how we ended up with so many relievers in the org and here with control concerns. 

[dimitrig]

Gotta give him props for not only pulling Blanton when he did, but also pulling Frieri. There was no need to push your luck with Blanton out there and two guys on base, and Frieri clearly didn't have it. Usually managers leave their "closer" out there to twist in the wind but Mike wasn't having Ernesto's BS.

Obviously these decisions could have backfired but I think everyone could agree that both pitchers should have been pulled when they did.

If we blame Mike for the losses we should at least give him some credit for the wins. Last night his "micro-managing" helped the team win.

 

Blanton should have never gone out there for the 7th.

[tdawg87]

His pitch count was 75. I don't like the prospect of the bullpen pitching 3 innings. Then again I don't like the prospect of Blanton. I guess you just have to pick your poison. Fortunately it worked out.

[Stradling]

Not to mention the two hits he gave up in the 7th were bloopers. He deserved to go back out for the 7th.

[bloodbrother]

Not so hot today, Mike

[moccasin]

He wasn't perfect last night either. Using Downs to face Gordon(who hits .430 against lefties) was a dumb move.

He has been absolutely horrible today.

[FabulousFabregas]

This happened because I actually said something nice about the Fat Man in this thread.  My bad.

[Stradling]

Just so I understand, he tries one squeeze play, Aybar gives a shit effort and Mike has been lousy?

[AngelArcher]

Today, yes.