Player Profile: Robins... (10/23)
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October 23, 2009 Prospectus TodaySpeed Up for a Showdown
The remarkable thing about last night's ALCS Game Five is how quickly things happened. After John Lackey escaped a two-on, no-out situation in the first inning, the Angels jumped on A.J. Burnett like a linebacker on a fumble, scoring four runs on 12 pitches over seven minutes and 32 seconds. Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, and Vladimir Guerrero went double/single/double on three consecutive pitches at one point. When it was over, the Angels had their first multi-run lead of the series and, with their ace on the mound, seemed to be in fantastic shape. The next 37 outs in the game happened quickly as well. Between Kendry Morales' single in the first and Melky Cabrera's double in the top of the seventh, 40 hitters came to the plate, most of whom were dispensed with easily: 20 hitters in that stretch saw three or fewer pitches. The game moved from the second to the seventh so quickly it seemed as if the teams were concerned about getting to John Wayne Airport before the 11 p.m. curfew. John Lackey's work was the story, but after those 12 fateful pitches in the first, A.J. Burnett was fantastic, facing three batters over the minimum with lots of early-count outs mixed in. And then the seventh inning took forever, as six pitchers faced 18 batters and nine runs crossed the plate. Still, if you blinked, you missed defining sequences. You might have missed John Lackey getting hosed on a 3-2 strike to Jorge Posada that Fieldin Culbreth turned into a ball. [Ed. Note: Perhaps as a surprise to no one, Culbreth's one of the most walk-generating umps in the majors.] If you walked to the kitchen during the ensuing mound conference, you may not have come back in time to see a visibly agitated Lackey walk Derek Jeter on four pitches from the LaLoosh Collection, loading the bases. It was at this point that Mike Scioscia moved into one of the most puzzling sequences of his long career. With Darren Oliver up in the bullpen and the left-handed Johnny Damon at the plate, Scioscia let Lackey stay in the game. This wasn't a problem—Lackey was pitching well up to the Jeter walk, and he's Scioscia's best pitcher by any measure. It did seem to preclude the use of Oliver in the short term. With two breaking balls and a good fastball, Lackey righted himself, retiring Damon on weak fly to left. Scioscia then surprised everyone, Lackey most of all, by walking to the mound. If you can read lips, it was clear that the big righty was having a Bob Gibson moment. "Are you shitting me? This is mine." He was right. Lackey was pitching well save for the walk to Jeter, from which he'd bounced back. He really should have been out of the inning. Oliver has had an effective season, but there was no reason to use him against Mark Teixeira, a switch-hitter with no platoon split, with Alex Rodriguez behind him. Scioscia downgraded as far as the pitcher he'd have on the mound, for no tactical gain, at the biggest moment of the game.
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Team Health Reports: Washington Nationals
Pinch-running for A-Rod made mo sense at all unless A-Rod was hurt.
The most likely outcome that didn't involve the game ending was the Yankees scoring a single run, which would leave the game tied and headed into extra innings with the Yankees' best player no longer in the game. It was moronic to pinch-run there.