SB Nation Arizona Editor's Pick
Padres 4, Diamondbacks 3: Extra Inning Hopes Demel-olished by Walk
by Clefo on May 7, 2011 2:07 AM EDT
Email
PrintAfter a marathon (kind of) last night, the Diamondbacks took a red eye to San Diego. Awaiting them were not the cool and magnificent things that people tell me that San Diego has, but I have yet to see. No, awaiting them are the San Diego Padres, who after Adrian Gonzalez's Diaspora, are a shell of the team that made the unexpected run last year.
Tonight, Armando "Don't call me Andres" Galarraga went up against Tim "Animal Crackers" Stauffer. One of these things was better than the other, and not in a good way. But sometimes, you get a glitter of hope that lets you know that things are good in the world. Then like a half hour later that hope is stomped on by a tag-team of Pablo Sandoval and Prince Fielder.
Other than our old friend Wil Vegetable robbing CY on the first at bat of the game, nothing much happened for the first two and a half innings. After walking Eric Patterson and allowing Rob Johnson to single, the following happened:
T. Stauffer sacrificed to pitcher, E. Patterson scored, R. Johnson to second, R. Johnson to third, T. Stauffer to second on second baseman K. Johnson's fielding error - W. Venable hit sacrifice fly to left, R. Johnson scored.
The less said about that, the better. Wil then hit a sac fly to make it 2-0. No further damage was done that inning.
Galarraga walked the first man in the second, third, and fourth innings. He had more trouble finding the plate than a blind man at a dinner party. It got so bad that he walked Brad Hawpe. Between Hawpe now and CarGo and Ian Stewart last series, we seem to like to walk guys who don't usually walk. I'm all for opening people up to new and different experiences, but COME ON!
After some tension which included the bases being loaded (none of which came on hits), Armando, somehow, got out of it. I suspect one of those Blood Oaths that Mark Grace pretends not to like.
The top of the fifth provided some comedy in the form of Cameron Maybin trying to track down a ball hit by Miranda which lead to a double. As you might guess, that run didn't come to score.
Galarraga did not last through the fifth. After a double, a ground out and a walk, Chase Headley got a single to make it 3-0, and Armando was gone. His final line: 4.1 Innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, 6 walks and 2 strikeouts. To translate: Crap, Alright, Could Be Worse, Bollocks, and WTF IT'S THE PADRES? Josh Collmenter came in and struck out Hawpe and Maybin (See Armando? It's not that hard).
Montero got a double in the top of the seventh, but on the next ball in play he saw something shiny at third base and ran into an easy out. Ryan Roberts got to second on a wild pitch and Juan Miranda was walked and that was the end of Animal Crackers. His final line was I don't care look it up yourself. Cory Luebke came in and proceeded to walk Parra to load the bases.
That was all for him as Luke Gregerson came in to face a pitch-hitting Xavier Nady, which makes as much sense as having Xavier Nady as a pinch-hitter against a righty. Oh look, he grounded out after hacking at the first pitch. What an unexpected outcome!
Our trend of making things kind of interesting but never following through continued in the eight. Kelly Johnson got a much needed hit off of Mike Adams. After an out, Stephen Drew walked and the tying run was up... and it summarily grounded out. Thanks Miggy.
The top of the ninth inning brought more intrigue. Heath Bell came in and walked Roberts and Miranda back to back. Parra then for the second straight night ended a shutout against a rival's closer with a double, scoring Roberts. Russell Branyan struck out swinging, as is his right. Chris Young also exercised this freedom, leaving Kelly Johnson with all our hopes and dreams in his hands to either crush or help them come true. He then hit a grounder to third AND HOLY CRAP WHAT JUST HAPPENED BUT TWO RUNS SCORED. (breathe) Okay, Chase Headley Lamarr threw low and it got away from the first basemen and both Miranda and Parra scored. Justin Upton then hit one hard, but right at the second baseman.
Esmerling Vasquez got through the bottom of the inning cleanly and WE GOT EXTRA BASEBALL FOLKS!
Top of the Tenth included our old friend Chad Qualls. In some cruel irony he got a 1-2-3 inning. WHERE THE (many many bad words )WAS THAT LAST YEAR? Anyway, Vasquez went out for the bottom of the inning, which seemed like an odd decision. It became more odd when he hit Jason Bartlett. After getting Ryan Ludwick to fly out, he walked Chase Headley Brad Hawpe grounded into a fielders choice and a the result of a very tense at bat with Maybin was another walk. Bases loaded, and Gibby put Sam Demel into the game. Demel got Alberto Gonzalez to fly out. On to the eleventh! Qualls got another fairly easy inning.
I'm not going to write anything more until something happens.
That didn't take long. Bottom of the eleventh, Demel in for another inning. Two singles, a groundout and a questionable catcher interference loaded the bases for Chase whateverhisnameis. He worked the count to 3-2, and in a situation where a strike was needed more than anything else.... he walked him. The rare walk off walk.
(Insert random unintelligible swearing here)
[Click to enlarge, at Fangraphs.com]
Shamu's testicles: Kelly Johnson, +30.7%
Comic-Con: Parra, +23.6%; Miranda, +13.1%
Whale's vagina: Chris Young, -29.0%
Gaslamp parking: Demel, -23.5; Galarraga, -17.7%; Branyan, -12.7%; Upton, -10.9%
Roll Call: NASCARbernet, blue bulldog, hotclaws, IHateSouthBend, Zavada's Moustache, Rockkstarr12, Sprankton, Jim McLennan, kishi, emilylovesthedbacks, Clefo, Dallas D'Back Fan, txzona, DeDxDbacKxJroK, Bryan J. Boltik, BattleMoses, shoewizard, Wailord, Scottyyy, brian custer, JohnSee, blank_38, Jdub220, 4 Corners Fan, dbacks25, piratedan7, Bcawz, CardsForTheWin, fandbacks, DbacksSkins, jinnah, Skii
Total Users: 32
Total Posts: 810
This game was physically and emotionally draining, so I award COTN to kishi, for something only vaguely related to it (plus, he was spouting TRUTH!)
Come on, San DiegoWearing the Yoda back pack is not punishment, those things are awesome.
by kishi on May 6, 2011 7:09 PM MST reply actions 3 recs
Tomorrow, Daniel Hudson will face off against Dustin Moseley. First pitch at 5:35 PM Arizona time. Have a good night. I'm going to go sit in my geodesic dome and read some Hermann Hesse.
23 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Oh man I wanted COTD so bad.
Mine had more recs too :(
"A couple of years agoi was hitting 170 in 60 at bats and everybody was ready to kill me Guess what happened? Laser Show!
Oh well.
Kishi’s was super awesome anyway
"A couple of years agoi was hitting 170 in 60 at bats and everybody was ready to kill me Guess what happened? Laser Show!
Someone on the Fangraph?
"There is nothing better in life, than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro, on a Saturday night instead of going to the pub."
I
"There is nothing better in life, than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro, on a Saturday night instead of going to the pub."
will take the silence as a "No"
And add the graph.
"There is nothing better in life, than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro, on a Saturday night instead of going to the pub."
after Demel loaded the bases
on the error….Gibson should have pulled him and put in his best reliever. i can’t stress enough how that’s probably one of the most crucial parts of late-game management…..use your best reliever in the highest leverage situation….
But... But...
Not A Save Situation!!!!
"There is nothing better in life, than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro, on a Saturday night instead of going to the pub."
by Jim McLennan on May 7, 2011 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
As a rule, I like that protocol
but to be fair to Gibson, I think the game presented extenuating circumstances.
1. Hernandez and Putz had each worked two of the past three days. That’s not to say they werent available, but perhaps less available in a tie game on the road, where their ‘effective’ usage could be almost as easily ‘wasted’ as useful in securing an eventual victory.
2. While not as strong as Hernandez, up til the game winning walk, Demel was actually pitching fairly well. Saved the tenth with zero room for error. Then flyout, chopped IF grounder, a better hit grounder, another chopper in front of the plate, a complete fluke (CI) beyond his control – and the bases were ‘suddenly’ loaded. I can see where Gibson might let Demel try to pitch out of that.
3. Petco. It’s tempting (and often wise) to assume you can get away with less than your best pitchers here. That’s why Galarraga started in the first place, a strategy I heartily supported. Tom A. Hawk, Heilman, Gooty, Esme and Demel, not exactly the Fab Five, kept it scoreless there for six innings. Sure, we can say Gibby was pushing his luck, but it’s really not that much of a fluke there either, against the league’s most easily neutralized lineup. The other scary thing about Petco (and SD relievers) is that it’s so hard to score that before you know it, it can be the thirteenth or fourteenth inning. We just played eleven the night before. Demel was already our sixth pitcher on Friday.
I agree with you he’s not our best pitcher in that situation, to record that out, or the one before that, or the one before that, or the one he got with the bases loaded to save Esme’s bacon. I also have problems with some of Gibby’s staff usage patterns this year. But not last night. I just cant bring myself to say he did anything unreasonable.
The counter argument would be
Even if Demel had got the out, we’d still then have needed someone to work the 12th – I presume there was someone beginning to warm in the pen, but I don’t recall it being mentioned who. Given that, hust as Demel was brought in to record the final out of the 10th, so someone could have been brought in for the final out of the 11th.
I think we also had Joe Paterson available, and with a left-hander at the plate, that might have been a credible option, though he can be potentially wild. But in tied games on the road, you should be planning further ahead, because the best case scenario is always that you have to get three more outs – you can’t get a walkoff hit away from home.
Of course, it’s all hindsight, but saving your best arms for potential future situations that never happen definitely feels like a flawed philosophy [see 2007 Cubs in the NLDS]. Once we tied the game in the ninth, we should have been on Plan A at that point. Your closer and 8th-inning guy should certainly be able to work back-to-back days occasionally, and it wasn’t as if they’d been horribly taxed on Thursday (Putz threw only 14 pitches).
"There is nothing better in life, than writing on the sole of your slipper with a Biro, on a Saturday night instead of going to the pub."
Having Vasquez pitch two innings the day before
and not using Heilman for one of those innings contributed to last nights performances. Also only getting 1+ inning out of Collmenter, which is especially strange if he is expected to start next week.
Paterson would have been an excellent choice.
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
by Dan Strittmatter on May 7, 2011 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions
even though
he’s never pitched three mlb days in a row in anything but garbage time, I tend to agree. he’s probably a better choice there. I was more focused against hernandez, putz making an 11th inning rescue under the circumstances.
The question to me isnt so much who’s more likely to get the out there – even when failure means game over – it’s how much more likely, the marginal return, and how likely that difference will actually flip that day’s outcome – and influence tomorrow’s.
not disagreeing with you, I’d just be more critical of KG if Demel was getting knocked around more (or at all, really) or if it wasnt Petco.
i see your points above
and agree that the situation isn’t as clear-cut as i originally pointed out. though my frustration in part also stems from my belief that Gibson isn’t going to “use his best reliever in the highest-leveraged situation” in the future either.
also, the other reason why i sort of felt yesterday’s situation was worse, was because the pitching spot had just been used up. that means that you can definitely get 2 full innings out of whatever reliever you use to sub for Demel.
Can't argue with this.
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
by Dan Strittmatter on May 8, 2011 2:21 AM EDT up reply actions
I should point out
Headley’s a switch hitter, so it wouldn’t have been Paterson against a lefty.
Bad doormat! No stock options!
Blargh good point
And he’s much better as a righty than as a lefty at the dish.
http://hasthelargehadroncolliderdestroyedtheworldyet.com/
by Dan Strittmatter on May 8, 2011 2:22 AM EDT up reply actions
I wish Thor was longer.
I got to watch three whole batters of last nights game, because I was watching the aformentioned movie. Guess which batters they were! That’s right. The last three. Basically, all I saw was Demel walking in the game winning run. Do you realize how depressing that is? So I repeat, I wish Thor was longer.
My At bat music is White and Nerdy by "Weird Al" Yankovic
Shouldn't
that +30.7% really be credited to Chase Headley rather than Kelly Johnson?
by Alfred E. Neuman on May 7, 2011 5:15 PM EDT reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on AZ Snake Pit
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
