Roark turns into a Bitch, blasts Cubs' IBB strategy

[dredinis21]

Tanner Roark says Cubs were 'scared' to pitch to Bryce Harper

As someone who watched team after team attempt to do this to Bonds, I really don't want to hear a pitcher from a team that just got swept piss and moan about the baseball equivalent of "hack-a-shaq" when it was his own teammate(s) that let him down. If Zimmerman is knocking Harper in with any sort of regularity, this practice would end. Zimmerman sucked balls and the Nats got their respective shit pushed in. You want the behavior to change, put someone behind Harper that can make contact with regularity and make the opposing team pay for it. If said person does not exist on your roster, then prepare to lose a TON of games.

 

[broncosmitty]

Joe Maddon has a track record of refusing to let another team's lone slugger beat him.

He's a wise man.

 

[Indrid Cold]

If the Cubs end up playing the Nats in the playoffs, they'll probably come right at Harper and totally befuddle him

 

[dredinis21]

If the Cubs end up playing the Nats in the playoffs, they'll probably come right at Harper and totally befuddle him

Probably not unless they have a multiple run lead and he's leading off.

 

[rmilia1]

Harper and Murphy are the only 2 guys on the Nats that are swinging any kind of a bat right now yet Baker insisted on not having lefties back to back. Sorry but that's Bakers fault. Why pitch to Harper if you dont have to?

 

[depraved]

That's just a damn good strategy on Maddon's part. Dusty's showing how Dusty really is. But he is a great baseball mind from what the talking heads say,. I just haven't really seen it.

 

[dredinis21]

That's just a damn good strategy on Maddon's part. Dusty's showing how Dusty really is. But he is a great baseball mind from what the talking heads say,. I just haven't really seen it.

Dusty had to deal with IBB when we had Bonds and he was just damn lucky that we had a guy in Kent that made the other teams pay for putting Bonds on base. But Dusty is a TERRIBLE baseball mind, what he succeeds at is managing egos, not games. Dusty arguably cost the Giants the World Series in 2002 because of his "baseball mind".

 

[depraved]

I was being sarcastic :|. Being in Indiana we get a lot of Cubs games and we all know the Prior and Wood stories and countless others. I agree he is MLB's answer to Jeff Fisher.

 

[dredinis21]

I was being sarcastic :|. Being in Indiana we get a lot of Cubs games and we all know the Prior and Wood stories and countless others. I agree he is MLB's answer to Jeff Fisher.

Oh I know sarcasm and my post was in response to yours but not directed to you. But there ARE people who defend him as an upper echelon manager, which makes no sense to me. Your Jeff Fisher comparison is spot on.

 

[Cedrique]

Tanner Roark says Cubs were 'scared' to pitch to Bryce Harper

As someone who watched team after team attempt to do this to Bonds, I really don't want to hear a pitcher from a team that just got swept piss and moan about the baseball equivalent of "hack-a-shaq" when it was his own teammate(s) that let him down. If Zimmerman is knocking Harper in with any sort of regularity, this practice would end. Zimmerman sucked balls and the Nats got their respective shit pushed in. You want the behavior to change, put someone behind Harper that can make contact with regularity and make the opposing team pay for it. If said person does not exist on your roster, then prepare to lose a TON of games.

Yeah, Tanner Roark doesn't sound like manager material. Intentional walks have been around for 100 years. That's kind of like Joe Montana complaining that Jerry Rice got double teamed a lot

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Ugh, managing egos is great so long as those egos are mature enough to work for the betterment of the team- and self police- but what happens when the tactics go haywire for some cockamamy reason like "I wanted to give him a chance to get the W."

 

[Cedrique]

Also, if they noticed he was being walked every time up in the first game, they should have stuck Harper in the leadoff spot.

 

[Indrid Cold]

I was being sarcastic :|. Being in Indiana we get a lot of Cubs games and we all know the Prior and Wood stories and countless others. I agree he is MLB's answer to Jeff Fisher.

I remember when somebody with the Cubs went to the press and basically called Wood a big baby who had to learn to pitch with some pain...2 weeks later, Wood is on the DL and being prepped for reconstructive surgery.
Idiocy at a really high level there...wouldn't want to be careful with a guy who had thrown a 20K, zero walk, one "hit" (bobbled dribbler) game against a good hitting team, would you? That said, Wood was probably bound to have issues with that motion. Maybe being a closer would have been better for him...???

 

[Bolts]

Who won the game? That's right, the Cubs. I guess the strategy paid off. It doesn't even seem like that big of a deal had they pitched to Harper and the Nats win the game because the Cubs have been so dominate and 1 loss shouldn't be fatal, but Maddon did what he had to in order to win. The guys that follow Harper in the lineup need to make them pay in at least 2 or 3 of those spots, the next 3 guys in the lineup, Zimmerman/Murphy/Werth, were a combined 3-20 with 24 LOB(Zimmerman with 14 of those himself).

 

[Cedrique]

Yeah, Werth and Zimmerman have really fallen off in the last year and a half. I could see Washington maybe trying to get a bat at the deadline.

 

[The Q]

Big difference.

intentional walks are legal.

Hack a Shaq is clearly against the rules, yet the NBA refuses to enforce the actual rule.

One is just good strategy. The other is the most corrupt sports entity on the planet screwing up one of the easiest situations a league could possibly deal with.

 

[The Q]

Yeah, Werth and Zimmerman have really fallen off in the last year and a half. I could see Washington maybe trying to get a bat at the deadline.

they are gonna have to.

we all knew they were gonna regret the back end of Werth's deal.

But did we really expect Zimmerman to fall off this quickly?

 

[Indrid Cold]

Who won the game? That's right, the Cubs. I guess the strategy paid off. It doesn't even seem like that big of a deal had they pitched to Harper and the Nats win the game because the Cubs have been so dominate and 1 loss shouldn't be fatal, but Maddon did what he had to in order to win. The guys that follow Harper in the lineup need to make them pay in at least 2 or 3 of those spots, the next 3 guys in the lineup, Zimmerman/Murphy/Werth, were a combined 3-20 with 24 LOB(Zimmerman with 14 of those himself).

Yup...maybe Roark thought calling the CUbs out as cowards would make them "man up" and pitch to Harper next time around.
Maddon is pretty smart and I would guess he'll do the same thing until the Nats make him pay for it.

 

[broncosmitty]

I remember when somebody with the Cubs went to the press and basically called Wood a big baby who had to learn to pitch with some pain...2 weeks later, Wood is on the DL and being prepped for reconstructive surgery.
Idiocy at a really high level there...wouldn't want to be careful with a guy who had thrown a 20K, zero walk, one "hit" (bobbled dribbler) game against a good hitting team, would you? That said, Wood was probably bound to have issues with that motion. Maybe being a closer would have been better for him...???

Wasn't that something like his 5th or 6th start, ever!?!

Shame that he got ruined so young. He literally was must watch baseball. I called off work a few times to see him.

 

[Indrid Cold]

Wasn't that something like his 5th or 6th start, ever!?!

Shame that he got ruined so young. He literally was must watch baseball. I called off work a few times to see him.

Remember seeing Wood pitch against Nomo, I think just before the 20K game, and it was actually pretty funny...Wood's pitches were moving so much that it seemed like he was just trying to throw fastballs down the middle and they would break out of the zone. Nomo couldn't get the feel for his splitter and he kept bouncing it 5 feet in front of home, and they kept taking crazy bounces and hitting Piazza in sensitive spots...I swore that it looked like he was going to rush the mound and punch Hideo out at one point.

I looked it up...April 18th, 1998, Wood's second career start. Nomo lasted 2/3 of an inning and gave up 8 runs while walking 7. Wood pitched 5 shutout innings for the win while walking 3, striking out 7, and throwing 102 pitches.