The Nats lose G1 of the series and now they have to win the rest to even split the home stand. They do have both Max and Stras going so the chances aren't zero, but winning three games in a row is hard in baseball even for good teams
Before I take off for the various errands I have to do I wanted to note something. Dave Martinez has now managed 13 games. He has put out 12 different defenses and 13 different lineups. The Eaton and Wieters injuries are part of this - I'd be surprised if he could have gotten more than 4 given the usual subbing. But to have 12 different defense and 13 different lineups? That's just stupid. That's tinkering for tinkerings sake.
Get better at your job Dave
I hope that this is something he planned on doing for a predetermined amount of time at the beginning of the season in order to discover the optimal squad to stick with going forward. I fear that being Joe’s bench coach for so long wasn’t enough to avoid the trials of being a “rookie manager.”
ReplyDeleteYour team needs a run, and due up you see Taylor, Difo, and Severino. ugh.
ReplyDeleteJE34 - not MY team!
ReplyDelete@JE34 - that’s why these injuries are a killer for us to get any momentum. To your comment, our team needs a run, and more accurately we have due up “why are you still here,” “shouldn’t be playing,” and “oh him again.” Not going to get anything across the plate when reserves are in starting roles.
ReplyDeleteAnd Harper to your point about the lineup shuffling, I hadn’t noticed that until now, but that’s terrible management. As you said, tinkering just for the sake of tinkering. Still too early to judge his management of the team, but I’d be concerned about this. But I suppose this is how Maddon works? Dave always says it’s about “27 outs.” So he is putting the best lineup out there to win that particular game that day. That strategy would certainly ease our frustration in a short playoff series when one lineup isn’t producing, but it’s the antithesis to a cohesive routine that these players thrive on in a long regular season. Personally I opt for Dusty's regular season approach and management style, bu is appreciate Dave’s open-mindedness for the playoffs.
Behind max is quite possibly the worst lineup I’ve seen since the days of Nook Logan.
ReplyDeleteLineup construction doesn’t really affect player performance. There’s no data to support it. The theory that a player does better when he “gets used to” one specific spot in a lineup is just made a hypothesis with no basis. So it’s neither stupid nor smart. Really like one of the last things we should worry about. Worry about the Mets. Worry about injuries. Worry about ryan Zimmerman possibly getting ready to be worse this year than he was 2014-2015. Worry about middle relief being bad. Worry about no fifth starter or catcher. Dave Martinez trying different lineups has nothing to do with why they’re not playing well. Maddon mixed up lineups more than anybody ever has in a season in 2015. Hell kris Bryant played shortstop and CF that year. They won like 105 games. Whatever.
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DeleteThe mental side of the game is just as important to the physical. Ask any player if they’d prefer some consistency or a different lineup every game and they’d all tell you consistency. Stats regarding the degree to which it’s preferred? Like in terms of how many “wins” is that worth - yeah probably can’t find those numbers, but to dismiss it foolish IMO.
ReplyDeleteWhy wouldn’t you be able to find those numbers if it existed? Just compare a players numbers when he’s played a certain percentage of his games in same slot vs when he’s been moved around. And obviously there’s a plus to changing the lineup depending on circumstances. When Rendon goes down what do u do? Do you hit Difo/rendons sub second so u don’t disturb the lineup, or do put an actual good hitter second so they get more ABs and are more likely to get up in last inning and possibly win game? I do the latter, including moving Bryce up or hitting turner 2nd, etc, same if Eaton goes down. You hit turner leadoff because who else will. Even though it moves Turner. Just to be clear in like 15 games Martinez has had every regular except Bryce and Trea either be injured or need to not play/rest (Zim/MAT)....that’s going to require lineup shuffling. You can just plug a sub into whatever spot in the lineup the injured person was. Which is why this post seems silly to me
DeleteWhose idea was Matt Wieters' attempted steal, down a run in the 8th inning? Whoever you are, you're fired.
ReplyDeleteFor a team that purports to be big on analytics, getting all gutsy on the basepaths couldn't be dumber.
Awful decision right there
DeleteAlso, I'm all for giving Zim time to find his swing and all, but please stop playing him in the cleanup spot. In the 9th, who would you rather have up after Bryce walks? Zim or Kendrick? I know this is a temporary issue given the injuries to Murphy/Eaton/Rendon, but still frustrating when Bryce is the only one in your lineup hitting over .240 and you have the person batting worst "protecting" him.
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