Let’s start with tonight’s Cub game. The Cubs, down 1-0, had men on first and third, with one out in the ninth. Let’s look at what led up to this. They had lost 9 in a row, so they obviously hadn’t been getting key hits for a week and a half. They hadn’t scored at all in this game, and it was now the 9th inning, so they weren’t getting key hits in this game. As a matter of fact, they were 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position in the game. The closer was pitching for the Pirates, so the Cubs are facing one of their best pitchers. Dempster was pitching, and they haven’t scored for him all year. It was obvious they needed to squeeze, tie the game, and then battle from there. Does Sveum squeeze? Of course not–he expected a good at-bat for some reason. The batter struck out, as did the next batter, and the Cubs lost again. Sveum has cost the Cubs a lot of games this year, including the first two games of the season, because he doesn’t have a clue. I know he’s a relatively new manager and needs to learn, but his decision-making has been very questionable.
Managing/Coaching
Point 2: I said all of last year that I believed Alex Rios’ problem was his batting stance, as I didn’t see any way he could get any power from his lower body batting from a crouch. He has been hitting the ball well lately, and for power, and I heard Ed Farmer or D.J., the Sox’ radio announcer, say last night that Rios changed his stance recently to try to get more power from his legs. They are just realizing that?!
By the way, I might be wrong about this since I don’t watch many Sox games, but it seems to me this year that Konerko and Pierzynski are taking shorter, more compact swings (Bill Madlock-type swings), and are thus hitting very well. I didn’t notice this in the past, but have noticed it this year. I’ve often wondered why most batters don’t do this, as it gives you more bat control and you should make more contact.