{"id":761,"date":"2008-10-13T06:00:13","date_gmt":"2008-10-13T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/13\/el-nombre-del-juego-the-name-of-the-game\/"},"modified":"2008-10-13T06:00:47","modified_gmt":"2008-10-13T13:00:47","slug":"el-nombre-del-juego-the-name-of-the-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2008\/10\/13\/el-nombre-del-juego-the-name-of-the-game\/","title":{"rendered":"El Nombre del Juego (The Name of the Game)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Terry Francona’s handling of Josh Beckett in Game 2 of the ALCS reminds this writer of Game 7 of the 1967 World Series.<\/em><\/p>\n

Los MantaRayas de Tampa Bay son un gran equipo de b\u00c3\u00a9isbol, capaz de derrotar a cualquier oponente. Si los Medias Rojas de Boston tienen esperanzas de avanzar a la Serie Mundial de 2008 tienen que entender a Tampa Bay como un enemigo de sumo cuidado ante el cual no se puede conceder ning\u00c3\u00ban tipo de ventaja.<\/p>\n

Al ver como Terry Francona\u00c2\u00a0 permit\u00c3\u00ada que Josh Beckett perdiera 3 veces la ventaja que le dieron sus compa\u00c3\u00b1eros, me vino a la memoria un art\u00c3\u00adculo que le\u00c3\u00ad hace poco. Sal Maglie hablaba en abril de 1968, de como Dick Williams hab\u00c3\u00ada dejado que los Cardenales de San Luis masacraran a Jim Lonborg en el s\u00c3\u00a9ptimo juego de la Serie Mundial de 1967. Maglie era el coach de pitcheo de los Medias Rojas y le dijo a Williams que aquel no era el d\u00c3\u00ada de Lonborg. Pero el manager le respondi\u00c3\u00b3 que no le estaban bateando tan fuerte. Maglie se qued\u00c3\u00b3 con la boca\u00c2\u00a0 abierta. Hasta Bob Gibson le son\u00c3\u00b3 un jonr\u00c3\u00b3n a Lonborg. Williams lo sac\u00c3\u00b3 cuando el juego estaba 7-1 en el sexto episodio.<\/p>\n

Francona vio como Beckett recibi\u00c3\u00b3 cuadrangular de Evan Longoria en el primer inning para igualar 2-2.\u00c2\u00a0 Luego permiti\u00c3\u00b3 otro jonr\u00c3\u00b3n a B.J Upton en el tercero para empatar a 3 y doble a Longoria m\u00c3\u00a1s sencillo remolcador de Carl Crawford para poner adelante a las MantaRayas 4-3. Beckett lleg\u00c3\u00b3 ganando 6-5 al cierre del quinto, luego de un out camin\u00c3\u00b3 a Upton, qui\u00c3\u00a9n de inmediato estaf\u00c3\u00b3 segunda base. Carlos Pe\u00c3\u00b1a sencille\u00c3\u00b3 al right center\u00c2\u00a0 para igualar 6. Si hab\u00c3\u00ada un momento apropiado para sacar a Beckett era este. Francona lo dej\u00c3\u00b3 y Longoria despach\u00c3\u00b3 otro doble para poner el juego 7-6. El manager trajo a relevar a Javier L\u00c3\u00b3pez qui\u00c3\u00a9n recibi\u00c3\u00b3 sencillo remolcador de Crawford. Tampa Bay 8 Boston 6.<\/p>\n

Maglie en su art\u00c3\u00adculo dec\u00c3\u00ada que deb\u00c3\u00ada ser bien bochornoso para un manager dejar que bateen despiadadamente a su as de pitcheo\u00c2\u00a0 teniendo otros 10 pitchers en el bull pen. En el juego de este s\u00c3\u00a1bado-domingo 11-12 de octubre, Francona ten\u00c3\u00ada todo un bullpen disponible para relevar a Beckett en el cuarto inning cuando Cliff Floyd le despach\u00c3\u00b3 otro jonr\u00c3\u00b3n para poner el juego 5-3. De hecho, el bullpen de los Medias Rojas mantuvo en blanco a Tampa Bay desde el sexto al d\u00c3\u00a9cimo episodio.<\/p>\n

Por otro lado es muy lamentable que el juego haya terminado con varias fallas de apreciaci\u00c3\u00b3n de bolas y strikes de parte del \u00c3\u00a1rbitro principal. El boleto recibido por Dioner Navarro en el cierre del und\u00c3\u00a9cimo inning, fue con una pelota sobre el plato entre las rodillas y las axilas. El boleto de Ben Zobrist tambi\u00c3\u00a9n cont\u00c3\u00b3 con por lo menos dos sentencias dudosas con pelotas en la mitad del plato.<\/p>\n

Si el pitcheo representa el 75% de la victorias, en una serie de post-temporada ese porcentaje aumenta por lo menos a 85. En eso pensar\u00c3\u00ada en este momento si fuera el manager Terry Francona.<\/p>\n

English Translation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Watching the Saturday-Sunday\u00c2\u00a0 October 11th-12th game I realized baseball is\u00c2\u00a0 a very difficult game where you have to put your best efforts and decisions if you want to win. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are a great baseball team, capable of beating the best opponent. If the Boston Red Sox hope to advance to the World Series, they have to understand that Tampa Bay is a very dangerous rival that will take advantage of the tiniest mistake the Red Sox make.<\/p>\n

Seeing how Terry Francona allowed Josh Beckett to lose the edge three times, I recalled an article that Sal Maglie wrote on April 1968. Maglie talked about how Dick Williams felt that the Saint Louis Cardinals hit Jim Lonborg really hard in the seventh game of the 1967 World Series. Maglie was the pitching coach of the Boston Red Sox and told Williams “He doesn’t have it today.” Lonborg was working with two days of rest and looked tired. Williams answered: “Oh, Jim’s not getting hit that hard.”\u00c2\u00a0 Maglie asked himself: “Hard?” Even the tail end of the Cardinals batting order was whacking him. Bob Gibson homered off him. Williams finally took Jim out in the sixth, with the Sox behind 7-1.<\/p>\n

Francona looked how Beckett surrendered a dinger to Evan Longoria in the first inning to tie the game 2-2. Then surrendered another homer to B.J. Upton in the third inning to tie the game 3-3 and a double to Longoria plus an RBI single by Carl Crawford to put the score 4-3. Beckett arrived to the fifth inning winning 6-5. After one out he walked Upton who stole second and scored with a Carlos Pe\u00c3\u00b1a sinlge to tie the game 6-6. This was the last chance to take Beckett out from the mound in a decorous way, but Francona stayed with him. Longoria hit another double and the Rays were winning 7-6. Finally, Francona brought Javier L\u00c3\u00b3pez to relieve. Carl Crawford hit another RBI single. Rays 8 Boston 6.<\/p>\n

Maglie wrote that should be very lousy for a manager to allow that his pitching ace get pounded like that, having other 10 pitchers in the bullpen.<\/p>\n

Francona had the whole bullpen available to help Beckett in the fourth inning, when Cliff Floyd hit the third homer Beckett surrendered in the game. The score was 5-3. In fact the bullpen held scoreless the Devil Rays from the sixth through the tenth inning.<\/p>\n

In other respect, it’s very regrettable that a game like that had finished with some failures from the chief umpire appreciating balls and strikes. It made me think on the possibility of umpires relievers. The base on balls that Dioner Navarro got in the eleventh inning happened with a ball in the middle of the plate and between the knees and the armpits. The same happened at least with two deliveries in the walk to Ben Zobrist.<\/p>\n

If pitching is 75% of the victories. In post-season games that percentage increases at least to 85. If I were Terry Francona I’d be thinking in that right now and in every of the next games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Terry Francona’s handling of Josh Beckett in Game 2 of the ALCS reminds this writer of Game 7 of the 1967 World Series.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":75,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t