Thursday, April 23, 2009

Tony Jackson Asks the Hard Questions

From Jackson's blog:

First question to Joe Torre after the game was why it was Ronald Belisario out there with a one-run lead in the eighth inning (he let it get away) instead of Hong-Chih Kuo, the guy who was supposed to fill that role all season. What Joe said, in that way that Joe is so good at of saying something without really saying it, is that he doesn't feel he can trust Kuo right now with a game on the line.

"We're still working on that with him," Torre said. "He is all right physically, but we're just trying to get him into a situation more toward the middle of the game before we get him into the back end of a game." [...]

Belisario was standup about letting this one get away, said he wasn't nervous at all, but I have never seen a guy who wasn't nervous throw a wild pitch while trying to INTENTIONALLY WALK somebody. Come to think of it, I have never seen ANY pitcher throw a wild pitch while trying to intentionally walk somebody, so maybe I should cut Belisario some slack.

As for Matt Kemp batting seventh, Kensai of Fire Ned Colletti Now has some opinions:

With Kemp’s recent stretch of torrid hitting, you’d think that Joe Torre would be forced to eventually bat him higher in the order, but there are a number of factors working against Matt.

First, it’s well known that Torre plays favorites with his players, and he’s made it clear in the past that Kemp is not among them. So unless Torre finds another spot for Russell Martin, or Martin absolutely tanks this year, Kemp will be hard pressed to supplant Russell in the 5-hole.

Secondly, Torre has this obsession with staggering his lefties and righties, so either Ethier or Loney figure to be occupying the cleanup role permanently. The only thing that would change this is a move from Manny Ramirez, which doesn’t seem likely at the moment.

Thirdly, Torre loves speed at the 1 and 2 spots. Therefore, Furcal and Hudson seem to be mainstays at the top of order.

2 comments:

koufax said...

well that answers my question about kuo from last night...i guess. Last year Kuo was lights out, he has two bad outings and now he doesnt have the mental capacity to work the 8th? I really hate to say this but, "Kuo has elbow problems" is a headline that might soon pop up.

Dusto_Magnifico said...

It has been like 5 days since Kuo last saw action. I bet we see him tonight. Unless Chad goes the distance.

Torre is an idiot.