BUNT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[EASTtennBAMAman]

I WOULD LIKE TO START OFF BY SAYING IT WAS A GREAT GAME AND A GREAT EFFORT BY THE TIDE TO MAKE THE COME BACK THAT THEY DID SUNDAY AGAINST LSU BEING DOWN 11-2 AND COMING BACK 11-10....IM SITTING HERE IN EAST TENNESSEE WATCHING THE GAME ON CSS AND IT WAS ABOUT TIME FOR ME TO LEAVE AND GO TO CHURCH WHEN HEAROD BLASTED THAT TWO RUN SHOT, I KNEW I WAS GONNA HAVE TO MISS CHURCH CAUSE MY BOYS WERE GONNA COME BACK IN THE END...9TH INNING ROLLS AROUND AND THEY DID JUST THAT MADE IT 11-10, BASES LOADED , AND JUST ONE OUT!!!I SAT HERE AT MY HOUSE THINKING OK HOW BOUT SQUEEZE THE RUNNER FROM THIRD WITH REDDING UP TO BAT CAUSE HE HADNT HAD A GOOD DAY AT THE PLATE...WELL OF COURSE WELLS DIDNT, REDDING STRUCK OUT LOOKING, AND BURNS POPS UP TO THE CATCHER AND WE LOSE A HEARTBREAKER....I KNOW IM JUST A FAN AND COACH WELLS IS THE MAN AT COACHING BAMA BASEBALL, SO ANYONE OUT THERE GOT ANY OPINIONS ON THE ENDING OF THE GAME?

 

[38 Special]

ETBM, You bring up an interesting point and I'll play Monday morning skipper with you. If you bunt Grant, you stand a chance to tie the game. However, the last 3 bunt attempts (one was Grant), have been popped up for outs. If we don't read downward angle and Redding pops up another bunt, we get doubled up...game over. If we pinch hit for Grant, we risk a cold batter coming in and hitting into a twin killing...game over. However, if you leave Grant in to hit and he looks at strike 3 and Burns pops out to the catcher...game over.
Of the 3 choices, Coach Wells chose to hit. Baseball is a percentage game and with runners in scoring position and less than 2 outs, the percentages say you will score. On the other hand, we haven't been able to do that all weekend.
On the road, you play for the win. At home, you play for the tie. I believe he chose correctly. Bottom line is WE MUST EXECUTE.

RTR
38

[This message has been edited by 38 Special (edited March 31, 2003).]

 

[Bo]

I fully agree with 38. RTR

 

[bustareed]

I agree, I watched the game on TV and there were a lot of options. However 38 I disagree and its a widely known baseball fact that you play for the TIE at home and the WIN on the road because you have the advantage of batting last.

There weren't a lot of options on the bench, but some type of squeeze of saftey squeeze did cross my mind because LSU had their infield back. But again bottom line comes down to execution, a flyball or a groundball with redding's speed and at the very worst we are in extra's

Its easy to second guess now, a tough weekend for the tide. Long year though and the schedule does ligthen up after this next weekend

 

[Tider in Illinois]

I am no coach, nor am I an expert when it comes to baseball, but I'll go with CJW and let Grant and Bobby swing away with the pecentages in our favor, and even a fly ball gets a run home.
CJW is the best coach on campus, so I'll leave it up to him to make that tough decision. JMO
RTR
TII

 

[38 Special]

Busta, just a typo, but thanks for letting me in on widely known baseball facts.

RTR
38

 

[dplsu]

Great series...

I'm no expert either, I coach 9-10 year old future Tigers. BUT, I personally feel that a suicide squeeze in that situation would have been a better option IF the pitcher was a lefty. Meier is a righty and that makes getting a good enough lead a little tougher. You also have to consider the speed of the guy on third...don't know how fast he is.

Personally though, with the bases loaded and 1 out I would always swing away. I'd be going for the sacrifice fly in that situation. But when Redding K'd, the only good option then was try and punch one in. If I was Wells I think I would have felt pretty comfortable having the bases loaded with one out...baseball gods weren't shining on him.

------------------
Geaux Tigers

 

[tydfan]

I agree w/ the idea of letting Grant hit away w/ one out. He is tough to double up on a ground ball. I wonder though about letting a .190 right handed batter (Burns)hit against a pitcher (Meier) who is holding right handed hitters to a .129 average and lefties are hitting .311 against when we have 2 lefties (Pennington, Beagle)on the bench, one of which had a clutch hit Friday night. I'm not second guessing anyone, we have a terrific coaching staff. I don't know many coaches out there I would trade for CJW. It's just one of those things that makes you go Huummm!!

RTR

 

[38 Special]

Tydfan, you are dead on. Except I might have even pinch hit for Redding.

 

[newbamabaseballfan]

always easy to second guess after a games like sunday's. However, here's a few things to consider (some of which had already been pointed out). A squeeze bunt with the bases loaded is not a good strategy because it's a force out at the plate which is much easier for the defense to execute than a tag play. it has to be a perfect bunt with the 3rd & 1st basemen charging. not a high percentage play offensively. redding had been 0-for the day as well as burns. i personally would have pinch-hit beagle for 2 reasons: 1, he did the job friday in a clutch situation and 2, the lefty vs righty advantage. baseball is a game of streaks and hot/cold games. redding and burns were obviously cold on sunday--take your chances with a guy who had success on friday in a similar situation. i don't think wells likes it when a guy takes a called third strike (an understatement!). beagle did that on saturday and maybe wells had that in the back of his mind. i've always been a believer in the fact that 1-run games are won-lost by coaching moves, or lack of them. this could have been one of them. great comeback by our guys--especially herrod who goes 0-3 with 2 k's in his previous at bats, then comes up and hits a bomb and drives in those 2 runs in the 9th. our guys need to build on that, get their heads right, and go to auburn ready to win. hopefully, they will spend yesterday and today in a positive environment. baseball is such a mentally tough game--especially when things don't go your way.

 

[38 Special]

Very good points newbamafan. I concur that most of the time, 1 run games are won or lost by coaches. As of today, we have had 2 days to think about what we would have done. CJW had about 30 seconds. We can second guess him, but I'm sure he second guesses himself more. So goes the life of a coach. I just hope he doesn't give up on Grant. I would put Lyons and Hecklinski back in the order with Grant staying in LF and move on. This weekend is an even bigger series for SEC positioning.


RTR
38

 

[Tidefan in North Carolina]

38-
I don't want to get caught up in the should haves or could haves so I'll be quiet on that. I do most heartedly agree about Heck and Lyons and leaving Grant in the lineup!!!!
RTR