I was occupied with other things on Friday, so I missed out on the minor Mets news.
- Former Oakland manager Bob Geren beat out former Washington Nationals manager Jim Riggleman to become the Mets bench coach in 2012. I’m happy that a guy who walked away from his last job in a baseball uniform will not be part of the Mets organization, but I leave it for others to decide if Geren will be a good addition.
- The Mets are moving forward in the process to find a new first base coach. They have interviewed former Met Kevin Morgan and have or will soon interview minor league outfield instruct Jack Voight. Again, I leave it to others to decide who would be a better addition to the Mets coaching staff.
- Pitcher Dillon Gee will represent the Mets in the 2011 Taiwan All-Star Series next month.
I caught the last inning or so of the NLCS game between the Cardinals and the Brewers last night, and some of the post-game analysis. It floored me that the Cardinals’ bullpen has recorded two fewer outs than the starters, and that no starter has pitched into the sixth inning in the NLCS. As long as it’s working, I’m sure the Cardinals fans are thrilled. But I hope that Tony LaRussa‘s quick hook and fetish for bullpen matchups fails him in the next two games of the NLCS – I don’t want to see this emerge as a new trend in baseball.
PaulHadsall.com 
La Russa’s bullpen maneuvering won’t become a new trend, don’t worry. It’s just postseason baseball — with only four starters needed at most, they’ve got an extra reliever (or two), which gives him that flexibility.
Randy Wolf is the only starter in the series for either team to get through more than six innings after his seven-inning performance on Thursday.
LikeLike
I hope that you’re right. But back in the 1980s, who believed that we’d ever reach the level of bullpen use & overspecialization that we have now? Most teams carried 10 pitchers, and you’d occasionally see them go down to 9 if they didn’t need all 5 starters.
If I had a vote, I’d definitely put Tony LaRussa in the Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions to the game – I just don’t think they’re positive ones.
LikeLike