That's my kind of game board. A game that the Astros had in hand seemingly the whole way. Wandy escaped his biggest threat in the second when he struck out two batters with two runners on base. From there, Michael Bourn, Carlos Lee, Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman did the rest. Mr. Rodriguez pitched a complete game and lowered his ERA below 3.
The Astros are now 5-3 in July, and have once again moved within a game of .500. Tomorrow the team will complete the suspended game against the Nationals at 6 pm, and then play their regularly scheduled game half an hour after the finish of Game 1. Five games against the worst team in baseball await the Astros before the close of the first half of the season. Opportunity to both move above .500 and ahead in the standings is staring the team in their collective faces.
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AstroAndy - July 8, 2009
Another Anti-Bunt Rant
Astros scored four runs with two outs.
That’s four runs of the five scored.
I assume no bunts .
If an Astro had bunted a player up a base, presumably those four runs would not have scored since the inning would be over already.
A 1-0 lead is more stressful on all concerned than a 5-0 lead.
Moral of the story: Bunts hurt more than they help
Joe in Birmingham - July 8, 2009
Uh huh
That’s kind of cherry picking one of the best possible outcomes for hitting with a bad scenario for bunting.
But I’ll think be thinking about your intolerance towards bunts when the next GIDP on one out ends the inning ’cause “bunts hurt” and “hitting is cool.”
pel - July 8, 2009
Bunts have their place
but they are overused
and I don’t think they should ever be used in extra innings(unless it is a bunt to get the runner in from third)
Joe in Birmingham - July 8, 2009
extra innings
bunts are more justified in extra innings, particularly for the home team. bunts become a better percentage play when only one run is needed to win the game. this is because bunts tend to reduce the number of runs which are likely to be scored in an inning, but it can increase the probability of scoring one run. whether it is truly a better percentage play in extra innings depends on the circumstances, such as who is batting and who follows the batter.
clack - July 9, 2009
with one out in the 4th
and Matsui and Quintero on 1st and 2nd, Wandy laid down a bunt. Apparently, it wasn’t a great bunt, because they took the out at 2nd, putting men on 1st and 3rd with two outs. Bourn, Tejada, and Berkman followed with hits, giving way to a 3-run inning. If Wandy is swinging away and grounds into a double play, the inning is over. Now are you telling me that was not a proper time to call a bunt? Seems like it helped more than it hurt.
littlevisigoth - July 9, 2009
hard to argue with a pitcher bunt...
unless the pitcher happens to be an extraordinarily good hitter.
clack - July 9, 2009
if I replaced "Wandy"
with “Kata” or “Erstad”, would it change your thought on whether or not it was a good play?
littlevisigoth - July 9, 2009
maybe....
probably not with Kata, because I think he has a good chance to beat out the bunt. Erstad I might prefer to hit in that situation, given that he has been hitting well lately. The fact that we know what happens ex post shouldn’t affect the decision. Erstad’s OPS over the last 14 days is 1.017. I would find it hard to advocate Erstad bunting in that situation if he were PHing for Wandy.
clack - July 9, 2009
I think I agree
I’m not sure there are many other scenarios other than having the pitcher at bat, that I’d advocate bunting with one out and two men on. Kata and Erstad SHOULD be able to stay out of a double play in that situation (a few weeks ago, the cynic in me would have demanded that they bunt). In this case, it did bring up the top of the order, so you like your chances of 2-out RBI better than if you were bunting in front of the 7 or 8 hitter.
The biggest point was to contradict the statement that there were no bunts and that the moral of this particular situation was not that bunts hurt more than they help, when in fact there was a bunt and it did help more than it hurt.
littlevisigoth - July 9, 2009
Couple remarks...
Never in extra innings?
So if an average to poor hitter but a good bunter is at the plate with the runner on first in say the 11th you want the batter to swing away and likely (A) get an out that doesnt move the runner; or (B) ground into a double play? Instead of having him bunt and move the runner into scoring position. Sure youve got an out, but better an out and a runner in scoring position, than an out and the runner not moving, or 2 outs and no base runners at all …
I think definitely in that instance you go for the bunt … Only one run is needed, usually.. and swinging away and for the fences tends to lead to outs/strikeouts far more than actually hitting HRS or extra base hits, especially in extra frames .. i love the big blasts as much as anyway, but Id rather get the W ..
My other remark:
GO WANDY! Ive always been a big fan of Wandy, bigger than alot of people anyway. ANd I always am happy when he does well. And it is great to see him have an awesome night like this. Im also glad they let him stay out and finish the game. :)
strosfannate - July 9, 2009
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