Walking the bases loaded is usually an awful idea. Hitters hit better with the bases loaded. Walking Matt Holliday to get to Jon Jay, for example, usually isn't smart. It creates too much of an advantage if the pitcher falls behind.
Pre-Post-Rain Delay Second Guessing
So Ron Washington put Magglio Ordonez on to load the bases. Like, on purpose. He'd rather face Alex Avila with the bases loaded than C.J. Wilson face Magglio Ordonez with first base open.
| Year | Ordonez PA | Intentional Walks |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 357 | 0 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
Odd. This hasn’t come up before tonight. Also odd: Alex Avila is better than Magglio Ordonez. Maybe not last year or the decade before, but he’s better now. He’s better against lefties, and he’s better against right-handers. He’s better against starters, and he’s better against relievers. He’s better against goats, he’s better on boats. He’s better in the rain, he’s better on a train.
And he’s sure as hell better when hitting with the bases loaded than Magglio is with runners on second and third.
Aw, heck, I’m not too proud to avoid micro-splits when it supports my position.
| Split (Magglio Ordonez) | PA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Runners on second/third | 11 | .111 | .182 | .111 | .293 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
| Split (Alex Avila) | PA | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bases loaded | 16 | .333 | .375 | .444 | .819 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com
Those are useless splits, but I want one reason. One reason. Just one good reason why you’d rather pitch to Avila with the bases loaded than Magglio with a base open. I’m a simple man. That’s all I want.
And of course Avila’s going to strike out after the rain delay to make me look like an ass. Better to be wrong early than pretend you were right after the fact.
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