9.30.2004
In Defense of Dustan
Tough loss last night, but there's no dishonor in getting shut down by David Wells and Trevor Hoffman. Wells has been pitching big in big games for a long time. Instead, give credit to Noah Lowry for keeping the Giants even for six innings. The pitch that Hernandez hit out in the 6th wasn't too bad -- change-up on the outside corner. A lot of other Padres were popping that ball up.
What irks me this morning are the complaints about Dustan Mohr and how he should have let Loretta's fly ball drop. I've already written my piece in the comments of a couple other Giants sites, so I'll simply provide a synopsis:
To decide to let the ball drop in that situation would have been not only extremely difficult, but possibly foolhardy. It was NOT an obvious foul ball, unlike what some people have written; it was at most a foot or two over the line. To let it drop, Mohr would have had to make a split-second decision that goes against everything baseball players are taught. He would have had to TAKE HIS EYE OFF THE BALL (hmm, that doesn't sound like such a good idea); he would have had to GIVE UP A SURE OUT.
It was a shallow fly. Even with the speedy Robinson on third, Mohr had at least a shot at throwing him out.
So let's all stop whining and bitching and give the guy a break. The loss was frustrating, but don't take it out on Mohr. (And don't take it out on Alfonzo, who at least made the high chopper a close play; and don't take it out on Torrealba, who screwed up but has played stellar defense all year.)
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What irks me this morning are the complaints about Dustan Mohr and how he should have let Loretta's fly ball drop. I've already written my piece in the comments of a couple other Giants sites, so I'll simply provide a synopsis:
To decide to let the ball drop in that situation would have been not only extremely difficult, but possibly foolhardy. It was NOT an obvious foul ball, unlike what some people have written; it was at most a foot or two over the line. To let it drop, Mohr would have had to make a split-second decision that goes against everything baseball players are taught. He would have had to TAKE HIS EYE OFF THE BALL (hmm, that doesn't sound like such a good idea); he would have had to GIVE UP A SURE OUT.
It was a shallow fly. Even with the speedy Robinson on third, Mohr had at least a shot at throwing him out.
So let's all stop whining and bitching and give the guy a break. The loss was frustrating, but don't take it out on Mohr. (And don't take it out on Alfonzo, who at least made the high chopper a close play; and don't take it out on Torrealba, who screwed up but has played stellar defense all year.)
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