Arizona Diamondbacks @ SF Giants Aug 27 - Aug 29, 2018

[TJ]

I hate this team so much.

 

[BC867]

It was good to see the win. But we didn't score after the 4th inning. 'Still need to work on that.

Moving Souza to leadoff worked. With lefties starting the first three games of the 4-game Dodgers series, I hope Torey has the foresight to not mess with it.

If he must insert Jay, it should be in the 4th game in CF. Pollock is not hitting well. If it continues, a move to fill a need facing the only righty in the series rather than a pre-planned benching based on day of the week. And leave Souza where he is at leadoff.

For the record, I have nothing against two set lineups -- the main platoon vs. righties and one vs. lefties. Gil Hodges worked it to perfection for the Miracle Mets in '69. Facing four lefties in five games vs. Baltimore in the World Series, the lesser used right handed hitting platoon came through when given the majority of the playing time.

At 1B for example, the regular starter young Ed Kranepool had a HR in his one game and the veteran right handed hitting Donn Clendennon had three in his four starts. Extremely productive from a corner position.

Hodges platooned at 1B, 2B, 3B and RF all season long when facing a lefty pitcher. With two set batting orders. And it resulted in a World Series championship.

 

[Willie D]

I think it was Souza (correct me), who opined in the clubhouse that opposing pitchers were figuring out the DB's hitters the second time around in the rotation.

WEHT batters figuring out pitchers on the second trip to the plate? With the DB's penchant for early-inning runs and not much else later, does he have a point?

I agree: a win is a win. But now four against the Doyers...tall test.

 

[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[Ronin]

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[82CardsGrad]

Thank you for researching that information. It shows that, over the course of the season, different lineups have been used by other teams as well, in reacting to injuries, then preparing for the stretch drive.

What bothers me is that, especially with Souza batting leadoff tonight for the first time on August 29th, the Diamondbacks continue to experiment at a time when experimenting, or the need for it, should be over. The best options should be in place and rolling. Especially with the injuries to our position players over for quite awhile.

As I posted, inconsistent management decisions lead to inconsistent results. We're watching it happen! Ironically, now that we are being shut out game after game, inconsistency has given way to lack of production and, evidently, confidence. The position players are lost and are in a downhill spiral and the people in charge need to answer for it.

It is too late in the season for that! Especially with Torey Lovullo having announced recently that he is going to go with a consistent lineup for the rest of the season, then has done the opposite. He is destroying his own credibility and thus has become his own worst enemy.

I've listened to his post-game interviews with Todd Walsh, almost whispering while walking on eggshells. "I don't know." "We'll take a look at it." It cries out desperation. It is almost September, Torey. A skilled Manager would have figured it out by now.

82, are you concerned with the state of our D-backs at this time? We should be peaking and instead we're playing our worst baseball of the season. He's choked.

Not a good trend. Nothing speaks louder than results!

Are you a long ago frustrated manager wannabe? Because it sure seems so...
You incessantly scrutinize every minute aspect of Torey... You also seem to believe that baseball is extremely simple and rudimentary, where a manager or coach simply tells/shows a player how to do something, and presto - the player does exactly how he was taught!
It makes me wonder if you ever even played the game at all...

Anyway - my “research” proves that what Torey has done is not at all inconsistent with the way the game is managed today. And AGAIN, the fact that what he’s done has this team in SOLE POSSESSION of first place, now on August 30th, renders your misguided rants even more irrelevant.

As for the team “not peaking...”. How many wins did you predict for this team this year? How many wins do you really believe they should end up with?
Are the Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs, Brewers, Dodgers, Rockies, Braves “peaking?” Take a look at their records since August 1st. Some might be better, slightly, than the Dbacks, but aside from the Cardinals, nobody is “peaking.”
And when you have a team that is hamstrung in terms of money and talent, and has suffered injuries to guys like Lamb and Dyson, it’s incredible that they are alone in first place. They shouldn’t be. They shouldn’t even be 13 games above .500. Yes, they are riding their great start in April, but it very easily could’ve and maybe should’ve gone much worse since then. I believe the team is closer to the team we saw in May than the team in April, and it’s ONLY because of the incredible managerial and leadership job Torey has done, that has kept this team from sliding completely off the rails...

 

[BC867]

Are you a long ago frustrated manager wannabe? Because it sure seems so...
You incessantly scrutinize every minute aspect of Torey... You also seem to believe that baseball is extremely simple and rudimentary, where a manager or coach simply tells/shows a player how to do something, and presto - the player does exactly how he was taught!
It makes me wonder if you ever even played the game at all...

You ... you ... you ... you ... I'm posting about our Diamondbacks and you're posting about me. 'Interesting!

I've been posting about a manager who has been learning on the job since he was hired a year ago and remains inconsistent and continually experimenting, even as September approaches.

Get personal with me all you want. Post to win debates. Guess what. It has zero effect on the performance on our Diamondbacks.

The recent trend of not only losing, but constantly being shut out. Unable to score after the 4th inning for a long time now. That is in the hands of the manager and his hitting coach. Not you nor I.

Well, I guess I've said all I can about it. Unless Lovullo abandons after one game (and finally some runs scored and a victory) the move of Souza to leadoff with three lefty pitchers coming up.

Even he wouldn't do that, would he? I'll be checking for the lineups to be posted online for these next three games.

 

[82CardsGrad]

You ... you ... you ... you ... I'm posting about our Diamondbacks and you're posting about me. 'Interesting!

I've been posting about a manager who has been learning on the job since he was hired a year ago and remains inconsistent and continually experimenting, even as September approaches.

Get personal with me all you want. Post to win debates. Guess what. It has zero effect on the performance on our Diamondbacks.

The recent trend of not only losing, but constantly being shut out. Unable to score after the 4th inning for a long time now. That is in the hands of the manager and his hitting coach. Not you nor I.

Well, I guess I've said all I can about it. Unless Lovullo abandons after one game (and finally some runs scored and a victory) the move of Souza to leadoff with three lefty pitchers coming up.

Even he wouldn't do that, would he? I'll be checking for the lineups to be posted online for these next three games.

You're posts are almost exclusively about Torey and the short-comings you perceive, rather than the team as a whole...
My responses to your Torey rants are therefore intended to point out the errors associated with your misconceptions.

You can't make statements like this:

"The recent trend of not only losing, but constantly being shut out. Unable to score after the 4th inning for a long time now. That is in the hands of the manager and his hitting coach. Not you nor I."

And not expect a response. Because again, you seem to believe that all Torey and Magadan need to do is instruct players on how to hit and score after the 4th inning, and magically it will happen. It's as if you make no room for the most important part of this equation - the actual players themselves! The best coaching in the world isn't effective unless it manifests on the field...
Along with coaching, Torey has tried a number of tactics to shake things up and put the team in a position to succeed. As I've said, his efforts have consistently produced above-expectations results.

Anyway... You can take some solace in knowing I'm done trying to help you see the light... And you can feel even better knowing that Torey kept Souza in the leadoff slot tonight. And to boot, Pollack, Perralta, Ahmed and Marte are all playing tonight too!
But of course, if they lose tonight, I have no doubt you will find a way to erroneously twist it around and claim that Torey is to blame yet again...