Man, National League baseball seems like it's being played in another universe sometimes. I just finished watching the Pirates defeat the Reds in a 3-1 squeaker. Playing prominent roles in a losing cause for Cincinnati were Cesar Izturis, who started at second base and had a single
and an intentional walk in four trips to the plate, and Alfredo Simon, who replaced an injured Johnny Cueto in the fifth inning and ultimately took the loss. Simon surrendered a pair of Pirate runs in two innings of work, but also singled in his lone plate appearance for his first career hit. I wasn't completely certain that the duo of ex-Orioles was still in the league, much less seeing the field for a team expected to contend in the N.L. Central. Naturally Izturis, with his .616 career OPS, was given a free pass with a runner on second base and two outs to allow the Bucs to pitch to Cincy starter Cueto, who justified the iffy strategy by flying out to center field. If it were me, I would've just taken the near-certain out from Izzy, but I'm not paid the big bucks like Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle.
No comments:
Post a Comment