How(e)’d He Do That?
Not much to say today. I just didn’t want to let a long weekend pass without saying anything.
The Mets blew all 3 games to the Marlins this weekend. In the first 2 the offense disappeared. A questionable call by Art Howe blew the third.
For those who missed it yesterday, Art Howe kept lefty Mike Stanton in the game to pitch to right handed batter Mike Lowell with Juan Pierre on first base. Howe replaced Stanton with the right handed David Weathers with the count 2-2 after Pierre stole second. Lowell then ripped an RBI double off of Weathers.
The resulting double is really irrelevant when viewed in the context of second guessing the managers decision (though it did help Florida to a 2 run win). The real question is why did Howe handle the pitching situation in this way?
After the game Howe said that he kept Stanton in because he thought that Stanton had the best chance to keep Lowell to a single. Howe’s thinking was that if Lowell hit a single with Pierre on first base then Pierre would not score on the play. When asked why he brought Weathers into the game in the middle of an at bat Howe said that he brought in the pitcher he felt had the best chance to get Lowell out.
If Weathers had the best chance of getting Lowell out then why let Stanton go against him to begin with? And if Stanton already had 2 strikes on Lowell when Pierre stole second then why not keep him in to finish the at bat? And if your going with the guy who has the best chance of getting the out then what difference does it make if Pierre is on first or second?
So what was Howe really thinking? I don’t think we’ll ever know.
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