Overtaxed and Overtasked Bullpen Blows Another One As ChiSox Sweep BoSox

We would have been 5 1/2 behind the Rays if we could have taken 2 out of 3. Instead we are 7 1/2 and even a sweep (which obviously won’t happen) will still leave us 4 1/2 back. This sweep was, in my opinion, the final nail in the coffin. Once again, it had a lot to do with Tito and his pitching changes. What a complete embarassment to get swept at home this late in the season with playoff hopes really hinging on this series. It’s simply unbelieveable. Oh well. There is always next year.

But ANY hopes we had were going to depend on how much ground we were able to make up prior to the Rays series. Unfortunately, I just need to be realistic wirh myself and realize that we simply aren’t fielding a lot of talent out there.

As you said, people look past his idiot decisions because we’ve always made the post season. And I have a strange suspicion that we are going to be in for more of the same. He’s great when it comes to his players and the media, but I’m extremely critical when it comes to his tactical decisions during a game. Once again, you put the best arms you have in there to win a game. Granted, Bard made a bonehead play to let those 2 runs come in, but you have to keep him in. Injuries or not (and they have played a tremendous part in where we are right now), this season has become an incredible emabarrasment.

even though I know it is mathematically still not over. That just put the bar too high to reasonably expect to reach without Youk and Pedroia and the other missing pieces.

It is just easier to enjoy the games from a let’s-win-this-game-for-its-own-sake sense if you just forget about the playoff picture.

Unfortunately, when you lose 3 in a row … ugh.

The frustrating thing is that our offense laid an egg in the prior 2 games. Now our pitching blows up in this last game. Everyone jumps on Tito and how he deployed his pitchers in this game (and from a tactical sense, I can’t disagree – I hated seeing Oki come in.). Shouldn’t we be beating up on the offense for sucking freaking wind in the prior three games? If we had scored some runs and taken the first 2, loosing the last of of the series would be irritating due to how it happened, but the edge certainly have been blunted.

Regarding the pulling of Bard and sending Oki out – I can only guess that either Bard isn’t feeling as strong as we’d like and Tito is still worried about over working him or they really really really for some reason want to see if Oki can salvage the season and restore lost value. The latter would of course affirm that mgmt has punted on the season, so don’t expect they would ever admit that’s the case.

In some sense I do think Tito is struggling with how to deal with such a crappy middle bullpen. No move ever seems to work with them – even trying to NOT use them blows up. Maybe there are other managers who might do a better job with that aspect of the game. Would they also do as well with other aspects? I can be critical of the decisions such as sending Oki out when I’d rather see Bard stay in. I can be critical of the decisions to play Patterson so much earlier when I thought he was a poor alternative.

But I also have to acknowledge that with a lineup that for a huge extended part of the season has been about 50% made up of minor league and bench players, to be even remotely in sight of 90 wins deserves a bit of credit.

I don’t have to be blind to Tito’s apparent shortcomings to also acknowledge the record of his successes.

In the end, its probable that with better luck – and far fewer injuries – Tito’s bullpen mgmt decisions would be moot. Not necessarily gone, but probably far less relevant.