Walking The Batter Before A-Rod, Not Always A Good Idea
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Doug Mataconis | Saturday, May 15, 2010 |
Last night, the Minnesota Twins took a gamble, and lost:
NEW YORK – Alex Rodriguez waited on deck, with runners at second and third and the Yankees trailing by a run in the seventh inning. Boy, did Ron Gardenhire have a tough decision to make.
Pitch to Mark Teixeira or intentionally walk him and bring in right-handed sinkerballer Matt Guerrier to replace Brian Duensing? Even though A-Rod was 4 for 6 against Guerrier with three home runs?
Yup, Guerrier came in.
And the ball went out.
Rodriguez hit his 19th career grand slam, moving past Frank Robinson into sole possession of seventh place with his 587th home run and powering the New York Yankees over the Minnesota Twins 8-4 Friday night.
“That’s why I hit fourth,†A-Rod said. “My team is expecting me to get big hits in those type of situations.â€
He was so excited as the ball went over the left-field wall that he nearly carried his bat all the way to first base. He then raised a fist in triumph after the drive gave the Yankees a 7-4 lead.
Part of the problem that the Twins faced, of course, is that the Yankee lineup is simply too strong to assume anyone is an easy out. Teixeira has had a hot bat all month, so walking him and bringing in the righthander to get Rodriguez isn’t necessarily a dumb call.
Except in retrospect as you’re watching that ball go over the wall and the bases clear.
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