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Wednesday, May 13, 2009

The worry meter is off the charts

The streak is over, I fear. Not sure if our man will get another chance.
Telling comment by Bob Carpenter, though he meant it another way: "Sometimes a manager and not a pitcher stops a streak."

Would that manager be Manny Acta?

Where the heck is Dunn? Would they walk Zimmerman to load the bases for Dunn? I think not. Why does Dunn need TODAY off? They don't play for another 48 hours. Acta has said several times how much having Dunn behind him has meant to Zimmerman. So where is Dunn today?

Maybe I'm overthinking this. I do that a lot. But I really don't want this streak to end.

WHERE IS DUNN?

(Dukes' hit means Zimmerman at least gets one more shot. I'm still worried. I do that).

Well, hell, that's that. Classy of the SF fans to applaud. My son just asked: Would you trade a W to see that streak continue? I have yet to answer.

14 comments:

Ryan said...

I get where you're coming from with the Dunn thing, but hell, everyone needs a day off every now and then. Everyone except Ripken, of course.

Better him take it in SF than back home, I suppose. Nats have 11 home games in 10 days coming up, including two day-after-night games.

Then again, maybe I'M overthinking things.

MikeHarris said...

He has today off. All of them do. There's 48 hours from the end of yesterday's game until the next game.

bdrube said...

I totally agree...Dunn's day off could have waited until the day AFTER the streak was over. No guarantee that it would have made a difference, of course, but Dunn vs. Willingham is like Godzilla vs. the GEICO gecko. Another inexplicable move by Manny.

Sure, hitting streaks are overrated from a pure baseball point of view, but this is a team desperately in need of GOOD publicity. You have to figure that had Zim carried the streak for five or six more games it would have been good for an extra 20-30,000 in walk up ticket purchases during this upcoming homestand.

Nice work (again), Manny!

Ryan said...

Maybe Dunn pulled a hammy the day before and Manny was keeping it on the DL. Wait, Dunn doesn't run, so that couldn't happen.

Hmmmm....I got nothing. Honestly, though...how many guy play all 162 anymore?

It sucks that the streak is over, but Zim had his chances yesterday. He'll just have to start another one.

Ryan said...

@bdrube: You can't blame the streak ending on Manny sitting Dunn. You just can't. You think ANYONE in that clubhouse is doing that? Doubtful.

The streak was nice. Now, it's over.

And it DID give the Nats some national pub. Would it have been nice to get MORE national pub? Sure. It'd also be nice if I were 40 pounds lighter with a tad more hair on the dome and a six-pack under my shirt. (Beer or abs, doesn't matter)

MikeHarris said...

No, you can't blame it on that. Still an odd move. Why can't someone play 162 games?
Flores is coming off a slight (we hope) injury. Giving him another day yesterday with the off day today made sense.
Sitting your big stick the day before an off day only 31 games into the season makes no sense even without a streak to consider.
Zim had his chances. He would have had one more with Dunn behind him.
Someone brought up a good point on my Facebook page where I bitched about it - couldn't Manny have sent Dunn up there with the bases loaded? Wonder if the thought even crossed his mind.

MikeHarris said...

Another point: Dunn had TWELVE hit in the previous seven games, including four home runs. He drove in eight. Yep, he was plum wore out.
Sit 'em while they're hot!
Sit 'em while they're hot!

Inexplicable even if Ryan Zimmerman hadn't had a hit all season.

Ryan said...

I agree it was an odd move. But there are much bigger fish to fry on this team than Dunn sitting on May 13.

Again, I'd rather see him sit in SF than in DC when I might be at the game. I know decisions aren't based on those kinds of things, but it certainly works for me.

And, I didn't say guys couldn't play 162; just that they don't for one reason or another.

MikeHarris said...

Unless Adam Dunn comes up to you with his ankle in his hand, you play him.
Play your big stick.
Every single day.
PARTICULARLY when he's hot. IF dude was strugging some, I could understand it a little better.
He's 30 years old. He's an athlete. He needs a day off like I need another 10 pounds.

Ryan said...

I don't disagree with the points you make, sir. I do, however, have a hard time going nuts over this when there are far worse problems on this team.

Then again, maybe the old saying "If it's not one thing, it's 13" fits perfectly with this freaking team.

When are you up during the homestand?

MikeHarris said...

Saturday/Saturday/Sunday. And will apparently miss Zimmermann.
Nationals.com lists starters as Olsen, TBA and then Cabrera on Sunday.
TBA means Garrett Mock for three innings followed by a collection from the Gas Can Crew.

Sitting the team's best players for no good reason is a reason to go nuts.

Ryan said...

Did any of the papers, MLB.com, or anyone else make mention of Dunn sitting, or ask Manny why he did it?

I'd be interested to hear from Manny on this. Because you're right, he should have played. Not a big deal to me, but you're right nonetheless.

I think you should apply for membership in the Gas Can Crew. I'd buy Prez Club tix to see that!

MikeHarris said...

I have not seen it discussed, other than a mention that Dunn was sitting. Manny was on live during the third inning yesterday but I can't recall if it was discussed.
The TV guys made mention of it briefly.

An Briosca Mor said...

There are two reasons a manager gives a player a day off - to rest that player or to find playing time for another player who needs it. In the case of Dunn, whenever he does play he's blocking one or more others who need and/or deserve playing time (Kearns, Willingham, Johnson). Contrast this with Zimmerman, who basically is blocking no one. This is the hand Manny was dealt by JimBo's cockeyed roster moves. In spite of this he still is managing to run Dunn out there pretty much every day, as he should. But sooner or later even Dunn ought to get a day off. (If you look at his record in Cinci, he was averaging 155 or so games a year. That's about one day off a month.) So I don't see a problem with Manny giving him his monthly day off yesterday, when it would turn into a two-fer with today's off day. (Keep in mind too that today's day off follows 20 straight games without an off day. True, they had one rainout, but even then they had to prepare for the game until two hours after it was supposed to start before it got canceled.) I don't think Zimmerman's streak should have been taken into account at all. If Dunn had played yesterday and the streak continued, the issue of getting him a day off would have surfaced further along anyway.