OFFICIAL TLR HEAD SCRATCHER THREAD

[obucard]

La Russa saved Bryan Anderson while letting two pitchers hit in an extra inning game. This is not a new occurrence in 2010, so I don't see any point in beating that dead horse. But it seems to me this is something he didn't do much, say, ten years ago, and it's become increasingly common for him. Does anybody else have that impression or the opposite feeling?

We always knew Tony was a pioneer in game strategy.

[Vidor]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

[greenback44]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

It doesn't shock anyone. My question is whether this is a relatively new development for him.

[obucard]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

He eventually will. Of course, that will be the time it backfires and the board explodes wondering why he burned his backup C so early.

[PujolJunkie]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

Why wouldn't he? Molina caught for 14 innings on one day of rest in the past 4 weeks. What are the odds of Anderson getting hurt in the 2 or 3 innings that he would have to catch? Is he going to be such a massive downgrade from Molina's mid .600 OPS that he couldn't just leave Anderson in the game?

[dmarx114]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

Except he did against the Mets......albeit in the 16th inning (or so).

So why the inconsistency?

And more importantly, should a manager really worry about the .0001% chance that his catcher will get hurt to the point that he can't play anymore?

[Vidor]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

He eventually will. Of course, that will be the time it backfires and the board explodes wondering why he burned his backup C so early.

You know it. "WTF WHY DID TONY LEAVE US WITHOUT A CATCHER IN THE 15TH INNING? WHAT IS KYLE LOHSE DOING BEHIDN THE PLATE! HE NEEDS TO RETIRE!!!"

[greenback44]

Some folks rant on message boards about the managers. Some folks rant on message boards about other posts. Some folks rant on message boards about imaginary posts. I guess each one is a better way of dealing with a difficult loss than kicking the cat.

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

He eventually will. Of course, that will be the time it backfires and the board explodes wondering why he burned his backup C so early.

You know it. "WTF WHY DID TONY LEAVE US WITHOUT A CATCHER IN THE 15TH INNING? WHAT IS KYLE LOHSE DOING BEHIDN THE PLATE! HE NEEDS TO RETIRE!!!"

Here's a crazy idea: Anderson plays left field. That way if Yadi gets injured there is already a player capable of catching in the game and not completely draining the 4 hole behind Pujols. He wouldn't be any worse in left than Lopez was at SS. Contrary to what Tony tries to tell us and how he operates, other teams use their backup catcher to PH all the time. Because even if both catchers get hurt so bad they have to leave the game, you can still throw your [expletive] end of the bench players (Miles/Winn) behind the plate, because by that time you're pretty much [expletive] anyways.

[redbirdjazzz]

Not sure why this keeps shocking people. He's not going to leave himself without a catcher on the bench. He just isn't.

He eventually will. Of course, that will be the time it backfires and the board explodes wondering why he burned his backup C so early.

You know it. "WTF WHY DID TONY LEAVE US WITHOUT A CATCHER IN THE 15TH INNING? WHAT IS KYLE LOHSE DOING BEHIDN THE PLATE! HE NEEDS TO RETIRE!!!"

Here's a crazy idea: Anderson plays left field. That way if Yadi gets injured there is already a player capable of catching in the game and not completely draining the 4 hole behind Pujols. He wouldn't be any worse in left than Lopez was at SS. Contrary to what Tony tries to tell us and how he operates, other teams use their backup catcher to PH all the time. Because even if both catchers get hurt so bad they have to leave the game, you can still throw your [expletive] end of the bench players (Miles/Winn) behind the plate, because by that time you're pretty much [expletive] anyways.

That was my first thought when I heard about what happened.