Why was relief pitcher in 8th inning relieved?

[Old Spice]

Only on VN do we get intense criticism of a coach the day after winning a natty.

Only on VN, someone can ask a question and the old forum farts criticism of a complete and normal question gets called out after a natty

 

[Stoerner Fumbles]

not meaning to criticizing, just wondering and expressing what I would have done.

That’s why they keep you in the basement.

 

[Unconditional Surrender]

It was probably a mistake, but you can't complain about the results.

 

[ksgovols]

Kirby had been used a lot. I was holding my breath when he came in as I figured he would be on fumes. He had enough juice to get us out of a jamb in the 8th and did his job. Kudos! I had no problem with Combs coming into the game in the 9th figuring he would have enough juice for one inning. The passed balls and balk that got A&M back in the game was uncharacteristic and I can only attribute to nerves and the enormity of the game. My old coach self was yelling 'FOCUS!' at the television towards Stark and Combsie. Glad they pulled it out!

 

[Sudden Impact]

It was a matter of pitching style, release points and the batter's view. That's all on the coach and staff, but that is the way it works sometimes no need to second guess.

 

[SpaceCoastVol]

nevermind.

 

[Jax_Vol]

You pick one guy to be the captain of the ship, and everyone onboard goes in the direction he points.

 

[Volgrandpa]

I think it’s just how Tony uses Kirby. He pitches most games and gives a solid inning, does his job and then heads back to the dugout. Hes a reliable utility pitcher. I also think Combs had a ton of confidence and Vitello knew it. He was very loose to the point of laughing about the balk and then proceeding to close out the game.

I saw that smile and laugh too on the balk. Looked like he said something like "I forgot." That moment brought some confidence to me that he was gonna get the job done.....and he did.

 

[rocketskates]

I saw that smile and laugh too on the balk. Looked like he said something like "I forgot." That moment brought some confidence to me that he was gonna get the job done.....and he did.

I think he said “I didn’t even know that he was going to second”. But I agree. Seeing him so relaxed, I knew he was gonna close it out.

 

[savannahfan]

Only on VN do we get intense criticism of a coach the day after winning a natty.

EZE - if you think what I said/ask was intense, then you are not reading many post on this site!

 

[greenbacknative]

The most common reason a good pitcher gets pulled ..It's usually matchups. R/H versus :L/H batters or pitcher's history against a certain batter.

 

[vegasvolfan]

IIRC. Kirby only pitched to one guy on Sunday and 3 guys on Monday - doubt his arm was completely spent. Coaches made their call which they thought was the best to win the game and it was. Switching pitchers is an art not a mathematical calculation.

I thought he left one of those guys in too long, but doesn’t matter. He never claims to be perfect. He made way more good decisions than bad with pitchers and to your point… We won. BIG TIME!

 

[Proud Army Wife]

Kirby had been used a lot. I was holding my breath when he came in as I figured he would be on fumes. He had enough juice to get us out of a jamb in the 8th and did his job. Kudos! I had no problem with Combs coming into the game in the 9th figuring he would have enough juice for one inning. The passed balls and balk that got A&M back in the game was uncharacteristic and I can only attribute to nerves and the enormity of the game. My old coach self was yelling 'FOCUS!' at the television towards Stark and Combsie. Glad they pulled it out!

There was that moment after the balk when he smiled and laughed. At that moment, I knew we had it in the bag.