Wong could've gone up there without a bat in his hand and I'm pretty sure that kid couldn't have pumped 3 strikes. And he got squeezed on 2-0 but that's a ball 9 times out of 10 when you're all over the map like that.
Once it got to 3-0, you knew it was probably done. He couldn't have thrown 3 straight strikes with a dozen virgins on the line. [Reply]
Staumont not being able to throw strikes was the turning point. Was the bench calling all those curves when he could've just blown O'Neill away? Rosario lol. [Reply]
Now THATS how you propel yourself on a losing streak and towards a battle for the #1 pick! This loss could linger for a while. Which is fine in this throwaway season. We're not making the playoffs so might as well lose, lose, lose in hopes of getting the highest pick possible.
I hate Matheny. I loathed when the Royals hired him and any leash GMDM had because of 2014-15 was instantly gone when that hire was made.
All that being said, last nights loss was not on Matheny. Staumont couldn't throw strikes, that's where it all started. Rosenthal battled, but he could only go for so long. You don't want the guys arm to fall off, especially when you're potentially dangling him out there as a nice trade chip before the deadline. He had to pull him. Now I guess maybe you can debate choosing Rosario over a couple other options in the bullpen, but the matchups just weren't there. ANY bullpen pitcher has got to be able to come in and throw strikes and finish that out. They didn't. That loss is entirely on the bullpen, not Matheny.
(Can't believe I'm actually defending Mike fucking Matheny) [Reply]