Bunting in the 8th and down by 2?

[bulldogcountry1]

I'm still trying to make sense of giving away outs when down by 2 in the 8th. It seems borderline idiotic with a man in scoring position already. What am I missing?

I guess that Cohen knew he had our best long ball chances coming up in the 9th, and wanted to get one. That still doesn't make sense to me.

[Todd4State]

I'm not seeing it on the play by play? If you are talking about Lovelady, that wasn't a straight sacrifice attempt as much as it was trying to dare the pitcher to throw a strike. If I'm not mistaken he squared around and pulled his bat back.

Sometimes when you square around it can mess up a pitcher even though there isn't an intention to bunt. Like what we did with Beede last year.

[msstate7]

I'm not seeing it on the play by play? If you are talking about Lovelady, that wasn't a straight sacrifice attempt as much as it was trying to dare the pitcher to throw a strike. If I'm not mistaken he squared around and pulled his bat back.

Sometimes when you square around it can mess up a pitcher even though there isn't an intention to bunt. Like what we did with Beede last year.

I thought lovelady should've been hit for in that at bat

[bulldogcountry1]

I was listening on the radio. Jim said Lovelady squared on the wild pitch and then again with the runner at second. Someone who was there will have to confirm if it was a sac or just a bluff.

[mstatefan91]

I was listening on the radio. Jim said Lovelady squared on the wild pitch and then again with the runner at second. Someone who was there will have to confirm if it was a sac or just a bluff.

It was a bluff

[engie]

Lovelady was definitely attempting to actually lay one down there... Probably halfheartedly because the decision didn't make sense...

[Smitty]

I'm not seeing it on the play by play? If you are talking about Lovelady, that wasn't a straight sacrifice attempt as much as it was trying to dare the pitcher to throw a strike. If I'm not mistaken he squared around and pulled his bat back.

Sometimes when you square around it can mess up a pitcher even though there isn't an intention to bunt. Like what we did with Beede last year.

Just stop. It's not on the play by play because it was another famous Cohenball BUNTFAIL! I was there. It wasn't a Todd small ball special mind game BS. Down 2 we tried to bunt over a runner to 3rd base (stupid as it is) down by 2. Lovelady gets down into a 2 strike count ****ing up and pops out to short.

It was Cohen at his worst. Can't get out of his own ****ing way and probably cost us the game tonight by bunting... And batting Reynolds 2nd... And not starting Rooker... Or Smith.... And not DHing Collins....

When we miss hosting it's shit like these last two days.

[Todd4State]

Just stop. It's not on the play by play because it was another famous Cohenball BUNTFAIL! I was there. It wasn't a Todd small ball special mind game BS. Down 2 we tried to bunt over a runner to 3rd base (stupid as it is) down by 2. Lovelady gets down into a 2 strike count ****ing up and pops out to short.

It was Cohen at his worst. Can't get out of his own ****ing way and probably cost us the game tonight by bunting... And batting Reynolds 2nd... And not starting Rooker... Or Smith.... And not DHing Collins....

When we miss hosting it's shit like these last two days.

He pulled the bat back. That says bluff to me. Agree to disagree.

We also had a couple of wild pitches that hurt us really badly. Collins still isn't 100% yet. Smith hasn't done anything since he was hurt. Agree about Reynolds and Rooker.

[Todd4State]

I thought lovelady should've been hit for in that at bat

Wouldn't have been a bad move to hit for him. We just need to get Collins back ASAP.

[Smitty]

He squared around again in a 1-1 count! No bluff. You've gone full retard.

[mstatefan91]

Is this Will James? Is he just allowed back with new user names? What's the point of the perma-ban then?

I apologize if you aren't Will James, Smitty.

[Homedawg]

He squared around again in a 1-1 count! No bluff. You've gone full retard.

I have been told that on 1-1 he missed the sign. Prior to that he was doing what brown did and caused ball after ball after ball. Now if that's wrong, which I don't think it is, it was a crazy move to be bunting at that point.

[maroonmania]

Well, there is no doubt that giving an out away with a bunt attempt when you only have 6 outs left in a game to score one run when you are down by two is moronic. If Cohen did that there is no excuse. Small ball is one thing but stupidity is another.

[preachermatt83]

Is this Will James? Is he just allowed back with new user names? What's the point of the perma-ban then?

I apologize if you aren't Will James, Smitty.

Dong be done, he's right more times than he's wrong.

[Homedawg]

Is this Will James? Is he just allowed back with new user names? What's the point of the perma-ban then?

I apologize if you aren't Will James, Smitty.

Yes it's will.

[mstatefan91]

Ahh ok. I really don't care. I just think it's funny that he is perma-banned under one user name and then allowed to come back with another one. Whatever.

And thinking back, he probably is right. Cohen probably called for a bunt from Lovelady which Lovelady was timid with (for good reason) and it ultimately just bought us an out.

[Todd4State]

I have been told that on 1-1 he missed the sign. Prior to that he was doing what brown did and caused ball after ball after ball. Now if that's wrong, which I don't think it is, it was a crazy move to be bunting at that point.

In other words, it was a bluff.

[Todd4State]

Ahh ok. I really don't care. I just think it's funny that he is perma-banned under one user name and then allowed to come back with another one. Whatever.

And thinking back, he probably is right. Cohen probably called for a bunt from Lovelady which Lovelady was timid with (for good reason) and it ultimately just bought us an out.

Well, you're getting the joke then.

[Homedawg]

In other words, it was a bluff.

Correct sir. And from watching I thought it was apparent it was......until he squared on 1-1. Then I freaked out too. But as I say, I'm told he wasn't supposed to bunt then. Which is more in line with what I thought and you are saying.

[Todd4State]

Correct sir. And from watching I thought it was apparent it was......until he squared on 1-1. Then I freaked out too. But as I say, I'm told he wasn't supposed to bunt then. Which is more in line with what I thought and you are saying.

If he missed the sign, that would explain why he was timid too. Anyway, we have to do better than this offensively. We're too sloppy tonight. Wild pitches, runners getting thrown out trying to take an extra base on a ball that is too shallow- and for the third out no less and our hottest hitter coming up to the plate. All of those things make a big difference in the game.

[bulldogcountry1]

Just because they pull back doesn't mean it was called to be a bluff. I've wondered many times since Cohen has been here if batters are intentionally not focusing 100% on getting the bunt down with the hopes of Cohen taking the bunt off later in the count. Maybe nobody has ever purposefully done that that, but body language doesn't lie. I've seen way too many half-hearted attempts to think otherwise. I can't say that I can blame anyone for being frustrated because they are asked to bunt in many of the scenarios that Cohen calls them.

[Bucky Dog]

Yes, it's Will James. And I am getting tired of all the ***** ass bunting as well! Definitely not in the 8th down two, just like it's ridiculous when we bunt in the first inning of a scoreless game.

[Political Hack]

bunting down by two didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially knowing in retrospect that the guys who were bunting aren't very good at it.

Cody Brown did the "bunt to screw up the pitcher" thing. it was a "take until he throws another strike" and the pitcher didn't. So Cohen could've been trying that with lovelady too I guess, but it's hard to argue with the results. we wasted our best chance to score multiple runs.

all that said, Cohen is a genius 98% of the time. His results are pretty damn telling.

[engie]

Missed sign is the Occam's Razor of the thread. Simplest and most satisfying explanation. Cohen bunts too much -- but very rarely as ridiculously as that situation.

Now -- who missed the sign? Lovelady or Mingione? A jr catcher who is by all accounts baseball savvy shouldn't just accept that sign and roll with it. He should have made Mingione give it to him twice... He may have -- I haven't gone back and looked...

[Todd4State]

Just because they pull back doesn't mean it was called to be a bluff. I've wondered many times since Cohen has been here if batters are intentionally not focusing 100% on getting the bunt down with the hopes of Cohen taking the bunt off later in the count. Maybe nobody has ever purposefully done that that, but body language doesn't lie. I've seen way too many half-hearted attempts to think otherwise. I can't say that I can blame anyone for being frustrated because they are asked to bunt in many of the scenarios that Cohen calls them.

I'd be willing to bet that over 90% of the time that we actually sac bunt it's with a runner on second or runners on first and second and no one out.

That said, as far as the players- like I've said, if you are going to bunt a lot be really, really good at it. You have to buy in as a player. I do think that in the past some of the players didn't totally buy in- and they weren't good at it. But if you are good at bunting, and you have decent speed you can get some easy hits. We've seen that a lot this year.