Ask Satan

Forthright reader Übermilf asks:

what, you're too good to blog now? Screw you, Satan.

No. I'm sorry I haven't been posting, but my professional responsbilities exploded on me recently, and combined with some other personal obligations, something had to give. The blog is more or less on hiatus for now.

But, as Barry Bonds told the faithful on Opening Day 2005, I will be back.

-- Satan

Congratulations

Congratulations to Atlanta Braves manager Bobby Cox and pitcher Chris Resop (shown). They finally did something in a game that gets talked about a lot, but never actually done. They moved Resop to another position for one batter and then back to pitcher.

Resop, a right-handed pitcher, was pitching in relief for Atlanta against Pittsburgh in the top of the tenth. With a left-handed batter, Adam LaRoche, due up, Cox brought in left-hander Royce Ring to relieve Resop. But instead of taking Resop out of the game, Cox moved him to left field and took left fielder Matt Diaz out instead. Resop had been an outfielder in high school. After Ring struck out LaRoche, Cox moved Resop back to pitcher, took Ring out of the game, and brought in Gregor Blanco to play left. Resop then faced two move right-handed batters, Xavier Nady and Jose Bautista.

The Braves lost the game, as Resop gave up a run in the inning, but the strategy worked, as Cox got the lefty-lefty platoon advantage on LaRoche and the righty-righty platoon advantage on Jason Bay before him and Xavier Nady after him. Nice to see some creativity in managing instead of the knee-jerk orthodox LaRussian approach of using three pitchers for three batters.

-- Satan