In a rare case of emotion clouding judgment, Sean Casey will draw the assignment tonight at first base. Kevin Youkilis, born and raised in Cincinnati, gave his blessing for the former long-time Red to draw the start, saying that he grew up watching Casey and respects what Casey means to the city. Thus, Casey will start despite Youk’s opportunity to play before his hometown crowd.
Tito acknowledged the emotional pull, saying that “it
Loading ...
I think both sides should just play with the D.H. but that is just me.
I don’t see any problem or potential tension caused by this. I also don’t know that this is emotion clouding judgment. Emotion is “in play” with the decision, but I don’t have any problem giving Youk a night off at first and this is a great time to do it. Sean Casey back in Cincy side story is a nice side benefit.
I don’t buy any “NL advantage” argument. It just means that most NL teams get to start some scrub as DH while we (sigh) have Ortiz.
I think you can argue either way for who gets the benefit in interleague play. But I think it does come down to this:
AL pitchers never practice hitting
Most, NL teams have a guy better suited to DH than play the field. You can’t tell me the Reds don’t get an advantage to having Griffey or Dunn hit only and a defensive guy out in the field.
More on topic though, I don’t think giving Casey a game is going to be that bad. Plus it’s not like Youk will sit the whole series.
Was it an emotional decision to start Casey tonight? The Reds are starting their best right-handed pitcher. There’s a perfectly valid reason to start Casey. Maybe it’s time Youk got a night off; if so, this is a good one to take.
I’m not denying that emotion played a part, but most likely a secondary one. I don’t see why Francona should be roasted for the move.
I’m not advocating he be roasted, but it can be a slippery slope. Buckner was emotional. There are the right emotional moves and the wrong ones. This is a right one. I just don’t want it to become par for the course.