3/18/18 - BASEBALL ...... North Carolina sweeps Pitt .....

[goalieman]

North Carolina beat Pitt 15-3, 4-0, and 13-2 to sweep the weekend baseball series ...... no hitting and poor pitching for us ..... Pitt now 11-7 overall and 1-5 in the ACC.

Pitt plays Penn State on Wednesday 3/21/18 at State College and are at home this weekend against Duke.

 

[johnsbe3]

How has Jordano kept his job for so long?

 

[JackthePantherFan]

Very fair question. Let's look at his accomplishments, or lack of:

-0 conference championships (Big East included)
-0 NCAA tournaments (Boston College and Notre Dame have both gone to the tourney since the ACC)
-0 for 4 making the ACC tourney and at this rate will be 0 for 5 (10 of 14 get in, and as of last year 12 of 14!)
-If you really want to see where he has racked up his wins look no further than Youngstown State, St. Petersburg, Niagara, Maryland Eastern shore and other programs that struggle to win 10 games a year.

His post game interviews/any time he talks about the program he makes excuses about the draft, youth, injuries etc. The athletic department has let him skate by because the lack of caring to win in baseball/his ability to BS. He completely disconnected from the players/what it takes to provide quality development.

Ideally, I would love to see us make an investment in baseball like we have done in soccer and vball!

 

[LivinWell]

Wait until we have two new hoops coaches then HL will move to baseball.

 

[JackthePantherFan]

Totally Agree^. I should have mentioned the department's need to prioritize other things during his time. In his tenure he has definitely benefited from football coach turnover, AD turnover, and now bball coach.

I have faith in HL.

 

[CrazyPaco]

Very fair question. Let's look at his accomplishments, or lack of:

-0 conference championships (Big East included)
-0 NCAA tournaments (Boston College and Notre Dame have both gone to the tourney since the ACC)
-0 for 4 making the ACC tourney and at this rate will be 0 for 5 (10 of 14 get in, and as of last year 12 of 14!)
-If you really want to see where he has racked up his wins look no further than Youngstown State, St. Petersburg, Niagara, Maryland Eastern shore and other programs that struggle to win 10 games a year.

His post game interviews/any time he talks about the program he makes excuses about the draft, youth, injuries etc. The athletic department has let him skate by because the lack of caring to win in baseball/his ability to BS. He completely disconnected from the players/what it takes to provide quality development.

Ideally, I would love to see us make an investment in baseball like we have done in soccer and vball!

Jordano never had a full set off scholarships in the Big East and while there, had arguably the worst set off facilities in all of Division 1. He had Pitt fairly competitive in the Big East despite major shortcomings in program support.

Now he has a full set of scholarships and a serviceable facility, although it is still the worst in the conference...a conference that is way better than the Big East. So whether he can get Pitt to be competitive in the ACC is a much different task than doing it in the Big East, he deserved a shot at it. How much patience Pitt should have is a different question, but Pitt has been essentially building from scratch since they joined the ACC.

 

[johnsbe3]

Where do Jordano's teams rank with respect to errors?

His teams are usually fundamentally bad.

 

[johnsbe3]

Jordano never had a full set off scholarships in the Big East and while there, had arguably the worst set off facilities in all of Division 1. He had Pitt fairly competitive in the Big East despite major shortcomings in program support.

Now he has a full set of scholarships and a serviceable facility, although it is still the worst in the conference...a conference that is way better than the Big East. So whether he can get Pitt to be competitive in the ACC is a much different task than doing it in the Big East, he deserved a shot at it. How much patience Pitt should have is a different question, but Pitt has been essentially building from scratch since they joined the ACC.

St. John's made the tourney. Seton Hall did it. Even providence did before title 9 killed them.

 

[CrazyPaco]

St. John's made the tourney. Seton Hall did it. Even providence did before title 9 killed them.

And they all traditionally better programs than Pitt. Much better.

SJU is the 9th all-time winningest baseball program in NCAA D1 by %. Seton Hall is 36th. SJU has been in 6 College World Series and has 36 all-time NCAA tournament appearances. Seton Hall has 4 CWS appearances and 17 tournament appearances. Pitt has 0 CWS appearances and only 3 tournament appearances. Heck, Pitt never appeared in a top 25 ranking until 2010.

Did you ever see Trees Field?

The fact that Jordano had Pitt on the bubble multi years, and ranked a couple times, was a minor miracle.

Now, we're playing in a league that is a whole other level. He may have ran into his ceiling, but they're going to give him a chance to try.

 

[johnsbe3]

Did you ever see Trees Field?

Yeah. I played on it.

 

[pittjas]

Jordano never had a full set off scholarships in the Big East and while there, had arguably the worst set off facilities in all of Division 1. He had Pitt fairly competitive in the Big East despite major shortcomings in program support.

Now he has a full set of scholarships and a serviceable facility, although it is still the worst in the conference...a conference that is way better than the Big East. So whether he can get Pitt to be competitive in the ACC is a much different task than doing it in the Big East, he deserved a shot at it. How much patience Pitt should have is a different question, but Pitt has been essentially building from scratch since they joined the ACC.

I understand there is limited space/budget but they built that complex brand new and the baseball stadium/facilities are very mediocre.

Just seems like maybe they could've invested a little more to make it nicer and make out in the long run.

 

[CrazyPaco]

I understand there is limited space/budget but they built that complex brand new and the baseball stadium/facilities are very mediocre.

Just seems like maybe they could've invested a little more to make it nicer and make out in the long run.

$ doesn't grow on Trees.

They had to get the project underway. You raise enough to get started, but fundraising stalls...if you sit on these things, the cost keeps going up and the buying power of what you did raise dwindles... and in the meantime you have your program stuck in completely inadequate facilities. The ACC and other conferences take facility adequacy seriously, particularly baseball for the ACC or sports that play round robin schedules and have to make regular trips to Pitt. I don't think it is a coincidence that the PSC was being pushed through when conference realignment was swirling behind the scenes.

The PSC support complex was supposed to have a second story for team offices, etc, to get the teams completely out of Fitz. They didn't have the money to add it, but it is my understanding they can add it in the future. I'm sure they can add other things. It is what it is when you have one of the lowest athletic revenue and donation amounts in the P5.

If you played on Trees, there is a Baseball Championship Fund to contribute to in order to be part of the solution.

 

[JackthePantherFan]

@CrazyPaco You have raised some good points, but how do you explain Boston College making a super regional 2 years ago? Their outfield was used as parking for football games. I know they have since built a new stadium--opening up next week, but I think they are a fair comp for our program.

I understand the finance aspect, but there is no excuse for not even sliding in the ACC tournament at least once. My biggest bone to pick is how poorly we recruit in the region.

If you want an example of poor recruiting go look at the class that should've been true seniors this year... Couple of draft picks come to mind (Leblanc/Mattson), but I know of at least 6 kids who transferred/quit--our attrition numbers from a recruiting standpoint are embarrassing.. Most these cases were not talent related either as most have gone on to play with other programs and have success..

All in all you are 100% right about giving to the program. At the end of the day my stance comes from wanting the athletes to have a great experience at Pitt and they not getting that--but instead they get a coach who does not show up to practice or give a crap about anything but his "legacy".

 

[CrazyPaco]

@CrazyPaco You have raised some good points, but how do you explain Boston College making a super regional 2 years ago? Their outfield was used as parking for football games. I know they have since built a new stadium--opening up next week, but I think they are a fair comp for our program.

I understand the finance aspect, but there is no excuse for not even sliding in the ACC tournament at least once. My biggest bone to pick is how poorly we recruit in the region.

If you want an example of poor recruiting go look at the class that should've been true seniors this year... Couple of draft picks come to mind (Leblanc/Mattson), but I know of at least 6 kids who transferred/quit--our attrition numbers from a recruiting standpoint are embarrassing.. Most these cases were not talent related either as most have gone on to play with other programs and have success..

All in all you are 100% right about giving to the program. At the end of the day my stance comes from wanting the athletes to have a great experience at Pitt and they not getting that--but instead they get a coach who does not show up to practice or give a crap about anything but his "legacy".

I have no idea about Jordano not showing up to practices, or what has gone on to warrant the attrition, but certainly that is an issue.

Jordano has been around a long time, and for years put up with a program that has been largely ignored and inadequately supported. All I can say is that these long-term coaches that have been at Pitt have been disappearing. There's a new AD in town, but she's only been here a year so she's had really no time to evaluate the baseball program in person.

If you know my posts over the years, I've always advocated for Pitt to try to fill a vacuum of Northeastern baseball. I don't think is impossible for Pitt to have success in the ACC. Heck, it isn't that much colder in Pittsburgh than Maryland or Charlottesville. But the reality is that there are currently very serious issues with one of the Athletic Department's main sources of revenue and that is going to consume the bulk off attention at this point.

 

[JackthePantherFan]

I have no idea about Jordano not showing up to practices, or what has gone on to warrant the attrition, but certainly that is an issue.

Jordano has been around a long time, and for years put up with a program that has been largely ignored and inadequately supported. All I can say is that these long-term coaches that have been at Pitt have been disappearing. There's a new AD in town, but she's only been here a year so she's had really no time to evaluate the baseball program in person.

If you know my posts over the years, I've always advocated for Pitt to try to fill a vacuum of Northeastern baseball. I don't think is impossible for Pitt to have success in the ACC. Heck, it isn't that much colder in Pittsburgh than Maryland or Charlottesville. But the reality is that there are currently very serious issues with one of the Athletic Department's main sources of revenue and that is going to consume the bulk off attention at this point.

All great points @CrazyPaco! At the end of the day it's easy for me to "know it all" from the sidelines.. Just want our Panthers to be competitive in everything--as if that's an easy task anywhere!!

 

[diamondback888]

Very fair question. Let's look at his accomplishments, or lack of:

-0 conference championships (Big East included)
-0 NCAA tournaments (Boston College and Notre Dame have both gone to the tourney since the ACC)
-0 for 4 making the ACC tourney and at this rate will be 0 for 5 (10 of 14 get in, and as of last year 12 of 14!)
-If you really want to see where he has racked up his wins look no further than Youngstown State, St. Petersburg, Niagara, Maryland Eastern shore and other programs that struggle to win 10 games a year.

His post game interviews/any time he talks about the program he makes excuses about the draft, youth, injuries etc. The athletic department has let him skate by because the lack of caring to win in baseball/his ability to BS. He completely disconnected from the players/what it takes to provide quality development.

Ideally, I would love to see us make an investment in baseball like we have done in soccer and vball!

For historical perspective - the team was not fully funded until a year ago. 32 man roster (only team in ACC). BTW, zero “non-countable aid”. You know what that is JackthePantherFan? Ever hear of Bright Futures (Florida), Hope scholarship (GA), Palmetto (SC)? Those are, at times, full tuitions for in-state students that don’t count against scholarship totals. Pennsylvania has very little aid period. Also, the Pitt Volleyball team is awesome! Check to see how many top 25 teams are from the ACC? Baseball in the ACC is very real.

 

[Nish67]

Glad you brought up the 32 roster limit. It is self-imposed by Pitt. Not only that, but if anyone is hurt, say lost for the season, they have to play short. Other schools have larger pools of players and never operate short-handed. I believe at one point we played with a 19 player roster. I think Jordano deserves a chance to compete on an even playing field, no pun intended.
If we bring in a new coach we are going to have to put more money into the program. Put that money in now. We're not talking big bucks here. Look what $1 million has done for wrestling. That's about what you need to start bridging the gap in baseball too.

 

[diamondback888]

Very fair question. Let's look at his accomplishments, or lack of:

-0 conference championships (Big East included)
-0 NCAA tournaments (Boston College and Notre Dame have both gone to the tourney since the ACC)
-0 for 4 making the ACC tourney and at this rate will be 0 for 5 (10 of 14 get in, and as of last year 12 of 14!)
-If you really want to see where he has racked up his wins look no further than Youngstown State, St. Petersburg, Niagara, Maryland Eastern shore and other programs that struggle to win 10 games a year.

His post game interviews/any time he talks about the program he makes excuses about the draft, youth, injuries etc. The athletic department has let him skate by because the lack of caring to win in baseball/his ability to BS. He completely disconnected from the players/what it takes to provide quality development.

Ideally, I would love to see us make an investment in baseball like we have done in soccer and vball!

Excuses about the draft? Pitt has had as many drafted guys as anyone in BE or even ACC most of which who developed at Pitt. Pitt has had 1 NCAA appearence in 40 years. 21 one-run losses in ACC play? Maybe more depth, better facility. If you know anything about baseball, which the more you post, the more you sound like you simply dont like Jordano, baseball is respectable. With BC building new baseball complex, Pitt is now only facilty that is NOT capable of hosting an NCAA regional. ALL OTHER VENUES AT PITT ARE CAPABLE, except of course Track and Tennis.

 

[bwh05]

Excuses about the draft? Pitt has had as many drafted guys as anyone in BE or even ACC most of which who developed at Pitt. Pitt has had 1 NCAA appearence in 40 years. 21 one-run losses in ACC play? Maybe more depth, better facility. If you know anything about baseball, which the more you post, the more you sound like you simply dont like Jordano, baseball is respectable. With BC building new baseball complex, Pitt is now only facilty that is NOT capable of hosting an NCAA regional. ALL OTHER VENUES AT PITT ARE CAPABLE, except of course Track and Tennis.

We have the worst baseball facility in the ACC now by a wide margin now that BC is building theirs. The fact that we're competitive is a miracle with the challenges we have. A new coach won't fix the long list of issues we have to overcome.

 

[thom67]

What facilities at Pitt can hold regionals? Why could Pitt baseball not hold regionals?

 

[diamondback888]

What facilities at Pitt can hold regionals? Why could Pitt baseball not hold regionals?

my understanding is that there are minimum seating requirements as well as infrastructure requirements as well as a $50k minimum guarantee for baseball. Press Box, rest rooms in dugouts, instant replay and only 900 seats at Pitt. You may be right for soccer because they play on turf and most teams play on grass. Softball could and would assume volleyball, gymnastics and wrestling could as well.

 

[diamondback888]

I have no idea about Jordano not showing up to practices, or what has gone on to warrant the attrition, but certainly that is an issue.

Jordano has been around a long time, and for years put up with a program that has been largely ignored and inadequately supported. All I can say is that these long-term coaches that have been at Pitt have been disappearing. There's a new AD in town, but she's only been here a year so she's had really no time to evaluate the baseball program in person.

If you know my posts over the years, I've always advocated for Pitt to try to fill a vacuum of Northeastern baseball. I don't think is impossible for Pitt to have success in the ACC. Heck, it isn't that much colder in Pittsburgh than Maryland or Charlottesville. But the reality is that there are currently very serious issues with one of the Athletic Department's main sources of revenue and that is going to consume the bulk off attention at this point.

I would guarantee you that if Jordano or any of his other coaches were not at practice during mid-week it was because they were recruiting. This is standard practice across the ACC and other power 5 conferences. I also took a look at the rosters the last few years, what players left that made significant contributions in other programs? The transfer rate in baseball is common. maybe Jordano took a chance to give a kid a shot but it didn’t work out? Would it be better to bring in a ton of kids for the fall then cut to 32 after the semester. Yea right.

 

[pitt90seven]

i somewhat struggle with "facilities." are we simply talking about the playing field. or other things for practice?

i mean, a baseball field is a baseball field. are we getting jammed up about ammenities? i know those things are all nice and whatever. but i think you can recruit around that for awhile. not having the scholarships is a huge hill to climb.

it's hard to evaluate jordano without having the resources of his peers. but on the other hand, sometimes you have to make a change. 21 years and really, if he was going to get us to a respectable level, he would have done so by now. we're investing in the other sports, time for baseball. that's another sport where we can get fans to show up if we aren't a bottom feeder.

 

[JackthePantherFan]

Excuses about the draft? Pitt has had as many drafted guys as anyone in BE or even ACC most of which who developed at Pitt. Pitt has had 1 NCAA appearence in 40 years. 21 one-run losses in ACC play? Maybe more depth, better facility. If you know anything about baseball, which the more you post, the more you sound like you simply dont like Jordano, baseball is respectable. With BC building new baseball complex, Pitt is now only facilty that is NOT capable of hosting an NCAA regional. ALL OTHER VENUES AT PITT ARE CAPABLE, except of course Track and Tennis.

Simply stating facts. This is not a personal attack on Jordano, but he is the head coach, therefore, he naturally gets blame/praise. I hope they prove me wrong, but results are results. The past two weekends have been huge and definitely reassuring--as a Panther fan I am thrilled! I think this program should be a regular in the ACC tournament!

To your points above... If so many guys get drafted then why are we not winning more--this seems like a fair correlation, no? Also, I know enough about baseball to understand that 21 one-run losses isn't as black and white as you make it. There are two arguments here and in contrary to your belief those could actually be a reflection of coaching--poor pitching change, shitft, etc, more so than if we got our doors blown off every game which could be a talent issue.

Big weekend against GT coming up. If they pull this series out I feel extremely confident about our shot at the ACC tournament. H2P!

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Also, I know enough about baseball to understand that 21 one-run losses isn't as black and white as you make it.

One might even argue that a coach with a ridiculous fetish for playing small ball and one run at a time baseball in a run scoring environment like college baseball brings a lot of that on himself and his team.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

By the way, I've been thinking about this 21 one run loss thing so I did a little research. In the three seasons before this year Pitt did, indeed, lose 21 one run games. They also won 14 of them. That's a .400 winning percentage in one run games. Pitt's overall winning percentage in that time was .436. Which means that if Pitt won their one run games at the rate that one should expect a team like Pitt to have won them, Pitt would have won 15.26 of those 35 games. So in other words, what Jordano is saying with his 21 loss thing is that if Pitt wouldn't have gotten unlucky in all those one run games they would have won one or possibly two more games.

Not per season. Total. Does he really think that winning one or two more games over the last three seasons would make any sort of real difference in what Pitt's baseball fortunes would be?

 

[johnsbe3]

Jordano is a terrible fundamentals coach. Time to go.

 

[Nish67]

Then it's odd that USA Baseball just asked Jordano to coach the 14 and under national team.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Then it's odd that USA Baseball just asked Jordano to coach the 14 and under national team.

USA Basketball had SM-S coach one of their teams too. How'd that work out for Pitt?

 

[Nish67]

Apples and oranges. I was responding to your point that he doesn't know fundamental baseball. What does that have to do with a coach that failed for unrelated reasons?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Jordano is a terrible fundamentals coach. Time to go.

I was at the game today. Pitt attempted to sacrifice bunt SIX times. It failed every single time, assuming that you think that the goal of baseball when you are on offense is to score runs.

In the 6th MacLaren tried to bunt Perry over to second, bunted foul twice, and then actually singled when he had to swing away. The runner went to third on the hit and scored Pitt's first run on a sacrifice fly by Sabino. So in that case I guess we should all be thankful that the bunt failed. In the 8th Perry led off with a double and MacLaren bunted him to third. Pitt's next four hitters went single, double, single, walk, but Pitt only scored twice because they gave another out away with a caught stealing. Pitt hitters went 4-5 with two doubles and a walk at the plate that inning, and yet only scored twice because we gave a struggling pitcher two free outs. In the 9th Amos led off with a walk and was sacrificed to second. He did not score. In the 12th Perry led off with hit batsman and MacLaren again tried to sacrifice. The ball almost hit him but the ball hit the bat and rolled right to the 3rd baseman for an easy double play. In the 13th Yanni led off with a single and was sacrificed to second. Later in the inning Pitt had a batter hit by a pitch and another walked, so the sacrifice did nothing but give an out away to struggling pitcher (the previous six hitters against him who didn't try to sacrifice had a single, a hit batsman and two walks). And of course Pitt did not score again. And then in the 14th Perry was walked and again MacLaren tried to sacrifice him to second. He failed again. Which for the second time of the game worked out well for Pitt, because the next four pitches the GA Tech pitcher threw were all balls, so Pitt had runners on 1st and 2nd with no one out when Sabino won the game.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I was responding to your point that he doesn't know fundamental baseball.

He has no idea what so ever about the value of outs and runs. Anyone who understands the game and watches him manage has got to cringe several times a game when he gives outs away like he's giving candy to a kid. He has a 1960s major league baseball understanding of the game, when the run scoring environment was very, very low and individual runs were extremely valuable. College baseball in the 2010s is absolutely nothing like that. It's a high scoring run environment (although not as high as it used to be). The value of playing for one run, which Jordano does all the time, almost completely goes away in a run scoring environment like that. You would think that a manager of a college baseball team would use some of the basically free "talent" that he has access to to help him understand things like that, but no. He's one of those guys who learned the game one way and that way obviously must be correct and there is no need to change anything ever. Even when the results don't back up such actions.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

And actually, if you want another example of poor fundamentals watch the walk off hit that is posted in a different thread. 1st and 2nd, no outs. Single to left field. The runner on first goes to second base and basically stops and watches the play at the plate. There is no reason, literally none, for that guy to ever stop there. He has to keep running to 3rd. That way on the off chance that the left fielder throws the runner out at home you still at least have runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out, where a fly ball (or several other things) could still win you the game, rather than 1st and 2nd where you obviously need more to score a run.

 

[Nish67]

Feel better now?

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Feel better now?

No. What would make me feel better would be if we had a good baseball manager. I would guess that if the team doesn't at the very least make the ACC tournament this year I'll get my wish, because we now appear to have an AD who won't put up with continual under performance like most of our previous ADs did in sports that "no one cares about".

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

Apples and oranges. I was responding to your point that he doesn't know fundamental baseball. What does that have to do with a coach that failed for unrelated reasons?

By the way, I also wanted to point out that a big reason, surely not the only one and just as surely not the biggest reason, that SM-S failed as a head coach is that her teams were fundamentally poor. A decent high school team played with better fundamentals than some of her teams did. They had to lead the planet in unforced turnovers. If you don't think that part of the reason that her teams failed was poor fundamentals then you weren't paying attention. If you don't think that part of the reason that Jordano's teams fail is poor fundamentals then you aren't paying attention.

And in an odd coincidence, McConnell-Serio was actually at the baseball game yesterday.

 

[diamondback888]

Wow is really all I can say. I read some of this and am amazed. Joe - you said in another post that you played at Trees Field - did you play for Lewis, Jackson or Jordano? I think its relevant to your perspective and views. In terms of Suzie - is there a more qualified, more decorated women's basketball coach in the country? Who knows why they didn't win enough. I heard a story once about Walter Alston telling a group of very accomplished baseball people and baseball scenario. He asked which play would they call as manager. All three options would be acceptable based on who's up, trends, game situations, etc. Each scenario he announced about a third of the coaches raised their hand in agreement. After, Alston said that is the beauty of baseball, every scenario has merit in its own right and ALL of you good baseball people picked what you felt was best.....and NO MATTER WHAT I PICK AS THE MANAGER, 2/3 of you disagree with my decision. In terms of the draft, the problem is timing. If you are not permitted to "over recruit" properly to prepare for the draft and a few of your key players get drafted - what can you do? There are many that appreciate what he has done with the program and has maintained a high degree of professionalism and integrity with his guys. He is very well-respected in the professional baseball. Is very well-respected among his peers and I have personally witnessed what he has done for a few friends that he refused to publicize. I was at a golf tournament about 3 years ago that Bill Hillgrove was the MC and he introduced Jordano and said, I'd like to meet a coach that has done more with less than Coach Jordano.

 

[diamondback888]

And by the way....if I had two guys at the plate that were double play threats with zero outs and both hitting sub .200 I would sacrifice bunt too. But obviously, Joe, you are a much better manager and let them swing away..

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

In terms of the draft, the problem is timing. If you are not permitted to "over recruit" properly to prepare for the draft and a few of your key players get drafted - what can you do?

The notion that a college baseball team can't properly prepare for the draft is laughable. There are teams that lose far more and far better players to the draft than Pitt does every single year, and yet somehow they manage to figure it out. All you need to know to understand why Pitt seems to get "screwed" by the draft more than teams that lose far more and far better players than Pitt was the case of Charles Leblanc. Half way through that great sophomore season that he had I said right here on this board that one problem from his great season is that he was almost certainly eligible for that summer's MLB draft, and that he was almost certainly going to be a high draft pick, which would mean that he was probably going to turn pro at the end of the season. And yet how many times in the year after that did Jordano use as one of his excuses for why Pitt was having a bad season that they lost Leblanc when no one thought that they would? A dozen? More? The fact that he, as the manager of a major conference baseball team, had no idea, absolutely no idea at all, which of his players was draft eligible and which of his players weren't is inexcusable. You can't give him a pass on not being ready for guys getting drafted when he doesn't seem to know who is eligible to be drafted and who isn't, and you can't give him a pass for failing to anticipate something that happens in literally most seasons that he's been a manager. The way Pitt seems so chronically unprepared for something that happens every year isn't an excuse, it's incompetence.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

And by the way....if I had two guys at the plate that were double play threats with zero outs and both hitting sub .200 I would sacrifice bunt too. But obviously, Joe, you are a much better manager and let them swing away..

You get that the fact that he has so many guys in his lineup who simply cannot hit is not a selling point in his favor, don't you? Just who, do you suppose, is responsible for bring in all those guys who can't hit?