Cardinals scared to pitch to Fielder?

[Jeff D]

I didn't see a thread and thought it was worth a mention.

Fielder hit 2 home runs in the game today to put him at 46 home runs for the season. He hit his second in the top of the 9th to give the Brewers a 1 run lead.

St Louis tied it up in the bottom of the 9th and they go to extra innings. The Brewers take a 2 run lead and Fielder is back at the plate.

He is now 1 HR short of Pujols current league leading 47 home runs and hitting .299. If he hits a home run he'll be at .300 for the season, tied for most HR in all of MLB, and would take the lead in RBI's (tied with Howard).

There are runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and the Cardinals intentionally walk him.

Now I full well knew they would do this. Even when he hit #46 in the 9th and my girlfriend joked that maybe the Cardinals would tie it up and he could get another AB, I told her they wouldn't pitch to him anyways so it didn't matter.
It does suck though that he didn't get a chance to get to .300, or take the outright RBI lead (coddling of Pujols HR total aside).

But let this be a marker for when people bitch in the future that teams are pitching around Pujols when he has some milestone he's trying to achieve.

And food for thought, either the Cardinals walked him in a meaningless game when they had already wrapped up the division long ago, like a bunch of scared babies to protect Pujols last remaining prong of the fabled Triple Crown he was supposed to win. Or they just got their arses swept at home in important games they cared about on the eve of the playoffs.

 

[starwarsfan2003]

Hell hath no fury like a Brewers fan scorned.

Remember, it's only a game.

 

[Jeff D]

Hell hath no fury like a Brewers fan scorned.

Remember, it's only a game.

I know I got a little more riled up when I was typing that than I actually feel. Fielder had a great season regardless of one at bat and will be in the top 5 (and should be #2 imo) in MVP voting.
Guess I'm just starting to grow a hatred for the Cardinals and their (and their fans) self-righteous attitude.

 

[Mizzourah]

To quote Herm Edwards..."You play to win the game!"

With first base open and the best hitter in the lineup batting who has already hit 2 bombs on the day, you walk him. That's a smart baseball move, it has nothing to do with records.


From my perspective, your post sounds like a disappointed fan who has a little bit of sour grapes.

 

[Card Magnet]

He might eat the ball. Nobody wants to see that.




(I'm actually a bit of a Fielder fan)

 

[Jeff D]

From my perspective, your post sounds like a disappointed fan who has a little bit of sour grapes.

I'm totally disappointed with aspects of the season, to be sure. And having to listen to Cardinals fans tell me that the Brewers swept them because St Louis didn't care, but then walk Fielder when they're already down two runs is a bit maddening.

"We were playing to win, but we didn't care if we won."


Which is it?

 

[sheetskout]

Hell hath no fury like a Brewers fan scorned.

Remember, it's only a game.

No offense. Truly. I cannot stand when people use the argument "It's only a game".

Little League is "only a game". This is Major League Baseball which employs hundreds of people and is a huge multi-billion dollar business which impacts people's lives.

Want perspective? Every night, Major League Baseball is reported on, talked about and most of all written about.

I know in the grand scheme this minute detail of the season may not add up to much, but it does add up to something.

Major League Baseball is more than "just a game".

 

[markakis8]

Between Cubs, Cardinals, and our own FCB Brewer and Astros fans, I honestly feel like the NL Central is the second most heated-division behind the AL East of course.

 

[Mizzourah]

From my perspective, your post sounds like a disappointed fan who has a little bit of sour grapes.

I'm totally disappointed with aspects of the season, to be sure. And having to listen to Cardinals fans tell me that the Brewers swept them because St Louis didn't care, but then walk Fielder when they're already down two runs is a bit maddening.

"We were playing to win, but we didn't care if we won."


Which is it?

Alright then, lets turn it around.

Let's say the Brewers had clinched the division and post-season wise, this series wouldn't affect them. Fielder comes into the game with 50 HR and Pujols comes into the game with 47. If Pujols had already hit 2 HR in the game, there is no way the Brewers would pitch to him again, especially with first base open and already being down by 2. It's like pouring salt in the wound. Plus, statistically, it's a smart move to walk the bases loaded and move on the the next better in that situation when the best hitter in the lineup is at the plate.

Of course the series mattered to them, it's not smart to get lazy in the last series before the postseason begins and risk getting into a rough spot going into the postseason. The Brewers won this series because they beat the Cardinals 3 games in a row. That's it.

 

[schmidtfan20]

The Brewers and Fielder don't matter anymore.

 

[Jeff D]

The Brewers and Fielder don't matter anymore.

Good point. By that logic, no minor league players ever matter. They're not actively engaged in a current Major League season after all.
Hell, might as well stop talking about retired players and HOFers. They don't matter anymore either.


BTW - sheetskout check your PM. I've got something for you if you want it.

 

[mredsox89]

the smart baseball play is to walk the runner and set up a force all around the diamond.

 

[hofautos]

just smart game playing...any other move would have been stupid...

 

[BigAppleJak]

I too would have liked to have seen one more AB.

But, going into the season if someone said that prince would bat .299, have 46HR, 141RBI, and a slugging % over 600, PLUS win the HR Derby, as a Prince collector, I'd take it!

Maybe next year they can make the post season.

 

[card-treasury]

I'd be afraid too.

 

[goldenegg1]

Hell hath no fury like a Brewers fan scorned.

Remember, it's only a game.

I know I got a little more riled up when I was typing that than I actually feel. Fielder had a great season regardless of one at bat and will be in the top 5 (and should be #2 imo) in MVP voting.
Guess I'm just starting to grow a hatred for the Cardinals and their (and their fans) self-righteous attitude.

Welcome to the club my friend!

 

[hive17]

I would have been here making a post about how stupid the Cards would have been to pitch to him.

I actually get a perverse sense of pride that they were afraid to pitch to Prince. Good for him.

I think it shows even more that Prince is easily the second best player in his division, and is most likely (this year at least), the second best player in the league.

Hell, I think we've seen that 2 of the top five players in the NL are on the Brewers.

Good season end. It just stings a little to think about where this season and this team could have ended up with half-way decent pitching.

 

[Mozzie22]

Hell hath no fury like a Brewers fan scorned.

Remember, it's only a game.

I know I got a little more riled up when I was typing that than I actually feel. Fielder had a great season regardless of one at bat and will be in the top 5 (and should be #2 imo) in MVP voting.
Guess I'm just starting to grow a hatred for the Cardinals and their (and their fans) self-righteous attitude.

Welcome to the club my friend!

You're all pissed off because the Cardinals did the correct thing in walking a guy who hit two bombs off of them and had first base open??? Maybe you're pissed because your team was supposed to finish ahead of the "self righteous" Cardinals and got it handed to them.
Oh, when you win 10 World Series titles and have the most knowledgeable, respectful fans in the game you can be as "self righteous" as you want to be.

 

[mlbsalltimegreats]

But let this be a marker for when people bitch in the future that teams are pitching around Pujols when he has some milestone he's trying to achieve.

No offense to you Jeff but Pujols going for the Triple Crown and Fielder trying for a .300 batting Avg are way way different Milestones. If Prince were on the Verge of the Triple Crown I would say Pitch to him and in this instance he wasnt so they played it safe or how it was supposed to be played and walked him. With that said I like the Brewers team and Prince gave Pujols a good run for stat Champion. I know people like to make fun of him calling him Fatty among other stuff but the truth is this Kid is here to play and is the real deal! I know its way early but I for one think he will end up with 550-600Hr when hes done and if thats the case he will be a Hofer. It will be interesting to see what kind of show he and Braun give us next year.

 

[Jeff D]

Oh, when you win 10 World Series titles and have the most knowledgeable, respectful fans in the game you can be as "self righteous" as you want to be.

Thanks for perfectly for proving my point. Trust me, I've sat next to a lot of idiot Cards fans.
I don't know who came up with that cliche, but it's a load of crap.
Something seems ironic about calling yourself the most knowledgeable and respectful in the same sentence. If the latter were true, the former would show a lack of tact.

And to the rest of the folks, I know that it was the "smart" baseball decision to walk Fielder. He has over 100 BB this year, so it's not like I'm dumb-founded by this move.
But mostly it was smart because they were scared to pitch to him. If it was Craig Counsell and Fielder was on deck would they have walked Craig to load the bases and have a force at every plate? So it's not JUST an automatic numbers play.

I'm not really that bitter about it, and certainly not confused. Mad about the end of the season and where they finished, though.
And I'm tired of the Cardinals.