Justin Bour optioned to AAA

[Angel Oracle]

A__mus, too Ivy League for my taste 

[AngelsLakersFan]

43 minutes ago, stormngt said:

When did Scioscia blame the players?

When Scioscia made a questionable call, say... asking a player who doesn't often bunt to get a bunt down, and the bunt doesn't work out he would always put the blame on the player for not executing. The squeeze play in Boston was a perfect example, he blamed Aybar for not getting the bunt down, not for the questionable call. He approached his moves with the assumption that the player would execute properly when the reality has always been that players get it done sometimes and sometimes they don't - its about playing the odds. That is something I always disliked Scioscia for. In his nearly two decades here I don't think I ever heard him say "I made a bad call" it was always "we need to execute better."

[GrittyVeterans]

The revisionist nonsensical treatment of Scioscia as a Demi-God around here is absurd.

Has nothing to do with the idiot that they hired. I said when it happened they should have gone with Chavez 

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 hours ago, Stradling said:

If Walsh really has been in Minnesota then this decision was made before tonight’s game.  

It was made before the game. 

[Jeff Fletcher]

3 minutes ago, RBM said:

What is the protocol here? I am assuming Eppler and Ausmus consult on this, so Ausmus knew Bour was going to be optioned to SLC after the game when he had him pinch hit for Fletcher?

Yes. Ausmus knew Bour was going to be optioned. 

His logic was he was going for the HR because he didn’t like his chances as much in an extra inning game without Buttrey. He said Fletcher would have hit with the bases empty or with 2 on, but not with one on. 

If he’s going for a HR, Bour has a better shot at that, regardless of whether he’s being optioned in 15 minutes or not. 

[Chuck]

1 minute ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Yes. Ausmus knew Bour was going to be optioned. 

His logic was he was going for the HR because he didn’t like his chances as much in an extra inning game without Buttrey. He said Fletcher would have hit with the bases empty or with 2 on, but not with one on. 

If he’s going for a HR, Bour has a better shot at that, regardless of whether he’s being optioned in 15 minutes or not. 

But while Bour has more raw power than Fletcher, Fletch has 3 HR to Bour's 4 on the season and makes waaaaay better contact, hits a bunch of doubles.

What's wrong with a possible 1st & 2nd or 2nd and 3rd situation with a Fletcher single or double with the Angels best hitters to follow with only 1 out?

I just don't get it. There is way more swing and miss in Bour's game compared to Fletcher's.

[Docwaukee]

7 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Yes. Ausmus knew Bour was going to be optioned. 

His logic was he was going for the HR because he didn’t like his chances as much in an extra inning game without Buttrey. He said Fletcher would have hit with the bases empty or with 2 on, but not with one on. 

If he’s going for a HR, Bour has a better shot at that, regardless of whether he’s being optioned in 15 minutes or not. 

yet Trout was left in the on deck circle.  

so cross fingers that Bour hits a hr or see if one of La Stella or Fletcher can get on so we can get Trout to the plate.  

sorry, but that's just bad managing.  

[arch stanton]

What if Ausmus had decided to play small ball, got the base hit with a speedy runner at second but that guy got thrown out at the plate anyway? What are the odds of that happening?

[Jeff Fletcher]

2 minutes ago, Chuckster70 said:

But while Bour has more raw power than Fletcher, Fletch has 3 HR to Bour's 4 on the season and makes waaaaay better contact, hits a bunch of doubles.

What's wrong with a possible 1st & 2nd or 2nd and 3rd situation with a Fletcher single or double with the Angels best hitters to follow with only 1 out?

I just don't get it. There is way more swing and miss in Bour's game compared to Fletcher's.

Regardless of their numbers this year, you really can’t argue that Bour has a better chance of hitting a HR than Fletcher. He does. 

What you can argue is whether Ausmus should have been playing for one run or multiple runs.

His thinking was that, on the road where the other team gets the last AB, you generally play for the lead. You don’t use your closer in a tie game on the road and you don’t have Buttrey. So you’ve got Bard, Noé Ramírez, Anderson and Allen to hold them till you can get a lead. And maybe he didn’t even have all those guys. Maybe one of them was unavailable for some reason he knows that we don’t, which further makes him want to essentially go for 2 now. 

[gurn67]

If the game was 9-2, I agree that Bour would have had a better chance of hitting a mop-up reliever's meatball down the middle for a home run than Fletcher. In a potentially game winning situation, where their closer is on the mound throwing his best pitches to close out a win, Bour's chance of hitting a home run was exactly zero point zero. With a runner on base and one out, Fletcher's chance of doing something to help potentially win the game was significantly higher. If that was his rationale, I'm dumbfounded.

[TooCool]

About time management did something about shitty ass hitters. I still don't understand when it has been okay for anyone at the major league level to bat way below the Mendoza line these days.

[Docwaukee]

15 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Regardless of their numbers this year, you really can’t argue that Bour has a better chance of hitting a HR than Fletcher. He does. 

What you can argue is whether Ausmus should have been playing for one run or multiple runs.

His thinking was that, on the road where the other team gets the last AB, you generally play for the lead. You don’t use your closer in a tie game on the road and you don’t have Buttrey. So you’ve got Bard, Noé Ramírez, Anderson and Allen to hold them till you can get a lead. And maybe he didn’t even have all those guys. Maybe one of them was unavailable for some reason he knows that we don’t, which further makes him want to essentially go for 2 now. 

you play to get the best player in baseball to the plate. not for a guy who's struggling on the off chance he hits a hr.  Bour probably has a better chance to hit a hr but if that's his thought process, even on the road with a less than optimal pen, then this team is screwed.  Bard and Anderson have been fine.  

Justin Bour hits a hr ever 20 plate appearances for his career and 3% of the time this year.  

 

[arch stanton]

3 minutes ago, Dochalo said:

 

Justin Bour hits a hr ever 20 plate appearances for his career and 3% of the time this year.  

 

He's due?

[stormngt]

1 hour ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

When Scioscia made a questionable call, say... asking a player who doesn't often bunt to get a bunt down, and the bunt doesn't work out he would always put the blame on the player for not executing. The squeeze play in Boston was a perfect example, he blamed Aybar for not getting the bunt down, not for the questionable call. He approached his moves with the assumption that the player would execute properly when the reality has always been that players get it done sometimes and sometimes they don't - its about playing the odds. That is something I always disliked Scioscia for. In his nearly two decades here I don't think I ever heard him say "I made a bad call" it was always "we need to execute better."

Sorry. I dont view "not executing" as that bad.  I guess you do.  Bad mouthing a player is much deeper than that.  In fact not executing is mild and respectful to the player.

I

[stormngt]

49 minutes ago, Jeff Fletcher said:

Regardless of their numbers this year, you really can’t argue that Bour has a better chance of hitting a HR than Fletcher. He does. 

What you can argue is whether Ausmus should have been playing for one run or multiple runs.

His thinking was that, on the road where the other team gets the last AB, you generally play for the lead. You don’t use your closer in a tie game on the road and you don’t have Buttrey. So you’ve got Bard, Noé Ramírez, Anderson and Allen to hold them till you can get a lead. And maybe he didn’t even have all those guys. Maybe one of them was unavailable for some reason he knows that we don’t, which further makes him want to essentially go for 2 now. 

I think he should have been playing to get Trout up to bat in the 9th 

[John Taylor]

After reading the article and the quote from Bour, he gets respect from me to taking a positive approach to being optioned, seeing it as an opportunity to get better. I know that it's "What your supposed to say" but Bour did own his struggles. I wish him luck in AAA and on whatever team we trade him to because I hope he doesn't come back. What will probably happen is that he will be Napoli 2.0 and rake against us.

[fan_since79]

11 hours ago, rafibomb said:

To be okay with the loss I'm telling myself that if he didn't strike out today this move would not have been made for a while. Hell, if he gave us the lead they'd probably sign him to an extension.

He'll tweak his swing, tear it up down there, be back in two weeks and be promptly inserted into the lineup, where he'll resume his whiffing.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

[eligrba]

11 hours ago, HeavenlyHalos said:

That's absolutely hilarious. The GM pretty much letting Ausmus know how Facking stupid that was. Awesome and ridiculously funny timing. Tough night for Bour. Angel fans.

fify

[Taylor]

12 hours ago, Kody Mac said:

Probably a pitchee

So a batter?

[T.G.]

13 hours ago, Stradling said:

Someone on another forum said that they heard earlier today that Walsh might be in Minnesota but I have no idea how true that is.

This is betrayal at the highest level.  Another forum?  I demand a full scale investigation. This is outrageous!! 

[floplag]

13 hours ago, Blarg said:

Ausmus isn't the guy Dipoto thought he hired. 

My wife just said, after watching his post game answers, that he has blamed the players and is going to lose the clubhouse. 

Can anyone confirm this?  If so its asinine. 

[AngelsLakersFan]

10 hours ago, stormngt said:

Sorry. I dont view "not executing" as that bad.  I guess you do.  Bad mouthing a player is much deeper than that.  In fact not executing is mild and respectful to the player.

I

Ya I agree, it's not really bad mouthing a player and the players probably aren't going to take it that way. It's still a passive aggressive method of deflecting blame off of himself and on to the player. When a manager asks a player who sucks at something to execute that thing he sucks at he deserves questioning, not the player for not executing. Last nights blunder is not Bour's fault, it's Ausmus' for putting him in. 

[stormngt]

7 minutes ago, AngelsLakersFan said:

Ya I agree, it's not really bad mouthing a player and the players probably aren't going to take it that way. It's still a passive aggressive method of deflecting blame off of himself and on to the player. When a manager asks a player who sucks at something to execute that thing he sucks at he deserves questioning, not the player for not executing. Last nights blunder is not Bour's fault, it's Ausmus' for putting him in. 

Aybar was supposed to one of our best hunters.  I dont get what your saying

[SlappyUtilityMIF]

Statement regarding the play at the plate last night.

LaCroy who was on deck after Goodwin's single and on the throw to the plate.... LaCroy should had cleared Goodwin's bat from the box area and took up position behind the umpire letting Ohtani know to slide or not inside or outside.... He was not there.

I called the Ausmus hire and eventual replacement of Sven when he was hired as an Assistant to Eppler.... I remember many people on here were rooting for others. However, Eppy wanted Brad.  He's made some head scratching moves. But, on the other side our offense has been dogshit all season without Upton, slow start of Bour "Who is now in AAA", and Cozart bat disappeared/injuries.

[AngelsLakersFan]

1 hour ago, stormngt said:

Aybar was supposed to one of our best hunters.  I dont get what your saying

Im not making a one to one example here. He blamed Aybar for the failed bunt, even though the bunt call was the problem in the first place despite Aybar being a good bunter.  There were other times when bunting or stealing or hittinuing and running was more defensible but the players asked to execute weren't well suited and ultimately thrown under the bus in the post game.