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In the bottom of the second inning last night, Carlos Delgado successfully laid down a bunt single to the pitcher.
On whether or not he was signaled to do so, Willie Randolph said…
“He did that on his own. I like it. He should have been doing it a long time ago, actually…It’s an ocean out there with everybody on the other side.”
…if he can get good at doing it, i say why not lay one down from time to time…delgado has had to make adjustments in his approach since last year, and it’s not a bad tool to add to one’s repertoire, especially when the opposing team uses such a dramatic shift…like i said though, the key is whether or not he can get good at it, and that i question…
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“He should have been doing it a long time ago, actually…It’s an ocean out there with everybody on the other side.”
Ummmm, WIllie? You’re the manager. You can TELL him to do it. You know that, right?
This is one of the things that bothers me about Willie. He’s made comments like that before where he was happy that a player finally did something that they should have been doing for a long time. Just gives me the sense that is even more hands off than we think.
Willie is a just a complete waste of space. Anyone could manage this team to a .500 record. I hope his time is almost up.
No manager will tell his 16 million dollar power hitting veteran to lay down a bunt… Get real! He might give Delgado the green light to do it on his own. That’s about it.
Bunts are no sure thing either. It’s not like it’s so easy to do it. Especially for a guy that hasn’t bunted much in his whole career.
When your “$16 mil power hitter’s” skills have clearly deteriorated to the point where he’s being dropped to 6th or 7th in the batting order and is struggling to hit over .220, why the hell not?
my first thoughts too. Umm, Willie, tell him to do it from time to time. I think I even said that way back when he was struggling. just drop one down, its wide open and you’ll start to get a great feel for the ball and actually see a ball hit your bat
MetLifer has it right. When does a manager EVER signal a player to bunt for a basehit? That play is always left to the batter’s discretion. In any case, it’s pointless to call for a bunt until a player shows he’s capable of getting it down consistently. Suggesting that Delgado make it part of his game is entirely appropriate.
I have my problems with Willie like most Met fans, but too many people here are taking any weakass opportunity to trash him.
I’m not saying Willie should tell him on a pitch-by-pitch basis when to bunt and when not to bunt. But Willie can and certainly should direct him to “make it part of his game,” as you put it, as opposed to being surpised when he finally does it, and saying things like “hey, he should’ve done this a long time ago.”
Absolutely. This definitely bothered me when I heard the press conference. If Randolph has always believed it’s a good play, the coaches should have made sure Delgado practices it and told Delgado to do it.
Not sit back and passively hope for the best while Delgado grounds out countless times into the shift…
Regis Courtemanche loves to post.
Yeah he’s postmaster lately.
I prefer Postmaster General, but yeah, I help where I can.
Your photo doesn’t match the mental image I had of you. I always assumed you looked like Rene Auberjonois.
I’m glad it doesn’t
But he does look like RA–only in his role as that shape-changing character on that Star Trek show.
I remember when he did that last year and it worked out for him. Good job to delgado yesterday for making that work…keeping the defense guessing. Also tough luck for him yesterday as that ball that milledge caught was smoked. Good job on diving play on defense. Good signs from delgado all around last night.
I thought the bunt was brilliant, and he should do it every time they play the overshift on him. Yeah, it’s a cheap hit, but at least you put pressure on the pitcher and the defense will be more inclined to play you straight up next time.
Maybe Delgado is starting to accept his role as a 6-7 hitter…
i agree cuban. He looks more confortable up there in the 7 hole and it makes our lineup look really deep
Maybe Delgado is starting to read MetsBlog…at least one of us posts “bunt up the 3rd base line !” every time he strikes out or hits into the shift.
lol he must have wrote it in his notebook
Has anyone seen him write in that notebook ? I haven’t seen it in over a year
He’s given up the notebook in favor of Metsblog.
Anything that makes the other team think twice about shifting against him has to be a good thing. He’s smoked a few balls right into the shift that would’ve been hits with a conventional field.
He sure covered that ball that Milledge caught - that sounded gone off the bat; must’ve been a strong wind to knock it down. However, the situation called for a grounder through the “ocean” at short… a knock through there scored a run and put a runner on 3rd.
I agree, he should do it all the time. And as far as “Getting good at it” — that’s the beauty of it. He doesn’t HAVE to be good at it. All he has to do is get it far enough away from the catcher and pitcher — no such thing as “bunting it too hard.”
Why someone like Delgado doesn’t do it all the time is beyond me, at least in places where you’re not really gunning for the extra base hit or homer (e.g. down by 3 runs, 2 on, late in game). If he does it enough, they’ll stop the overshift, because no team will just give up automatic hits — and then he’ll be able to hit normally and get more hits that way.
Agree 100% that Willie should tell him to do it if he wants him to do it.
why doesn’t he do it all the time/? probably because he’s not getting paid 16 mil to bunt. he may be on the decline but he’s supposed to be a run producer. aside from the occasional surprise, there’s no reason for him to bunt.
he’s not being paid $16M to tap out to second either.
he should literally do this every time the left side if the infield is open. it’s a guaranteed single. in fact, even when he was good he should have been doing this every time.
If it’s a 50/50 play and no one is on, I’d rather have Delgado bunt than Ted Williams batting.
And unless you’re putting up huge numbers this is a great play with a runner on first.
It’s hard to beat a .500 OBP and a 1.000 OPS.
Open Note to Carlos Delgado: you embarrass yourself & frustrate your fans every time you allow the defense to play that shift on you without exposing its weakness in any way you can. It shouldn’t be a matter of “rising to the challenge” the shift presents, because that challenge is not legit, & is not your best move on the field. You’re a professional, CD– don’t let ‘em do that to you!
I only remember him doing that once last year…the home opener against the Phillies. For someone struggling so badly at the plate you would think that he would do it more often. If I were him I would do it every single time they shifted like that, not just every once in a while and certainly not just once a year. It drives me nuts to see that big wide open space and to have him ground out into the shift because he stubbornly doesn’t take what the offense is giving him.
I liked the bunt, but as far as doing that all the time… that’s insane for a guy that clearly still has a good deal of power in his bat. He may have had to adjust his approach to hitting considering his struggles, but he’s still got the ability to smoke the ball out of the park. What he needs to do is add the bunt to his repertoire, as a weapon to pull out every once in a while.
What Delgado really needs to do is go to the opposite field more consistently. That would obviously make him a better overall hitter, and defenses would have to think about playing him more straight up instead of the dramatic shift.
I agree, but its easier said than done when a guy hits a certain way for the better part of 20 years, and you then ask him to change his approach.
When your skills decline, you have to make adjustments if you want to keep being a productive member of the team.
He was doing it some in Spring Training, and even at the start of this season… It’s something he can do if he works on it enough. I don’t want to question the guy’s work ethic, but it seems to me like over the last two seasons, he either has not worked hard enough on adjusting, or has just plain worked too much on it.
I’d rather see him drive in runs, but in the right situation its a great play. Even if it doesn’t work, it can still move a runner over, stay out of a double play. Maybe try it a little more often against tougher lefties, couldn’t hurt.
He will never stop the shift unless he hits the other way more often, no matter how much he bunts
it’s not insane
insane would be taking a home run 1 out of every 15 or 20 at bats instead of taking a single every time in these shift situations
the most important thing a batter can do is get on base
period