2006 NLCS New York Mets vs. St. Louis Cardinals

So, you're Tony La Russa and it's the sixth inning of a scoreless NLCS opener. At this point in time, you've got:

1) a faltering if not tiring starter nearing the 100-pitch mark and working on a scoreless string that probably adds up to the number of zeroes he put up during his entire Anaheim tenure

1a) Jeff Weaver, a guy who ends up yelling into his glove a lot as he turns around to admire the flight path of a projectile he helped launch

2) two lefties in the bullpen, rookie Tyler Johnson and veteran Randy Flores

3) Dos Carloses--Beltran and Delgado--next in the batting order, both with major platoon splits that say BRING IN THE SOUTHPAW (Beltran .247/.352/.482, a 220-point difference in OPS; Delgado .226/.311/.440, a 244-point difference)

4) Oh, and this: Beltran has a career SLG of .619 against Weaver in 42 at-bats, while Delgado has hit .500/.620/.974 off of him in 38 at-bats.

This isn't a three-alarm fire yet, but rest assured, if you don't pick up the phone, it may well be. The sample sizes are small, particularly the one that tells you that your two lefties have held the sluggers to a combined 1-for-8 with a walk in their careers. In the big picture of his career, Beltran's platoon difference disappears. Delgado's, however, is very real. In short, just about every piece of matchup data you have favors making this move.

Now, you being Tony La Russa, you figure that you'll get to do the same thing again, probably in the eighth inning, with whichever reliever you don't tap here. You made your name and fame as a manager pursuing exactly these kinds of matchups, and while the result--12-man staffs and endless commercial breaks for those four-pitcher innings--isn't pretty, you've reached the postseason so many times you now have to use your toes to count.

Seems like an easy decision, right? I pointed it out as something to watch for in my NLCS preview.

Except you're Tony La Russa, and you let Beltran jack it out of the park against Weaver for a 2-0 lead, and then after an emphatic double surrendered to Delgado and an intentional walk to David Wright, you finally bring in your first lefty, Johnson, to face Endy Chavez, a guy with a reverse platoon split the last two years...

Now, neither Johnson or Flores is anyone's idea of a championship caliber lefty one-out guy (or LOOGY, as coined by John Sickels). However, unlike your righty setup men--Looper, Brad Thompson, and Josh Hancock--they both average about a strikeout per inning, which offers some hint of their abilities. Based on WXRL, Flores is your third-best reliever on the roster now that Jason Isringhausen's season is toast, and frankly, your bullpen is so thin that the thought of hauling Sidney Ponson off of the nearest barstool for the purposes of ballast has probably crossed your mind. If there's a reason you're even bothering to carry these two lefties on the roster, it's to face the key hitters, right?

Tony La Russa, Genius.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=260822121

4-4 in the third.

Crap baseball-refence doesn't give PS HRs or BSs.

I kept dozing off during the fourth game.

FUK YU

Also, last row of the section = wind blowing directly on you for 5 hours.

Nice touch: Psycho theme on PA when LaRussa comes out to mound.

I don't wanna see Trachsel throw another pitch.

this is really funny though (mainly because he was a Yankees fan)

= I DON'T LIKE WHITES AND LATINOS.

i guess on the plus side there's a chance for the Cards to get swept three years in a row. 12 consecutive WS game losses has to be some kind of record, if 8 isn't already.

To be fair, Weaver has been a much better pitcher in the last few weeks, not just against the Mets.

tigers/mets series would have been so good.

This shit ain't ovah, you ninnies! Carpenter didn't exactly stump them on Friday.