MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
by
It's amazing that so many fans seem to think that stealing bases when you're down by double digit runs is somehow breaking one of the game's unwritten rules. When you're up by a bunch you don't steal; when you're trying to come back - with 5 innings left to play - it's a calculated risk and nothing more.
If the runner in question is Adam Dunn or someone of equal, less-than-average speed, then yes, it's safe to say that trying to steal a base in the fourth inning when you're down by a bunch isn't very smart. When the runner happens to be in the top 10 in steals in all of MLB, it's a different story - but particularly so when the pitcher lets him do it.
Once Florida's Chris Volstad hit Morgan with a pitch in the fourth inning, he apparently had the impression that Nyjer would be so chastened that he'd hang by the bag and wait for the third out. Volstad was so slow to the plate that Nyjer did what comes naturally and headed for second. He did the same thing when he stole third. Was Volstad embarrassed? Of course he was, but he had only his own inattentiveness to blame. Yet he chose to throw behind Nyjer in the sixth, precipitating the fracas. I promise you Edwin Rodriguez, the Marlins' skipper, was as shocked as anyone else when he saw what Volstad did.
Unless MLB has instituted a mercy rule that the game is over once one team is up by 10 or more runs, why ignore one of your offensive weapons? Did Morgan create a run by stealing those bases? Quite obviously he did. Have many of us seen games where a team, down by a bunch early, comes back to win? Of course.
Were the Nats supposed to give up, or simply wait for the game to end? Or maybe you think Nyjer's to blame for Donnie Murphy's dislocated wrist suffered on the pop up that allowed Nyjer to score.
I certainly don't condone everything Morgan does - his home plate adventures the past week are still head-scratchers - but in this case, the two steals don't bother me a bit.
As for those fans who believe that Jim Riggleman should be publicly shredding Morgan for last night, please give me an example of a manager who's done that recently.
