Bottom of the 7th

this may fit better on the "it is what it is" thread... tell your pitcher to throw strikes, but don't give 'em anything good to hit!

 

Now that's what I'm talking about.... Hail Mary's, throw strikes- but nothing good to hit.
Definitely right, the visiting team is "living on a prayer" at this point in the ballgame... "it is what it is".

 

Batter righty or lefty,

If the batter is righty . Throw strikes in side and hold the runner on third. First baseman in to stop squeeze. Short and 2nd on grass for play at home. Try to fist the batter..

If lefty Throw low and away and hope for the best.

Dont walk him..

 

I would go out and tell my pitcher, "Throw your best stuff and whatever happens, happens. Don't think too much, have fun and if you get beat, get beat with your best stuff. Relax....this is what baseball is all about and this is why you play the game."

If my team is batting, I tell the hitter to just make hard contact and hit it somewhere. The pressure is on the defense to make the play.

 

What to do!

Visiting Team: Best Hitter usually has more pressure on him than the pitcher. He is expected to come thru. I pull the infield in and outfield in to a depth where they can make a good throw home, tell my pitcher to relax and then attack the batter. Pitch sequence, fastball inside and under hands. Hitter is jacked up so it looks big there, maybe you get swinging strike one. Follow that up with changeup away, and fastball away off plate. Need a fourth pitch, curveball outside corner. I hope to get a roll over ground ball on the second pitch change up, to get runner at plate, possible double play on return throw to first. In most of these situations, you see even the best hitters so jacked up they are taking bigger hacks than normal and show them the fastball once, then get them to chase or rollover offspeed.

Home Team: I have my best hitter up, he is the person I want in there and I think it is my best opportunity to get a run in, he is swinging, but first I talk to him. I once told a great hitter playing for me in this situation, " son if I could go over there and pick one kid off the bench to succeed here, who do you think it would be? He replied, " Me, Coach" I looked at him and said, " he!! no, I would pick my son, but if I went 2 deep, you would be the second choice." He started dieing laughing, first pitch he sees, rings one off the CF field for a bases clearing double.

Biggest thing for me as a coach in either situation would be to keep my pitcher or hitter as relaxed as possible. Get nervous or try to hard, muscles tense up and as a pitcher, you find the middle of the plate belt high, not good results! As a hitter, you swing harder, expand your strike zone and success rate falls.

 

Definitely like Kevin11's last paragraph. While some coaches are great at teaching fundamentals or strategy,,,, lets face it, some coaches just tend to have problems in winning that big game. And its because their players fall to the pressure or are "afraid of making that mistake".

The coaches WHO ARE ABLE to get their players to play (I said P-L-A-Y) near their best during the actual games,,,,,,,,,,,, usually wins.

 

That IS A fact tj21!

 

I would hope that my players, whether the hitter or the pitcher, would perform and be prepared for the situation. I dont believe I would say anything. I would say a prayer and hope for the best!

 

Since this is fantasy I will be the greatest coach on Earth. I will just have my pitcher throw a comebacker to the mound for a 1-2-3 DP and hit the showers.

 

I think Earl Weaver would put the Grand Salami play on...