THE WATERCOOLER
QUESTION OF THE DAY: The Royals chose to pitch to Albert Pujols with the bases loaded on Sunday and he responded with a grand slam. Only six players in MLB history have been intentionally walked with the bases loaded. Would you pitch to Pujols with the bases loaded?
RICK HUMMEL:
Always. Why give the Cardinals a run? Even at ..330, you get him out nearly seven times out of 10.
BERNIE MIKLASZ:
Pujols has four at-bats with the bases loaded this season. Result: three grand slams. Doesn’t that answer your question?
BRYAN BURWELL:
I hate the intentional walk. From a pure competitive standpoint it is a strategic capitulation. I hated it when they did it to Barry Bonds. I hate it now.
DERRICK GOOLD:
Yes. Because he’s only 3-for-4 this season with the bases loaded and in his career he’s just managed a .404 average with the bases brimming with ‘Birds. So there’s a chance. There’s a slim, itty, bitty, teeny chance that he does not produce the run you would be gift-wrapping with a bases-loaded walk. Besides, if you’re in a situation where your pitcher is facing Pujols with the bases loaded … it’s already too late. Why fool yourself. Face it: You’ve clearly had an epic fail in executing the plan on pitching to the Cardinals. Let the rest of the lineup have their whacks and then pitch around Pujols. Not the other way around, silly.
JEFF GORDON:
This depends on the scenario. Do I trust my pitcher to get the next guy? Late in a game, with two outs and a three- or four-run lead, I would walk in the run IF I had a strong reliever on the mound. Albert hits anybody, so walking him, even to force in a run, is a thought. But if your pitcher walks the next guy, too, or throws the sort of meat that Ryan Ludwick hammered in Kansas City . . .
Albert is a given. He hits in that scenario. We know whoever is hitting behind him is NOT a given. Every other manager knows that. With this bases loaded, though, a lot can go wrong if your pitcher can’t handle that pressure. Doing this with a shaky starting pitcher early in a game could prove disastrous.