Joe Maddon appears to believe in the adage of picking a player on the other team, and not letting that player beat you. In game two of the NLCS between the Cubs and the Dodgers, Maddon chose Yasiel Puig. Puig went 0 for 1 with three walks. Unfortunately for the Cubs, the Dodgers had another hitter who could beat them. While Justin Turner wasn’t hitting quite as well as Puig, in most situations he would be the player to stop. By concentrating on Puig, Turner was able to let loose, and drive in all four runs for the Dodgers.
I do find it odd that Puig was the choice. He is a bit more mercurial a hitter than Turner. I suppose that since Puig bats lower in the order, a walk in his slot does a bit less damage. However, those three walks were enough to guarantee that Turner got a fifth PA in the nine innings, which cost the Cubs the game.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2gkWZwr
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