Monday night, New York Mets broadcaster Gary Cohen wondered what the Arizona Diamondbacks were thinking when they let the potential winning run steal second base in the bottom of the ninth of a 4-3 ballgame.
Wednesday, the Diamondbacks let Cohen know exactly what they think of him.
Up 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth on Monday, Arizona let Mets outfielder Tim Locastro steal second, potentially setting up an easy tying run. That move befuddled Cohen, who unleaded on the D-backs managerial staff while analyst Keith Hernandez could be heard scoffing incredulously.
The Diamondbacks decided to play behind Tim Locastro (the potential winning run) at first base instead of holding him on pic.twitter.com/KsKqIrhW5Y
— SNY (@SNYtv) September 12, 2023
“They’re going to play behind him! He is the winning run! What are they doing? What are they doing? They’re playing behind him! They’re giving him the stolen base! That’s the winning run! Are you kidding me? Back to a slider, misses, ball one. What are they thinking? How do you allow the winning run to steal second base? That is as boneheaded of a managerial decision as I’ve seen all season long! Unreal.”
It ended up not mattering as Brandon Nimmo flew out to center to end the game, with the Diamondbacks earning the victory.
Wednesday, Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom defended the decision to let Locastro steal second on behalf of manager Torey Lovullo, saying that the broadcasters were “idiots” for thinking it was the wrong move.
“I think Torey made a very, very good choice of playing behind Locastro, despite what the really smart Cohen and (Keith) Hernandez group had to say, because I think they’re idiots for what they said,” Strom said. “What if we’re holding him on and (Nimmo) hits a 22-hopper, a left-handed pull hitter with a right-handed pitcher, if the left-handed hitter hits a 22-hopper into right field? Now we have first and third again. It was just worth it to roll the dice with it.”
Diamondbacks Assistant General Manager Mike Fitzgerald added that, along with the low percentage chance of throwing Locastro out, they played the odds that Nimmo would pop out. He told reporters that the shortstop has a “very, very high ground-ball density through the four-hole.”
“Both of those become possibly impacted by holding the runner on or having to cover the bag,” Fitzgerald said.
The Assistant GM also refuted the notion that Arizona put the Mets in a much better position to win by letting Locastro steal second, adding that historical data suggested that their win probability only dropped from 81 percent to 79 percent with the move. He felt like that was a tradeoff worth taking if it meant the team was in a better position to defend Nimmo.
According to AZCentral’s Nick Piecoro, Hall of Fame manager Tony La Russa called Diamondbacks coach Dave McKay after the game to say that Lovullo made the right call. For what it’s worth, La Russa definitely knows a thing or two about making strange game decisions that boggle the minds of announcers.
