Snitkers

The Tariff King

The Tariff King

Trade War Deadline Winner
Staff member
I know this is going to sound like Snitpicking,

But is there anyone here that can truly defend Snitker for using Hamilton as a pinch hitter last night in the 8th?

We had: Flowers, Cervelli, Hech, Duvall, Camargo, Culberson all on the bench as options. And yet Snit picks the absolute worst option in Hamilton to go up against Rodney.

I know we were up 4-0 at the time, but these type of small details are why I have no confidence in Snit managing in the playoffs when these small details add up and everything counts. I'm hoping he gets micromanaged again by upstairs in the playoffs.

And yes, we all can agree he manages a good clubhouse. Guys seem to wanna fight for him extra. But it seems like we're so close to being in that upper echelon and a manager who can't make these basic tactical decisions is going to hold us back.
 
thewupk said:
It was a bad move that you cant defend.
Click to expand...

I had someone try. This was a gentleman arguing with me about it on the Braves' Facebook Page.

Snit is doing a good job... as far as platooning Joyce he has done a good job. Resting players, he gave Acuna a day off when needed. No way he's going to platoon JD in Toronto. That would have been a slap in the face. As far as pinch hitting, it comes down if it works or it doesn't. Not a good or bad move. Think of it this way if he sends Billy Hamilton to steal a base and it gets thrown out it's not a good or bad move it just didn't work. If you lay down a bunt it's not it's a good or bad move if the hitter pops it up or puts down a poor bunt. It worked or it didn't work. That's how baseball works
Click to expand...
 
The next few weeks are going to be a challenge for Snit.

He has an expanded bullpen. There are competing priorities. One is to win games. Another is to keep as many of the pitchers in the pen as possible sharp. He will have to decide who is less of a priority. Sobotka and Walker have gotten zero work since being called up. Since then O'Day and Minter have been called up. It will be interesting to see how he prioritizes.

Same goes with getting hitters at bats. Who among Camargo, Hech, Culberson, Duvall, Riley and Hamilton get enough ABs to stay sharp and make a case for inclusion on the post-season roster. Not to mention the catchers. Ideally, all of them get a decent amount of ABs. But the reality is that Snit will have to set some priorities.

Finally, how does he integrate Ender and Muk back into the team. Presumably those two will mainly take ABs from Joyce and Ortega, but some of the other hitters might find their ABs further reduced.

If I were in Snit's shoes my priorities would be governed by these two principles:

1) Among the pitchers give higher priority to the power arms. This means favoring Sobotka and Minter over some of the other guys on the bubble. If Sobotka and Minter don't seize their opportunities fine. Leave off the post-season roster. But they need to be given a chance to pitch every 2-3 days.

2) Among the bench players prioritize giving ABs to guys who could be key pinch hitters over guys who bring defense/speed to the table. It would be a big plus if we could ride into the playoffs with a hot hitter on the bench.
 
Last edited:
The correct move was Camargo (or anyone not named Hamilton) to PH replaced by Hamilton defensively or on the bases. Snit's inability to properly use Hamilton was the main concern many had when he was acquired.

Hamilton should quite literally have 0 PAs for this team for the rest of the season and playoffs barring some extra inning affair where his spot in the order comes up after being used as a defensive sub.
 
nsacpi said:
The next few weeks are going to be a challenge for Snit.

He has an expanded bullpen. There are competing priorities. One is to win games. Another is to keep as many of the pitchers in the pen as possible sharp. He will have to decide who is less of a priority. Sobotka and Walker have gotten zero work since being called up. Since then O'Day and Minter have been called up. It will be interesting to see how he prioritizes.

Same goes with getting hitters at bats. Who among Camargo, Hech, Culberson, Duvall, Riley and Hamilton get enough ABs to stay sharp and make a case for inclusion on the post-season roster. Not to mention the catchers. Ideally, all of them get a decent amount of ABs. But the reality is that Snit will have to set some priorities.

Finally, how does he integrate Ender and Muk back into the team. Presumably those two will mainly take ABs from Joyce and Ortega, but some of the other hitters might find their ABs further reduced.

If I were in Snit's my priorities would be governed by these two principles:

1) Among the pitchers give higher priority to the power arms. This means favoring Sobotka and Minter over some of the other guys on the bubble. If Sobotka and Minter don't seize their opportunities fine. Leave off the post-season roster. But they need to be given a chance to pitch every 2-3 days.

2) Among the bench players prioritize giving ABs to guys who could be key pinch hitters over guys who bring defense/speed to the table.
Click to expand...

I would say with Ender out, I would agree with this but probably have it in the toss-up range rather than favoring those AB's to key pinch hitters.

There will be a point in the playoffs where we may get a lead and the defensive sub gets put in (god help us all of it's Billy Hamilton). If Ender isn't going to be healthy enough to start, then I'd give some abs to Culberson and Ortega if they're gonna play OF off the bench. I wouldn't say prioritize, but shoudl definitely be getting those AB's in.
 
Enscheff said:
The correct move was Camargo (or anyone not named Hamilton) to PH replaced by Hamilton defensively or on the bases. Snit's inability to properly use Hamilton was the main concern many had when he was acquired.

Hamilton should quite literally have 0 PAs for this team for the rest of the season and playoffs barring some extra inning affair where his spot in the order comes up after being used as a defensive sub.
Click to expand...

Was it Snitker or AA who said when we picked him up that the plan was for him to not get any AB's, just be used as a Pinch Runner/Defensive Sub.
 
The Chosen One said:
I would say with Ender out, I would agree with this but probably have it in the toss-up range rather than favoring those AB's to key pinch hitters.

There will be a point in the playoffs where we may get a lead and the defensive sub gets put in (god help us all of it's Billy Hamilton). If Ender isn't going to be healthy enough to start, then I'd give some abs to Culberson and Ortega if they're gonna play OF off the bench. I wouldn't say prioritize, but shoudl definitely be getting those AB's in.
Click to expand...

We should only carry one bench player in the playoffs who mainly brings speed/defense to the table. That should be Hamilton. The others should be chosen based on ability to get a key pinch hit. I can defend some of the times in the regular season where he didn't pinch hit for a pitcher even though he didn't plan on him finishing the next inning. That should not happen in the playoffs.

A priori, there is not much separating Cervelli, Flowers, Duvall, Camargo and Riley as right-handed bench/platoon options. This means it is ok to give significant weight to whoever is swinging the bat most confidently the last two weeks of the regular season. This is an important call to make. And the only way to make it is to give ABs to as many of them as possible.
 
Last edited:
nsacpi said:
The next few weeks are going to be a challenge for Snit.

He has an expanded bullpen. There are competing priorities. One is to win games. Another is to keep as many of the pitchers in the pen as possible sharp. He will have to decide who is less of a priority. Sobotka and Walker have gotten zero work since being called up. Since then O'Day and Minter have been called up. It will be interesting to see how he prioritizes.

Same goes with getting hitters at bats. Who among Camargo, Hech, Culberson, Duvall, Riley and Hamilton get enough ABs to stay sharp and make a case for inclusion on the post-season roster. Not to mention the catchers. Ideally, all of them get a decent amount of ABs. But the reality is that Snit will have to set some priorities.

Finally, how does he integrate Ender and Muk back into the team. Presumably those two will mainly take ABs from Joyce and Ortega, but some of the other hitters might find their ABs further reduced.

If I were in Snit's my priorities would be governed by these two principles:

1) Among the pitchers give higher priority to the power arms. This means favoring Sobotka and Minter over some of the other guys on the bubble. If Sobotka and Minter don't seize their opportunities fine. Leave off the post-season roster. But they need to be given a chance to pitch every 2-3 days.

2) Among the bench players prioritize giving ABs to guys who could be key pinch hitters over guys who bring defense/speed to the table. It would be a big plus if we could ride into the playoffs with a hot hitter on the bench.
Click to expand...

Now is the perfect time to start grooming guys for how they should be used in the playoffs.

Pulling SPs early to get more PH PAs for bench players.

Aggressive platoon match ups in the BP.

Strict platoon match ups for the non-Acuna OFers.

Aggressive pinch hitting for platoon advantages.

Aggressively pinch running for catchers and cOFers who will be replaced defensively late.

The Braves have several weeks to practice the tactics they should be using in the playoffs. Now is a good time to get guys used to these tactics so they aren't caught off guard suddenly in October when asked to do something they aren't accustomed to doing.
 
nsacpi said:
We should only carry one bench player in the playoffs who mainly brings speed/defense to the table. That should be Hamilton. The others should be chosen based on ability to get a key pinch hit.
Click to expand...

Depending on if Ender can be healthy for the postseason or not, I would keep Tehearn on the postseason roster.

He won't be starting in a short series, but he has always been a reliable bunter and he is one of our best pinch-runners. If Ender is healthy then he's either starting against RHP, or he's going to come in as a defensive sub late in the game regardless. He's also one of the best bunters on the team.
 
Enscheff said:
Now is the perfect time to start grooming guys for how they should be used in the playoffs.

Pulling SPs early to get more PH PAs for bench players.

Aggressive platoon match ups in the BP.

Strict platoon match ups for the non-Acuna OFers.

Aggressive pinch hitting for platoon advantages.

Aggressively pinch running for catchers and cOFers who will be replaced defensively late.

The Braves have several weeks to practice the tactics they should be using in the playoffs. Now is a good time to get guys used to these tactics so they aren't caught off guard suddenly in October when asked to do something they aren't accustomed to doing.
Click to expand...

Yup to all of the above. Snit has to get his brain oriented into playoff mode. It will help him too with making these decisions under playoff pressure. Most of these decisions should be second nature.
 
The Chosen One said:
Depending on if Ender can be healthy for the postseason or not, I would keep Tehearn on the postseason roster.

He won't be starting in a short series, but he has always been a reliable bunter and he is one of our best pinch-runners. If Ender is healthy then he's either starting against RHP, or he's going to come in as a defensive sub late in the game regardless. He's also one of the best bunters on the team.
Click to expand...

Fourth starter will likely come into play even in a 5 game series and right now it could go either way with Julion and Folty.

As for Ender, I think it is fairly simple. If both Ender and Muk come back, Joyce is the main lefty bench bat and Ortega doesn't make the roster. If one of Ender or Muk does not make it back, Joyce will be in the lineup against RHH pitching and Ortega will be the main lefty bench bat.
 
Snitker probably didn't look at the calendar and thought it was October already. If it's a playoff game and the same situation presents itself, I get that you don't want to turn two players. But it's September and the bench is long, so any decision in that vein is misguided. There will be decisions to make as to who goes on the playoff roster and these situations are perfect auditions for those slots.
 
Hamilton PHing was the wrong call even in a playoff game. It was the 7th inning and the Braves were winning as the home team. They were very unlikely to see that spot in the order come up again, so burning 2 players is irrelevant.

The Braees can't continue to allow Snit to give away PAs by letting the SP bat, or using the wrong PH, or letting a platoon player face a pitcher without the platoon advantage.

It is going to cost them a playoff game against teams with smarter managers and equal talent.
 
Last edited:
Enscheff said:
Hamilton PHing was the wrong call even in a playoff game. It was the 7th inning and the Braves were winning as the home team. They were very unlikely to see that spot in the order come up again, so burning 2 players is irrelevant.

The Braees can't continue to allow Snit to give away PAs by letting the SP bat, or using the wrong PH, or letting a platoon player face a pitcher without the platoon advantage.

It is going to cost them a playoff game against teams with smarter managers and equal talent.
Click to expand...


While I think his best use is as a specialist, it is worth remembering that he is also the backup CF, one injury away from being the starter.

Not the best tactical decision in a one off scenario, but not sure that is why he was pinch hitting.
 
Southcack77 said:
While I think his best use is as a specialist, it is worth remembering that he is also the backup CF, one injury away from being the starter.

Not the best tactical decision in a one off scenario, but not sure that is why he was pinch hitting.
Click to expand...

Two injuries. Both Ender and Acuna would have to be out.

Also possible he would not start even then. Ortega can play center.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top