Video: Rocco's Embarrassing Blunder

[Tom Froemming]

I'm more forgiving than most when it comes to managerial decisions, but there are no excuses for a lack of awareness. Rocco Baldelli embarrassed himself in yesterday's game against Cleveland. I don't think this had an impact on the outcome of the game, thankfully, but it was not a good look regardless.

 

[Squirrel]

Well ... yeah ... and I'm sure Berrios wasn't thrilled with it, either

[denarded]

Apparently Baldelli was on the bullpen phone and didn't see it happen. The problem is there was no bench coach to stop him from making that mistake. There's a reason we have them

[ashbury]

Apparently Baldelli was on the bullpen phone and didn't see it happen. The problem is there was no bench coach to stop him from making that mistake. There's a reason we have them

I knew they were trying to honor Mike Bell's memory by not literally replacing him on the coaching staff this year. But is there really no one handling the duties that the BC normally covers? That seems weird.

 

[wsnydes]

 

I knew they were trying to honor Mike Bell's memory by not literally replacing him on the coaching staff this year. But is there really no one handling the duties that the BC normally covers? That seems weird.
 

I wondered that too. The other coaches have their own responsibilities too, but it seems like the responsibilities of the bench coach should be divvied up somehow. Rocco shouldn't be the one to take all of it because things like this happen. If nothing else, a simple adjustment on who makes the call to the pen so that Rocco is paying attention to what is going on on the field at all times seems like the easiest way to go about things. Hopefully that change has been made now.

 

Things happen, but this one is certainly one of the more embarrassing gaffes that I've seen in a while.

[USAFChief]

Apparently Baldelli was on the bullpen phone and didn't see it happen. The problem is there was no bench coach to stop him from making that mistake. There's a reason we have them

I'm not sure where this "reason" originated, but I'm not buying it.

 

I mean, come on. The bullpen phone is in the dugout. Rocco was on that phone, and SO preoccupied, for the entire time Wes Johnson went to the mound, that he DIDN'T NOTICE?? Wes Johnson made the decision to go visit Berrios and didn't tell Rocco?? Before OR after the visit?

 

This "rationale" is ridiculous. It can't have happened. It's impossible.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I'm not sure where this "reason" originated, but I'm not buying it.

I mean, come on. The bullpen phone is in the dugout. Rocco was on that phone, and SO preoccupied, for the entire time Wes Johnson went to the mound, that he DIDN'T NOTICE?? Wes Johnson made the decision to go visit Berrios and didn't tell Rocco?? Before OR after the visit?

This "rationale" is ridiculous. It can't have happened. It's impossible.

 

No one is denying they made a mistake, or excusing it. They are just explaining that the mistake was a brain fart forgetting that they had already made a mound visit, rather than a brain fart thinking they could make multiple mound visits in one inning.

 

From the Strib story (also in the video):

 

https://www.startribune.com/jose-berrios-leaves-game-rocco-baldelli-blunder-twins-cleveland/600050694/

 

"That's on me. I was locked into something else at the time," Baldelli said. "I actually called down to get Robles going. Not a great moment."

[MMMordabito]

Baseball Savant needs to come up with a Mound Visit Effictiveness statistic, so that it gets on Rocco's spreadsheet.  An AI can only understand 1s and 0s.

[USAFChief]

No one is denying they made a mistake, or excusing it. They are just explaining that the mistake was a brain fart forgetting that they had already made a mound visit, rather than a brain fart thinking they could make multiple mound visits in one inning.

 

From the Strib story (also in the video):

 

https://www.startribune.com/jose-berrios-leaves-game-rocco-baldelli-blunder-twins-cleveland/600050694/

 

"That's on me. I was locked into something else at the time," Baldelli said. "I actually called down to get Robles going. Not a great moment."

I understand it was a "brain fart."

 

What it WASN'T, was not knowing. The post I responded to claimed Rocco was on the phone and "didn't see it happen."

 

BS.

 

It's a rather inexcusable mistake, IMO. This is the major leagues. Or supposed to be. He cares that little about his job, it's that unimportant to him?? I pay for better than that.

 

I mean, I'm not asking for his firing. But IMO we need better out of some players, and we need better out of the manager. Stop giving your best players a day off every week. Recognize and admit your March plan for the bullpen ain't working, and adjust accordingly. On field BP and infield should be happening every day, and not voluntarily. Pay attention during the game, for Pete's sake.

 

BTW...some WERE trying to excuse it. For example, you posted that Seth claimed it wasn't a mistake, cagey old Rocco was "buying more time for Robles to warm up."

 

That sounds like "denying they made a mistake" to me. With a totally fabricated reason, BTW.

[Otto von Ballpark]

 

I understand it was a "brain fart."

What it WASN'T, was not knowing. The post I responded to claimed Rocco was on the phone and "didn't see it happen."

I haven't seen that wording anywhere else, so I'll chalk it up to a paraphrase error on the poster.

 

 

BTW...some WERE trying to excuse it. For example, you posted that Seth claimed it wasn't a mistake, cagey old Rocco was "buying more time for Robles to warm up."

That sounds like "denying they made a mistake" to me. With a totally fabricated reason, BTW.

In fairness to Seth, his exact words were far more ambiguous -- could have been facetious, could have been a simple statement of fact (the confusion likely did give Robles a little more time to warm up, regardless of how one feels about the mistake):

 

[Otto von Ballpark]

If the immediate outcome of labeling it "inexcusable" is to say "don't let this happen again", I think we all pretty much agree with that, regardless of what words we use to describe the circumstances.

[puckstopper1]

DOH!!!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Embarrassing, sure, but as Dan Hayes responded in a comment in The Athletic, same thing has happened to Girardi this year as well.

 

Rocco said he was going out to make a change, then got caught up in his conversation with Berrios, who told him he wanted to stay in. Not a good sign that he forgot why he went out there, or had a wavering conviction about whether a pitching change was necessary, or didn’t communicate with Wes Johnson about the earlier trip. Managers make dumb mistakes too.

[Jerr]

Well, so many things that I hate to the new rules and this is a minor one. I HATE 7 inning "ball games...as much as I HATE, putting a runner on 2nd base in the extra innings.

I'm losing my love for baseball, simply go back to what it was in 2019.

But, Rocco should have known.