Idiots Write About Sports

Interesting thing I noticed while watching yesterday’s Cuba-Venezuela game.

Cuba led 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning when favored Venezuela got two runners on with nobody out. In came ace Cuban reliever Pedro Luis Lazo — a “closer” of a sort, but trotted out in a high-pressure situation nowhere near the actual ninth inning.

The result? Well, first Lazo failed to field a bunt and loaded the bases. But after that, he managed to pitch himself out of the bases-loaded, no-outs jam. And with the momentum well in hand, Cuba scored five runs in the next half-inning to put the game out of reach. Lazo then proceeded to pitch the final four innings to get the save… in the truest sense of the word.

I’m not advocating that major league clubs use their closers for five innings at a shot. But make no mistake: Cuba won that game because they brought Lazo in at the most important part of the game, and he got them through it. After the next half-inning, the game was essentially out of reach.

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