So yesterday we speculated on why in the world Coop walked Nick Johnson, and the best guess was the righty/lefty splits from Chris Sampson.
Sho nuff:
Cooper said he preferred having Sampson face a righthanded hitter (Ramirez) rather than a lefty (Johnson). In a bizarre twist, he said he wouldn't have done the same thing if the game had been closer.
“Simply, Chris is a guy that keeps the ball down,” Cooper said. “When he's on, his slider's good. His sinker is good. If he stays down, he's good on righthanded hitters.”
Except Sampson hasn't been on, and hasn't fully recovered from his DL stint.
Sampson:
“Am I 100 percent? No. He knows that, and he knew that when I came off the DL. I wanted to be here for the team and do the best possible job I can. I hate asking for a day off, but sometimes I don't have a choice. ... (Cooper) said he's definitely giving me (Tuesday) off and probably (today) and try to let me catch back up.”
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
