Now This is Something You Don't See Everyday

Randy Johnson at Third Base! Here's how it happened.

To be fair, it took a perfect storm of a 17 inning game, 15 total batters used, and hit by pitch injury. Regardless, one does wonder if the Diamond Mind engine is programmed for things such as this.

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead, the Newark Slam Dumps coughed it up in the 7th thanks to a Sammy Sosa 3-run bomb. And after trading single runs in the 8th and 9th, the Dumps headed to extra innings vs the Kakadu Didgeridoos.

• At this point in the game, the Slam Dumps used just one extra batter, Roy Thomas, who pinch hit for Sheree Magee in the 8th for a favorable righty/lefty pitching matchup. This was a fine move, down a run late in the game Magee was just 3-16 versus righties while Thomas had a .393 OBP against them. Thomas flied out to right and stayed in the game to play center.
  
• The next move set the stage for Johnson. Wade Boggs, an average defender, left the game in the 10th so that Ray Dandridge, an Ex defender could play third base.
• The next inning things started to get a little funky as the DMB engine wreaked havoc on the bench. Will Clark was sent to the plate in favor of shortstop Robin Yount, but of course couldn't play the position forcing Cecil Travis to enter the game.
• In the 12th it happened again. Mickey Cochrane, the only backup catcher by the way, pinch hit for second basemen Hardy Richardson. Cochrane can't play middle infield any more than Clark can, and so Red Schoendeinst was summoned to take the field.
  
• In two innings, two simple pinch hit plays required 4 players. This is something I wouldn't have done myself, but on the other hand the manager has to figure the game is going to end soon and a bench won't be needed for much longer.
• Of the two, Clark's move was more defensible as he entered the game with a man on second and two outs. A run there likely wins the game. Cochrane on the other hand entered the game to lead off an inning, a strange place to burn two players and remove some flexibility with your back-up catcher.
• Things finally came to a head in the 14th. Dandridge as you may recall, entered the game purely because of his Ex defense. He proceeded to get plunked by a pitch in his second at bat and was forced out of the game due to injury.
  
• The only player left on the Slam Dump bench as the poor fielding Gavvy Cravath, a Fr rated right fielder. Playing him at third base would likely have been a disaster. So, the DMB engine turned to the pitching staff and found the Avg/50 fielding Randy Johnson. The game of course has no idea Johnson is a lanky semi-coordinated stick figure of a giant, and thought he was the best option. Andy maybe he was, for 3 innings not a ball was hit to him.
  

In summary - Kudo's to DMB for avoiding Cravath, but they shouldn't have been in that position to begin with. Of course, Johnson pitched two days a later and was shelled early, leaving in the second in his worst outing of the season. Coincidence?