Suicide Squeezed

You know it is a bad state of affairs when the local talk radio shows are spending substantial amounts of air time discussing the epidemic of failed suicide squeeze bunts that is currently plaguing the hometown team.

Sure, we could all bunt when our Little League coaches required us to lay one down before taking cuts in batting practice. Sure, big leaguers make millions of dollars and do this full-time, so it should be relatively easy for them to get a bunt down more often than not. Unfortunately, however, it is a risky play to simultaneously send a runner steaming down the third-base line and insist that the batter bunt absolutely whatever pitch comes his way on the ground and in play, all while the opposing pitcher and defense are both prepared to defend the bunt.

But the saddest part of all is that it seems like nearly every night, the Astros' offense is in such disarray that a suicide squeeze play has become one of their most frequently attempted methods of offensive production. It is as if the possibility of three consecutive hits or a walk, a hit and a three-run home run are not even potential parts of the offensive equation. Times are tough in H-Town when Adam Everett and Brad Ausmus squaring around to bunt with Luke Scott sprinting for home is your best chance to score a run on a nightly basis. Roger, is this what you came back for?