Don't blame Torey Lovullo for Eugenio Suarez getting hit by a pitch
Critics are going to question Torey Lovullo by asking why Suarez was in a meaningless game when he was clearly the best bait Mike Hazen has in his tackle box to search for a big fish who can rejuvenate this franchise for the long haul.
They'll remind everyone that Suarez was hit on the hand in the All-Star Game about a month ago and that people were calling for him to be shelved to preserve his trade value even then.
But Lovullo was right to have Suarez in the lineup in Detroit.
The front office may have quit on the season, but that doesn't mean Louvllo or anyone in that clubhouse has to go along with management's plans.
It's each of their jobs to show Hazen and everyone else that they can still rally for a deep playoff run that validates what they did in 2023. By the way, that 'everyone else' includes me. I'd start trading, guys, too, if I were Hazen.
The Diamondbacks' 5-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on July 28 was the fourth game in a row in which they failed to score more than once.
It was their sixth loss in seven games. It seems like everyone quit once Josh Naylor was traded to Seattle. Or maybe they quit after getting swept by Houston. Same, same.
The losses have looked awful.
The third base coach is stopping guys when he should be sending them. He's sending them when he should be stopping them. And at one point, he tried to send a guy and stop him on the same play. (It was a true absurdity: Poor Shaun Larkin was twirling one arm in the universal signal for 'haul you-know-what' and the other arm was extended and flexed, palm open in the universal signal for 'STOP!')
Guys are crashing into each other in the outfield.
And batters are spiraling on swinging strikeouts like nine Tasmanian devils in the same batter's box.
Some of this might be Torey Lovullo's fault. (Though, it really seems like that should be on the players to hold themselves to a higher standard.)
But Lovullo was not wrong to have Suarez in the lineup while the team has a mathematical chance to reach the postseason.
Still, it sure looked like it was bad on TV. Sounded bad, too. And Suarez didn't act like it was no big deal.
We'll see what the doctors say after they examine his hand and fingers.
But even with risk, Torey Lovullo was right to have Suarez in the lineup if he was available to play.
Reach Moore at gmoore@azcentral.com or 602-444-2236. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @SayingMoore.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Don't blame Torey Lovullo for Eugenio Suarez getting hit by a pitch
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