Houston Chronicle: Cooper defends small-ball call

One day after Cecil Cooper’s much-debated decision not to bunt with Ivan Rodriguez in the ninth inning of the opener against the Royals, Cooper defended his call, and Lance Berkman defended his manager while disagreeing with the decision.

Rodriguez came up with men on first and second, nobody out and a one-run deficit. He struck out for the first out and was followed by Kaz Matsui, who struck out, and Jason Michaels, who ended the game with a soft grounder back to the pitcher.

“If I was managing the team, I would have tried to bunt in that situation just because they had their closer (Joakim Soria), and it’s going to be tough to get anything done,” said Berkman, who nonetheless understood the source of Cooper’s logic.

“I don’t think people should be outraged and think that it’s indefensible that we didn’t bunt,” Berkman said. “ That’s the beauty of baseball; there’s no right answer. Heck, if (Rodriguez) singles and I go first-to-third, Coop’s a genius.”