What was it that Kermit The Frog always used to say: "It's not easy being green?"Well, it's even harder being Charlie Manuel.
There he was last night, standing in his usual spot at the end of the dugout and watching Freddy Garcia pitch better than ever during his brief Phillies career. The Diamondbacks were leading 3-0. The bases were loaded with one out in the fifth inning. And Garcia was due at the plate.
What do you do?
Go.
What Manuel did almost doesn't matter. On May 7 in Arizona, trailing 2-1 in the seventh, he pinch-hit for Garcia. The Phillies tied the game, only to see the shaky bullpen lose it in the seventh and eighth. Manuel was ripped. Last night, he stuck with Garcia, who grounded into an inning-ending, rally-killing double play in a 5-4 loss in which the Phillies scored three runs in the ninth inning. Predictably, Manuel is getting ripped.
After the Brett Myers situation last week, some of you accused me of being a Charlie Manuel apologist, and if that's the case, so be it. But I'm going to agree with him again. In the fifth inning, with the middle relievers the Phillies have in their bullpen, I think he has to let Garcia bat for himself. Not only is Garcia a decent hitter (4-for-15 with two RBIs this season), but he wound up going eight solid innings and striking out six of the last nine batters he faced. And, let's not forget, it was 3-1 when he left the game, and Ryan Madson, one of the Phillies' more dependable relievers, gave up two costly runs in the ninth.
If the Phillies had the Padres bullpen, I'd say sure, bat for Garcia. Similarly, if the Phillies' offense wasn't capable of scoring runs in a hurry, particularly in Citizens Bank Park, you'd send up a pinch-hitter (Pat Burrell and Greg Dobbs were both on the bench) in a flash. But the fifth inning -- the fifth inning! -- is too early to make that move.
Just my two cents. Your thoughts?
5 comments:
I agree with Manuel's decision. Garcia is a decent hitter and he was pitching pretty good last night.
I agree, too. It was a good call at the time. I was glad to see the Phillies put together a good 9th... wasn't surprised to see Barajas kill the comeback, though.
Marcus, Barajas didn't kill the comeback. He was a few feet from winning the game. Had Howard and Rowand not struck out, Barajas would've tied the game. He shouldn't even have batted, as Ruiz's ball should've ended the game.
I'm not a big fan of Barajas (partly because of what his signing did to Coste, and partly because of his comments after the Florida game), but you can't throw him under the bus for last night.
The only thing I questioned was Barajas up with the game on the line. He should've been the first pinch-hitter used. I mean, he's NEVER seen a fastball he didn't like. I'd almost rather see Madson hitting with the game on the line than Barajas.
You never pinch-hit a catcher unless he's the absolute last guy available, which is what Barajas was in the 9th, or unless you have three on your roster (this is where having Coste would really help instead of say, Yoel Hernandez). If you pinch-hit Barajas earlier in the game and Ruiz gets injured, then you don't have anyone left.
As for Manuel's decision, it was the right one for 3 reasons: A three-run lead at Citizen's Bank Park is nothing. The Phillies' bullpen, as we all know, isn't very good (if it's the Mets' bullpen, Garcia is out of the game for sure). And Garcia is already on the record complaining about how Manuel has no confidence in him. If Manuel pinch-hits for him there, then he runs the risk of Garcia going in the tank, or at least pouting to the point where things can get rather dicey.
I was covering that game, and when Ruiz came up, I was thinking, "What's Charlie going to do if Ruiz gets on?" Sure enough, Ruiz got on. Like I said, I would have done the same thing. But you definitely can make the case for pinch-hitting in that situation, too.
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