Take It Like A Man

So after making the decision that I'd rather see Babe Ruth in a speedo than see the New York Yankees win the World Series, I started to realize how difficult it would be to stand by the Philadelphia Phillies.  They aren't making it easy to root for them, that's for sure.  First there was the guarantee by Jimmy Rollins that they'd win in five games, "six if their nice," - well Jimbo if you're going to win it has to be in Game 7, so what happened to your cute little prediction?  Ok, that doesn't even matter, I'm over Rollins' arrogance, and now my frustration is purely centered on the Phils' manager, Charlie "I should read a coaching" Manuel.

If you've seen a Charlie Manuel press conference, you probably agree with me when I say that Charlie needs to take it like a man.  Manuel has developed a nice little routine of heading to the podium after a loss and putting on his cranky pants.  He answers every question with a tone of "how dare you ask me something so dumb," and he also defends every decision he makes like it was the right move and it just happened, coincidently, not to work out.  Well, in trailing the Yankees 3-2 in the World Series, there seems to be quite a few coincidences costing the Phillies their season.  I was really expecting the Yankess to lose this Series as a result of Joe Girardi's mismanagement - but what I underestimated was Manuel's incredible ability to mismanage his own team.

Granted, Manuel is riding high now because the Phils won Game 5 behind ace Cliff Lee, but that's not a big surprise, we all expected Lee to win and he did.  And there's a great chance that the Philadelphia takes Game 6 in a Pedro Martinez vs. Andy Pettitte showdown for the ages.  So where did Skipper Chuck go wrong?  Well we could start with Game 2 when he let Pedro go back out to the mound for the 7th inning, but we'll let that Grady Little-esque moment slide.  Lets look at Game 4.  The Phils had just lost Game 3, at home, with their former ace, Cole Hamels on the mound.  So how does Charlie respond in a must-win game?  He sends out his #4 starter, Joe Blanton, on the mound against the Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia - genius idea Chuck.  In his post-game cranky pants session, Manuel was asked, "Charlie, Cliff Lee said he was willing to pitch tonight, if he had insisted he wanted to pitch, would you have gone with him?"  Manuel's quick and degrading response was, "Nope, absolutely not."  Wow, how insightful; thanks Chuck, great explanation.

In pregame discussions, many said that Manuel wasn't starting Lee because he had never pitched on three days rest before.  Who cares!?  It's not like he's making him drive blindfolded or something; pitching on three days rest isn't dangerous, it's just uncommon because this generation's pitchers are so pampered.  In the current age of pitch counts, 6-inning starts, and 1-inning saves, we forget that pitchers of previous generations threw until the cows came home, and they didn't even have Tommy-John surgery, or all this medical pampering available!  Regardless, starting a short-rested Lee is still better than a well-rested Blanton.  Many will say "well, Blanton didn't pitch that bad."  Ok, true.  But guess what, he didn't pitch that good, and I guarantee that Lee would've pitched better and probably won.

So now let's look at the big picture.  Let's say Pedro out-duels Pettitte tomorrow, who is on the bump for Game 7?  In the Yankee corner, their ace, at home, Sabathia - and in the Phillie corner, choke artist of the '09 playoffs, the guy who can't even win at home and is now on the road, in the hardest postseason building to win at, Hamels.  Perfect.  Lee will only be on two days rest for Game 7, so even if he is available, there are two concerns - 1, Lee will only be able to pitch limited innings whether it's in a start of in relief.  2, if Manuel is willing to use him on two days rest, why didn't he use him on three days rest in Game 4??

Right, I know - if I know so much and I can complain about the problem, what is the solution?  I'll tell you what it is.  Start Lee in Game 4 and win, tying the series at 2-2.  Then, you save Pedro for Game 6 in the Bronx because he can win there, and in Game 5 you give the ball to...Jamie Moyer.  That's right, old man Jamie Moyer.  I say this for multiple reasons - 1, Moyer has been out of the rotation for a while and the Yankees would have to look back to August to find film on him.  2, it's a great change of pace - all these pitchers, Sabathia, Lee, Hamels, Pettitte, Blanton, even an aging Pedro, rely on bringing some low-to-high 90's heat.  Jamie Moyer changes a hitter's entire approach, first he has to roll his wheel chair out to the mound, then he has to use his cane to stand up, and then he throws a nasty 88 mph fastball...on a good day.  In the same way that Tim Wakefield's knuckleball can baffle any lineup, so can Moyer's finesse.  3, by pulling Hamels out of the rotation, you now have someone reliable in your bullpen, and should probably use him as the closer, this way Lidge can't blow any more games.  The postseason makes us forget, but the Phillies had the most unreliable bullpen in baseball in the 2nd half of the season, they could use a change of pace.  4, Moyer has experience...I mean like dang, he is living proof that dinosaurs once roamed the Earth.  He knows what he's doing on the mound, he knows how to control a game, and how to come through in the clutch.  And 5, by starting Lee in Game 4 that makes him available to start and win a potential Game 7, so even if Moyer loses and the Phils go down 3-2 as they are now, the outlook for the next two games is much better.


Doesn't seem so complicated to me, so why not try it?  Oh that's right, Charlie didn't think of it, so he won't do it...because clearly anything that Chuck thinks of has worked perfectly.  Don't get me wrong, managers will always be second-guessed by fans and media, and it's a lot harder to make the call before you know what will happen.  However, it's not so much Manuel's managing that I'm frustrated at, it's his attitude.  Don't you dare go to that podium and make someone feel dumb for asking you a perfectly valid question.  You got paid big money to make the right decision, and you messed up...big time.  So go to that podium, admit your mistakes, and for crying out loud...take it like a man.