It sure is fun and easy to manage a baseball game from the couch (or the press box).
No decision made from either of those places has any real consequence. If you get it right, hey, look at you, you're a big league manager! If you get it wrong, hey, no sweat, and you don't even have to tell anybody.
When criticizing a manager, it's always best to keep in mind that the guy getting paid for the decisions is working with information the rest of us don't have, sometimes facts that would change our minds, and other times hunches and feelings and educated guesses built on access available only to the guys in the clubhouse.
All that said, this one's hard to understand.
Let's play the skipper game.
It's the beginning of the eighth inning, you're at Texas, and thanks to another absolutely brilliant start by Zack Greinke the night before* you're working with a completely rested bullpen and with the luxury of an offday coming up, you have all your options available. There aren't many days like this for a big league manager.
* More on this later, hopefully, as part of an MGD update. But here's the short version: Zack is really, really good.
The slugger formerly known as Andruw Jones leads off by crushing a first-pitch fastball from left-handed reliever Ron Mahay to the left-field wall. David DeJesus has what would be a fabulous catch in his glove, possibly twice, but he crashes into what appears to be a horizontal trampoline that's in place of the outfield fence in Arlington, and the ball falls for a double.
Hank Blalock is the next batter, and he hits a pretty sharp grounder at Mike Jacobs, who butchers the play a few different ways. He didn't field it cleanly, then panicked, then made a very bizarre toss to first base that, if it had been online, would've been about 10 seconds late. That's not an exact measurement, however, as Jacobs' toss was, oh, maybe four feet wide of what we have to assume his target is.
Here's where we pause for a moment to point out that Ball Star defended Jacobs' defense in spring training. I think (hope?) it came with a qualifier, a recognition of his terrible reputation as a first baseman, but still, I wrote that Jacobs was mostly pretty adequate at first base in Arizona.
And he was. But we should all forget that now. Or, and this would be even better, forget it last week.
Anyway, you've got first and third, no outs, up two runs and a completely rested bullpen -- one of your team's greatest strengths -- so obviously now's a good time to go get one of your relievers.
You've already used Juan Cruz in this game, so your best options to replace Ron Mahay would figure to be:
a) Joakim Soria. He's one of the best relievers in the world, hasn't pitched in nearly a week, and there's been talk around the club that you'd be more willing to extend him past just one inning this year. This is probably a little early, but the option's there.
b) Robinson Tejeda. He has ridiculous stuff, and has pitched 3 2/3 innings for you this season, not allowing a single hit and striking out seven. He's also walked three, hit one, and thrown a wild pitch.
You choose:
c) Jamey Wright. He's a solid if unspectacular pitcher who will give you a professional effort. Nothing wrong with Jamey Wright.
Wright is facing Nelson Cruz, who swings at a first-pitch fastball and chops one to Alberto Callaspo. From the couch, it looked like Callaspo could've turned and had the lead runner at second base, but he plays it safe and goes to first for the out. Jones scores.
One out, the lead's down to one, tying run at second base, the left-handed David Murphy coming up.
You stick with Wright, which wouldn't have been my choice, but fine, Murphy flies out to right field. Two out.
Texas calls on pinch hitter Chris Davis, a rookie who has every look of being a big-time player and soon. He called is effort the night before -- 0-for-4, three strikeouts, including the last out looking -- "pathetic" but everyone in the ballpark knows this kid can rake.
Wright gives up a 94 tOPS+ to righties, and a 107 tOPS+ to lefties*.
* The problem with that stat, of course, is that Trey Hillman says he doesn't care much for splits. This may or may not be the reason heleft Kyle Farnsworth in on opening day to give up a three-run bomb to Jim Thome, may or may not be the reason Jimmy Gobble is not in the big leagues right now, and may or may not be the reason he called on Mahay (a lefty) to replace Cruz (a righty) to face Josh Hamilton (a lefty) an inning before.
This is all confusing, no?
Anyway, at this point you could go to Soria, who is actually a little better against lefties than righties. And did we mention he's fully rested? Hasn't pitched in six days? And is better at what he does than anybody else on your team is at what they do?
The downside is you're on the road so the cool flames won't light up the scoreboard and you won't get to hear "Welcome to the Jungle," but still, this seems like a pretty solid option.
You decide to stick with Wright.
Davis singles home the tying run.
Fine.
Questionable, but defensible.
Wright gets out of the inning with no more damage, you go to the ninth tied at 5. Frank Francisco is dealing in the ninth, and your offense gets nothing.
At this point, you have Kyle Farnsworth and Soria each warming up. Francisco is really the Rangers' only good reliever, so the longer you can keep the Rangers from scoring the more you have to like your chances.
So your choices:
a) Soria. He is terrific. Hasn't given up a home run since last August. Did we mention he hasn't pitched in six days? And you have an offday coming up? And that he's one of the best two or three relief pitchers in the world? Huh? Did we mention that? We can light a match, or track down an iPod and play a little G 'n R for you if that's your thing.
b) Farnsworth. He has two of your team's four losses. He gives up home runs at an incredible rate. You're facing one of the best home run hitting teams in baseball, with the heart of the order due up, in one of the better home run parks in baseball.
If you chose "b," you are the winner of our stupid little game here, because that's what Royals manager Trey Hillman did on Sunday.
Farnsworth, bless his heart, throws a perfectly straight 96 mph fastball down the middle to the first batter he faces, the powerful Michael Young, who crushes one deep enough into the left field seats that DeJesus' first move is not to track the ball but to jog into the dugout.
Soria heads that way, too. At the earliest, he will have gone eight days before he pitches next.
He has now pitches fewer innings in relief than both Jamey Wright and Juan Cruz, the same as Doug Waechter, and fewer games than Farnsworth, who now has three of the team's five losses. The only reason Soria has pitched more innings than Farnsworth is because Soria gets more batters out.
Look. This is just one game. There are 149 more. The Royals are still in first place. Maybe it's the good Farnsworth that comes in the game, blows away the Rangers' power, the move works out and then I'm probably blogging about something else.
Maybe there is some other piece of for-Trey's-ears-only information the rest of us don't know about that makes how he handled the bullpen on Sunday completely logical.
And even if there's not, Hillman is the manager of the first-place Royals even as he's had to juggle key injuries and inconsistencies, the rotation is humming, and in the big picture there are more reasons to be encouraged than discouraged about the Royals.
I get all that.
But, you know, it sure is tough to see Soria stay in the bullpen in that situation.
... because it should have been Cruz pitching 7th and Ramirez pitching 8th, followed by Soria to close it out in the 9th - W for Davies, H for both Cruz and Ram, S for Soria (or Superman if you prefer) and Royals 8-4 vs 7-5 ...
It's A Jeep Thing