Thursday, October 24, 2013
Excerpt: "World Series, Game One"
"I haven't understood much about Matheny's pitcher management this October. The decision to flip through four relievers, including two of his top three, late in last night's game was curious. I feel like you'd rather not let the Red Sox see Kevin Siegrist or Carlos Martinez or Seth Maness in a low-leverage spot. I understand the counterargument; Matheny used Martinez and Trevor Rosenthal in Game One of the NLDS in a similar context, and the idea is that you let these young pitchers get their feet wet in postseason baseball, in the World Series. The problem is, I don't think the argument is that good. I think it reflects a generation gap, stemming from a time when the World Series had more cultural cachet and wasn't the fourth round of the MLB playoffs. I think Carlos Martinez has figured out how to pitch when there's bunting in the room."