Bear with me, because I’m sure this is not going to be an ultra-popular opinion.
Today’s loss is the first “Maddon Loss” of 2008. What’s defined as a “Maddon Loss”? Simply, it’s a loss created by the over-managing (or under-managing, or crappy managing) of Joe Maddon. That it took over 40 games to get to the first one is a testament to how good Joe Maddon has been this season.
Now, don’t get me wrong; the bullpen’s 6 walks in 3 innings is very much to blame as well for this loss, but it was Joe Maddon’s managing that put the Rays in a position to lose this game
Why Is This a Maddon Loss? A valid question. It’s because his decision to take Edwin Jackson out when he did led to bullpen management and match-up problems that the team was not able to bounce back from. Jackson, who was still at a manageable 96 pitches, has done enough in his recent outings to deserve a chance to try and work out of his own jam. Instead, Maddon went to J.P. Howell for less than one inning - with bad results, and the rest of the bullpen collapsed in stride.
What Maddon should’ve done was allowed Jackson to try and finish the 6th inning. You then bring in Howell to pitch the 7th inning - he’s better starting innings anyways - and then use Wheeler in the 8th and Percival in the 9th. His decision to remove Jackson in the 6th inning directly led to the bullpen meltdown and, in turn, led to this loss. Simple as that.
Just Stop. Haven’t we seen enough of Trever Miller facing righties and switch-hitters, yet?
Ed-NoDecision Jackson: That’s three straight good starts with nothing to show for it. That’s got to get disappointing after a while, doesn’t it?
They Call Him Bossman: Nice game for B.J., delivering two hits and an RBI. Hopefully his stroke is starting to come around. Really need to see some more power out of him.
11 Hits and Only 4 Runs: That’s a lot of hits to only get 4 runs, especially when 7 of those hits were doubles. That’s right - the Rays had SEVEN doubles and only scored 4 runs. That’s just unacceptable
Zo’ Good: It always seems like the guy who is in there for an emergency does well, doesn’t it? Ben Zobrist, starting for an ill Jason Bartlett, came up with 2 hits and scored a run thanks to some aggressive baserunning on a steal of third. He’s a good little ballplayer, and is an excellent utility infielder, particularly for a good club. Maybe Willy Aybar can stay in witness protection a little longer.
Just Shake It Off: Losses happen. It’s never easy to go on the road to a foreign ballpark. The team just needs to shake this one off on concentrate on having a good week in Oakland.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I’m not scared, it was tough to watch these close games to be lost, but I’m still confident in my team. We can play better, hit better, pitch better. We were off this series, let’s turn it back on.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:58 am
A manager does not make decisions purely on what a pitcher has done in the past, but also on what he and the pitching coach see happening on the mound. I have no idea if they observed that Jackson’s mechanics were off or that he was struggling in such a way that they could not fix at the moment, but I would not be so quick to call the move a mistake. One of many reasons that I think second guessing managers is usually (not always) a futile exercise is that it is nearly always based on very partial information.
The Rays will have an interesting decision to make soon. I noticed that Aybar started at 2B for Vero Beach yesterday, so he is apparently nearly ready to return. He went 0-3 with a walk, by the way. Given the current roster, I do not see a spot for him unless Zobrist is sent down and Aybar becomes the backup shortstop as well as an infield reserve elsewhere. Or, of course, unless there is a trade.
May 19th, 2008 at 5:47 am
I’m back from Greece with 20 hrs of flying to watch the first game in 12 days and over joyed with the way Maddon was able to handle the Club without me. So I won’t get on his case. The only real thing I see him doing wrong before I left and is still doing wrong now you touched on. “MILLER is a LEFTY Specialist” and should only be used that way. We waited for years for a good lefty in the bullpen to go to now lets use him that way. I think if Howell holds them and Wheeler doesn’t give up a HR Maddon looks like a genius and we have nothing to say.
May 19th, 2008 at 8:04 am
For the record, I was saying in the chat room even before Howell gave up the runs that it was the wrong move. PA can vouch for me!
You know me, I’m straight up - if the move had worked out and I was wrong, I would own up to it. But, for one brief fleeting moment, I felt smarter than the manager. :)
May 19th, 2008 at 9:54 am
These last 2 days were just annoying, that the kind of erratic play you get with a young team and relying and on Gary Glover and his 1.8 WHIP to get the job done… Need to get back to pithing well, because Oakland certainly can pitch.. Hopefully we can get a series win in Oak town and get back to doing what we do…
I hope Balfour gets his shot soon…