Anybody stick around during the SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL telecast last night? I can't believe it but I actually think Joe Morgan made a great point about Willie Randolph's managing last night.
For those who missed it Joe was basically wondering why Randolph left Soler out there to be embarrassed when the Yanks were beating up on him. He acknowledged that Oliver wasn't available but made the great point that you shouldn't take a huge divisonal lead for granted. You basically have to manage to win and not to "save the bullpen" long term.
This would be my philosophy as a manager as well. You can't just say "oh we have an 11 game lead in the division it doesn't matter if we lose tonight". Randolph left that Cuban pitcher out there so long that I predict his next start will be a disaster. You don't just leave a pitcher out to dry like that. It sends a bad message to the team that you're willing to give up games just because you have a big lead in the division.
For those who missed it Joe was basically wondering why Randolph left Soler out there to be embarrassed when the Yanks were beating up on him. He acknowledged that Oliver wasn't available but made the great point that you shouldn't take a huge divisonal lead for granted. You basically have to manage to win and not to "save the bullpen" long term.
This would be my philosophy as a manager as well. You can't just say "oh we have an 11 game lead in the division it doesn't matter if we lose tonight". Randolph left that Cuban pitcher out there so long that I predict his next start will be a disaster. You don't just leave a pitcher out to dry like that. It sends a bad message to the team that you're willing to give up games just because you have a big lead in the division.
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