Man, these manager decisions - they blow up if you do, they blow up if you don't.
Joe Torre decided to leave Clayton Kershaw in the game after he, well, he did alot of bad stuff in that 5th inning. Before he was done Young Clayton had walked 3 batters and threw 3 wild pitches and gave up 5 runs.
He faced 8 guys total, and maybe somewhere in there you might argue that Joe Torre shoulda given him the hook, but he didn't. Because he believes in the kid.
Not the exact situation, but I immediately thought of Lou in 2007 when he yanked Big Z and put in Marmol. A big time manager decision in the heat of battle that, had the Cubs won and Big Z starts game 4 rather than Jason Marquis, everybody woulda been pretty happy.
Didn't work out, Lou gets crucified in the press, which adds another layer of panic and dread, which I'm happy to say is happening right now in Los Angeles.
Bill Plaschke is a super talented sports writer - whenever I'm out there I always read that guy - but while he's certainly doing his job this is just the kind of thing that widens cracks. And if you're like me and are kinda holding a grudge against the Dodgers for so handily bitch slapping the Cubs out of the playoffs last year, you should be happy too.
Phillies 8 Dodgers 6.
Manny with a dinger but also leaving a number of guys on base.
Meanwhile in Chicago, there's talk of getting a "name" hitting coach.
I gotta tell you, at this last Cub convention I got to see the funniest and most honest exchange between an angry fan and hitting coach Gerald Perry. This isn't exact, but essentially:
FAN: Why don't you tell Soriano to lay off those pitches that are 50 feet outside.
PERRY: YOU tell him.
EVERYONE: (LAUGHS)
