This may be nitpicking but....

by Travis17 on Apr 26, 2007 7:51 AM EDT

Why did Wedge remove Nixon in favor of Michaels last night in the 7th. To recap, LHP Mahay had loaded the bases on a HBP and two walks. if I'm Ron Washington, I want to take him out and bring in a RHP, but probably won't with Nixon coming up. So what does Wedge do? He helps Washington make that decision by pinch-hitting Michaels. Now you have Michaels vs. a fresh righty when you could have had Nixon vs lefty who can't throw strikes. The only thing I can find in Wedge's defense is if there was another lefty in the Rangers' pen who would've replaced Mahay anyway.

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Re: This may be nitpicking but....

See Game Thread, April 25, 2007.

by nickjs21 on Apr 26, 2007 8:21 AM EDT reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

I thought Mahay would have been coming out at any moment anyway.

by mikebrowns26 on Apr 26, 2007 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

We assume Washington isn't an idiot.
He won't leave a guy in who can't throw strikes just because he's a lefty.
Right-vs-right is less favorable to the pitcher than left-vs-left.

by Jay on Apr 26, 2007 9:32 AM EDT reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

Do you really want #2 up there? I don't think it helps Wedge here.

Wedge's only defense, I think, is that Nixon is shut down by lefties. But as Ryan says, and as we said in the thread before the first pitch to Michaels, we didn't mind the matchup because Mahay looked lost.

Yes, it's nitpicking, but it's a fair question, looking at a specific decision. It's much better than debating the completeness of his ineptitude.

by dgcambridge on Apr 26, 2007 10:02 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

I guess the assumption I was making the whole time is that there's no way he leaves Mahay in there for the matchup when he can't find the strike zone anyway. Look at what happened to Fultz, it was basically the exact same situation -- he couldn't throw a strike & got pulled, even though a lefty was coming up.

by zempf on Apr 26, 2007 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

Apparently, the texas fans noticed this managerial decision also. http://www.lonestarball.com/story/2007/4/25/232540/920

To be fair to Wedge, I was much happier with Gardenhire's misuse of the Twins bullpen against the tribe in the extra inning game, by bringing in Nathan way too late.

by oxforddave on Apr 26, 2007 11:35 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

See, I think leaving Mahay out there would've been the worst managerial decision to make. Mahay comes out & throws 16 pitches, 5 of which are strikes, hitting a guy & walking two to load the bases with nobody out. I cannot fathom a manager playing the matchups there & leaving Mahay in when he had no control at all.

by zempf on Apr 26, 2007 11:53 AM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

Washington may not have left Mahay in to face Nixon. However, the more prudent approach for Wedge might have been to have Nixon come to the plate and force Washingon's hand - i.e., Washington can either (1) leave a wild Mahay in to face Nixon (perhaps unlikely) or (2) bring in his other lefty to face Nixon - and then at that point, Wedge pinch hits with Michaels, which either gives Michaels a lefty to hit or forces Washington to burn his second lefty without throwing a pitch. Either way, leaving Nixon in, at least momentarily, was the better way to go.

by mplswahoo on Apr 26, 2007 12:22 PM EDT up reply actions

+1 - agreed!

Hello everyone,

I know we debated this last night; I essentially forgot (or didn't know) that Texas had a 2nd lefty (though I don't think Texas was warming him up at the time,) but as was mentioned, either force Washington to burn that 2nd lefty, stay with Mahay, or have the LH Nixon take on RHP Francisco.

Essentially, Wedge lifted him too soon and made Washington's decision easier. Fortunately, no damage was done in terms of us winning the game (thanks to Choo, Martinez, Cabrera, and Peralta.) Hopefully, Wedge will learn from that experience, much like he seems to have learned from JoeBo's blowup in NY (Cabrera WAS warming up when JoeBo was having trouble in the 9th inning, but didn't bring Cabrera in - don't know if he wasn't ready or if Wedge just decided to stay with JoeBo, but it was an improvement in my opinion to see Wedge back up JoeBo with another arm warming in the bullpen, something he didn't do in NY.)

Just my 2 cents. :-)

Go Tribe! :-)

by indiansfan on Apr 26, 2007 4:57 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

Btw, if a pitcher is brought in, he has to throw at least one pitch. He can not be subbed out like pinch hitters sometimes are.

by talonk on Apr 26, 2007 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

I wasn't aware of that rule - thanks!

by mplswahoo on Apr 27, 2007 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions

Re: This may be nitpicking but....

I don't think Washington is an idiot, but he did pitch to Hafner with a RISP in the Ninth(?). I know it was lefty-on-lefty, but I think every manager who knows who Hafner is walks him there. And Hafner did hit the ball well. Then in the 11th, after Shoppach singles and Vic is on third and the weakest hitters are coming up, don't you typically load the bases, so that you have outs at every base and can get Victor on the slow roller? Maybe he does leave in Mahay. At least force the decision.

by JK in CBus on Apr 26, 2007 10:59 AM EDT up reply actions