We talked about Pedro Martinez quite a bit before Game 2, and quite a bit during Game 2. After Game 2, though? Well, Bob Ford is still talking about Pedro. I'm just not sure why ...
As I wrote immediately after the game, while there was plenty of room for second-guessing at the time, none of the questionable decisions seemed to have much impact on the outcome. This was first a players' game, and then an umpires' game -- more about that later, probably -- and only then a managers' game.
- Every decision Charlie Manuel has made since the postseason began has been with the intent of putting the Phillies in better position to repeat as World Series champions.
October decisions come with risk, however, particularly when they involve messing around with the starting rotation and hanging one's hopes on a string of best-case scenarios.
--snip--
As it was, they got a decent pitching performance from Pedro Martinez, but not one that matched up against the work of A.J. Burnett. Martinez was good, but he gave up two home runs on mistake pitches and put the insurance run in scoring position with a pair of hits in the seventh inning before departing.
"I felt Pedro did a tremendous job, but he got hurt by the long ball to the left-handed hitters," Manuel said. "It was a very close game. We just couldn't pull it out."
It can be said that Manuel stayed too long with Martinez, sending him back out for the seventh inning having already thrown 99 pitches, but that kind of second-guess is pointless. Manuel had committed to Martinez for this start and he was going to ride him as far as he could, trying to delay dipping into his bullpen as long as possible. He did have Happ out there, warmed and ready, but the pitcher who was the Phillies' most consistent starter all season didn't get into the game.
As I wrote immediately after the game, while there was plenty of room for second-guessing at the time, none of the questionable decisions seemed to have much impact on the outcome. This was first a players' game, and then an umpires' game -- more about that later, probably -- and only then a managers' game.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Rob Neyer
Neyer is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He began his career with legendary baseball author (and now Red Sox executive) Bill James, then joined Stats Inc. and wrote about MLB, the NFL and the NBA. Neyer joined ESPN.com in 1996, and it's believed that he's written more words for the site than anybody.
Neyer moved to Kansas City in 1976, just in time for the Royals' first division title, and fell in love almost immediately. He attended the University of Kansas the same four years as Danny Manning, and is now happy to wait another 20 years for the Jayhawks' next championship.
