According to MGL, some things are enough to get a manager fired on the spot, and using catcher Jamie Burke to pitch in a tie game is one of those things. Money quote:
Even though the team is obviously going nowhere this year, you owe it to the fans, the players, and the integrity of the game (not to mention, your opponent's rivals), to NOT do something like that. In the AL (where you don't have to worry about having to pinch hit for your pitcher), there is NEVER a reason to do something odd to preserve your bullpen. You can always use a middle reliever in any subsequent game to pitch the remainder of the game after you take your starter out. Having 7 relievers in the bullpen in the AL is a joke to begin with. Worrying about taxing your bullpen is a bigger joke.
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R.A. Dickey, who throws mostly knuckleballs, volunteered to pitch. Of course, he'd thrown 105 pitches the day before. And Jim Riggleman apparently didn't want to ask any of his other starters to break their routines.
The real problem wasn't that he asked Burke to pitch. The real problem is that in the 15th inning he felt like he didn't have any choice, because he'd already run through his entire bullpen. But there's a caveat: of his seven relievers, two weren't considered available. As MGL does mention (via ESPN.com's
gamer),
Arthur Rhodes "couldn't get loose" and
Brandon Morrow had pitched in four of the previous five games and was thus scheduled for a day off.
I don't have a problem with any of that. I do think Dickey would have been a better choice than Burke. But the real problem was Riggleman's decision-making
before the 15th inning.
Ryan Rowland-Smith, making his second start in the majors, was pulled after five innings and 87 pitches. Fine.
Mark Lowe was pulled after one inning and 38 pitches. Also fine. But the next three relievers --
Roy Corcoran,
Miguel Batista and
Sean Green -- were yanked after throwing 21, 19, and 20 pitches.
That left Riggleman with one available reliever: rookie
Cesar Jimenez. Strictly a reliever in each of the last two seasons, Jimenez nevertheless gave the M's three innings and 57 pitches yesterday. Which leads to this question: If Jimenez can go 3/57, couldn't those other guys have gone 2/30 or 2/40?
I will play the devil's advocate for a moment, though. MGL is essentially accusing Riggleman of turning this particular game into a joke; violating the integrity of the sport. But the manager's No. 1 imperative must be trying to win, right? Leaving aside cheating, isn't trying to win the
best thing for the integrity of the sport?
Riggleman went to his bullpen in the sixth inning. He ran out of (real) relievers nine innings later. In the seventh or the ninth or the 11th, should he have been worried about a 15th inning that would most likely never arrive? Or should he have been doing everything within reason to keep the game tied at that exact moment, figuring somebody would get the lead soon.
I don't know, either. But while I think Riggleman should've accepted Dickey's generous offer, otherwise I believe the use of Burke was, if not perfectly defensible, less than a fireable offense. If you want to fire him, fire him for playing
Miguel Cairo at first base and
Willie Bloomquist in center field.
Rob Neyer
