5 to 10 Games Every Season

I have this theory about baseball that a manager is responsible for between five and ten games every season.  For the most part, a team is what it is, and no manager can change it.  The manager doesn’t pitch.  The manager doesn’t hit.  The manager doesn’t boot a routine double play ball, or pick a line drive headed down the line.  The team is as good as the sum of its parts.

But strategically, a manager can steal you a game here and there.  Of course, he can also lose you a game, too.  Enter Milwaukee…

Look, I’m not one of those guys that rips on Charlie Manuel just to do it.  To be honest with you, he’s probably the most loved manager by his players of anyone in baseball right now.  These players will kill for him.

I’m also constantly impressed with the way he finds at bats for everyone on the team.  It can pay dividends in a big spot, and if you want proof, just look at the game tonight.  Pedro Feliz picks up three hits last night against Colorado, but Manuel plays Dobbs anyway.  Dobbs hits a three-run, game-tying homer.  Why does he do it?  Because he’s not cold.  He’s comfortable, because he’s had his share of at bats this season.  Manuel does this as well as anyone.

But I go back to my original point: A manager can give a game away.  He certainly did tonight.

Cole Hamels had a rough first inning, but he rallied to pitch 7 innings of 3 run ball while racking up double-digit strike outs.  He did what an ace does.  He battled.

Manuel warmed up Chad Durbin and JC Romero for the 8th inning, and it was the right move.  With the heart of the Brewers order coming up, he had a lefty and a righty ready to go.  But then something curious happened.

Even though he had already thrown more than 100 pitches,  Manuel sent Hamels out to start the 8th.  Hamels promptly caughed up the lead, and the Phillies lost the game.  It’s kind of hard to pin this one on Hamels.  After all, he had thrown 120 pitches in a game in April.

No, this one has to fall on Charlie.  Bringing in the Durbin/Romero combo to pitch that inning, then turning the ball over to Tom Gordon in the 9th was a no-brainer.  (Note: Lidge was not available tonight, so Gordon would have closed out the game.)  There is no reason to let Hamels start an inning when he’s thrown that many pitches.  It’s not like he was working on a no-hitter, or even a 20 strikeout game.  No, he had done his job, and then the manager asked too much of him.

A manager can win or lose between five and ten games a year.  But considering the fact that these races always seem to come down to the last day, I’d love to have those five games go for my team than against them.  It’s just something that will add up through the course of the season.  The fact of the matter is that tonight, the manager made the difference, and it wasn’t a positive one.