Whenever you hear a coach or player prattle on about individual results and accolades placing a distant second to wins for the team - they are lying. If you believe the players think stats don't mean anything other than double u's - you are mislead.
What other possible explanation could there be for The Manager's affinity for letting "his guys" acquire counting stats. Want Marcum to get the CG and win? Cool. Leave him out there after two balls were completely covered, absolutely smoked? Why? Do the contributions of Aaron Hill - the bug on the windshield seen above - mean less than Marcum's potential complete game? I know you got knocked around second base like a tender nipple ring Aaron, but it's important that Shaun gets his CG." Thanks for coming out!
Does the front office have a copy of the "Lose One to Win Two Later" flowchart? I'd love to see the exact hierarchy so I know who matters most inside the Blue Jays clubhouse. At least then I'll have some appreciation for the moves as they're made.
I know better than to sweat Clarence's wheelings and dealings, but once any and all logic falls apart, I'm at a loss. I found myself agreeing with Cito today as I caught the daily shitshow that is baseball talk on The Gameplan. "You can't yank the closer after to batters with a three run lead" I agreed. But leaving a tiring starter out as he flies past the 100 pitch mark is another matter all together.
Does Cito double as a player agent as part of a vast club-wide conspiracy to make Toronto a more inviting place to play? Does Clarence even strike you as the kind of man who cares what the players think of him? I'm sure he wants them to respect him, but as I said above, the "teacher's pet" target seems to move an awful lot from one guy to another.
It's only one game, but like everything, it is symptomatic of a deeper problem. Whether you believe these games to be "important" or not, that is the clear impression among the ticket buying public. I wonder how impressed the brass is with the potential ticket sale losses brought about by a pair of heartbreaking losses?
Image courtesy of the Steve Russell's awesome Toronto Star photoblog.
