Moments before the St. Louis Cardinals’ season came to a close, manager Mike Matheny made what many have perceived to be a major mistake.
That mistake was bringing Michael Wacha into a tie ballgame in the bottom of the ninth inning, where one bad pitch could end the Cardinals' season (which it did).
Wacha is a dynamite starter, but he experienced late-season shoulder issues that made Matheny and the Cardinals shy away from trusting him in high-leverage situations throughout the playoffs. He had gone 19 days without pitching before Matheny put him in.
The Royals have a guy that sounds just like that! Danny Duffy was a dynamite starter in 2014, but experienced late-season shoulder issues that made Ned Yost and the Royals shy away from trusting him in high-leverage situations throughout the playoffs. He had gone 19 days without pitching before Yost put him in.
I don’t have an issue with the decision to bring Duffy in as much as I do when the decision was made. Yost brought Duffy – typically a starter – into a situation where two guys were on base with no outs.
A sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. A walk loaded the bases. Another walk brought in a run. Clearly, Duffy wasn’t at his sharpest after having not pitched for three weeks, which doesn’t sound too surprising.
The situation here was admittedly different from Wacha’s, because this wasn’t nearly as high-leverage a situation as Wacha’s. At the same time, one could argue that every situation is a high-leverage situation when you’re playing in the World Series, and even when you’re down 4-0, every run matters.
There’s a reason Duffy hadn’t been used in three weeks. He actually went on to pitch pretty well for the Royals, but it’s simply common logic to assume a guy who hasn’t pitched in nearly three weeks is going to need some time to shake off the rust.
Matheny made this mistake with Wacha. Yost appeared to make a similar mistake with Duffy, though it ended up not being as bad as it could have been (it could have been a lot worse).
The next question is: when (if at all) will Bruce Bochy and the Giants decide to let Tim Lincecum shake off the rust?
