I seem to recall a few Ms fans thinking Wedge was a simian when it came to in-game management. Like, for example, his apparent disinterest in defensive subs and pinch hits. Well, last night at least, he was a managerial wizard and made all the right moves on defense and on the mound...so...yeah. I'm thinking this belief that he can't handle in-game managing is a lark...and that the problem ACTUALLY is that he had other priorities in the early going besides pushing every logical button he could i-game...like building confidence in some of then younger players or giving veterans a chance to prove that they were finished. You might disagree with those priorities, but I don't think the logical reaction is to assume that Wedge is a bad manager.
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Q. Who were the big winners?
A. Eric Wedge and Jesus Montero.
Earl Weaver wrote that he used to resent it when people called him a push-button manager, but then the day came when he realized that it was a high compliment. What does a manager do but push buttons? He can't hit a double into the power alley to win the game. He's got to make decisions.
Eric Wedge made five (5) different pitching changes, and they all worked out for him. Visualize yourself as a manager, in the dugout, everybody there hanging on your every button push. Six pitchers, a no-hitter, that has got to feel like going 5-for-5 at the plate.
As a completely separate issue, Wedge put Chone Figgins into LF, and then Figgins immediately saved the no-no AND THE GAME by catching a ball juuuuuuuuust at the marginal edge of his range.
As a completely separate issue, Wedge put Brendan Ryan in late, and Ryan then performed a miraculous 6-3 assist to nail the flying Dee Gordon by an eyelash. (Supposing that Gordon was safe, you are still talking about a lousy little squibber off the end of the bat, and you're still talking about the Ryan substitution being a great call, creating a bang-bang play for Wilhelmsen.)
There were many other things Wedge did also: call for the infield up or back, position fielders, help Montero with pitch calls, etc. This has got to be one of the all-time great bedtime stories of Wedge's career.
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Q. Montero?
A. Jesus Montero was starry-eyed after the game; we couldn't have been more thrilled for him. Miguel Olivo gave him polite congratulations after the game, and Miguel Olivo is evidenly a super cool guy, but let's just say that Montero's postgame hug of Olivo wasn't reciprocated with quite the same alacrity ...
Montero plowed through six different pitchers, in a ballgame that had immense pressure on every pitch, in a ballgame against a great team, and from field view you've got to appreciate the resonance. It's a lot like a running back, say Marshawn Lynch, being pooh-pooh'ed by all the analysts and then going off for 170 yards including The Run against the Saints.
From this point on, the guys at field level are going to speak differently. And if anybody does run Montero's catching down, there's that 12-tackle-breaking run. Picture's worth 1,000 words, and Montero's the man who caught the 6-man combo no hitter.
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Q. How did Montero, er, Millwood do it?
A. Kevin Millwood was hot as a firecracker. You know how LeBron James, on a given night, might go off for 17-of-25 from the field? Millwood simply could not miss the catcher's mitt.
68 pitches, 57 fastballs! That was Catfish Hunter 1972. He was flying in a blue dream, bab-eh.
Fastballs right into the mitt, so Montero kept calling for them. With two strikes it was at the letters, 91-93, right by them. Once in a while he'd throw an 85 slider just tantalizingly off the plate. If Millwood could execute those pitches every time, he'd win 20 games easily. Credit Montero for recognizing the impact of the located fastball and sticking with it. And for keeping Millwood in a rocking chair all night.
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