Before we gather our rocks to go stone Wedge, I think that we need to give him and his pitching coach some benefit of the doubt. Don't forget -- Wedge is a former catcher. He knows how to work with pitchers -- he understands them. One thing Wedge also understands is the need to delegate authority. He will lean upon his coaches and let them coach, so whomever he brings in as pitching coach (I think we can be fairly certain that man will be Carl Willis) -- that's the guy we need to be more focusing on when it comes to pitchers.
I believe what we in Seattle really have to grasp here is just what the situation in the Cleveland was like. Wedge saw the club through 1 rebuilding phase, watching a young roster mature under his leadership, and watching the club improve every year -- culminating in the team's ALCS appearance in 2007. 2008 was a bit of a different story though -- and by mid-season the team had begun a fire sale. I wouldn't put too much stock in any of the pitching after that -- frankly, he didn't have a lot to work with.
By the way, Wedge most certainly DOES use platoon advantage. Sorry I hadn't included that in my original article. Eduardo Perez talked about that fact during his interview on 10/15 on 710 ESPN.
Also, for those who might be quick to jump on his "old school" approach, here is a follow-up posting of mine with some further thoughts on that ...
http://www.marinercentral.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=5249&view=findpo...
MA
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