“Jack McKeon doesn’t care much for percentages and track record,” marvels the Palm Beach Post’s Matt Porter. “He’ll manage by feel, like it or loathe it.” Prior to Florida’s 4-0 home loss to San Diego — just their 2nd loss in their past 11 games under McKeon, Porter caught up with a victim of the Marlins manager’s inscrutable thought process, lefty Randy Choate. On Monday, Choate suffered the indignity of being pulled in the middle of an at bat, the hook coming 2 balls into a plate appearance by the Mets’ Lucas Duda.
despite the reliever having walked no more than two left-handed hitters all season. From Porter in Tuesday’s P.B. Post :
“He told me he felt I was out of sync,” Choate said. “I told him I don’t agree with it. I was around the zone the whole time.”
“I figured I earned the chance. That’s not the way he saw it. I just don’t want to have to feel like looking over my shoulder if I go two balls, no strikes to a lefty.”
“I’m not going to go off on him, as bad as I want to,” Choate said. “I’m not going to get as pissed as I am in my head. I’m not going to do that. It’s his call. They hired him to do a job. They hired me to do a job. His job controls my job. That’s it.”
Unsurprisingly, McKeon didn’t say much about his talk with Choate.
“I talked to him today,” McKeon said. “Nothing important.”