….short-term and long
(had anyone bothered to wake Jack McKeon a bit earlier, Dontrelle Willis might’ve been lifted before starting the 9th inning against Philadelphia)
I’ll resist the ugly temptation to ask “where’s Todd Jones’ God now?”, as a more pertinent question might be whether or not Jim Leyland interviews for the Florida job before or after November 1.
I watched this game and after D-Train set the Phillies down through 8, I couldnt fault McKeon for sending Willis out for the 9th, 100-something pitch count notwithstanding (being Jack is old school and doesnt believe in all that pussy 100 pitch stuff). Abreus ground ball should have been a double play and Burrells pop fly should have been the third out. That inning was the most bizarre meltdown I can remember (even Endy Chavez had a RBI hit) and for the Phils, its like they got one back to make up for the game against Houston that was pissed away by Bell and Wagner. Of course, this was all the more sweet being that it was Turd Jones on the hill during this meltdown, for general reasons (being Turd Jones) and for the Phillies-specific reason that Jones was a significant component in last Augusts collapse with his numerous meltdowns. Its no secret that McKeon has worn on his players and perhaps they are subconsciously undercutting themselves in the same way the Phillies seemed to do under Larry Bowa.
crap fielding oughta get the blame more than Todd Jones Is My Personal Savior, but I’ve gotta disagree about WIllis. He’d thrown 110 pitches in 98 degree heat. I’m not saying the D-Train is frail or anything, but Jones has been close to automatic this year protecting a lead with the bases empty.
I mean, full respect to McKeon for not worrying about sissy pitch counts, but this is the first year that Willis hasn’t crumbled in the second half of the season. He was my cy young pick…and a 22nd victory (8 innings of shut out ball) in this pennant race would’ve improved his chances a lot more than taking the loss.
Gerard- I hear you, and in restrospect, Willis should have been finshed after 8 and Jones brought in for the 9th. Dontrelle breezed through his 8 innings with such apparant ease that a layman watching the game on TV without keeping track of pitch count wouldnt think “WTF is McKeon doing bringing him out”. Also, in hindsight, the Miami Herald picked up on how Bobby Abreu may have deked Castillo out by showing bunt (and perhaps deliberately fouling the first pitch bunt attempt off?) which drew the infield in (expecting a bunt) so when he did hit away, his hard grounder caught Castillo off-guard and went into right field. This makes sense as Abreu, while not quite elite as far as “hitter” is a complete “plate artisan”. Deliberate or not, it did open the floodgates, but there was no excuse for the subsequent field clownage, including the Utley bunt that Jones threw away that allowed the lead run.