Cubs Win Big

Its always nice to win 12-3 in a playoff game. But i wanted to make a quick comment about Mark Prior after reading thru The Cub Reporters site.

I am absolutely on the side of what the hell was Dusty Baker thinking to let him go 116 pitches with a 10 run lead? This comes right after i give Dusty some props and makes me look like a fool.

On Sept 6th i posted on how hard Dusty Baker was riding Mark Prior after he abused him against Milwaukee. He had already thrown 100+ pitches thru 6 innings and had a 5-1 lead. Prior didnt come out of the game until the 7th when he had thrown 129 pitches and served up a 2 run HR.

So what with a 10 run lead Mark Prior gets a little break? Only gets 116 pitches? Come on now Dusty are you trying to destroy his arm?

I dont care if the reports on Mark Prior say he has perfect mechanics, he puts very little stress on his arm etc etc etc. Mark Prior is not a robot. Mark Prior is not Superman. Mark Prior doesnt have infinite stamina. Mark Prior is human. Mark Prior can be injured. Mark Prior can be abused. Mark Prior needs to be given a rest when the opportunity presents itself.

These are things that make Dusty Baker a poor game time manager. He is a great manager right up until the game starts. After that Dusty Baker is more of a non-factor than any manager in baseball. He very rarely if ever changes his game plan approach to the game. And more often than not Baker gets out managed in a baseball game when it counts. The classic example of that was wanting to pitch to Mike Lowell instead of Lenny Harris.

Yeah i know its the pitchers job to get out the people he faces but its the managers job to get the matchup he wants.