Last night, Cubs manager Joe Maddon drew criticism across the baseball landscape for his non-usage of closer Wade Davis in Game 2 of the NLCS. The game was ultimately lost on Justin Turner’s walk-off three run home run against John Lackey, the man who led the National League in home runs allowed.
Maddon stuck to his guns when speaking to the media on Monday. Defending his decision not to utilize Davis, Maddon said, “It’s important not to dry hump him, as the saying goes,” Josh Frydman of WGN News reports. Maddon means getting Davis warming up in the bullpen and never actually getting him into the game.
This, of course, doesn’t make sense because Maddon controls whether or not Davis is used. He restricts himself with orthodoxy, like managing to the save statistic. After last night’s game, Maddon said, “We needed [Davis] for the save,” via Bill Shaikin of the Los Angeles Times. The save situation never came up because an inferior pitcher ended the game before the Cubs had a chance to take a lead.
If Davis warms up and Maddon gets him into the game, he’s not being “dry humped.” But if Davis warms up, then sits down because the Cubs can’t take a lead and Maddon still refuses to put him in the game, then yeah, he’s being “dry humped.”
