If I were to make up a cliche quote from a manager about bungled bullpen usage, I probably wouldn’t make this one up because it’s too cliche and too on-the-nose. But Mike Matheny said it:
Matheny, when asked about not using closer T. Rosenthal in 9th: “We can’t bring him in, in a tie-game situation. We’re on the road.”
— Bernie Miklasz (@miklasz) October 17, 2014
The save stat dictated what the manager of a team facing elimination did with his bullpen. That’s just . . . amazing.
Here’s a managerial quote I prefer:
“You don’t save a pitcher for tomorrow. Tomorrow it may rain.”
Leo Durocher said that. It applies both literally and figuratively.
