What is up with Major League Baseball managers pulling starters who are pitching well in order to bring in a reliever? I've ranted about this several times before ("
The Closer Temptation is Hard to Resist" "
MLB's Ridiculous Obsession with Closers" "
Not Everyone Can Throw Like Mariano Rivera"); it usually happens when a starter is pulled for a team's closer, but tonight Cardinal manager Mike Matheny (who played for the Giants) pulled Adam Wainwright after 7 innings even though he'd only thrown 97 pitches (he's got the entire off season to rest his arm), he hadn't given up a hit since the 4th inning (he struck out the side in the 6th -- Posey, Sandoval, and Pence), and he didn't come up to bat in the top of the 8th (the Cards didn't have to pitch hit for him). Matheny then brought in Pat Neshek, who promptly gave up a game tying homer to Michael Morse (I wonder if the Washington DC papers are making fun of him now). And then the Giants won the NL pennant with Travis Ishikawa's walk off HR in the bottom of the 9th. Maybe, someday, MLB managers will figure this out. Or maybe, some have, and they're the ones who win championships.
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