In baseball, a critical responsibility of a manager is to protect his team.
When Brett Anderson left Friday’s game against the Chicago Cubs after just 11 pitches, Brewers Manager Craig Counsell called on Josh Lindblom.
The Cubs immediately pounced on Lindblom for 8 runs (all earned) in three-and-two-thirds innings. By the end of the first inning, the Cubs held a 6-0 lead. At the end of two – 10-0.
To say things got ugly would be a drastic understatement.
In the 8th inning, Counsell called on Brewers utility man Daniel Robertson to pitch.
The micro view of Friday’s game is a doomed-from-the-start blow-out loss to a division rival.
The macro view is that it’s just 1 of 162. Thanks to Counsell, that’s all it will be.
Friday’s game was game one of a seventeen day stretch without an off day for the Brewers. Counsell’s decision to let the Cubs feast on Lindblom over the course of 80 pitches was the correct one. It ensures the game will be forgotten by the time the Brewers and Cubs take the field for game-two of the series.
Counsell’s management ensures the ripple effect will not be felt among the staff during a lengthy stretch of games without a day off.
