'Tis the Season

Since we have to wait three FRICKING days for the playoffs to start (rant completed) and there isn't much to talk about except playoff match ups (which has been written about at least seventy times around the country) we might as well talk about something else that happens at this time every year: Managers getting guillotined. Yup, it's that time of year.

There really isn't much joy in being right about this type of story. The Fan wrote Sunday that Macha would be released by the Brewers. Well, technically, the Fan said, "fired," but the truth is that Macha's contract wasn't renewed. That's the same thing though, isn't it? About three hours after that post was written, Macha told the media himself that his contract wasn't being renewed. In other words, he spilled his own beans and trumped the GM and ownership of their own story. Bet they were happy about that! But good golly, this is a change that had to be made. The Brewers never had any spark at all this year. They were dead men walking. Sure they had bad pitching. But there were four teams that had worse pitching. But again, there is no joy in being right here. A man lost his job. His family is impacted, his self-esteem is impacted. He's out of a job. The thin-souled could say that he made a lot of money and had two years of being the big cheese. But take it from a guy who knows. Being suddenly without a cushy job is no fun. No fun at all.

It will be interesting to see who the Brewers hire. Will it be Willie Randolph or Dale Sveum? Both have managed before. If it's Randolph, will he have more fun than he did last time around with the Mets? He seemed utterly miserable during that gig. Sveum seems like the ambitious type. You know the type the Fan is talking about? The type that is just wetting his lips waiting for the sucker over his head to fall on his own sword so he can swoop in and take the job. That could be a complete and utter falsehood. He could be a saint for all we know. But that's the perception from this odd angle. What this team really seems to need is a Bud Black type. A guy who loves pitching and has pitchers loving him. The team is going to hit (though a couple of positions need adjusting). So get a pitching guy, right?

Again, the Fan has been calling for Minaya and Manuel's head for weeks now. It finally happened on Monday (though it was leaked as early as Saturday). And again, there is no joy in reporting that this fruit has been ripe for picking for a long time now. Manuel just wasn't in the right job and Minaya has simply had too many fiascoes dragging down his tenure. No situation in baseball seemed more messed up than this one (the last game and the way it was lost seemed to be the summation of all the problems) and now, hopefully, the Mets can get on with life and find some peace and quiet. The Fan really likes Bobby Valentine for this job. He knows the media. He knows the city. This would be perfect for him. Let's all hope it isn't Joe Torre. God forbid it! This isn't his kind of gig. This is a rebuilding effort and one that requires a major and not a general.

The Fan has to be honest and admit that John Russell had been all but forgotten. So his firing was a surprise, but not in hindsight. The Pirates were the worst team this side of the Mariners and somebody had to hold the bag for every single pitcher on the team regressing to the point of oblivion. Zach Duke used to be a highly thought of pitcher. Same with Maholm. Now they are Melba toast who will be lucky to get a job anywhere. Morton's results were just salt in the wound (waiting...). Somebody dropped the ball here and it didn't work. Russell fired his own pitching coach, a move justly made. But since that pitching coach was originally his own guy, well, what can you say? The Pirates' young players look exciting but it won't be Russell to bring them along. Who it will be is not remotely clear or predictable.

Yes, it happens every year and next year will be the same thing. At least Kirk Gibson is keeping his job. Don't know if that's a good thing or not. He certainly didn't win a higher percentage that Hinch. But anyway, that's one that will be reviewed next year. It seems a record number of teams are looking for a manager. This will be fun to see how it all sorts out.

Maine Pulled After One Batter

In a strange story for the Mets, John Maine was pulled after one batter in the Mets's game against the Nationals. Maine was clearly not pleased at being pulled after coach, Warthen, didn't like what he saw from Maine in warm ups. Maine then aired out his displeasure in a post game interview (you can see that all here). The Fan isn't sure how to feel about all of this.

First, there is consideration for Maine's health. Obviously, the Mets' dugout leadership felt that he was hurting and was not going to be able to deliver for the game. But if that's so, why let him start the game? If he looked that terrible in warm ups, why not pull him before the start? Instead, they let him go to the mound and walk one guy (the ball four pitch was a strike by the way) and then face the indignity of being pulled from the game.

The second thing the Fan felt by watching the video was the body language of manager, Jerry Manuel. Watch the video for yourself. His body language practically screamed that he has no respect for John Maine. He didn't go to the pitcher and pat him on the back and tell him he was pulling him for his own protection. Instead, he waved his arm to the bullpen and then turned his back on Maine and walked back to the dugout, first making some kind of arm motion like, "get him out of there."

Warthen is then quoted as saying that Maine is, "a habitual liar in a lot of ways as far as his own health." A habitual liar? Whoa. Those are strong words. Maybe Maine is not forthcoming about his health. Most ball players are not, especially pitchers. Earlier in the year, Nick Johnson of the Yankees withheld from the team that he was hurting because he knew his reputation. The Fan gets all that. But this particular event seemed poorly handled. To let Maine start the game when there was already concern and then pull him after one batter was disrespectful. Manuel's body language was even more disrespectful.

The Mets are correct to protect one of their assets and making sure a player does not harm himself is a refreshing change from the past when no such care was ever evident. But, golly, you've got to handle it better than this was handled.

So Long, Livan

Livan Hernandez lost his job with the Mets on Thursday as the team activated former ace closer, Billy Wagner. And the weird thing about the news is that this writer is sad. Livan had become an event, a fine point of interest. No longer can we ponder if the pitcher will confound us with an unexpected gem of an outing or if he will be Livan, the batting practice pitcher. It was entertaining. But the truth of it is, the Mets probably got rid of the wrong pitcher.

The Mets dumped Livan after three bad starts in a row, but they kept Tim Redding, who will make a spot start to take Livan's place. Don't know about you, but that doesn't seem like a fair trade, even if you are going to see Livan take his lumps now and then. Let's compare the two pitchers:

• Livan Hernandez: 7-8. 5.47 ERA in 23 starts. His 135 innings gave him an average of 5.87 innings per start. He had a WHIP of 1.593 and gave up 1.1 homers per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio was 1.47 and he had an ERA+ of 78.
• Tim Redding: 1-4. 6.53 ERA in 9 starts and 13 relief appearances. His 9 starts averaged 5.24 innings per start. He has a WHIP of 1.647 and has given up 1.4 homers per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ration is 1.45 and has an ERA+ of 65.

Granted, neither one of them is fun for a manager, but it seems clear to this observer that if you have to get rid of somebody, that somebody would be the least effective guy. Redding has been considerably worse that Eisler Livan Carrera Hernandez.

The thing about Livan--and this is what made him so entertaining--is that he could be pretty amazing or he could be amazingly awful. In his seven wins, he had an ERA of 2.02 and a WHIP of 1.286. In his eight losses, his ERA was 10.21 with a WHIP of 2.319. Whoa! That's a lot of base runners. The point is that occasionally, he could be pretty good and was so seven times. Tim Redding can't give you that. He's never going to give you a good outing. Never. Ever.

But just you watch. Livan won't be dead yet. He will resurface somewhere. Some contender that is thin in starting pitching might pick him up and hope that he can throw a couple of good games in there. The Fan can see him in Los Angeles where he would be better than Jeff Weaver. The Fan can see him in Minnesota where he would be at least as good as Carl Pavano. No. Livan is not dead yet and thank goodness, we haven't seen the last of him.

The other side of this story is Billy Wagner. Wagner was supposed to miss the entire season with his surgery last August. But apparently he heals quickly and here he is. Yeah, he's 38 years old, but at 37 last year and with a dead arm, he still struck out 10 batters for every 9 innings. He pitched Thursday night. One inning, no hits, two strikeouts. But the Mets can't get rid of him fast enough. Jerry Manuel even said that he was going to "showcase" him for an inning and he did. Those were pretty good results. Hey, the Cubbies could use a closer. So could the Marlins. The Mets would have to eat the money, but hey, the guy looks like he can still pitch. 385 career saves anyone?

So, yeah, it was mixed emotions. It was good to see Billy Wagner. But the Fan is going to miss Livan. Long Live Livan! Hope somebody else picks him up so the entertainment can continue.

Sweet Lou Gone Sour?

This post is difficult to write. Lou Piniella has always been a favorite ever since his playing days. He's always been a passionate, feisty player and manager in all his years in the game. As a manager, his teams have come in first place six times including two in a row for the Cubs. He won a World Series championship in 1990 with the Cincinnati Reds. But perhaps he isn't the right guy managing the current Chicago Cubs.

The Cubs came into the season after two first place finishes with extremely high expectations. Universally selected to win the division, the hopes of a desperate fan base again hope that this is the year. And it sure feels like the Cubs are playing tighter than a suspected heretic on the rack during the Inquisition. That tightness may well explain the blow ups we have seen all year by Zambrano, Bradley and others. In such a situation, Lou Piniella isn't exactly a loosey goosey kind of manager.

Piniella's intensity is perfect for a team that has lacked a spark for years. The Reds, Mariners and Cubs are perfect examples. He came in at a time when all three of those teams were spinning around and he brought intensity and turned them around. But it is possible that the same intensity wears on his players. The year after his Reds won the World Series, they came in fifth the year after. In Seattle, despite guys like Alex Rodriguez and Junior Griffey, his teams finished first three times, but never sustained that success the year after.

Obviously, the Fan does not have any inside dope on what goes on in the clubhouse or in the heads of the Cubs players. The observation while watching them playing lately is that they are so tight that they can't perform. They seem paralyzed.

Perhaps Pineilla has done all he can do. Perhaps he isn't the right person for this current situation. The Fan feels the same way about Jerry Manuel of the Mets. Manuel's body language is all wrong in the dugout. He is wearing too much on his sleeve. Torre and Cox are great because you can never tell from their demeanor if they are winning or losing. The Cubs, and the Mets for that matter, may still pull it together and win their respective divisions. But this observer isn't sure they can get it done with their personalities and the personalities of their respective teams.