Save the hysteria. Call off the posse.
Jerry Manuel didn’t cost the White Sox the season by starting rookie Neal Cotts instead of Mark Buehrle in Thursday’s 7-5 loss in New York. He made a very good decision that won’t cost his team a thing and could help it in October.
Of course, that’s not the way it will be viewed if the Sox suddenly lose the confidence that rode shotgun with them on the bus to Yankee Stadium. The Sox had won eight of nine, including back-to-back thrashings of the Yankees, and many players wanted to see Opening Day starter Buehrle try to finish off the sweep.
There’s no guarantee he would have done that, of course. But the wolves were howling when Cotts allowed a 2-0 lead to turn into a 5-2 deficit before Manuel had to go get him. There was only one out in the first inning.
Buehrle had wanted to test himself against the Yankees. Manuel decided to hold him back for Friday night’s game in Detroit. Embattled for most of the season, the manager will appear foolish if Buehrle falters and the Tigers win.
If the Sox miss the playoffs by one or two games, you can bet lots of fans are going to blame this bit of planning by Manuel. But the reality is that it’s consistent with Manuel’s long-haul mentality, which appears to be paying dividends.
I wrote in April, May and July that the White Sox needed to strongly consider a managerial change–that the Manuel era had reached a point of steadily diminishing returns. But that 26-14 record in the second half suggests that crow will be served for me and several others in the Chicago media at some point in late September.
This is a playoff team. It looks like one because it is one, and that’s all there is to it. This latest harangue about Buehrle should die as quickly as it arrived.
Here’s why Manuel’s critics, who included broadcasters Ken Harrelson and Ed Farmer, missed the mark with the indignation they vented after Cotts was knocked out of the game:
– Regardless if he started Thursday or Friday, Buehrle will make six more starts this season. That is, unless the Central race hangs in the balance on the last weekend of the season in Kansas City.
Esteban Loaiza, Bartolo Colon and Buehrle are lined up to work the final weekend on three days’ rest, with Buehrle getting Game No. 162, if that’s the case. If the Sox don’t have to sweat a playoff spot, then Manuel can groom his horses for the first round of the playoffs.
Because of a goofy day off on Labor Day, Buehrle’s next start was going to be next Wednesday against Boston, whether he started Thursday or Friday. The impact of this decision on his schedule for the rest of the season is a moot point.
– Remember 2000? You better believe Manuel does.
The White Sox won 95 games and an unexpected Central title, but the second-half push and grind took a huge toll on the pitching staff. The starters were in such sad shape physically entering the playoffs that Manuel sent reporters searching through Bibles with his reference to “a Gideon’s army.”
Guys like Mike Sirotka, Jim Parque, James Baldwin, Bill Simas, Kelly Wunsch and Bob Howry pushed themselves beyond the limit to secure that playoff spot. The result was a run of pitching injuries that crippled the division champs in 2001.
In Buehrle, Loaiza and Colon, Manuel has the cards to play Chicago’s first winning hand in October since 1917. The key is not to weaken your hand before you have to show it.
Buehrle had made five consecutive starts working on the standard four days rest. He needed a little break, whether it came now or next week.
Don’t forget that the goal for this Sox team, with the luxury of competing in the watered-down Central, is to win in October, not merely get there.
– All these victories will count the same when they’re totaled on Sept. 28. If Buehrle beats the Tigers on Friday night, it’ll count exactly the same as a victory over New York would have. There was a better chance that he could have pitched well and still have the White Sox lose against the Yankees’ Mike Mussina than there will be Friday against Detroit’s Nate Robertson, who will be making his fourth career start.
As for Cotts, sure he would have had a better shot against Detroit than the Yankees. But here’s some relief for those bemoaning his inconsistent performance:
The White Sox are in position to win a division title despite a 3-10 record and 6.77 earned run average from their fifth starters, who have worked 24 games.
Here’s another comforting thought:
They won’t need one again until Sept. 9.
