i couldn't have killed anyone. it was a fake gun

This isn’t life-altering stuff. I guess it could be if it altered your life in someway but it’s mostly just sports. It’s been a loud topic of discussion around the water cooler today – can you use hindsight to justify a decision? Of course you can, because if you couldn’t then we’d never have anything too look back upon and rue. The deeper aspect of this issue is what was or wasn’t the correct decision to make at the moment it was made. The test case for today was Cubs manager Lou Pinella yanking his ace pitcher after only 85 pitches during a tied (1-1) opening game of the National League Divisional Playoff last night. The Cubs are playing the first two games (of the best-of-five series) in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The series will have two games in Phoenix, two in Chicago, and the last in Phoenix – if it gets that far. The Cubs must win one game in the desert to win the series. That’s the fact pattern. Both teams had their best pitchers going and both ended up giving up only four hits. Both were essentially unhittable. Pinella’s reason for pulling his ace was to save his arm so he could bring him back to pitch Game 4 on short rest (one day less than normal). The most obvious problems, standing on the mound with your pitcher right then and there, are these:

- There won’t be a Game 4 if you lose the first three.
- If you can win the opener, on the road against the other team’s ace, do it.
- You adjusted your rotation (a risk) to set-up your ace to pitch the opener.
- He’s gone six innings, given up four hits and one run. What’s the problem?

The support for Pinella’s decision include the following:

- The Cubs didn’t score again in the game; the hitters had no chance.
- We won’t know if it was a good decision until we see the Game 4 outcome.
- What good is it to have your ace take a game to 1-1 and further?

Right. The fact that the game ended with a Cub lose, 3-1, isn’t a defense for the decision at the time of its making. It was 1-1 in the 7th inning, both pitchers are pitching great, but it only takes one hit to turn a game. In fact, the first hitter after Pinella pulled his pitcher blasted a home run to give the Diamondbacks a 2-1 lead; the relief pitcher gave up two runs in the very inning Pinella pulled his pitcher. I’ll take my guy through nine innings if we’ve got a chance to win in extra innings, anytime, anywhere – who wouldn’t? The idea that there was no way the Cubs were going to score anymore during the game (some type of premonition?) is ludicrous. That’s simply giving up because you think something might happen three games from now. Am I crazy?

T.