How the World Series Was Lost

So after having time to digest the happenings of the World Series, I can only blame one person for the Phillies loss to the Yankees: Charlie Manuel. It was Manuel's decision to pitch Pedro in both game 2 and 6 even though Cole Hamels was clearly the 2nd best pitcher on the team, whether he played the part or not. He left Pedro in too long in game 2, pulling his best Grady Little. He never should have thrown him out there with the series on the line in game 6. The most perplexing part is that Pedro started these games even though he was at best the 5th starting pitcher on the team. Where was J.A. Happ during this postseason? The bullpen is where Manuel decided his 12-4 pitcher (2.96 ERA in 166.0 IP) needed to be. Since his first start on May 23rd, Happ had only failed to go 5+ innings once, and that was on September 18 when he left for "precautionary reasons" after a strained oblique earlier in the season. His worst game of the season was a 5.2 inning outing in which he gave up 5 ER with 6 BB. That was in June against Boston, and most of his poor starts came earlier in the season. Once he got on track he was lights out. Pedro on the other hand was a shell of his former self. Depending on which birth certificate you believe, Pedro is at youngest 38, but more likely about 42. He has 34 regular season starts the past 3 years, and has played admirably for his age, but still not great. But the Pedro/Happ debate was not the only thing Manuel screwed up. He threw out an ice cold, unproven Ben Francisco 12 times, and got 1 walk, 0 hits, 2 Ks, and 1 GIDP. Matt Stairs went 1 for 10 with 2 walks, and along with Pedro proved that age does matter, and in the (hopefully) post-steroid era players have a natural regression during their mid-30s that shouldn't be ignored. Manuel seemed to ignore his other bench players who may have actually done something. In limited appearances Eric Bruntlett and Paul Bako had better BAs than Matt Stairs. Stairs' perceived value was his ability to hit home runs, but in 129 plate appearances this season, he hit 5. If Joe Girardi faced criticism for his over-managing of his team, Manuel needed the same criticism for under-managing his. Also, just for fun, will someone please tell Jimmy Rollins that his role as a leadoff hitter is to get on base, not to try and swing for the fences. You need a better OBP than .296, or you need to hit 2nd or 5th in the lineup and let Victorino move to leadoff. (By the way, of the Phillies regular starters, Rollins had the lowest OBP, lower than Carlos Ruiz, lower than Pedro Feliz, and that is pathetic)

One final note, Bob Sanders just makes my argument for the most overrated player in the NFL look much better. One game played this season and he goes on the IR. Thank you.