Game 12: Tigers 5 Pirates 3

Tuesday’s game really drove something home for me: I’m glad I no longer try to pre-write these recaps. At times over the past few years, I attempted to have these sort of posts ready to be published within minutes after the final out was recorded. I stopped doing this because I’m rarely free to write during games these days, and because it is a tremendous waste of time and effort to write up an entire blog post only to have to delete everything because of some late development. At various times on Tuesday, I thought this recap would focus on Martin Pérez’s excellent start to the season, or what a solid pickup Edward Olivares has been, or how Ke’Bryan Hayes has been a steadying presence on both sides of the ball. If I had, my work would have been wasted almost as badly as Pérez’s was on Tuesday. Instead of writing about any of those things, I’m sitting here contemplating another blown save from David Bednar and the ethics of booing. Whoopee.

Another thing that Tuesday’s agonizing loss to Detroit made clear is that David Bednar is not in a place where he should be closing games. This is the third time Bednar has blown a save in five appearances — an appalling run for any reliever, let alone a star closer — and unlike the prior two occasions the offense wasn’t able to pull up the plane before it crashed. Nor was this an unlucky outing that befalls every pitcher now and then, where the borderline strike calls go the other way and the lead is shredded on several bloops and bleeders. Bednar was terrible once again, not so much pitching as hurling the baseball in the general direction of home plate. Detroit hitters were frequently jumping out of the way of his errant pitches; Bednar walked the first batter he faced, hit the second, and later hit another Tiger. Against the batters he didn’t strike, he was consistently falling behind in the count, forcing him to lay his pitches right over the heart of the plate where Detroit hitters could poke them into the outfield.

For some reason Bednar was allowed to face 7 hitters (6 of whom reached) and allow 4 runs before being pulled from the game, which means not all the blame can be placed on him for Tuesday’s loss. Derek Shelton should have pulled Bednar after hitting a second batter, and he should have had someone up in the bullpen as soon as Bednar hit the first (or at least after Bednar allowed the game-tying hit). Managers only seem to get noticed  when they make a mistake, and I am no exception to that; Shelton’s managing this year has generally been excellent and I’ve barely mentioned him in my recaps. His lineups have been solid, his pinch-hitting decisions have mostly worked out, and until Tuesday he had managed the bullpen with aplomb.

Often, our opinions on a manager’s decision is very results-based; it’s colored by the chosen player’s ability to execute. If a manager tabs an unlikely arm to get a big out and the pitcher succeeds, it was a good decision. If the pitcher gives up a run, it was a bad decision for reasons pointed out after the fact: his splits, his past performance against Player X or in Ballpark Y, etc. What made Shelton’s handling of the 9th inning indefensible was that everyone in the ballpark save Shelton would probably be hesitant to bring Bednar into a big spot when he’s struggled mightily to start the year. Shelton then compounded the issue by leaving Bednar in the game when the closer clearly had nothing.

I’m not sure where Bednar’s wildness come from, but I imagine it’s related to his stunted Spring Training. A lat injury limited him to just two innings in Florida, and it seems pretty clear that he just isn’t ready. The Pirates need to examine Bednar and decide what step to take next. If the injury is lingering in any manner at all, the Bucs need to put Bednar on the Injured List and let him get back on track in Indianapolis. If not, Bednar needs to get some work in lower-leverage innings to show he can retire big-league hitters before being restored as closer. Bringing him in to another big situation after the way he’s looked this season is madness.

That brings me to the last and dumbest part of this whole thing. Apparently, a few fans booed Bednar (but also probably Shelton) after he was mercifully removed from the game. In the locker room afterwards, Rowdy Tellez stood up for his teammate but also turned this into a much bigger thing than it needed to be. I’m not much of a booer myself, save for bad calls and the opposing team’s lineup, but I don’t have a problem with other paying fans vocally expressing their displeasure. I also don’t have a problem with Tellez backing his teammate, but if there’s one thing Bednar understands more than one of the newest Pirates, its Pittsburgh sports fans. Hopefully this is something we won’t have to keep talking about — I had my fill of it on Tuesday — but it’s the sort of topic that can power the Discourse for days.

The worst thing about Tuesday’s loss, though — more than Bednar’s blown save, Shelton’s decision to leave him in, the booing, or the debate surrounding the booing — is that the Bucs have an off day on Wednesday and will have to stew on the worst loss of the season for two whole days (and possibly three, given the ominous forecast for Thursday in Philadelphia). This is the exact type of game you’d like to wash out of your mind with a win the following day. Whenever the Pirates play next, I hope it’s good enough that we don’t have to think about Tuesday again.