The Seattle Mariners are on another four game losing streak. A couple of the losses look like the manager is to blame. So, is Scott Servais still part of the solution? Or is he part of the problem?
I have long been a defender of Seattle Mariners coach Scott Servais. Mainly he’s had a not nearly complete enough roster to compete at the level fans are expecting. But, on the other hand, he’s done a reasonably good enough job of getting his teams to compete. You don’t get a reputation as a players coach if players don’t believe in you.
For the most part, we as fans get the luxury of sitting at home watching the game and knowing only a portion of what is going on inside the locker room. We criticize his decisions after the player doesn’t perform as we want them. Our main point of thinking is that we know more than the head coach or that he made a “dumb” decision. When the fact of the matter is the manager a) made a good decision (based on the analytics), but the player didn’t hold up his end, or b) he was giving his player an opportunity to show what he can do when the stakes are high.
Never know till you find out
A perfect example is Servais putting in the young flamer thrower, Andres Munoz, to close out the extra-inning game on Sunday in Boston. Munoz is thought to be the Seattle Mariners’ closer of the future, and the team is leading in extra innings. So, this is a good test with Boston’s number 9, 1 & 2 hitters set to appear in the inning. Unfortunately, Munoz allows three straight singles before getting Trevor Story to fly out, bringing cleanup hitter Franchy Cordero to the plate, who promptly hits a walk-off grand slam.
How is Munoz supposed to feel the pressure of closing a major league game if he’s not given the opportunity? Simulating pressure is something that’s not possible. So, you have the trial by fire. Unfortunately, the Seattle Mariners got burned. Now for some context and the main point of this article.
Next: Page 2 – Confusion
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