Maddon channels Showalter by going to Lackey in Game 2 loss
Joe Maddon has been called a genius and even a mad scientist for some of the moves he's made during his managerial career, but his lunacy bit him in the backside on Sunday when Justin Turner drove a 92-mph fastball from John Lackey over the center-field fence to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 2-0 lead over the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series.
The outcome might have been different if not for a curious decision made with the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth. At that point - with one on and two outs - Maddon had two options ready and warm in his bullpen to face the top of the Dodgers' lineup.
Those options were All-Star closer Wade Davis - who was fresh and hadn't pitched since a gutsy 2 1/3-inning effort on Thursday secured the NLDS for the Cubs - or the 38-year-old Lackey, a longtime starter who'd pitched on Saturday and had never appeared on back-to-back days during his career.
But while Davis had saved 32 games during the regular season while fashioning a 2.30 ERA and allowing opposing hitters to bat just .117 in high-leverage situations, Maddon inexplicably turned to Lackey, whose 4.59 ERA during the regular season was his worst since 2011, and who'd enjoyed little to no success (albeit in small sample sizes) against Chris Taylor (1-for-3, HR) and Turner (2-for-5), who were due up next.
With a Taylor walk and a Turner homer to end the ballgame, Maddon paid for his choice dearly - just like Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter paid for making a similar mistake in the AL wild-card game against the Toronto Blue Jays last season.
Like Maddon, Showalter opted to use starter Ubaldo Jimenez - arguably one of the AL's worst pitchers in 2016 - instead of shutdown closer Zach Britton against Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion during a critical 11th-inning at-bat with two runners on.
Encarnacion subsequently demolished a pitch from Jimenez into the left-field stands, ending the Orioles' season. Showalter's decision was widely criticized and even frustrated Britton, who warmed up three times and never got the call.
On Sunday, Maddon became this season's Showalter by going to Lackey, and when he was asked why he chose to do so after the game, his answer didn't make him look like a mad scientist. It just made him look like a madman.
"We needed him (Davis) for the save," Maddon told reporters, including Bill Shakin of the Los Angeles Times.
Sorry Joe, but that's just crazy talk.