In 20 years of being a Giants fan I have never once called for a manager or GM to be fired. I've been tempted. I've been so frustrated I wanted them gone in my heart, but I have never made public those desires. Though I've criticized moves, I've always tried to remember that they have much more baseball experience than I do, that they are closer to the team and therefore have knowledge about players I don't. That has kept me from completely writing off anybody.
That streak ends today. Felipe must go.
Not to sound too much like Larry Krueger here, but after watching the top of the 8th inning today, I can honestly say that if Felipe's brain is not composed of Cream of Wheat, then it must be made up of some other, less intelligent cereal.
For those of you lucky enough to NOT see the game today, here's the situation: 2 out, runner on 2nd, Accardo on the mound, Kendry Morales striding to the plate. Now, rather than have the Giants best reliever face a statistically anemic hitter, Felipe kept making moves (intentional walk of said anemic hitter, pitching change) until he got a matchup -- Kline vs. Napoli -- which produced a HR for the Angels less than 24 hours earlier. Kline was understandably gun-shy and walked Napoli. Izturiz followed with a 3-run double and the game was all but over.
Kline can't be considered completely blameless here, but it is a manager's job to put his players in a position to succeed, not fail. Felipe had a chance to have the inning decided in a spot where as long as Accardo kept the ball in the park, the Giants would give up no more than one run. Instead, it was decided with Kline keeping the ball in the park and still giving up three runs. Honestly, I've played Strat-O-Matic with an 11 year-old kid who has a better grasp of pitching moves than Felipe. That is not an exaggeration.
No matter what trades are made, or what holes are filled, I simply cannot have any confidence that the Giants will ever win with Felipe as manager. I know he won't be fired, so the best I can do is hope he retires at the end of the year. The problem is, I don't think he will, and I bet the Giants will re-sign him.
