Bruce Bochy may not be very good at making decisions, but he’s certainly got an eye for spotting others who make bad ones. After Joe Torre was ejected due to a hit batsman issue during Wednesday night’s Dodgers-Giants game, Bochy pulled out the rule book and stuffed it directly up acting manager Don Mattingly‘s can.
With the Dodgers leading 5-4 in a bases loaded situation in the 9th, Mattingly decided to make a mound visit to chat with his closer, Jonathan Broxton. As Mattingly was leaving the mound to head back to the dugout, James Loney asked him a question and he turned around and walked back to the mound to answer him. Since he technically stepped off the mound and returned in the same inning, Bochy was quick to point out that it was the second mound visit of the inning and the umpiring crew agreed Broxton must leave the game. Here’s the video of Don Mattingly accidentally making two mound visits and forcing Broxton from the game, courtesy of Deadspin:
Naturally, in came an ice-cold George Sherill and the Dodgers wound up losing 7-5. There will probably be plenty of people who say Bochy violated some sort of unwritten manager’s code or something along those lines, but you have to give him credit for being on his toes and making sure his team wins the game. Was he nitpicking? Yes, but it was probably the reason the Giants won. Broxton’s one of the best in the game and while he could have given up a hit to lose the lead anyway, he had a better shot at getting out of the jam than Sherill who likely didn’t even think he would pitch in the game. Good eye, Bruce.
Sources:
Dodgers have the book thrown at them and lose to Giants, 7-5 [LA Times]
Dodgers Lose Another One, This Time To The Rulebook [Deadspin]
