St. Louis Cardinals: Four Things Learned From World Series

1. Don’t Listen to Starting Pitchers

Guess whose always the last person on earth to make the call on whether a starting pitcher should stay in the game? The starting pitcher. Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

They don’t know what they’re talking about. No manager or pitching coach will ever get an honest answer from a starting pitcher who knows he’s tiring. Especially if his adrenaline is pumping and he hears 40,000-plus chanting his name. Listen, I don’t think Mets manager Terry Collins was in the wrong to send out Harvey to start the ninth.

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To that point, the right-hander was rolling. He had shut out the Royals on four singles. He had struck out nine, including fanning the side in the 4th and 5th innings. Mets closer Jeurys Familia, meanwhile, had blown two World Series saves already. But maybe Collins should have made the move after Harvey opened the inning with a walk. We’ll never know if that would’ve made the difference.

But what happened to Harvey and the Mets in Game 5 serves as a reminder to all big league managers, Mike Matheny included. Whatever your starting pitcher says about how he feels late in the game is BS. Take them out for their own good.

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