Why, when the closer is injured, wouldn’t you constantly use the “it’s his throwing day” starter in a save situation?

He’s been a closer, he’s been through wars.

Same song, different verse.

it’s no secret to see McClaren’s past moves to see he favors vets with ‘experience’ over more talented younger players. Look at how little he used Adam Jones last year, even once it was apparent the M’s had no chance of hitting the postseason. Look at last year when Vidro hit all of 6 HRs in the DH slot, and he continued to get plugged in every day. Same with Sexson, same with everyone.

It doesn’t take someone with a doctorate in psychology to see what McClaren favors – vets with playing time over younger players with less. To continue to sit there and say ‘no he doesn’t’ is akin to a child sticking their fingers in their ears and screaming ‘nyah nyah I can’t hear you!’

This involves recognizing young talent and (re)evaluating veteran talent – figuring out what players can do – and then showing complete confidence in them in their new roles until they have enough experience to recognize it themselves.

McLaren is not good at this and we aren’t even forced to guess at his abilities. His recent media quotes are basically an admission that he doesn’t know what being manager entails.

By revealing his lack of competence to the media, he is also indicting Bavasi for hiring him. Good interviewers draw out candidates until they reveal their own deficiencies.