What the Buck?

Question: Where did it all go wrong?

Four games, four losses. This Baltimore Oriole team had stellar pitching, a few all-stars and dependable players at every position. How could they fail to even win so much as one game in the American League Championship Series?

Answer: Buck Showalter.

This summer I was fortunate enough to see Yankee legends like Don Larson, Yogi Berra, Reggie Jackson and others at the 68th annual Old Timer's Day at Yankee Stadium. The Yanks played the Orioles that day, and at the end of the role call, there was one more special announcement.

Whitey Ford, Reggie Jackson and Yogi Jackson are among Yankees in attendance at Old Timer's Day, 2014.

"We now direct your attention," said John Sterling, "to the visiting dugout. Please welcome former Yankee manager, Buck Showalter!" Many in the crowd applauded. I was not one of them.

Maybe I was rude, but I've got no love for Buck, and the Orioles should point to this year's abysmal ALCS and say the Buck stops here. Why? Because when it comes to managing ballplayers, Buck Showalter just doesn't get it. And when I say doesn't get it, I mean he makes monumentally bad decisions that cause championship caliber teams to go home early, while fans and players alike ponder what could have been.

I'll be the first to say, Buck Showalter blew it. And I know exactly how. I've seen this happen before. 19 years ago, I  was just a wee lad. Okay, I was 13. But I had a youthful naivete about baseball and what I considered to be Karmic justice.

In case you don't remember, here's a quick refresher: The Yankees had the best record in baseball at the time of the 1994 players' strike, but The Yankees had stumbled after a late season start. A court order had ruled the replacement players illegal, and the owners begrudgingly allowed the vastly more talented union ballplayers back to work (Thanks, Sonia Sotomayor!)

"She saved baseball," said David Cone of Sonia Sotomayor.

By mid-June, the Yankees had lost half of their starting rotation to season-ending injuries. Remember Jimmy Key? He was 17-4 before the player's strike. He made 5 starts in 1995 before tearing his rotator cuff. Melido Perez suffered a career-ending elbow injury. And pitching woes weren't all that hamstrung the Yankees: Second Basemen Pat Kelly struggled with a fractured wrist. Paul O'Neill literally had a pulled hamstring. Others, like Louis Polonia and Danny Tartabull, saw dramatic decreases in their offensive performance and were traded or released by midseason.

The hobbled Bronx Bombers, defending AL East champions, nearly bombed, posting 57 wins against 59 losses by the end of August. One month to go, and not even .500. Ouch.

Then came September, with the change in leaves came a change indeed. The mid-season acquisition of David Cone provided more than ample replacement for the disabled Jimmy Key. A call-up from the minors by the name of Andy Pettitte had proven himself a solid starting pitcher. And there was another new pitcher who had struggled briefly as a starter before making a change to the bullpen: Mariano Rivera.

Healthy and together, the Yankees rebounded with amazing resonance: First they took two out of three games against the Oakland Athletics. Then they took two out of three against the Seattle Mariners. Then they went on absolute tear: They swept the division Red Sox in four games, and then proceeded to win 80 percent of the remaining 20 games.

David Cone uses one of his unique grips for his stunning array of sliders, splitters,
and fastballs that helped the Yankees salvage what could have been a lost season.

That's right: The 1995 Yankees ended their season playing .800 baseball. Projected over an entire season, that would equal an astonishing 130 wins against only 32 losses.

And at the start of the ALDS, this team showed no signs of stopping: After winning a slugfest in game 1, the Yankees came out on top winners again in game 2. This was a game for the ages: Don Mattingly's last home run in Yankee stadium, followed by an extra-inning marathon that lasted until Jim Leryitz's walk off home run in bottom of the 15th inning. The whole game lasted 5 hours and 28 minutes.

Jim Leyritz celebrates what would become one of many dramatic postseason home runs
to end game 2 of the 1995 ALDS. He would celebrate in similar fashion in 1996 and 1999.

All the Yankees had to do was win one game. Let me rephrase: All Buck Showalter had to do was let his regular players do their job and wine one game. Against a Seattle Mariner team whose pithing rotation composed of Randy Johnson and four pitchers who belonged in AAA. Let's your the manager: You've got the 1994 AL Cy Young winner in David Cone, the 1993 Cy Young Winner in Jack McDowell, and an up-and-comer by the name of Andy Pettitte. And yet if you wanted the Yankees to win, watching these next three games would prove very, very painful.

Game Three. Randy Johnson is pitching against Jack McDowell. A pair of aces. Obviously, you want to go with your best hitters against one of the games best pitchers, right?

That's not how Buch saw it. Hall of Famer Wade Boggs? Benched. 1994 Batting champion Paul O'Neill? Benched. Veteran Dion James? Benched. Why? So that Randy Velerade could move from second base to left field. Why would you put your infielder in the outfield? I mean, why?

Wade Boggs sat out and Russ Davis sat in. Reserve outfielder Gerald Williams played right field instead of Paul O'Neill. How did these moves pay off?

Game 3: Showalter sits Boggs, and Boggs doesn't look to happy about it.

The remaining  regular starters playing at their regular positions combined to collect 6 hits in 18 at bats, a .333 batting average, and batted in four runs against one of the greatest left-handed pitchers off all time. The rest of the team combined to go 0-12 with 7 strikeouts.

Who needs Wade Boggs when you've got Russ Davis?

The final score was 7-4 Seattle, but even without one third of their regular starting lineup, this was still a winnable game for the Yankees. At least it was until the bottom of the sixth inning. The game was close. McDowell had almost matched Johnson, and the score was 2-1 Seattle. Buck Showalter turned to Steve Howe--an aging left-handed reliever and hero of the 1981 World Series who was well past his prime--to pitch to Tino Martinez. Why? Left lefty matchup of course!

Martinez hit an RBI Single, and Howe was pulled for Bob Wickman. Wouldn't it make more sense just to use your starting pitcher, your ace who one 15 games for you, the man who won the 1993 Cy Young award instead of the guy who posted a 4.96 ERA?

Whatever, Game 4. Paul O'Neill and Wade Boggs are back in the lineup and combine for four hits and three runs batted in. Good to have them back. And surely, Buck would have learned his lesson about obsessing over lefty-lefty pitching matchup.

Or not. Like a duck to water, Buck went straight to the bullpen in the bottom of this sixth inning, this time entrusting mediocre starter Sterling Hitchcock to matchup against Ken Griffey, Jr. With the score tied at 5, Griffey took a 1-0 fastball and deposited 500 feet from home plate into the centerfield stands. The mighty Kingdome roared with apporoval, its steel girders shaking with enthusiasm as 57,000 Mariner fans voiced their satisfaction at Buck's puzzling managerial skills.

The Yankees would get run back at the top of the eighth inning. Hey, all you have to do is keep the score tied and save your closer if you take the lead, right?

Tied at 6, in the bottom of the eight inning. It would not remain tied for long.

If that's your thinking, you're out of Buck. The myopic manager sent in John Wetteland with the score tied, under directions to pace himself. Out of his element, Wetteland promptly responded by loading the bases and surrendering a grand slam to Edgar Martinez. Final Score: Mariners 11, Yankees 8.

Game 5 would prove the most painful of them all. For Mariner's fans, it was a level of ecstasy that would be akin to actually wining the World Series. But if you were a Yankee fan, or even a fan of common sense, it was a  true heartbreaker.

I remember the excitement. David Cone shut down the mighty Mariner offense for 7 strong innings. Don Mattingly's sweet stroke smacked double down the first base line, providing the Yankees with a 4-2 lead going into the eight inning.

A moment that could have been immortalized: Don Mattingly runs to first base after punishing and Andy Benes fastball.
The ball screeched over the first base line and into the stands for a ground-rule double. It would be Mattingly's final hit.

Think: You've got Bob Wickman, Mariano River and John Wetteland in the bullpen. All you need is six outs and your team has a one-run lead. Wickman and Rivera have combined for a 0.00 Earned Run Average thus far. Do you use one them for the 8th, or go to directly your closer, who is bound to rebound after last night's debacle?

Sadly, after going to his bullpen to early in the previous two games, Showalter waited for Cone to struggle. A visibly fatigued Cone surrendered the lead. With the bases loaded and the score tied at four, Showalter reluctantly brought in Mariano Rivera.

River responded by responded by striking out Mike Blowers on three pitches. If only Rivera could have thrown a little harder, he could have surpassed the speed of light and traveled backwards through time in order to--okay, well that's just crazy talk. But you know what else is crazy? Taking Mariano River out of the game and bringing in Jack McDowell!

Yes. Jack was back to pitch in the 9th inning. To his credit, he didn't blow the game--yet. The score would remain tied until the Yankees added one run in the top of the 11th inning. Why only one? Because Buck Showalter insisted on taking Wade Boggs out of the game and brining in Jim Leyritz to face Randy Johnson. With runners on first and second, Leyritz struck out on four pitches. But hey, you've got your ace closer ready in the bullpen, right? The guy who just recored 31 saves in 37 opportunities, right? Unless you're closers is Byung-Young Kim, you always send him out the next night.

Nope. It was not to be. The culmination of events are crystal clear in my memory, and if you doubt me, you can watch this game in its entirety on YouTube.

With a one run lead, and just three outs to go, Showalter stuck with McDowell. A starter. Not a closer. After surrendering back to back singles to Joey Cora and Ken Griffey, Jr., Jack McDowell left a over the plate and belt high to Edgar Martinez. With swing, the ball catapulted to the left field wall. Cora scored easily.

The moment that lives on in Seattle folklore, a moment that Mariners fans forever refer to simply as "the double."

"No!" I said, in vain desperation. It happened so quickly, and yet I saw the event unfold in slow motion. The ball seemed to dance as if it were John Travolta on the dance floor. It darted and danced to its own whimsey, while a hapless Gerald Williams tried to get a hand on it.

It's just one run! My mother assured me. Meanwhile, Griffey ran like a gazelle. He sprinted around the basepaths with a jubilant grin, fully aware that a reserve outfielder had no clue in heaven how to navigate the astroturf of the mighty Kingdome. Griffey ran and ran, while the ball danced and danced.

"No!" I was really bawling now.

"He hasn't scored yet," My mother was trying to reassure me, but even she could see the train wreck that was unfolding. Tony Fernandez saw it too. He had his hands over his head. You could read his thoughts just watching him. "Throw me the ball now!," He is imploring. And Fernandez is right: Anything can happen. It ain't over till it's over. Griffey could trip. He could slip. He could get arrogant and break into a slow victory trot.

Finally, Gerald Williams did get a hand on the ball and threw it straight to Fernandez, who promptly wheeled around and delivered a bulls-eye perfect throw strike to catcher Jim Leyritz. There was only one problem: it was exactly one second to late.

The relay throw from Tony Fernandez is out of frame, and the Yankees are out of luck as Ken Griffey, Jr. slides into home plate, winning the game and the division series. Seattle fans credit this play as the moment that saved baseball for their city.

I broke. I went to room and couldn't control my tears. I just cried and cried. Pretty embarrassing for a 13 year-old to break down like that, but I had been rooting for the Yankees for as long as I could remember, and for most of that time, they were just awful. 95 losses in 1990. 91 losses in 1991. I remember I got excited when they "only" lost 86 games in 1992. I was incredulous when they actually posted a winning record in 1993. After the injustice of the cancelled World Series in 1994, watching my heroes lose, and lose in such dramatic fashion, was just too much.

Seeing her teenage son curled in a fetal position called for action and my Bronx-born and raised mother tried to reassure me. Then as now, she was knew when to be tough, when to be kind, and certainly knew a heck of a lot more about baseball than Buck Showalter.

"It's okay," she said reassuringly. "There's always next year." Without pause, I turned around and looked at her.

"Not for Mattingly," I blurted out between tears, and then resumed weeping. Even an expert mother's consolation wasn't enough for me. Don Mattingly had played through intense pain over the last 5 games, batted .417 with eight runs batted in. He had also indicated that he was going to rest his herniated disc in back, go home to Indiana, and forget about baseball for a while.

Of course, my mother was right: There was next year, the Yankees would win the World Series, and John Wetteland; the World Series MVP. It was the start of a new era in the Bronx, an era that saw Joe Torre manage the Yankees to 5 pennants and four World Championships. Joe Torre knew better than to obsess over lefty-lefty matchups and knew when to trust players. He knows when to intervene and when to sit back. Joe Torre is the kind of manager many of us would like to work for.

In with the new: 1996 made Tino Martinez a Yankee, Mariano Rivera a star, and Derek Jeter the best shortstop in history. And yes, having the right manager to make the right calls certainly provided a winning edge that was missing in  1995.

But Buck Showalter is still making the same mistakes 20 years later. Going to his closer too early in Game 1. Not using his closer in game 2. And for the love of God, why, why would you take out you're best hitter in Game 4, as he did with Nelson Cruz last night? Doesn't Buck Showalter know that a good right handed pitcher is better than a bad lefty? Doesn't he know that everyday players play every day for a reason? 

Apparently not. And sadly, this is a management view that extends beyond baseball. Workers, whether they are software engineers, construction workers, or public school teachers, are not simply automatons that can be made to work only at the whimsey of a superior officer. People work because they want to work, and when the workers are exceptional, and exceptional manager knows when to let the talent do the job.

What's the bottom line here? It guess it may be a while before we see October baseball in the Bronx again, but take consolation with this: It could be worse. Can you imagine having to work for Buck Showalter?

Hey you, go out there and win! Unless you're Wade Boggs.
In that case, I want you to sit this one out. Trust me.