Was Bob Geren Managing The Rays Tonight?

Joe Maddon is going to have to answer a few questions after the game no matter if the Rays win or lose game 5. There were two circumstances that changed the whole complexion of the game. The two questions are going to be similar why did you let Balfour and Wheeler stay in the game for so long?

Although, this issue tends to come up in a lot of ball games there was nothing bigger in tonight's game then Maddon's lack of decision making. Sure it was a 7-0 game and the Rays seemed to be running away with the game. The problem is if you ease up then you're liable to blow that lead.

Of course this happened so the game went from 7-0 Rays to a 7-7 tie. This would be my question is what the hell were you thinking? Neither Balfour or Wheeler showed that they were not the ones tonight. I could understand leaving Wheeler in to face Jason Bay but as soon as he walked and you saw all those left handed bats coming up, Howell should have been put into the game.

This is one of the most frustrating things about the game for a fan. A manager who refuses to admit to themselves that the player they just put in the game just doesn't have it. In this case Maddon seems to have a short leash when the game is close, when the game wasn't even close then the leash gets longer. Too me that's just bad baseball in the playoffs. You have to go for the kill.

I'm just using this as an example since it's the most recent in my memory. Actually, it's one of my biggest complaints about Bob Geren and why he should be fired. He never seems to know when it's a good time to leave a pitcher in and when he should take him out.

Another example is that a pitcher could come in walk the first batter of the inning and Geren or the catcher either Kurt Suzuki or Rob Bowen would not come out to settle down the pitcher. So, the next batter would come up and get a hit. Then the decision was made to come out to the mound to talk to the pitcher whether it's the pitching coach, catcher, or manager to get the bullpen going.