Phils manager Charlie Manuel doesn’t always go by the book, he makes his decisions based on his instincts.¬†
Those instincts told him to take veteran righthander Pedro Martinez out of the National League Championship Series game in the eighth inning after he had blanketed the Dodgers for seven innings.
Charlie has been right about a lot of his moves the last two years, as the Phils have won a World Series Championship and put themselves in position to win another one.
We’ll never know whether Martinez would have been able to get them through that eighth inning, but what we do know is that Chan-Ho Park, Ryan Madson, Scott Eyre, J.A. Happ and weren’t able to do it.
Charlie said he had given Martinez a pitch count before the game of about 75 or 80.  I think he should have talked to Martinez and catcher Carlos Ruiz in the top of the eighth and let their comments affect his call.
This guy was dominating the Dodgers who had lit up Phillies pitching the day before for 14 hits.  He shut down to the point where they were happy to get a baserunner.
Also Martinez is a rhythm pitcher who was in his grove.
That’s water under the bridge now.
Live by your instincts and die by your instincts.  This time we died by them.
