As the A's hang on for yet another tense win, I know this won't necessarily be popular...but I want to take a moment to give props to Ken Macha for what I believe has been an outstanding job of managing the bullpen on this road trip.
One thing you have to know about managing: A manager has to make 100 decisions every week. And even if every single decision were to be the right one, 20 of them are going to "fail"--because the right players, put in the right place at the right time, will sometimes fail. But when a manager has to make 100 decisions in a week, not every decision can be the right one--to make a few mistakes is normal. For players, for umpires, for managers and coaches. Ultimately, in life, the only sure way to avoid failure is not to try.
So consider that out of every 100 decisions the best manager makes, 5 will be mistakes and 20 more will fail. That's normal. And Ken Macha's batting average is a lot higher than that right now. Even when Duke's back is hurting. Even when Street is not available. Even when the starter can't finish the 6th. Even when every game is too close for comfort.
I'm a "call it as I see it" kind of guy, so I'll gladly criticize a manager when he messes up. But right now, as Mr. Korach would say, "Ken Macha is on..his..game!"
