Posted by Cheryl Nichols [Dave will post the GB&U in the morning.]
Garrett Mock was sent back down to AAA Syracuse immediately following the Nationals seventh straight loss. The Pirates squeaked out the winning run when Joel Hanrahan threw a wild pitch in the 9th inning with two outs.
This move was to make room for Craig Stammen who will start tomorrow and Daniel Cabrera moves to the bullpen. See Nationals Journal for Q&As with Rizzo, Acta and Cabrera re move.
Photo 2009 © Cheryl Nichols. All Rights Reserved.
Did I miss something? Wasn't Hanrahan the one who blew the game last night?
Don't get me wrong, Mock shouldn't be on the big club, either. But if you're going to talk about "accountability," it seems that it should start with the guy who has failed the most spectacularly in the bullpen this year.
I assume it's because Hanrahan has no options left. But at this point his confidence is so obviously completely shattered that it wouldn't be any great loss if he did end up going elsewhere.
I think Hanrahan is very close to a demotion himself. But he was releatively effective last week while Mock has battled to throw strikes all season.
I'm not defending Hanrahan, but i think this decision was made before the game.
and contrary to what you might read in other blogs, Mock took the news like a man.