Idiots Write About Sports

God knows I’m not trying to belabor this Ken Macha-screwed-up-last-night’s-game-and-quite-possibly-Western-Civilization kick I’ve been on because it’s one game out of 162, there are more important things to get worked up about in the greater scheme of things, and I’ve already said what I had to say.

But I went online this morning to read the assorted game accounts and to see if Macha had some sort of explanation for the way he handled the bullpen last night. Not a confession and a sworn promise to never do it again, mind you — just some sort of glimpse into his line of thinking so that if such a situation ever occurs again, I’ll know why a clearly ineffective reliever is being left in to boot away what should be an easy win.

Here’s what the normally reliable Susan Slusser managed to coax out of Macha in today’s San Francisco Chronicle:

“It wasn’t very good,” Oakland manager Ken Macha said. “We just fell apart.”

Well, that’s… not really terribly illustrative. Ah well, it’s early in the story still — maybe Slusser will get around to asking Macha to explain some of his decisions. So how about leaving Mecir in there, Ken?

“Jimmy’s pitched very well for us,” Macha said. “It was an inopportune time for him to have a bad outing.”

Well, yeah. But you’re the one who left him in there. Anyone going to ask why?

“It looked like Jim made some pitches inside (to Giambi) that were pretty good,” Macha said.

Oooooookay, then. I guess I’ll have to look elsewhere for some insight into what exactly Ken Macha was thinking by leaving Mecir in to face five batters, none of whom actually were retired. Maybe Josh Suchon at the Oakland Tribune can shed some light on this:

“Jimmy (Mecir) has pitched real well,” manager Ken Macha said. “Inopportune time for a bad outing. … You like to think you have a win with a four-run lead in the eighth.”

What the hell is this, a pool report?

I’d quote Chris Haft’s game story from the San Jose Mercury News, but it features no actual quotes from Macha, other than him referring to the eighth inning as a meltdown. Same with Rick Hurd of the Contra Costa Times, who features both the meltdown quote and the “inopportune time for a bad outing” pearl of wisdom quote in the Oakland Tribune.

I’ve long since come to terms with the fact that Bay Area beat writers lack the aggressiveness of their tabloid-employed counterparts in major East Coast metropolises. But criminy — last night’s game hinged on how Ken Macha used his bullpen. It would seem that any story describing the events of that game would make that particular strategy a central element of said article. We saw what happened, folks — now use that press credential to go and find out why it happened.

Or maybe I just don’t know much about the newspaperin’ biz.

Anyhow, I received some unexpected tickets to tonight’s Mets-Dodgers tilt out at Chavez Ravine, meaning I’ll have to get ready to leave two hours before first pitch and that I’ll miss the conclusion of the Oakland-New York game. I can only speculate on how Macha will blow it tonight — my guess is he’ll pull Mark Mulder after eight innings of three-hit ball so that he can bring Eric Byrnes in to pitch the ninth so that “Byrnes can get some extra work in” — but it’s good to know the watch dogs of the Bay Area media will be there tomorrow to not explain how the game got away.

By the way, I just got handed the other two tickets to tonight's, plus a preferred parking card and a Stadium Club pass, so if you know anyone else who wants to come with -- lemme know.

How can any rational A's fan conclude that if not for Ken Macha running an ineffective Jim Mecir out to the mound countless times, the A's would be in the playoffs this year?

All I can say is that Mecir must have had some incriminating photos of Macha that he was threatening to use if he didn't get to pitch.

Hell, even Rhodes didn't get the shots Mecir did in critical situations this year.

Macha for MLB nitwit of the year. Last year's winner: Art Howe