Bears defensive coordinator continued his weekly baseball commentary Wednesday, saying he was surprised the Giants removed starter Matt Moore after eight innings Tuesday before their bullpen blew a three-run lead to the Cubs.
Moore had allowed two hits in eight innings up to that point, striking out 10 and walking two but throwing 120 pitches. Once the Giants yanked him, they needed five relievers to get through the four-run ninth.
“Three of your most esteemed managers in baseball had some questionable moves here lately: (Orioles manager Buck) Showalter never puts his good reliever in in a winner-take-all (AL wild card game), our own skipper here (Joe Maddon) went for the six-out save (in Game 3) — a little shaky,” Fangio said. “And last night I couldn’t believe they took out Moore there.
“Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Ferguson Jenkins — what do they know about pitch counts? It’s a shame what’s going on in baseball right now.”
Fangio watched only the last inning-and-a-half Tuesday, but fancies himself a baseball fan. Fangio said last year he brought good luck to baseball team, having worked in the Bay Area during three Giants World Series titles and in Houston when the Astros lost to the White Sox in 2005.
He joked last week that he felt “pretty good” about the Cubs, who he said he thought would win last year before “termites hit the bat rack.”
