Factory Of Sadness
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Cleveland Indians: 3 big mistakes Sandy Alomar made in Game 2

By Chad Porto

CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 29: Interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. #15 removes starting pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians from the game during the fifth inning after giving up a two run homer to Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees during Game One of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OHIO - SEPTEMBER 29: Interim manager Sandy Alomar Jr. #15 removes starting pitcher Shane Bieber #57 of the Cleveland Indians from the game during the fifth inning after giving up a two run homer to Gleyber Torres #25 of the New York Yankees during Game One of the American League Wild Card Series at Progressive Field on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images) /
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Sep 30, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Brad Hand (33), center, watches from the dugout after blowing a save in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 30, 2020; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Indians relief pitcher Brad Hand (33), center, watches from the dugout after blowing a save in the ninth inning against the New York Yankees at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports /

Being too lenient with leaving pitchers in.

Just…why? Why did Sandy Alomar leave Brad Hand in for as long as he did in the ninth? Hand loaded the bases and gave up the tieing run. All on three hits and a walk. This wasn’t the first time a pitcher got in trouble in the game and Alomar didn’t do anything until after things went bad. It was like Alomar was exhibiting some sort of long-forgotten “tough love” parenting technique. He let his pitchers suffer needlessly and it cost the team.

The same could be said for how he handled Carlos Carrasco and the 4th inning, when Alomar went to James Karinchak. He doesn’t deserve all of the blame, but knowing when to call in a reliever is important. Karinchak wasn’t the right call even if he had gotten an out. The Indians wasted three pitchers that inning. Had the game gone into extras, that would’ve been so costly.

To be fair to Alomar and the staff, it didn’t seem to matter who went into the game when, because they were all going to get busted up by this offense. Every Indians pitcher walked someone at some point in the game and that was the essential downfall of this team.

That doesn’t mean that leaving guys out there to blow in the wind is the call to make. It’s not and Alomar should know that. It’s mind-boggling that as a former All-Star catcher that he would be the one to not notice when it’s time to make a move. It’s one thing to preemptively pull someone before they meltdown, it’s another thing to react to the meltdown. Especially in the case of Hand.

All Alomar did throughout the game was react to his pitchers melting down and not preempting it. If you know Carassco is dealing with two rain delays, maybe you pull him after the first walk of the fourth?

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