Decision of using Edwin Jackson instead of Ryan Mattheus brings criticism for Davey Johnson-MLB
As the season concludes for Washington Nationals following the disheartening loss on Friday against St. Louis Cardinals, questions arise at some of the decisions taken by manager Davey Johnson during the match.
Johnson used Edwin Jackson in the contest as reliever in the seventh inning as opposed to Ryan Mattheus, who was originally prepared for doing the job at this stage of the game.
Johnson has defended his move, saying that he felt sending Jackson on the mound was the right decision under the given circumstances. He has gone on to claim that what he wanted from Jackson to do was achieved by him.
Jackson leaked one run in his inning but during his time on the mound the Nationals’ lead remained intact.
This means that Johnson is not entirely wrong when he asserts that sending him on the mound had hardly anything to do with the eventual failure.
However, critics maintain that one run given up by Jackson proved the beginning of their end. They say the momentum started to shift toward the Cardinals’ side, on which they immediately capitalised afterward.
Failure always breeds questions which are not asked when wins are being recorded. Johnson was not scrutinised with regard to his on the field decisions during the regular season because his team was piling up victories.
As soon as the Nationals lost to the Cardinals in one important match, he brings himself at the mercy of the fans that are ever-ready to find faults, especially in the case of defeats.
“I just felt like Jackson was the best choice I had to get through that part of that lineup,” Johnson said. “He did the job for me. He gave up a run, but he did what we needed to to get to the people we needed to get to.”
What has made critics put more emphasis on the decision of using Jackson on the mound is the statement of Johnson before the match which said that he will employ Mattheus in the seventh inning.
Keeping this in view, it will not be easy for Johnson to respond effectively to the questions that are emerging against his move in the field on Friday.
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